The Last of Us :: All Things Andy Gavin

Archive for The Last of Us

The Last of Us (HBO) is Almost Here

Jan14

Tomorrow (2/15/23) is the official debut of The Last of Us show and this previous Monday I was honored to attend the official premiere and have the opportunity to watch the first episode.

I’m not going to spoil anything, but I just wanted to say that what I saw was pretty darn awesome — flawless really. Not that I’m unbiased, but the tone was a pitch-perfect match to the games. And, hey, the music was the same — which is incredibly important in forging an emotional tie in for fans. Sure there are little changes to suit the medium, and the casting (which is great) means that the characters look a bit different than the in-game models, but the essential DNA of the story appears fully intact. That’s, I’m sure, a testament to the intense role that Neil Druckmann had in the show and to the first-rate HBO team. Craig Mazin has a great track record (I loved Chernobyl) and is a master of slow burn horror.

Neil and I at the premiere.

In any case, I can’t wait to see the rest of the show as both reviewers and my ND friends who have seen it indicate only gets better after the first episode.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Games, Television

Tagged as: Craig Mazin, HBO, Neil Druckmann, The Last of Us

The Last of Us II – E3 Gameplay

Jun11

E3 — and my birthday — of courses brings us more The Last of Us part II footage:

The whole boxed by lesbian kiss at a dance aspect is quite interesting, and perhaps new territory for video games. I mean, my all time favorite show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the first lesbian kiss on TV (back in S5’s 2001 episode, “The Body”), but I can’t think of a video game treading in this area. The subject convergence of media is here!

And while the small amount of gameplay we do see looks classically TLOU, the melee combat — which by all reports is influenced by some of my all time favorites (Dark Souls & Bloodbourne) — looks a LOT more intense and detailed. I’ll be interested to see how much of that is scripted and how much is under player control. I happen to be about halfway through replaying Dark Souls (I) in it’s remastered form so I’m deeply steeped in some of the best melee combat ever.

Also, as good at TLOU looks, even in remastered, it’ll be exciting to see the made for the PS4 from scratch, particularly given that it’ll take advantage of the extra PS4 Pro horsepower for sure.

Any which way – can’t wait!

TLOU being hands down the best story based video game of all time and a personal favorite of mine means this is right up there as my most eagerly awaited announced game (also pretty psyched for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, but that will only have cryptic and nonsensical story. haha.)

By: agavin
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Posted in: Games

Tagged as: Lesbian, lesbian kiss, Naughty Dog, The Last of Us, The Last of Us part II

Blood & Guts

Oct30

Halloween and today’s Sony announcements bring us more The Last of Us part II tease:

Definitely going for some seriously disturbing Walking Dead style violence. Although the clinician in me must make the observation that if you were hung twice by the neck by your body weight and you did manage to survive, you’d almost certainly have a crushed trachea for your trouble.

Any which way – can’t wait!

By: agavin
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Posted in: Games

Tagged as: Naughty Dog, The Last of Us, The Last of Us part II, Trailer, Video game

Naughty Dog News

Dec03

The Playstation Experience has gifted us with a couple of big items from Naughty Dog. Namely the sequel to the best story game of all time, The Last of Us. Personally, I’m SUPER excited about this as given my taste for the dark I just adore TLOU.

And more Uncharted 4 (in the form of a huge DLC):

Aren’t we the lucky ones?

By: agavin
Comments (4)

Posted in: Games

Tagged as: Naughty Dog, The Last of Us, The Last of Us part II, The Lost Legacy, Uncharted

Naughty Dog at E3

Jun10

What would E3 be without a Naughty Dog trailer?

Oh, and there’s another one too, The Last of Us remastered!

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Games

Tagged as: E3, Naughty Dog, The Last of Us, Uncharted, Uncharted 4

Naughty Dog News

Dec08

There’s a bunch of Naughty Dog news in the air that I thought worth commenting on. First of all, at VGX 2013 Naughty Dog was awarded Studio of the Year! Awesome! Well deserved. Congratulations dogs!

