The Last of Us is This Generation's Masterpiece

As the current video game generation winds down, it's nice to see that Sony and Naughty Dog have hit their creative peak with The Last of Us. This moody post-pandemic video game is a masterpiece of the PlayStation 3 generation.

[Thatguy-310]

GTA V has to be an outstanding masterpiece to topple The Last of Us. If it's anything like GTA 4 then it won't. Think what gives The Last of Us and advantage is that it's a new IP.

[imXify]

Battle of the Titans !

[Prcko]

true battle between tlou,gta v and bioshock

[WarThunder]

Bioshock? what really? imo that game is overrated... Im not saying its a bad game, but it does not deserve the hype it gets.

[S-T-F-U]

@WarThunder Agree about Bioshock being overrated, It's so boring. Same thing over and over, go in this area kill these guys, go in this other area kill these guys. SSDD

[HammadTheBeast]

Bioshock was great. But come on, The Last of Us is on a whole other level.

[sic_chops]

@j-blaze have you played beyond two souls. Dont think so. Bet you haven't played the last of us either

[Gigaguy777]

Hey most people in this comment line, The Last is just as much about killing zombies as Bio Infinite is about killing soldiers.

[LOGICWINS]

It doesn't have to topple the TLOU. Its already guaranteed to outsell it.

[Thatguy-310]

Who's talking about sale numbers? If I'm not mistaken we're talking about critical reception. If sales were to decide a masterpiece than COD would have the title year in and year out including this one.

[LOGICWINS]

Critical reception? So the worth of a game is based on what other random people say about it?

[ltachiUchiha]

The last GTA was the best rated game ever but that game had so much hype that it didnt live up to the hype & is why it didnt even win GOTY that year. Atleast with TLOU the reviews are legit & it exceeded all its hype. Like I said I expect GTAV & Watch Dogs to be stellar games but both will have to have every area to be better if they want to take that crown. It should be a great battle but ill put my money on naughty dog taking home the gold.

[rezzah]

Amount of sales alone do not equal the given status of masterpiece.

[admiralvic]

@ Dboyc310

To be fair, you're contradicting yourself. If you're talking about critical reception, then why in the world would GTA V being like IV (the highest rated game on Metacritic with a 98...) prevent it from doing so? Considering most people disagree with the critics anyway, it's not like being the most critically approved title means anything. Like you seem to imply above, GTA IV was "bad", yet it is still the most critically accepted game around.

@ ItachiUchiha

You're woefully mistaken. While you might think GTA IV doesn't live up to the hype and TLOU seemingly has "legit" reviews (A concept that doesn't make a lot of sense, since you would have to define what makes these reviews legitimate and those reviews false.) and exceeds "all its hype", these are conceptual terms that you can't really define.

If you don't read a lot of news for GTA IV, don't really care about the series and pick it up one day, then you might think it's amazing. Transversely, with N4G acting like TLOU is the greatest thing ever created in the history of gaming and will go down as the generations best title without a question in their mind past some sort of fanboy hate, you're bound to have people think it's over rated. You can disagree with my statement, but if almost everyone tells you it's the best thing ever, you're probably going to go in with an impossibly high amount of hype that it can never match.

[lnvisibleMan]

@ LOGICWINS
How can you use sale numbers as a means of judging how good a game is. The best selling game of all time is Wii Sports, that sure isn't better that lets say a MGS game which struggles to get more than 7 million sales.

[ltachiUchiha]

admiralvic

What I meant by exceeded its hype is from how players who actually bought the last GTA game only to be disappointed compared to TLOU. Most of the ppl who bought TLOU have the same reaction as the reviews say. Its a masterpiece & is the best game of this generation. Gamers did not feel that way about the last GTA game. Does it mean it was a bad game? No but all those perfect reviews had to be wrong somewhere because most ppl were disappointed & the game didnt win GOTY. That alone is proof that reviewers even knew they may have exaggerated with their GTA scores & is why it didnt get crowned GOTY that year. Reviews dont mean sh*t if u dont win the grand prise & thats being named, "Game Of The Year" something naughty dog has already done with UC2 & will most likely win it again with TLOU.

[Valkyre]

By your "logic" mr LOGICWINS (oh the irony) the best games ever should be Call of Duty and Wii Sports...

Consider changing your nickname...

your logic fails... hard.

[George Sears]

"Its a masterpiece & is the best game of this generation. Gamers did not feel that way about the last GTA game."

Itachi what are you basing this on? On what people on N4G say? Or did you survey people on the street?

I played both GTAIV and TLOU and guess what? I find them both amazing games. And why does a game need to win GOTY to be considered legit on the whole review 'spectrum'?

[ltachiUchiha]

George Sears

For the same reason there are NBA Finals, NFL Superbowls, MLB World Series, NHL World Cup. When u are crowned GOTY it shows that your game has earned the ultimate prize. Why else are awards for? You should know this already.

[first1NFANTRY]

"It doesn't have to topple the TLOU. Its already guaranteed to outsell it."

sales don't give you world wide acclaim, respect nor awards from the general public. There's no logic in what you posted. Experiences like TLOU is very rare to come by and ND deserves all the praise they can get for creating a game which stands out from all the mediocrity out there.

