http://www.officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk/2012/08/03/7-reasons-the-last-of-us-is-next-gen-now/
1.) Suble Storytelling
This isntAngry Men With Guns II, its a tale of a man whos done questionable things in the past charged with transporting a young girlacross a near feral America. Ellie has describedJoel asa violent thug, a brutal killer and a torturerand shes on his side. The combination of world weary guilt and youthfullynaïvecuriosityis an interesting mix. And with much of the exposition andcharacterdevelopment coming as much from in-gamedialogueas it does from beautifully acted cut scenes this is going to be quite the tale.
2.) Violence Means Something
Most games make death such a casual thing that it literally becomes a press button event. The Last Of Us takes a different route the violence is there but it resonates with meaning and ramifications. This is a game about ordinary people simply trying to not die, both you and the enemy. No special training or powers, justsurvivalof thefittest. Underlining the far moretangible motivations is a shocking sense of impact to it all; frenzied beatings, guns that feel like ugly and heavy tools rather thanbeautifullydesigned machines. Youve only youve only got to watch the closing moments of thisThe Last Of Us gameplayto see how killing leaves a mark not a score.
3.)It's not all about the Monsters.
Usually when a game has a monster/power/gimmickit revolves around it like a planet in orbit, tied to, and bound by, it inescapably. Here these fungus-infected zombie folk are the cause of the events in the game but little else. The disease has broughtcivilisationto its knees but as a result the biggest threat is other people, not monsters. Theyre there, and always a threat, but are an ingredient rather than the whole cake. Because The Last Of Us isnt beholden to its monsters it opens up the narrative and potential action in so many ways. It also means theyll be so much more powerful when they do appear in-game. Think about it: that thing might look scary the first time, but third? Tenth? Compare that to another dirty, twitchysurvivor encounter that could go either way
4,)It's Going to be Tough.
Not in a punishing way, more a challenge. For starters theres no regenerating health, you need to use med packs to heal. Plus Naughty Dog have talked aboutThe Last Of Us live inventory management and dynamic stealth- you cantpausethe action to craft weapons for example. Enemies will eventually notice if their friends startdisappearing as well, meaning stealth isnt an automatically safe option. Ammo is also super rare. You might not want to risk tackling a rival group of survivors but you might have to if theres nothing in yourrucksackbut dreams.
5.)It's Next-Gen Acting.
If anyone can do incredible videogame acting its Naughty Dog. Theyve had three Uncharted games to flex their dramatic chops and perfect those skills. Now everything theyve learned is going into The Last Of Us. The level of emotion displayed so far has been been believable enough to pass right through Wow Im watching a great looking video game and straight into Im watching a great story territory. And a big part of that is the cast. With Troy Baker andAshley Johnson playing Joel and EllierespectivelyNaughty Dog has made them as much a part of the games development as any programmer or artist. There have been script rewrites andcharacterdesigntweaks as a result of their performances, and the rapportbetween the two on screen is one of the games biggest strengths.
6.)It's Beautiful.
Its the little things that really make The Last Of Us pop visually. The way that sun lit walls seem to almost glow slightly, how Joel flexes his hands when hes thinking and the way the animation has its own AI pulling out movements and blending them depending on theenvironment and things around you. Everything Naughty Dog learned about blending motion caption, hand animation and procedural stuff is combined with a mastery of the PS3 great than even Sonys own engineers. This will quite possibly be the absolute peak of current gen graphics.
7.)It's Not A Traditional Post-Apocalypse.
This is important: this isnt the usual end of the world, all scorched earth and brown dust. This is a world thatd ended within the lifetime of most of the people its left behind. It totally changes the context because instead ofsurvivorslooking on ruins generations later, its all familiar everyday remains that are almosttauntingthe ones who lived. This is asocietystill grieving for what its lost, the transition to a strange other world future still hundreds of years away. A beautiful counterpoint to it all is Ellie who, at 14, has nomemoryof what came before. It leaves herwith a burning curiosity of a world shes never seen but can sense in the ruins of both the buildings and people around her.
So SW, what're your thought on this particular list? Agree , disagree?
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