Then, in the flurry of ThanksGavin activities, I must have missed the trailer for the upcoming The Last of Us downloadable pack (Left Behind), which had a bunch of new single player levels. I’m very excited about this even though the trailer is… minimalistic 🙂

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6V0HNNHQK4]

And another teaser from the DLC:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1lVLzYER14]

And finally, it has been officially announced that Uncharted will be coming to Playstation 4. While this is hardly a surprise, it’s still awesome news and I’m sure — like me — all of you fans can hardly wait.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SnJPTkrD7o]

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By: agavin
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The Last of Us – My Review

Jun26

Title: The Last of Us

Studio: Naughty Dog

Genre: Zombie / Survival / 3rd person shooter

Played: June 15-25, 2013

Summary: Masterpiece (even if I weren’t biased)

With The Last of Us, the trajectory Naughty Dog has been pursuing for over a decade reaches for and achieves new heights. This synergy of world building, gameplay integration, emersion, and story telling really began with Jak & Daxter. True, with Crash Bandicoot, we made inroads in all but the last (anyone remember the “Crash, can you find my battery?” plot of Crash 2?). Crash focused on integrating addictive gameplay with a consistent, coherent, and lavishly produced setting (I’ll include character in this setting), but it didn’t have any true story or drama.

The Jak franchise introduced a more elaborate narrative and characters with more complexity, particularly in Jak 2 where we started integrating the cinematic segments in a more interwoven fashion. The Uncharted franchise took this to new levels, essentially becoming Indiana Jones type movies that you played, but TLOU climbs yet another step further, delivering characters you care about , true drama, and intense cinematic language while preserving a completely coherent style and intense gameplay. Everything about the game serves to reinforce the overall tone: the pathos of two people trying to heal in the face of great horror.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQpdSVF_k_w]

The art design is fabulous. Again, even though the Art Director (Erick Pangilinan) is one of my best friends (obviously biasing me) this is objectively true. It’s certainly one of the best looking games to date. There is a deliberate choice to heavily light — stylistically overlight — the entire game. While there exist some dark underground parts, for the most part, the lighting is luminous. Intense white light (think Minority Report) starkly bathes this ruined vision of America. No gloriously decayed texture is left hidden. Closeups of characters show every stain and frayed thread in clothes worn for months (perhaps years?). This is a world of contrast. Lush greenery has reclaimed much of the urban landscape, yet crumbled concrete, rusted steel, and burned out cars litter the scenery. As do sordid blood stains and desiccated corpses. There is a sense here of great violence, and desperation, much of it in the past. Little details abound. Shrines to dead loved ones. A tiny grave marked with a teddy bear. Family photos. Rarely does it look cloned or stamped (although that door with the weird seal is everywhere) . Nor, despite a strong and coherent visual style, is it repetitive. As we move from the Northeast to the Heartland to the Mountains the scenery — and even the seasons — keep changing. Weather is used to great effect. The rain in early Boston sequences is stunning, as is the chilling lakeside blizzard late in the game’s second act.

The view took my breath away

The minimalist string music compounds the game’s haunting atmosphere. While the game is full of detail, it’s in the broad sense, fairly stark — as the bulk of the scenery is ruined and deserted. This lends the whole world a quality of emptiness reinforced by the matching sonic starkness. The sound effects are harsh and solidly naturalistic, emphasizing both the natural (bird noises) and the discordant tone of decayed materials (like rusted garage doors opening). To this background soundscape is added the grim punctuation of the combat sounds. Every grunt, sneaker squeak, bolt action, and gurgling last breath is vividly apparent.

There is a minimalism to the interface that fits with the overall tone. The title screen is a single frozen camera shot of a window. The menus are barely styled and contain only exactly what they need. The art is simple and iconic. Not only does this work from a stylistic point of view, enhancing the serious tone of the game, but the controls are direct and to the point, easy to use, preventing you from getting distracted by mechanics. With TLOU, it’s the story and characters that matter, not the mechanics of saving a game. Many elements traditional in modern titles are toned down or absent. Achievements? Not part of this world. Secret collectables? The game has them — in the form of Firefly pendants — but they are understated mementos of the dead, not the bombastic collectables typical of the genre.

Minimalist interface

Technically the engine steps out of the limelight and just delivers — and delivers in spades. Bugs are minor and few and far between. I never crashed or got stuck. There are some frame rate problems in the biggest and widest of shots (and they do look gorgeous) or sometimes with the flashlight or “hearing mode,” but this never hurts the gameplay. I noticed a couple extremely minor graphical glitches. Mostly stuff just works, often combining multiple disciplines in classic Naughty Dog brilliance. The animation, particularly in interaction with the backgrounds and other characters, is a triumph of both art and programming. It’s perhaps the slickest, most lifelike, ever used in a game. The AI is first rate. The environments feel wide open and vast, and they have a certain non linearity, yet because of the nature of the game you must be contained, and it’s done very artfully. Rubble fills stairwells, broken down vehicles block alleys, collapsed bridges deter overzealous exploration. So much of what makes this game look so great is the amazing synergy between art and tech. The rain, the water, the snow, the glowing light effects, the realistic shadowing and flashlight. It’s all solidly in both realms.

