While we already know The Last of Us won't be making out this year, that doesn't mean we should stop caring about the game. On the contrary, now is the best time to 'soak" in all that The Last of Us info so you'll be ready once the game hits — whenever that is.
Lucky you we're here for a The Last of Us info dump. Get a cold drink and read up on Naughty Dog's most ambitious title yet.
Story and Environment
The story of The Last of Us takes place 20 years after the Cordycep virus has jumped from insects to humans, which caused people to lose their minds and attack each other. Naturally, this led to the population being decimated and civilization's downfall.
Military "safe" zones were set up by the government, but they too, were overrun eventually. The game's story picks up in one of the few remaining quarantine zones but it's not a safe haven as you might think. People are oppressed and even executed when they break the law. Basically, the core city is broken into different parts, so where you live is different from where you work and there are checkpoints in between. The checkpoints scan humans to see if they're infected. If they are, they get taken aside and executed.
That's where the game's protagonist Joel comes in. Joel is in his late 40's, and is one of the survivors of our world (meaning: our time). Slowly he's shutting down his humanity in order to survive — a given — since the world has gone to the crapper.
Joel operates within the black market in the quarantine zone. He agrees to take a job where it entails he smuggles a 14-year old girl out of the city; and that's where Ellie enters the game. Understandably, the reason why Joel is tasked to take Ellie out of the city is a secret players will need to unravel by themselves.
Ellie has lived in one quarantine zone since she was born. She's an orphan who lives in a military boarding school. All you need to know is she gets into a lot of trouble and she's with you!
To cut a long story short, Joel is now wanted by the military for kidnapping Ellie; and the reason he holds such a strong bond with her is because he promised to his only friend that he'll take care of the girl no matter what happens. That's all the info Naughty Dog is willing to share for now.
One good thing I'd like to add is that Naughty Dog themselves admits that in developing The Last of Us, they're not thinking of a sequel right away. They are making the game to stand on its own, so I'm hoping that means the story itself will have closure.
The game's environments were inspired by desolate areas in our modern world. Ones that were claimed by nature since they're inhabited. Of course, Naughty Dog will be giving the environments the same love and care they showed the Uncharted franchise. So expect isolate, broken — but beautiful — cities within the game.
Expect nature-filled scenery mixed in with urban environments that will be the core of the game's main exploration element. Dilapidated surroundings will be used by Joel and Ellie to their advantage when exploring the game's world.
Gameplay Details
The demo shown off at Sony's E3 presser did a good job of showing off The Last of Us' core gameplay mechanics. By now, chances are you already know it will be a third-person affair. One that employs a cover system for its gunfights, but don't think of it as another Uncharted; for one thing, there won't be as many ammo for your guns, scavenging for supplies will be an integral part of the game, too.
Speaking of supplies, players will need to keep a look out for items they can use. Joel can even make items from things he picks up (ie: a Molotov cocktails, etc.). Unsurprisingly, the game will employ an inventory system which I'm presuming will be an integral part of the game — y'know, since this is a post-apocalyptic game and will have resources.
Regarding combat, Joel will be able to take on enemies hand-to-hand as well as using melee weapons. Of course, if there are a lot in an area, stealth will be the preferred method. Yes, stealth takedowns will be part of Joel's repertoire (ie: chokes, etc,), but don't expect him to rival Solid Snake anytime soon. He is, after all, an everyman who's pushed to do what he needs to in order for both of them to survive.
In a rather surprising move, the game won't have regenerative health. Players will need to pick up health packs in order for Joel to patch himself up. While this might seem that Joel will be underarmed to handle the game's multitude of enemies — both the infected, and the human ones — that won't be the case, as Ellie herself will be able to help out in certain cases.
In the E3 demo, we see Ellie stab a man from behind to help save Joel. Although we don't know for now if that was a cutscene or something the player can trigger at will. It's also worth noting that Ellie hasn't been shown to have a life bar of her own. So we don't know how much damage she can take before she gets put down.
Naughty Dog hopes that The Last of Us won't be pegged as another "zombie game." They're trying to straddle the line between showing an over-the-top, post-apocalyptic world; to one where it takes itself too seriously. And to be honest, they have a very good shot at doing it.
The Last of Us won't be about the zombies, as most games in the genre are, but it will focus on the characters instead. With the experience they gained with Uncharted, they're trying to do what Uncharted did to the action-adventure genre, and apply it to The Last of Us and the survival-action genre.
What Naughty Dog is aiming for is no small feat — and one — I'm sure a lot of studios don't envy right now. But based on what we've seen so far, they're on the right track and 2013 can't come soon enough.
