Game of the Year: Grand Theft Auto V vs The Last of Us

As Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto V got awarded as the Game of the Year last night at the VGX Show, it was worth noting some facts about this game, as well as its opponent, Naughty Dog's The Last of Us

[Flyingdog670]

In my honest opinion, The Last of us is game of year. Amazing Story, fantastic graphics, wonderful gameplay, and the way it leaves you feeling after beating it is something that no other game has done before, well, The Walking Dead did it too I suppose. Grand Theft Auto V is an amazing game to, but in all honesty, i don't really see myself going back to play it anytime soon. I've replayed TLOU five times now, just replaying it for the hell of it and beating the hardest difficulty. It is a really remarkable game that deserves all the praise it gets. I also see it as a strong contender for Game of the Generation.

[yezz]

That's weird because I have the opposite situation. TLOU was an amazing one time experience for me but GTA V has so many variations that I can't see me getting bored with it.. Nevertheless I'm so glad that there is a massive fanbase(includes me) that really enjoys the quality that is The Last of us. It keeps the industry going to the right direction ;)

[Kingthrash360]

this^^@flyingdog

gta awsomness in a bottle. the greatest games of all time.
that said tho tlou had that..."thing" about it. when you played it it reminded you why you played games. it reminded you how you felt when you played the game that you couldnt put down. it was as if it wasnt a game but an experience.
like when i played mgs for the first time and shot sniperwolf in the face to end her...that was a powerful part of that game that set it apart from all others at the time and to me made mgs a game would stick in my mind foever. tlou did that, thats why its my goty. just a magical game that had a lil bit of everything
horror,action,stealth,comdey, s tory,stratagy,platforming and adventure. gta is great and deserves to be goty but not over tlou imo.

[Pogmathoin]

Again, eye of the beholder. Tlou amazed me, as I played it, but once it was finished that was it for me. Tonight I turned off Battlefield on X1 to fly Trevor around in GTA5. Still hooked! Game of the year to me...

Acer, no its a game I love going back to, could grab a car, drive around and listen to the music alone, its the attention to detail in this game that makes it special. I guess your humour is not that tuned in either. Some games are amazing when you play it, Bioshock Infinite was fantastic, but not played it since I completed it. But if Tlou does it for you, wonderful. Now go and have a nice existence.

[AceBlazer13]

@beaver obviously it doesn't take much to get your attention if flying a plane keeps you hooked. Cause trevor is just that interesting.

[Kingthrash360]

beaver..
to each his own indeed. its great you love gta.. i do too its a truly great game. tlou is just more of an experiance and game you can sit and look at...well if you like sandbox games gta is the creator of them...what makes tlou so significant though is its the first tlou. alot of first timers out the gate were flops...even hyped ones.
gta didnt get big til part 3. tlou went against greats like bioshock (3) tombraider(10) and gta(5) tlou was first of its kind and had nothing to improve on. thats a really impressive stat. either way tho all these games are great and all winners

[Gorilla_Killa_X]

I loved The Last of Us. The mood and storytelling was second to none, but on the game itself, in my opinion, it was similiar to Rockstar's Manhunt in many ways. There is the stealth part which includes sneaking around and hiding, there is the different ways to kill people with weapons, and there is the throw a brick or bottle to distract them. The enemies work together to try and take you out. To me it is Manhunt with a much better story, levels are linked instead of actually being levels and The Last of Us adds a little adventure and platforming in for good measure. Also they added infected types to go along with the human enemies. I'm not trolling just stating my opinion and with that said I believe that The Last of Us is GOTY.

GTA V is fun but in the end it just GTA with more things to do and for the most part they are all fun. But GTA gameplay and activities is a jack of all trades, master of none type of thing, where it can do a lot but doesn't excel in anything. Driving is ok, shooting is ok, flying is ok,etc.