Hunger games much?

Different elements of the gameplay work well together. The game’s phenomenal pacing is made up of story cuts, intense combat, sneaking, and scavenging. This last, which is surprisingly satisfying, is sometimes done in the heat of battle — or at least when hiding from deadly foes and desperately looking to bolster ones supplies — and sometimes an end all onto itself. These quieter moments, after a brace of nasties are defeated, or in an abandoned section of city, are welcome relief. The game rarely has enemies sneak up on you once a section has been identified as safe, so these provide a nice break in the tension. The crafting itself is simple. There are a 4-5 resources and similar construction costs for pairs of items. Healthpacks and molotov cocktails share resources, as do shivs and weapon enhancements. Everything is in short supply and desperately useful. Pills can be used to upgrade your character, but you must chose in which manner. Spare parts upgrade guns and the like. The weapons are nicely differentiated, each with it’s own strengths and weaknesses, and they get noticeably better when upgraded. The shortage of ammo always prevents any weapon from being overpowering. Even the assault riffle, gained in the last level, isn’t too fearsome against your body armored opponents.

I dare you to put one of these in your bedroom

Let’s discuss the gameplay. Technically TLOU is a 3rd person shooter, but it makes a number of stylistic alterations in service of mood that completely alter the feel. This isn’t your typical shooter where ammunition is plentiful, the character sponges up bullets, and healing is easy. You can only survive a handful of hits. The arrival of more than 2-3 mobs in close proximity is a near certain recipe for death. The healthpacks (potions) take some time to apply and are in short supply. Joel and Ellie do a lot of creeping around in the shadows. The key here is to avoid agroing too many mobs, and when you do, to lose them by getting out of the way. A number of mechanics serve this end.

There are a lot of shadows. Counters and obstacles are conveniently crouching height (this rarely looks forced). You can creep around fairly rapidly. Humans can see and often probe the darkness with flashlights. The infected are generally blind (or crazy) and so are easier to sneak up on — but clickers and bloaters are tough and can kill you in one bite. Joel (and Ellie) have quite the sense of hearing and can “hear” through nearby walls to spot the outlines of enemies. This is a little gamey, and the mobs apparently can’t do it, but in practice works quite well. One of the most effective strategies, particularly with the infected, is to stay in stealth at all costs. There are a couple of ways to kill silently (more or less). Humans and runners can be strangled or knifed (which wears out your blades but is quicker). The bow can be used to silently kill most opponents at a distance and if you’re lucky, you won’t break your arrows. Overall it is deeply fulfilling to wipe out a whole crew without them ever seeing you. This often requires replaying the section several times to learn the layout and careful looting of every possible supply.

Speaking of which, the looting, scavenging, and crafting mechanic is awesome. Everything is so scarce, ammo so valuable, and everything you craft so useful that a few items easily make the difference between life and death. It’s also extremely satisfying to evade some opponents, sneak around, craft an extra shiv or health pack and then kill them. You can augment the melee weapons to make them kill faster (very useful as while melee is satisfying, should a second or third mob show up while you are pummeling someone, it’s bad news). You can build shivs (essential for fast silent kills, surviving clickers, opening secret doors) or healthpacks or a number of bombs. The bombs come in three types. Molotovs, nailbombs, and smokebombs. Each have their use. The fire is great against infected. The nailbombs can be thrown OR left around as mines. I didn’t appreciate the smokebombs until near the end of the game, but they create a kind of dead zone that the human mobs won’t fire into and which can be used to kill them. Used sequentially and in tandem with the flame thrower they make a lethal combination.

Moments like these are genuinely touching

I have a few quibbles. The aiming can be difficult at times, particularly until you upgrade “weapon shake.” It’s few hard to land a head shot (or even sometimes a shot) before someone shoots you. When opponents are behind you or off to the side it can be frustrating to try to turn and strike them. There is some kind of quick turn around move. I didn’t master it (but should have). Some sections with lots of enemies are quite hard. There appears to be at least a bit of DDA (Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment) to help you get by if you die a lot in one spot. Actually fighting bloaters and particularly bloaters together with clickers can be VERY hard.

