Quite possibly the best Playstation 3 game there will ever be.
The Last of Us is set in the U.S.A. after the cordyceps infection has ravaged the human race, turning humans into vicious, aggressive, almost rabid-like creatures. The game follows the story of Joel, as he attempts to smuggle Ellie, who is immune to the disease, across the country to safety, with plenty of surprises on the way (I'm being deliberately vague to avoid spoilers). The plot almost resembles a movie script rather than a video game; you'll understand if you've played the game. The ending (again without giving away any plot details) brilliantly leaves the plot open for a sequel; Sony also recently registered domain names relating to The Last of Us 2 and The Last of Us 3 – read into that what you will.
Whilst technically a linear game, The Last of Us is probably as close to an open-world game as a linear can be; exploration, strategy and resources play a key part in the game. The combat system in The Last of Us is probably as a real a combat experience as you will get on a video game. Much like real-life, resources are very limited and weapons are very powerful. You can't simply hide from enemies and wait for your health to regenerate, instead the player must use health packs, which can be either acquired or created by the player using resources.
The player can use a variety of firearms in the game, ranging from pistols, to shotguns, to hunting rifles. As ammunition is hard to come by, as in reality, players are often better off using melee weapons, such as baseball bats and planks of wood. Both firearms and melee weapons can be upgraded using parts (a resource which can be found).
Resources are one of the most important aspects of The Last of Us, the player can use them as weapons, ammunition, to distract enemies, replenish their health, upgrade weapons or to access certain areas. Resources such as health packs can also be created by crafting raw materials collected by the player.
The player also has the ability to upgrade weapons using collectable tools, and the opportunity to upgrade their character by collecting bottles of pills.
Whilst it's clear that Naughty Dog focused on the single-play, they have included a multiplayer element as well. Like other Naughty Dog games, it's relatively poor compared to the single-player, but The Last of Us' multiplayer, known as Factions, is a good attempt. The multiplayer takes place in the same environment as the game. Players choose one of two Factions, Fireflies (in yellow) and Hunters (in blue). There are no special abilities which are unique to any faction. The player leads a clan of survivors through 12 weeks, gathering supplies in order to advance the clan. Each match counts as one day, and supplies must be gathered to supply the clan; if the necessary supplies aren't gathered then clan members will begin to get hungry, get ill or die. Clan members can then be healed by reaching the required numbers of supplies. The Factions game mode can also be linked to Facebook.
To sum it up, The Last of Us will be, in my opinion, the best PS3 exclusive you will ever play, and possibly the best game you'll ever play on PS3 (the only real game that could compete with it is Grand Theft Auto V). The plot will keep you entertained for hours, and probably more.