[SkippyPaccino]

Same here...If you havent played Survivor mode..you havent played TLOU...i'm on my 5th run Survivor new game++

To me GTA5 became the best ever when I started playing it, and the further I got in the game the more my opinion started changing...What made San Andreas on the PS2 so amazing was the different cites...San andreas might have been a lot smaller then 5 scope wise, but to me it 5 felt a lot smaller than SA...After I started thinking about SA I realize that Los santos wasn't even the funnest city in the game..The fun was in San fiero and Los venturas and the countryside... Casinos, fast cars etc...I cant seem to get Lost in 5...They always talk scope but...its pointless scope when you cant travel to an other city? ( the funnest part about five is doing crazy driving in the mountains)Trevor IMO is my least favorite gta character ...Worst than Lance Vance...I hated him so much that i would never and i mean never switch to him or do his side missions...I couldn't handle the hillbilly act cranked up to 1000% I never found him funny and i'm low brow...I love to shock and ah people with things i say but that was just like he went full retard? I finished the game and played a good 20 hours of online and probably a good 50 hours all together...But after that 1st month, I haven't even touched it...I might go back and spend the 500 grands but that's about it. San Andreas still remains on top for me personally...5 is probably second Which is sad.

...I would totally buy a GTA5 on ps4 lol!

TLOU got robbed...basically 95% of the studios are going to mimic closely what naughty did with that game...To me it should get nominated for a Oscar...put it in that animated category and voila!

[dasbeer88]

"Trevor IMO is my least favorite gta character ...Worst than Lance Vance...I hated him so much that i would never and i mean never switch to him or do his side missions...I couldn't handle the hillbilly act cranked up to 1000%"

Welcome to America: the land where it's full of diverse people and crime rates skyrocket compared to most other stable countries.

[Xer0_SiN]

im not gonna take anything away from gtav; its a great game. a lot of people waiting a LONG time for this badboy to come out. with that being said, it doesnt hold a candle to tlou. the graphics s better. the game mechanics is better. the story is definately better. what does gtav have? sales? oh wow. it was released on multiple console. cmon man.

[dasbeer88]

Oh wait The Last of Us is a game? I thought it was a movie /s. IMO GTA V deserved the award because it brought back what the majority of games have lost so far = fun. You know? Gameplay? Dynamic sandbox experience where I can do whatever the hell I want? The primary focus is where FUN comes in the passenger seat while the story can stay in the backseat?

[Flyingdog670]

God, you make it sound like TLOU is not fun...

[Crossbones]

The Last Of Us.

[Benjammin25]

Best game I've ever played. It's the only game I've ever played that was a pleasure to platinum, rather than a grind. It's also given me hope that the Survival Horror genre could make a comeback into mainstream gaming.

[miyamoto]

VGX needs to please everyone as much as it can so its good and its bad, but what can we do is just play the games.
Game On!

[Shazz]

last of us for me :) game had me engrossed daily were as gta had me that way for 4 days then i just stopped playing it and still havent in weeks now

[MatriXcian]

The Last of Us. Dont get me wrong GTA5 was Amazing by far the best one made but when put against a game like TLOU I dont think GTA holds a candle.

[Corpser]

Gta 5

From the comments on this site you would think TLOU outsells GTA5 (on ps3) 5:1 , lol but no it's the other way around. gTA5 sold 14 million on ps3, TLOU sold 3 million, it's not up for debate which game is more popular among ps3 gamers The fanboys on this site live in a bubble

[Shazz]

Have u played last of us m8?? IM a gamer first and don't care which system its on but last of us story is something special :) btw last of us is at around 5 million sales now @corpser was just asking m8 and fair play if u have. Game just struck a cord with me in a huge way it was a masterpiece in mine and most peoples eyes. Happy gaming

[Corpser]

Is someone going to accuse me of never played TLOU again? I don't see anyone get accused of never played gta 5

[Bathyj]

And Thor is a better film than Schindlers List.

[SkippyPaccino]

Thor 2 is ...

[Bathyj]

You cant be serious.

[SkippyPaccino]

Obviously I'm joking... ;-)

[brometheos]

Sales shouldn't factor in to whether a game deserves GOTY or not. That's like saying CoD deserves GOTY for like the past 5 years. And TLOU sold 3 million in the first week or two, by now its likely past 5mil.

[Corpser]

It actually does say a lot when a game is so popular that it outsells COD games, by a large margin too

[Etseix]

Oh dear, just, damn, can you understand what the title says??? Do you know what a Game of The Year means??? What it takes to be GOTY???
According to you "sales"is the answer, i don't want to sound rude, but you are either way too stupid, or maybe new to the term "GOTY" ( which i hope it's the case)

[-Foxtrot]

It's not about sales though

[Nes_Daze]

You are judging a game's quality based on sales...? GTA has a bigger history, The Last Of Us was new, of course GTA would sell more.