I’m betting TLOU required A LOT of tuning to reach its current fun factor, as it would be easy for gameplay involving so much hiding, creeping, and dying to be boring — but the elements combine to make it really fun. After the first chapter I learned to become methodical and search every corner for loot. Instead of being tedious, this served as a break from the tension and turned out to be incredibly satisfying. The melee is extremely graphic with a good amount of variety. It’s quite creepy hearing a guard gurgle as you strangle him or slamming an infected in the neck with a baseball bat “augmented” with taped on scissors. Everything serves the horrifying mood.

Uh oh!

And mood is one of the game’s greatest strengths. TLOU draws from nearly every post apocalyptic source and builds trope after trope into a satisfying, coherent, and perhaps more realistic whole. It’s prettier and less hopeless than The Road — and considerably more believable. No film could ever offer this scope. The sets (or CGI) would be far too expensive, the cast too enormous. Yet TLOU also strives to compete with film in terms of emotional engagement and character development. I’d argue it succeeds.

The longer form (it took me 18 hours to play through on normal difficulty) helps with the character part. I’m becoming of the increasing opinion that film is actually an unsatisfying format — offering far too little depth, particularly in this day and age when the 2-3 hours are mostly consumed by overlong effects driven fights. Some of TLOU’s vignettes should come off as forced, as they are drawn directly from tropes and fairly straightforward. One that comes to mind is when the hunter humvee murders two innocents while a hiding Joel and Ellie watch. However, in the context of the game and characters it was surprisingly effective. TLOU is a clear case where the whole transcends the sum of the parts. And hell, a lot of the parts are pretty damn good.

Can we say creepy?

Neil Druckmann (who I hired as a promising intern programmer a whole career ago) turns out an emotional script. Again, it draws extremely heavily from tropes. Everything any post apocalyptic survival story has ever had is here: hunters, cannibals, resistance leaders, a cure, friends who turn (into zombies), reversals, quarantine zones, etc. But in moments little and big the relationship between Joel and Ellie builds — so much so that the little downtime conversations are real gems. By the time the Pittsburg chapter concludes, Ellie becomes in your head someone really worth fighting for — and the remainder of the game — wow, it really delivers. I often feel (reading or watching) that the second half lets me down. Good as the first half of TLOU is, the second is several times better.

Really notable for me was the entire “winter” sequence. Coming out of a really emotional turn in Colorado TLOU employs cinematic language and plotting in a highly effective way. So much do we care for the characters, and so pretty is the game, that it manages to make 10 minutes of trudging through the snow exhilarating! And that’s only the beginning. I really liked the way the game cut back and forth between playable Joel and Ellie as it told the story from both perspectives. Although, I have a slight nitpick with the “arc” of the section villain, who starts out with some complexity and sympathy and turns monster without too much explanation. But such is the momentum of this story that it sails right over speed-bumps like this.

So basically, if you care about video games at all, play The Last of Us.

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Games

Tagged as: Crash Bandicoot, game, Jak & Daxter, Last of Us, Naughty Dog, review, The Last of Us, Uncharted, Video game

The Last of Us – Review Roundup

Jun05

Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us is nearly on us, and the review ban has been released, so I felt I’d round up a couple. Check out these reviews! They average 95, which is pretty unheard of. The most often repeated word is “masterpiece”!

[ NOTE 6/14/13: I started playing and the playable prologue alone is nearly worth the price of admission! ]

First the awesome launch trailer here:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQpdSVF_k_w]

Then the review roundup:

Joystiq

Jun 5, 2013

100

The Last of Us is not a cheerful story, but it’s a damned good one.
- Read full review
Push Square

Jun 5, 2013

100

An assured, touching, and engrossing adventure, The Last of Us represents a watershed moment for the medium. The unlikely bond that blossoms between the title’s two lead characters is both heartrending and poignantly paced – but the release delivers much more than captivating cinematics. This is a meaty slice of survival action that masterfully depicts the horrors of life in a post-pandemic setting.
- Read full review
TheSixthAxis

Jun 5, 2013

100

Here the developers have carefully pieced together something rarely seen in the industry – a considerably more substantial, meaty take on the saturated third person adventure genre, and one that surprises at every turn without wrong-footing a player ready to invest serious time and emotion into the project. A real achievement, and one that respects you as an adult.
- Read full review
Telegraph

