The Last of Us

‘The Last of Us’ If someone who had never played a video game before was to take a look into the gaming community today, they are most likely going to see nothing but the gore-fest that dominates the gaming world today.

Although, when a game like ‘The Last of Us’ comes along and completely changes and defines the audience and presentation of story within gaming, it’s hard not to realise that something massive has changed.

‘The Last of Us’, a game made by the famed Naughty Dog studios and written by the genius of Neil Druckmann, is set in the midst of a zombie apocalypse and follows the troubled character of Joel, a contraband smuggler, who finds himself transporting the female strength of the game, Ellie.

The tale takes place in Dallas as people infected by a l virus roam the city scape. As a smuggler, once you step outside the tiny military quarantine zone within the game, you are presented with a mass of destroyed buildings, overgrown roots and trees, the sound of nothing but the wind and a few “clickers” and the freedom to explore to the extent that you wish.

The gameplay is fun but repetitive, but when you have a plot that could follow the likes of what we see in the popular ‘The Walking Dead’ series, you will quickly want to play the game just for the story.

The character of Joel is probably the most original character to be in a video game for a long time; a middle-aged man from Texas having suffered a loss that would likely drive some to madness.

His character is established from the start as the anti-hero of the story and, as the choices he makes come into play, that anti-hero status truly takes form.

Ellie, on the other hand, might as well be the Hit-Girl of the gaming community with her strong language, want for a gun by her side and her curiosity in all things teenager.

Overall, ‘The Last of Us’ is nothing short of a game that will go down in history. With its popularity, there are going to be a lot more games to follow in its footsteps and focus more on a plot that could make someone cry beyond belief, rather than the usual American nonsense that floods the gaming community today.

Lewis Young Whitehill Secondary