My favorite game: The last of Us
The Last of Us
The Last of Us is a game developed by Naughty Dog and published in 2013. It starts in Austin, Texas and progresses abruptly to Boston, twenty years later after the outbreak of a deadly Cordyceps fungus which infects a host and turns them into cannibalistic "zombie".
The Story
The story follows Joel, a smuggler who lives in a quarantine zone run by martial law and patrolled by unforgiving militants who don't think twice if they find you're infected. The currency in this post-apocalyptic world is Ration cards which can be traded for supplies and food to survive within the QZ (Quarantine Zone).
To make a bit more than everyone else, Joel smuggles goods in and out of the QZ which is illegal and not to mention, incredibly dangerous. Beyond the walls of the QZ are cities lost and forgotten among their own rubble after countless bombing attempts to reduce numbers of infected. Ironically enough, these destroyed city-scapes are surprisingly beautiful after 20 years of no human interaction which has allowed nature a resurgence in volume and now reconquering these former concrete jungles.
One smuggling job, taken on by Joel and his partner Tess was ruined by an ex-"business" partner, Robert. Who stole a shipment of guns that belonged to Joel and Tess and sold them to the Fireflies.
The fireflies are a revolutionary group, opposed to the United States Armed Forces and QZs. They're led by a woman called Marlene, aka "Queen firefly".
After finding out Robert sold their guns to the Fireflies, Tess kills Robert. And strangely enough Marlene shows up a second too late with a bullet wound in the stomach from a firefight with "the Military" at the start of the second chapter.
Marlene, being wounded, needed a favor from Robert but seeing as he's unfit for labor and knowing Joel and Tess want their guns back, she proposes a deal. If Joel and Tess can smuggle something to a Firefly team across the city, then they can have their guns back.
This is when we meet Ellie. A fourteen year old girl, hard as nails who is the daughter of Marlene's Friend, Ana. A great testament to the games story and environmental storytelling is that not all of this information is spoon fed to the player. Most of it is found in special dialogue sequences the player must "Press △" to listen to. Or the countless collectible notes which are scattered all over the game for the player to find. And having played through this game more than a few times I have found out most of the plot from these notes or the extra comic book series starring Ellie, set just before the events of the first game. "The Last of Us: American Dreams"
The Prologue
In the comics and the downloadable content (DLC), we see much of Ellie's past and how she and Joel came to meet. Mild spoiler for the beginning of the game and end of the DLC. Ellie and her friend Riley get bit by a "Runner" a recently infected human who is still strong and agile until the cordyceps grows deeper within the body. After dispatching the pack of runners, Riley and Ellie notice they've been bitten and Riley says"...we've got two options..." and waves a gun. Riley says she's not a fan of option one. Option two, she says "We can wait it out... you know we can be all poetic and lose our minds together". But Ellie never turns. Ellie is immune and had to watch as Riley turned. This is now why Marlene wants to send Ellie off to another firefly group looking for a cure because maybe whatever Ellie has it can perhaps help create a cure.
The Premise
And that's the starting premise of the game. A grumpy old man, after losing his daughter at the start of the outbreak on September 26th 2013, is reluctant to care for another little girl. But he didn't get to choose whether he cared for her or not. The events which take place over the rest of the game which spans seasons in a sort of chapter based narrative lead you and Joel to care for Ellie and protect her as you brave harsh situations and environments.
Creative Path
This being a Naughty Dog game with two extremely popular Uncharted games out and another one on the way, of course it was going to be a cinematic masterpiece which most people might stand against and argue the fact that a game should be 100% gameplay and not majorly story focused. However, I believe that Neil Druckmann, the newly titled Creative Director for The Last of Us and later on Uncharted 3 and The Last of Us Part II, knows exactly how to create a piece of media which utilizes all of its tools to convey emotion, purpose and plot.
Many gameplay features add to the immersion of the world that is set. Such as how hard it is to come by ammo for your gun which leads you to strategize your movements and punishes you for thinking you're Clint Eastwood. The "Listen" mechanic helps the player locate infected and if you're in a tough spot you can stealth your way through certain areas without being noticed. This leads to some very clenched stomach, breath-held moments which you're sure to remember and let out a sigh of relief once you make it out unscathed.
The use of a Video Game as an Entertainment medium
There is supposedly a new HBO TV series set in the Last of Us world which many fans are excited for and already arguing over who should play what role. And although I would love to see it, myself and Troy Baker, Voice Actor and Motion capture actor for Joel, believe that there's something about a video game with such an intense story and investment into the characters that you can't feel from just watching. Empathy is a huge factor in TV dramas. However, deriving almost fake or manufactured sympathy from an audience because you the player are technically experiencing these moments, you are trying to protect this little girl, there's something there that TV cannot do.
Which I think is both amazing and sad. Sad because not everyone is good at video games. Many of us began "training" by playing Super Mario bros and learning how to control a character on a Z and Y-Axis. Which later helped when we transferred over to 3-Directional movement and also 3D aiming and looking around within the world.
I do wish that those who can't wrap their head around how to play the Last of Us, should at least watch a walk-through of the game. At least the first ten minutes, because oh boy I don't care who you are THAT scene is a killer.
Conclusion
So there it is, my hopefully, comprehensive breakdown of The Last of Us. Running through some of the main story points without ruining the rest of the game and why this is and will forever be my favourite game I've ever had the joy to experience. If anything is unclear or I have made an error, please leave a comment saying so and I'll do my best to fix it.
I really enjoyed gushing over this game. Thanks for reading :)
Title: The Last of Us
Release date: 2013 (PS3), 2014 (PS4)
Categories: Action, Adventure, Survival horror
Rating: 100/100
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