Jun 5, 2013

100

It would be disingenuous to suggest that The Last of Us is immune from blockbuster video game excess –the total number of kills at the final stats page will still run into the many hundreds– but it’s one of the few games to try and make some kind of sense of it without compromising its quality of action…In that, and so many other things, The Last of Us is a triumph.
- Read full review
PlayStation LifeStyle

Jun 5, 2013

100

It’s a hallmark of excellence in writing, design, and performance. Naughty Dog and Sony not only have a system seller on their hands, but a game that’ll define an entire console generation—a true classic that’ll be talked about and fondly regarded for years to come.
- Read full review
Guardian

Jun 5, 2013

100

The Last of Us is visually arresting, mechanically solid, maturely written and by turns heart-rending, tense, unnerving and brutal. Check your ammo. Grab your shiv. Just try your best to stay alive.
- Read full review
Gameblog.fr

Jun 5, 2013

100

There’s no denying it: The Last of Us hits almost every nail on the head. Its storytelling, its gameplay, its characters, and their journey in this bleak but almost sadly beautiful world that saw the downfall of the human civilization doesn’t ever really try to shortcut its way to genuine emotions, opting, on the contrary, for the hard but humanely faithful path. The ambivalence of the human soul, the spot on portrayal of conflicting morals and the tragedy of impossible choices are all beautifully written and played. Plus, the multiplayer is far from being a gimmick; quite the contrary, in fact. It’s very much a coherent and enticing experience on its own, with a brilliant meta-game idea, and a unique, multiplayer take on survival.
- Read full review
Eurogamer Spain

Jun 5, 2013

100

The Last of Us is what we expected and more, much more. Naughty Dog delivers the game that made our jaws drop at E3: adult, honest and with an incredible attention to detail.

All this publication’s reviews

Read full review
SpazioGames

Jun 5, 2013

100

A masterpiece, that breaks the self imposed barriers of gaming narrative and ensnares the player with intelligent gameplay and brilliant A.I. Anyone wanting to tackle the same themes will have to be compared to Naughty Dog’s work in the future, and it won’t be pretty.

All this publication’s reviews

Read full review
Gamereactor Sweden

Jun 5, 2013

100

A masterpiece. Superb graphics, challenging gameplay, great story, believable characters and the eeriest clicking noise you’ve ever heard in a video game.
- Read full review
GamesRadar

Jun 5, 2013

100

Its storytelling is peerless, as affecting and multi-layered as it is grounded, underplayed and real. In terms of everything the modern action game has strived to be, The Last of Us is the full-stop at the end of the sentence, leaving no more to be said. Until next-gen. If this is our starting point for that, then the next five to ten years could be truly amazing.
- Read full review
Cheat Code Central

Jun 5, 2013

100

In an industry where big, epic, and huge are the normal, it is refreshing to see the importance of the little things. In fact, I believe this is The Last of Us’ strongest suit. You will play this game and feel the overwhelming storyline, like the characters, and, after you have let it all soak in, some of your favorite moments will be the small things; the things you didn’t have your hand held through.
- Read full review
Playstation Official Magazine UK

Jun 5, 2013

100

When such a talented developer hits these creative, narrative and technical heights, the result is a game that wouldn’t look out of place smuggled into PS4’s launch lineup. The acting is more believable than LA Noire’s hi-tech gurning. There are sneaky set-piece excursions that outdo even Metal Gear Solid 4 at its best. And tying it all together is an utterly mesmerising world instilled with a seamless sense of time and place. This is a work of art in which amazing sights and sounds fuel an emotionally draining, constantly compelling end of days adventure.

All this publication’s reviews

Read full review
VideoGamer

Jun 5, 2013

100

Ultimately, I defy anyone not to be moved when it comes to its conclusion and the huge questions it asks of both the player and the characters themselves – any game that achieves such a goal deserves high-praise. The Last of Us succeeds in the same way as the best movies do, challenging you more than you’ll ever expect, demanding that you think and discuss it weeks after it resolves. The fact I had the urge to pick it up again almost instantly is just added acclaim it has more than earned.
- Read full review
Edge Magazine

Jun 5, 2013

100

Naughty Dog has delivered the most riveting, emotionally resonant story-driven epic of this console generation. At times it’s easy to feel like big-budget development has too much on the line to allow stubbornly artful ideas to flourish, but then a game like The Last Of Us emerges through the crumbled blacktop like a climbing vine, green as a burnished emerald.
- Read full review
Eurogamer

