The Last of Us: Remastered

The Last of Us: Remastered

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Naughty Dog

Players: One

Genre: Action-Adventure, Survival, Horror

Distribution: Blu-ray Disc, Download

Platform: Playstation 4

Release Date: July 29, 2014

(Click Here for my first impressions of The Last of Us: Remastered)

I missed this game its first time around, although I had heard very good things; I wasn't much of a console gamer at the time. On one hand I know I missed out, I could've been gushing over it a year ago, on the other I got to experience it for the first time with eighth-gen hardware behind it. The world of The Last of Us is beautiful, and extremely detailed. The environments are always exactly what they need to be, claustrophobic hiding places and panoramic vista are all gorgeously brought to your screen.

While the entire story isn't the most original of ideas, borrowing from many sources (some parts feel like a playable version of Cormac McCarthy's “The Road,” while others will remind the player of 28 Days Later or The Walking Dead) , the plot is only part of the story. The Last of Us shines particularly in the relationship between our protagonists, Joel and Ellie. What begins as an indifferent pairing between them grows into something realistic, and special in gaming. The amazing thing is that there isn't some jarring point in the game where the player says to themselves, “Okay, now they're friends.” The relationship grows believably, and was one of the most enjoyable parts of the game. Other developers should take note; character development is becoming one of the most important aspects of a game, particularly a single player game, and love interests are not the only way in which to bring two characters together.

The voice work is phenomenal, of course Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson deserve a lot of praise for this, but not all, as many of the peripheral characters also shine in smaller roles. If there is an emotion called for in the scene the voice actors delivered.

The gameplay is what you would expect from a third person adventure game, sprinting, stealth and aiming are all exactly as you have gotten used to. While limited, the crafting system is fairly rewarding, with most things Joel is capable of creating coming in quite handy. Once the player acquires most of the arsenal of weapons the combat does get a little repetitive, as you'll have your favorite way to deal with most situations. One way Naughty Dog tried to alleviate this is to make sure that ammo is limited. If you run and gun your way through every encounter you'll find yourself staring at a lot of red zeros on your weapons wheel. If the player takes their time scavenging through every chapter there are only an instance or two that feel like you're coming to the last of your resources.

Conclusion: The Last of Us is one of the best games I've played. It delivers detailed and dynamic characters that are capable of making a familiar story feel fresh. It seems as though it was a real labor of love from everyone involved in its creation. I'm excited to play it again, and I might even try the smoke bombs this time.

Rating: 9.5/10