The Last of Us Preview – Gaming’s Cure or An Infected Mess? I TheKoalition

Richard Bailey of TheKoalition writes:
Ever since Naughty Dog first emerged onto the gaming scene way back in 1989, fans have had the pleasure of watching the studio grow and evolve from one console generation to the next. With franchises like Jax and Daxter and Uncharted on their plate, there is absolutely no denying that the developers have proven that they have range when it comes to creating compelling content.

With the release of The Last of Us only a mere 3 months away, I had a chance to participate in a 30 minute hands-on demo for the game during last weekend’s PAX East expo in Boston. Did I walk away from this title seeing it as gaming's cure or an infected mess? Keep reading to find out my verdict on one of this year’s most anticipated games.

[ElectroJade]

I'm gonna be real here. The guy in Last of Us is one sexy beast. No homo.

[ElectroJade]

Did I say no homo? I meant ALL homo.

[NeXXXuS]

if you say so
http://25.media.tumblr.com/...

[r21]

I understand, just look at his beard, it screams manliness.

[Raccoon]

no wonder chuck norris shaved his beard, there's a new man in town...

[r21]

2 more months of waiting left then another few more months after for Beyond: Two Souls. Good year for ps3 owners :D

[MikeMyers]

True, two great looking new IP's which is a way to go out with a bang before new hardware arrives.

[r21]

Like I said, a good time for PS3 owners ;D Just before we move on to next gen pastures, Sony gave us some great games to remember our great time with the ps3 :D

[Bathyj]

Infected mess?
Why would you even use those words?
Its clearly not.

[Hicken]

You know exactly why. That stupid title will draw in PLENTY of people eager to trash the title, or see if, perhaps, the article has some news about the game we don't yet know.

Of course, it's the former, but people won't actually know that's the only reason until they read the article. Doesn't matter in either case, as the purpose is, regardless, to get hits.

[Bathyj]

Yeah, I know. And I can already see the reviewers sharpening their barbs saying, ugh, not another zombie game, but I can't wait for the zombie mode in the next call of duty.

[BattleAxe]

I don't think this website ever has anything good to say about anything Sony. Just click WTF? and No.

[Zizi]

No, TLoU is not a mess, but a 'savior' in the world of survival-themed games. We've rarely seen this kind of games these days. And that's why Naughty Dog put a stop on it. :)

[clintagious650]

I think the great thing about the challenge naughty dog is taking on is an amazing challenge because so many survival horror games have been bad as of late and fans of survival horror games are craving for a game that will bring the genre back. I think that is exactly what naughty dog is going to do with TLOU.

Been playing bioshock infinite and as great a first person shooter it is, maybe the best of this generation for story and beautiful atmosphere, this genre of gaming even without bioshock infinite would never be stale because of all the great fps games out there that keeps that genre satisfied.

With survival horror genre its been pretty stale as of late and the last great one was RE4 which was last gen unless u want to count TWD but thats not even an original IP & is the reason why I think TLOU will set the standard for survival horror games which gamers been craving for years.

[Zizi]

yeah, I bet TLoU is an original IP. It brings back the atmosphere of terrors -- and what the gamers should do about it.

And hell yeah, Naughty Dog has created a few universal-acclaimed games so far.

[rbailey]

The indie game OUTLAST is no slouch when it comes to survival horror and I would encourage you to check that out before saying The Last of Us is a true survival horror game.

Why is that game a true survival horror title? It has alot to do with the story, concept, and execution. Watch some gameplay videos and you'll see exactly what I mean.

[Heisenburger]

I haven't watched any footage aside from the debut trailer. I will not play the demo.

I am very excited to see what Naughty Dog can do on the PS3 besides Uncharted. They have certainly set the bar high for themselves in regards to loveable characters.

Very exciting!

[InTheLab]

"On the other hand, the concept behind this game lacks originality and is far from being groundbreaking"

While I haven't played the demo, just watching tells me that there are no other survival games that are actual survival games. Who else is doing what TLoU is doing? Resident Evil? Dead Space? And why does this game have to be revolutionary and ground breaking? Why isn't good, enough?

I actually think this is the most important game of the gen as ND could have easily made this thing Uncharted with zombies and skipped on the survival aspect of the game. They could have dumbed it down like Dead Space and Resident Evil but they did the opposite of what's popular.

He also says something about fanboys and Naughty Dog but I think he's out of line. Why should fans of ND or even critics of ND expect anything but excellence from a developer that has yet to fail?

[rbailey]

The indie title OUTLAST is what I would call true Survival Horror and I would encourage you to check it out.

Many have high expectations for Naughty Dog games but lets be clear and say now that Uncharted wasn't a perfect game or a perfect series in general. Many hardcore fans will say otherwise, but looking at the game you can clearly see it takes cues from Indiana Jones movies in so many ways.

In the end saying the game will be good is fine, but I personally know several people who are already saying they will be blown away by it. In a year with games like BioShock Infinite and still several unannounced titles in development, I think you have to acknowledge that some games will be better then others. If Last of Us lives up to that hype, then I'll gladly acknowledge it as such.

[Ezz2013]

no game is perfect and for sure BioShock Infinite is not perfect
i could point tons of wrong things about it
but it was still great game ...but nothing else

the hype for the last of us
not because it was made by ND (well kinda true though) but if you look at the E3 gameplay and the infected gameplay
or read the previews
the dynamic AI , the one hit kill from the infected , the gfx, the story , the music , the craft system, the health bar, the very very low ammo ,the game is brutal, the animation .etc
and if you look at this story trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

and if you took your time looking at the previews who got to play the game ..there was nothing but praise ..this game is doing every thing right in my book and pretty much every one following the game
so again the hype is not only because it was made by ND

[InTheLab]

Name a game that is perfect? It most certainly isn't Bioshock Infinite, which isn't new and hasn't done anything we haven't seen before. It also sports mediocre gameplay that's held up by fantastic characters and excellent story telling.

Uncharted was obviously inspired by Indiana Jones but so was TR and every other action/adventure game. I don't see your point there. Most games take inspiration from other forms of media. Take Bioshock Infinite and it's flying City. That theme has been around for hundreds of years (as well as the damsel locked in a castle). Even Bioshock's under water metropolis has been around for longer.

Outlast isn't new either. We've seen this before..and recently. And I wouldn't classify it as true survival horror as most people would find a weapon and defend yourself. There's no weapons and your only means of survival is running and your camera. It's mostly just exploration with horror being the main draw. With that said, I will be picking it up on Steam.

The point I'm trying to make about ND and TLoU is how no one else is really doing survival these days. TR, which was fantastic, had ZERO survival elements in the game and it's a game about surviving.

In TLoU, you have to scavenge items to use before enemy AI does and uses it against you. Tell me that's not enough to get to get you a little hyped for the game. In my eyes, the hype is justified because of the developer and what's been shown so far. I have no reason to doubt anyone that says TLoU will be GoTY or one of the best games this year...

[imsocool1234]

He also says it's all the samething like previous zombie games. What lol!?! This isn't a zommbie game!

[imsocool1234]

This is NOT a ZOMBIE game. They're NOT DEAD they are FUNGUS infected.

[imsocool1234]

For those who played the full demo at PAX or at home, can the enemy human AI's pick up weapons too?