Jun 5, 2013

100

The Last of Us is a deeply impressive demonstration of how it can and should be done. It starts out safe but ends brave; it has heart and grit, and it hangs together beautifully. And it’s a real video game, too. An elegy for a dying world, The Last of Us is also a beacon of hope for its genre.
- Read full review
IGN

Jun 5, 2013

100

Its unrivaled presentation in particular sets the bar even higher than the Uncharted trilogy already did, and its writing, voice acting and layered gameplay combine to create what is very easily the game to beat for Game of the Year 2013.
- Read full review
Destructoid

Jun 5, 2013

100

It cannot be said enough, however, that Naughty Dog’s new best creation is complete, and when I say complete, I mean it to pay the highest of compliments. I do not want more from The Last of Us: I do not need more. As the last line was uttered and the credits ushered in the close, I was done. The Last of Us had achieved everything it needed to achieve in order to provide me with everything I wanted…And it ended perfectly.
- Read full review
Giant Bomb

Jun 5, 2013

100

The Last of Us is not simply Uncharted with zombies, but it couldn’t exist without Naughty Dog having made Uncharted first, either. It’s a dark adventure, one rarely filled with laughs or joy. There are bitter pills to swallow along the way, and nothing is taken for granted, not even characters. People live, people die. Sometimes it’s fair, sometimes it’s not. It’s still a zombie game, but a sobering one. Take a deep breath.
- Read full review
The Digital Fix

Jun 5, 2013

100

It cannot be overstated that there is something exceptional at work here as masterful storytelling marries wonderfully with interactive experience, the high expectations that have built for this release are met and exceeded with consummate ease.
- Read full review
Machinima

Jun 5, 2013

100

Overall, multiplayer is light on modes and it may not expand on the core story-driven experience, but it’s still a thoughtful addition to a superbly executed package.
- Read full review
Digital Spy

Jun 5, 2013

100

With a hauntingly beautiful game world, stunning visuals, and a wide variety of ways in which players can approach combat, The Last of Us is another exceptional game from the team at Naughty Dog…However, it’s the studio’s ability to make this past-pandemic world and its contrasting cast of characters feel so believable and credible that really makes The Last of Us stand out from its peers.
- Read full review
Everyeye.it

Jun 5, 2013

100

The Last of Us brings you into a world where people die without grace, and explains to you the beauty of the extinction. It’s strong, unique, brutal and, ultimately, unforgettable.
- Read full review
Post Arcade (National Post)

Jun 5, 2013

100

Terror and beauty are potent bedfellows in The Last of Us, a masterwork of interactive entertainment conjured up by the master gamesmiths at Naughty Dog.
- Read full review
Eurogamer Portugal

Jun 5, 2013

100

I do not know if The Last of Us is the best game of this generation, given that it always depends on what you’re looking for in a game, but it’s a true example of how to create a credible world with authentic characters in which we end up investing a lot emotionally.
- Read full review
Eurogamer Italy

Jun 5, 2013

100

Despite a few issues, The Last of Us represents at the same time the complete maturity of the PlayStation 3 hardware and, above all, the perfect fusion between gameplay and narrative. Naughty Dog has created a masterpiece that will be a milestone in the video games evolution.
- Read full review
Vandal Online

Jun 5, 2013

98

This is the most ambitious project Naughty Dog has made so far. It’s not a new genre, but it mixes up some of them to bring something unique. It’s got nothing to do with Uncharted apart from the look some images may show, but still is one of the best games on PlayStation 3.
- Read full review
3DJuegos

Jun 5, 2013

97

Plenty of action and horror, Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic tale is an amazing game.
- Read full review
Meristation

Jun 5, 2013

97

The Last of Us is a really different game, mixing traditional adventure, survival, action, stealth and constant exploration. The resources are most important. The best graphics on PlayStation 3 are back in the hands of Naughty Dog, also the atmosphere, and two unrepeatable and unforgettable characters. Overwhelming.
- Read full review
Multiplayer.it

Jun 5, 2013

97

The Last of Us is a step forward for Naughty Dog in terms of narration, story and gameplay, maybe the last big shot for PlayStation 3 and a fine example of a “cinematic game” melted into a great gameplay. A must buy for every serious gamer.
- Read full review
Canadian Online Gamers

Jun 5, 2013

97

It is a deeply emotional story driven game with an addictive element making it difficult to put the controller down. It is game you won’t forget and one that ultimately raises the bar for the genre. In the end it’s simply a fantastic game, a fantastic experience, and one PS3 owners can purchase with confidence.
- Read full review
Gamer.nl