GTA4 is the most overrated game in history and it's sad to say i didn't even complete the game. That's how boring it got after a while.

[HammadTheBeast]

See, I know you tried to say something profound.... but you just made your comment irrelevant.

[LOGICWINS]

To all the people above, whether TLOU lived up to the hype is your OPINION. Just like its your OPINION that GTA4 didn't live up to the hype. When I hear things like TLOU's reviews are "legit" it makes me cringe because you assume that EVERYONE on the planet who plays this game will love it as much as critics did. Its all opinion.

[sic_chops]

He has no logic.

[CrimsonStar]

I respectfully disagree , sales have nothing to do with how good a game is or will be . If that was the Case MW3 would be 20 time greater than Dark Souls , and lol I don't think it is .

[schlanz]

Wow so that makes CoD this gen's masterpiece. Shame because if that's the best game out then clearly I have god-awful taste in games.

[rezzah]

Deeming anything a masterpiece is always opinion.

I don't see why hype has anything to do with a game being great. Hype is only meant to make people interested in a game.

I guess the difference in what makes something great is how we each define it. For you it would be the amount of sales; based on what another said above about the Wii Sport and COD, both are the greatest masterpieces in gaming history.

[fei-hung]

I don't think GTA will. My issue with GTA has always been the game being a jack of all trades but master of nothing.

1) graphics are average at best due to scale
2) shooting mechanics are average
3) fighting mechanics are average
3) vehicle mechanics are average

Other sandbox games specialise in a or a few game play mechanics like:

1) Sleeping Dogs has nice fighting mechanics
2) AC has fighting, play forming and stealth
3) JC has awesome shooting and destruction
4) Arkham series has awesome combat and gadget mechanics
5) Yakuza has awesome fighting mechanics

For me, GTA can never be a contender, even with highly praised reviews as reviewers never pick up on these things although they do when it comes to other sand box games.

[DA_SHREDDER]

If GTA5 can do everything that The last of Us pulled, it would be almost no reason to jump next gen if your broke.

[CrimsonStar]

I agree completely . Especially how its a new ip , the more new ips the merrier .

[Veneno]

There's no way Gta5 could get goty honors over tlou. Every gta always falls into the same repetitive mission types whereas tlou keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole way. No doubt gta5 will be impressive but it will be nothing we've not seen before.

[M-M]

That's not an opinion, it's a fact.

[ltachiUchiha]

Wow some ppl are straight butt hurt lol. Reviewers say it is, & gamers who bought it & played it feel the same. So why all the disagrees? I guess when TLOU gets GOTY then it will get its credit which I already know it will. Keep hatin. =]

[Gazondaily]

No its not a fact, its an opinion. Don't get carried away.

I've completed it and thoroughly enjoyed and continue to do with its addictive MP mode but I doesn't strike me as this generation's masterpiece. To be honest, I'm struggling to think of one game that can be described as such.

[ltachiUchiha]

It aint fact but we can all agree that TLOU has exceeded all its hype & to me thats all that really matters. If a game gets alot of hype and doesnt live up to the hype then it will show in those who bought it & were left disappointed. GTA & alot of 3rd party games usually get a free pass in reviews because its just easier to review a game that is multiplatform without being biased then reviewing an exclusive game to a certain platform which may not even be the reviewers favorite platform. In my honest opinion scores shouldnt be in a review. It should just be a written review & they either tell u if its a excellent, good, average or horrible game. That is a more solid & more accurate way to review a game because numbers can look horrible even though a 7 & 8 isnt really a bad score. Thats just how i feel.

[Gazondaily]

@Itachi

"Thats just how i feel."

Exactly. This is all subjective. People pouncing on others because the latter group don't recognise TLOU as the best game ever made is ridiculous (not saying that that's what you're doing).

TLOU is great and yes, it really did deliver with its promises (well most of them; it definitely isn't 'the best mp ever conceived by any standard) but one man's masterpiece could be another man's junk (that doesn't sound right lol).

[G20WLY]

"one man's masterpiece could be another man's junk"

Very true - for example, your last couple of comments were probably masterpieces in your eyes... ;P

What is a fact is that it's most peoples' opinion that TLOU is a GOTY contender.

I've never seen someone say they were unimpressed after playing it, but I know there are people that won't play it at all for fear of loving it - they want to hate it and won't give into temptation. It's a shame, as those guys miss out :(

[FriedGoat]

I've played alot of games in my 20+ years of gaming. The Last Of Us is definitely the best game I have played in years.

As for the multiplayer, already level 37 and been round the 12 weeks 3 times. Love it.

[LOGICWINS]

@G20- Who is most people? The game has sold what? Around three million copies so far right? Have you sat down with all these people to get their take on the game?

[Gazondaily]

"Very true - for example, your last couple of comments were probably masterpieces in your eyes... ;P "

.....right. That comment is just junk (yeah I can actually say it instead of making a thinly veiled remark).

"but I know there are people that won't play it at all for fear of loving it - they want to hate it and won't give into temptation. It's a shame, as those guys miss out :("

Well I don't know people like that. That just sounds ridiculous to me. Its as bad as the many on here who seem to have nothing better to do but troll others with respect of the games they are excited for on their particular platform of choice.

