THE LAST OF US

Well i have literally just finished NaughtyDog's new game 'The last of us'.To briefly sum the games back story, a virus has mutated most of the world's population and destroyed the world as we know it, and the game takes place in various places in America in a post-apocalyptic setting. However it isn't just another zombie game, (in fact they're not even zombies they're just slightly mutated humans), this is a typically Naughty Dog style game in which the story line and characters drive it, and What a beautiful game it was. I have never delved so deep into a game before. It truly gripped me, so much so that i feel i have to write this now before i can do anything else. I wont do a full review of the game just yet as i will probably save it for a rainy day. However here's a run down of some of my favourite features within the game.



The storyline and characters: After playing the opening section of game play, in which you meet Joel (the main character), you instantly feel a connection brewing between you and him as you see his relationship with his daughter, and you realize he isn't some bizarre, unrelatable, super strength man, he is just an average person and you feel everything he is going through. Which is a constant throughout the whole game, characters are relatable, believable and more importantly, lovable. It didn't take me long at all before i started shouting at the screen in anger or cheer, as the storyline and characters take you through many ups and downs.

The music: The music in the game was so complimentary to the atmosphere created. It was never juxtaposed against vital speech and always faded in and out gracefully in sections with beautiful scenery or intense moments, to add another level of escapism.(As if beloved characters dying isn't enough, sad music is played over the top just to tip you to the point of crying).



Combat: The fighting abilities in the game seemed really smooth, as if i was always in control. No matter how many enemies there were or what weapon i was using i still felt like there was 20 different ways i could go about handling the situation. Sometimes i would subconsciously let the last enemy kill me just so i had an excuse to start again and try another sweet combination of kills. Also the aiming mechanic in the game is very intelligent and uses depth of field. So when there is an enemy in the foreground i can aim at him and everything behind him loses focus so i can concentrate on my target, and vice verse for things in the background.



The sense of realism: Naughty Dog have tried to keep this game down to earth and gritty. Apart from the mutated humans there is nothing in the game that isn't true to life. The assets in the game don't feel repeated, despite the fact they're obviously going to be duplicated everywhere to fill out the map, but they've managed to compliment and introduce these repeated assets in different ways so you barely notice they're there, every room feels different, which adds to the realism. Also another thing i really like was physics of the water, especially when you get out of the water and your clothes are actually wet and dripping up to the level the water reached. The lighting was also a big part of the game, allowing the player to have control of a torch made the eerie stealth missions more... eerie! and then when you finally find a way out of the dark mutant invested building and you see beems of sun light kissing everything around you, you stop holding your breath and wander around for a few minutes knowing it's safe. Another key element in the aesthetics of the game, i felt made it look realistic, was the juxtaposition of nature and architecture, the lushes green wilderness creeping its way back into dominance. Which is what Fallout 3 (a game i would put in the same genre as The last of us) should of had more of, it was too grey and dull.

Those were a few of my favourite features in the game. However being the game artist I'm becoming i couldn't help but pick up on a few annoying immersion killers, for example:

REFLECTIONS!!!... the reflections in the game were very annoying to see. They didn't actually reflect anything, if i stood in front of a reflective piece of glass or even water, the reflection being portrayed wasn't of me stood in front of it it was of a completely different area. Now I'm not too sure how easy reflection are to make in games, but it was pretty distracting to see. I could imagine a stressed environment artist saying "ah stick any old reflection in there, no one will notice"

Shadows... The problem i quickly picked up on with shadows was that only certain assets would cast one, I'd be stood with my back to a window with a banister in front of me and only my shadow would be cast on the floor, the banisters shadow was no where to be seen.

Collisions... there wasn't to many problems with collision mesh's, mostly they worked flawlessly. Objects that should be climbed were climbable and objects made to restrict access somewhere weren't. However there were a few objects that didn't have a collision mesh or had a dodgy one, For example, i found a barbecue in a store shed that i could walk straight through. Not very impressive.

Despite those very small issues with the game mechanics, everything else was flawless. I always tell people that games are my version of books, and The Last Of Us was a beautiful unforgettable novel that will inspire me for a long while.