Jun 5, 2013

95

Quotation forthcoming.
- Read full review
GamingTrend

Jun 5, 2013

95

The Last of Us spells the manum opus for Naughty Dog on the PlayStation 3, offering us a unique experience that easily eclipses anything else we’ve seen on the system. This game is easily a contender for adventure game of the year.
- Read full review
PSX-Sense.nl

Jun 5, 2013

95

Quotation forthcoming.
- Read full review
LaPS3

Jun 5, 2013

95

Naughty Dog puts an end to the current generation with a game that explores the human interaction of two characters, Joel and Ellie, that are destined to get along in a shattered world that has been wonderfully represented thanks to its impressive technical aspects. The Last of Us, in spite of its small imperfections, is an adult title that no PS3 player should let go unplayed.
- Read full review
JeuxActu

Jun 5, 2013

95

With The Last of Us, Naughty Dog provides us with a hell of a masterpiece, which will continue to occupy the thoughts of gamers in the coming years, simply because it redefines the standards of survival Horror games. Instead of using and abusing horrific scenes as is the case with the competitors, the game provides a chronic stress that chews on your brains bit by bit punctuated by great epic scenes. The infected people are relentless and unforgiving, though a bit like the Clickers who will rip your head at the slightest sound. The listening system does not impact the challenge and finds itself an invaluable asset when things get really dirty. As one needs to seduce casual gamers, The Last of Us also has its own action scenes, hence the criticism from the purists of this kind of game. But can we really be skeptical when facing the nicest game of this generation of consoles ? No, we cant…
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EGM

Jun 5, 2013

95

It’s easy to initially expect The Last of Us to be a game about killing zombies, surviving in a post-apocalyptic world, and exploring for supplies. Instead, it’s a game about two people, and the bond that forms between them—and that journey is far more exciting than any amount of infected monsters or food scavenging could ever provide.
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Game Informer

Jun 5, 2013

95

The Last of Us is a deeply felt, shockingly violent game that questions what we’re willing to sacrifice and, more disturbingly, what we’re willing to do so save the ones we love. The conclusion offers no easy answers. You won’t forget it.
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Playstation Universe

Jun 5, 2013

95

A thrilling, cinematic, movie-like action-adventure with the best videogame pairing ever conceived.
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XGN

Jun 5, 2013

90

Quotation forthcoming.
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The Escapist

Jun 5, 2013

90

The characters in The Last of Us are relatable without being entirely stereotypical, the story is driven by the characters, rather than the reverse, and the adventure sections, while nothing new mechanically, offer a great way to really delve into the world. Given the lack of truly innovative mechanics, and the reliance on well-known types of gameplay, like the all-too-typical “find a ladder to climb to the next section” adventuring bits, The Last of Us isn’t perfect, but it’s awfully close.
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Metro GameCentral

Jun 5, 2013

90

A stunning achievement in both storytelling and third person adventure, with unforgettable characters and tense, brilliantly paced action.
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IGN Italia

Jun 5, 2013

90

Naughty Dog managed to create a different kind of action game, one with a more dramatic, desperate and authentic tone than Uncharted. Joel and Ellie offer you a journey you won’t forget, just bring lots of bullets and keep your head down.
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The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Jun 5, 2013

90

The Last of Us has perhaps the best artificial intelligence I’ve ever seen in a game. The enemies, whether they are mindless zombies or clever human “hunters,” behave in amazingly realistic ways, forcing the player to think up equally smart strategies in each encounter.
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games(TM)

Jun 5, 2013

90

It’s the relationships that really make The Last Of Us. It’s a technical marvel, a true triple-A with best-in-show production values, but it’s the beautiful combination of performance and story that elevates it clearly above the competition.
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GamesBeat

Jun 5, 2013

90

The pacing becomes somewhat sluggish right before you hit the final act, but from there it moves at a 100 miles an hour. I didn’t leave my couch until well after the credits rolled.