I'm getting disagrees but all I'm saying is that TLOU isn't an unequivocal masterpiece. TLOU is my GOTY so far but I wouldn't call it this generation's masterpiece. Anyone who thinks that statement is a fact needs to observe the definitions of the words 'opinion' and 'fact'.

Anyway, carry on as you were. There's no reasoning with some people.

[G20WLY]

C'mon Septic, it was an opportunistic joke, nothing more, no offense meant and I'm sorry if it was taken out of context.

Of course I respect your opinion and other peoples' in general.

It's true that devout anti-Sony 'brandists' exist and will not play Sony exclusives even if the chance arose. The same, of course, is true the other way around - these are the usual 'fanboys' we all know and loathe.

@Logic, you, however are being ridiculous. No, I haven't sat down with 3 million people to establish my opinion as fact. 'Most people' is referring to those who I either know, or see on forums, or reviewers that have played the game and shared their view. But I suspect you already knew that. Was it really that unreasonable of me not to stipulate that? Don't comments end up being a little long if you include all the small print? smh :|

[CrimsonStar]

lol TLOU is one of the greatest games I ever played , but not great enough to force my opinion on people as fact .

[Yui_Suzumiya]

The Last of Us is gaming's masterpiece, not just this generations, and I've been gaming since 1991

[elhebbo16]

I have played many games over the year, and many of them have bin predictable, the same as the last one with a new coat of paint. But this game just blew my mind. TLoU is so sophisticated story wise that you cant even compare to other games. thats how amazing it is, to me at least.

[megalonagyix]

Come on people it's just the hype. It's great but nowhere near as good as some of you claim it. It's not even the best PS3 exclusive, I could name a 3 better exclusives.

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

Not really.
I finished the game about a week ago and still can't stop thinking about it. It's one of the best games I've ever played in any generation. It's up there with the first time I played Metal Gear Solid, Zelda Ocarina Of Time, Silent Hill 2, Final Fantasy VII, Mario 64 and many other amazing games.

[GCO Gamer]

The Last of Us is a really good game. But is it a masterpiece? Personally, I believe the best game anyone could play this console generation was Red Dead: Redemption; it's the best all around game from Story to gameplay. But, for me, all that's holding back The Last of Us is the gameplay and AI etc. But, other that that I'm loving the game.

[G20WLY]

This may not be the popular view, but I didn't like RDR very much, sadly.

I was so hyped in the run up to it's release and when I got it, the game world was beautiful.

But the story was slow and cliched (if you're into westerns, like I was as a kid) and I honestly got bored, to the point where I had to force myself to come back to it and finish it, just to see the (admittedly very good) ending.

The 'random' events were so samey - even some locations used far too frequently - and the journey took too long sometimes. I'd just press up on the stick and chat to my girlfriend whilst crossing some planes, knowing I had ages before I got anywhere.

This is just like GT4 - amazing concept, not quite realised to it's fullest potential.

Hope they nail the sequels though, as R* are seriously talented devs!

[FriedGoat]

I liked red dead, but its no where near as good as the last of us. The narrative was convoluted due to the nature of open world games.

[t3rrorc3ll]

Great story. Great graphics. Great exploration gameplay. Piss poor combat mechanics.

[fsfsxii]

Are you for real?? It has the most realistic combat i've ever seen in any game

[t3rrorc3ll]

Erm....no! Not realistic at all. Where is the realism your talking about? And let me guess you've been playing since PlayStation days? Look it's a great game but the combat is seriously lacking. I feel combat from uncharted series was better.

[mt]

it is my masterpiece of this generation as well.

[t3rrorc3ll]

Hey to the phantom disagrees. If you personally think the game is a masterpiece then that's fine but for me it is just the combat that is a little lacking. It's nearly there but just not quite. Btw my masterpiece of this generation is uncharted. The first game that made me say wow is this even possible on a console.

[G20WLY]

Hello angry man :)

I agree, Uncharted is great, but surely you can see that the combat from Uncharted has been evolved into what we're playing in TLOU? It evolved through the Uncharted series and TLOU took another step in the right direction.

Okay, there are games like God of War and Arkham series with possibly the best combat, but to call TLOU combat 'poor' is not something I can agree with, nor have I heard any others share the same opinion.

This will be where those disagrees came from...

[PersonMan]

As much as I loved The Last of Us... it's pretty boring playing it a second time.

I'm on my second play through and I know what's around every corner. I know exactly what to expect... it's just not as fun as the first time.

However, every time I play GTA IV, something unexpected happens do to the nature of it being a giant, open world, physics based engine. Sometimes I even hear dialog that I've never heard before.

One time I followed the same hooker for like 2 blocks, then I pushed her down a set of stairs. She was hurt, so she made her way back up to the top and collapsed. Then, other people were trying to walk down the stairs, but since she was in the way, they kept tripping over her and falling down the stairs. It was hilarious. I'm always finding something new in GTA IV and I've been playing that game for a few years now. It's pretty much my go-to game when I'm bored of my other games.