All this publication’s reviews

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Gamer.no

Jun 5, 2013

90

Naughty Dog has created a exciting and emotional adventure, packed with a great cast of characters, impressive voice acting and beautiful visuals. A varied selection of enemies offers a diverse challenge, and you often have to change strategies to get by without using up your resources. The multiplayer is functional and well done, but is eclipsed by the amazing single player adventure.
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Gamereactor Denmark

Jun 5, 2013

90

The Last of Us is a stable and very decent action game, wrapped in an absolutely incredible presentation and story. When it comes to the narrative, The Last of Us sets a new golden standard that every game will be compared to for years to comes. It honestly feels as if Naughty Dog has raised the bar of what games as a medium are able to achieve in this area, and makes franchises like Call of Duty and all its wannabes seem decidedly laughable.
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NowGamer

Jun 5, 2013

85

A brilliant and evocative story, superb combat mechanics and an interesting multiplayer component, The Last Of Us is one of this generation’s best.
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GameSpot

Jun 5, 2013

80

Despite the many small problems in combat, there’s an undeniable tension. Vanquishing a horde of attackers is challenging, so you must fight intelligently.
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Toronto Sun

Jun 5, 2013

80

Despite the occasional jarring juxtaposition between its story and its gameplay, The Last of Us is a landmark piece of interactive entertainment, proving that even action games can tell mature, thoughtful tales, with characters who don’t feel like an assortment of tropes and clichés.
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Polygon

Jun 5, 2013

75

Naughty Dog commits to a somber tone that affects every piece of the game for better and worse. It achieves incredible emotional high points about as often as it bumps up against tired scenario design that doesn’t fit its world. Survival in the post-apocalypse requires compromise, but The Last of Us has given up something vital.

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Tagged as: Naughty Dog, reviews, The Last of Us, Video Games

The Last of Us – Red Band

Apr03

Naughty Dog and Sony released an awesome “red band” (uncensored) trailer for their upcoming post apocalyptic survival game, The Last of Us:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4pYIsaZqE0]

Looking cool! Damn, those people look realistic.

Find the previous batch of teasers here.

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Tagged as: Naughty Dog, red band, shooter, Sony, The Last of Us, Trailer, Video game, zombie

The Last of Us – Zombie Time

Feb05

Yes I know, they’re “infected”, but name change or no, it’s still Zombie Time! Here is a recent video with some infected – enjoy!

and, even better, this Story Trailer:

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Tagged as: Gameplay, Naughty Dog, Survival horror, The Last of Us, Video game, zombie, zombies

The Last of Us – 15 min of Gameplay

Sep08

Naughty Dog has just released a 15 minute gameplay video, so check it out while you wait for the game itself.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzLHYk11aVI]

It’s really interesting how the gameplay has evolved from Uncharted, and how faithful this new style is to survival films. Watching, it has that slow burn tension that is characteristic of Zombie movies. It’s incredibly cool how realistically responsive the AI mobs are to your presence and actions. Good stuff.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Games

Tagged as: Artificial intelligence, Gameplay, Naughty Dog, Playstation 3, Sony, The Last of Us, video

The Last of Us – August Teaser

Aug15

August arrives, and with it another teaser. This continues that cool creepy vibe driven by the bluegrass soundtrack.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Games

Tagged as: Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, Games, Naughty Dog, survival, Survival horror, The Last of Us, Video game, zombie

The Last of Us – E3 Gameplay Coverage

Jun06

E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo) has bought us an extensive new gameplay coverage video for Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic survival game, The Last of Us. Aside from the recently released Diablo III, this is my most anticipated upcoming game, and I suspect I’m not alone.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Gameplay, Naughty Dog, The Last of Us, Trailer, Uncharted, Video Games

New Last of Us Trailer

May16

The Last of Us, Naughty Dog’s new game in development, has a cool new trailer. Check it out!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=iv&src_vid=9NVfBfJHatc&annotation_id=annotation_51749&v=ShP5xn9Tz90]

By: agavin
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Posted in: Games

Tagged as: Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, Dystopia, Naughty Dog, The Last of Us, zombie

New Naughty Dog Franchise – The Last of Us

Dec11

Naughty Dog, the company I founded, has just released the trailer for their new game — and new franchise! This is the first new series since Uncharted launched in 2007. I have to say the new one looks totally awesome because it’s well — post apocalyptic zombie (which I love) — and in true Naughty Dog fashion totally gorgeous. Plus I love spunky heroines. This one, seemingly, but not actually voiced by actress Ellen Page of Juno fame* is totally cute, in a kind of jailbait sort of way.

I can totally see how the kind of intimate hand to hand and gunplay mechanics that Naughty Dog has been perfecting with Nathan Drake would adapt perfectly to this sort of The Road meets Juno world.

So I’m even more excited than I was for Uncharted 3, which is saying a lot!

*NOTE: According to this website, the leads are Miss Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker, as given by tweet from someone at Naughty Dog. And @Neil_Druckmann, my friend and the lead designer confirmed via twitter too, so it’s accurate.