[CraigyScotsman]

Yeah because popularity = quality. I guess The Avengers 2 will win the 2016 Oscar for Best Picture, then...

[CrimsonDragon90]

The Avengers is really overrated. Saw the film it was boring. Nothing but cheesy dialogue. Anyways the last of us is GOTY for me.

[HurtfulTimez]

If you can see everyones comments are simply OPINIONS of there choice between the two not how much got sold between the two on the ps3.

GTA series has 15+ years of fanbase TLOU has under 1.

of course its going to sell more are you forgetting what brand console made GTA so big?(playstation). besides, If every person who played GTA5 played TLOU aswel i would most likely guarentee they would say the last of us is the game.

TLOU was a better game in my opinion too also making it my best/favourite game ever this gen.

GTA5 was good but i wasnt immersed throughout the whole game like i was with TLOU. I never bonded or cared for the characters and the game became a chore to play near the end and after completing it just doing drive here shoot him missions.

[Conzul]

in other news, burgers outsell caviar. Wait...surely you don't mean to say...

[GenericNameHere]

I wish I could have a fair comparison between the two. However, my GTAV save file was and still is f*cked. Stuck at around 60%, and can't go through the story anymore because it's not letting me play as Michael. I don't want to play all over to that point again because really, some of the missions are very repetitive and just not fun (I personally hate missions where you have to drive a helicopter). I just don't like a lot of the radio music. And I've tried doing some of the online story missions, and still no fix.

Those Tanya missions?? For the love of Arceus, please shut her up.

[dcj0524]

Nah none of that. It's all about Angry Birds Vita edition. Game of the decade.

[Benjammin25]

You think Angry Birds is game of the decade? You clearly haven't played Puss 'n' boots on PS3.

[josephayal]

Good game. But not GOTY it’s just my opinion but COD Ghost deserved to win GOTY 2013

[Bathyj]

You have to put a big /s if you want people to recognize the sarcasm.

[-Foxtrot]

Oh he aint joking...trust me

[Capt-FuzzyPants]

Yeah this guy is always making comments like this. People must enjoy him, though because he still has a lot of bubbles.

[Nes_Daze]

None of the CODs after MW deserve a GOTY,ever...

[The_Sneauxman]

You deserve a troll award

[JohnHeatz]

I have to ask, are you being serious about COD? I wouldn't even get that nominated for the award...these two contenders are the best of the best, like them or hate them, these went further than the limits and set new standards for games, while COD...well...is the same COD we've all played at some point in our lives...with dogs...

[Grave]

The Last of Us is my GOTY. I absolutely love GTA V so it was right there too, but The Last of Us affected me in a way that very few games do. When I played it I often found myself forgetting that I was playing a game because I was so immersed in the experience.

[Psychotica]

GTA 5 because it's different every time you play it and it's still growing. I want a game with maximum replay value and a huge open world > a linear game.

[Bathyj]

I dont agree with it but I understand if some do. It was always going to be a toss up between these two so its just preference.

[NihonjinChick]

I think they are both great games and were both GOTY worthy.

I loved TLOU but I'm still happy for Rockstar and GTA V. They worked hard.

[CrossingEden]

When it comes down to it. I get alot more content out of GTAV for $60, and a lot more variety. I could get the same feels just from watching a walkthrough of the last of us or a cutscene compilation. Meanwhile, GTAV has all these unique gaming experiences and SO much variety from triathlons to robbing banks to stealing a plane driving it up to the sky and then skydiving into the pool behind your house, it's just crazy silly fun that can be different each time you play. Same can't be said for the last of us especially considering that the A.I. is pretty piss poor outside of the scripted e3 demos, and no, don't say "turn the difficulty up" because even on normal difficulty A.I. should be competent. I never even bothered shooting with an empty clip meaning that the enemies never knew that I was out of ammo, pretty disappointing on the gameplay side imo. Naughty dog should try open world next time instead of having an extremely linear game experience. That being said, the last of us is still a great game and a good exclusive to brag about. I think the irony here is that "gamers" constantly complain about linear games and how they want more open experiences yet constantly praise extremely linear games as the best thing ever solely due to the fact that they're sony exclusives.

[Flyingdog670]

"I could get the same feels just from watching a walk-through of the last of us or a cut-scene comilation."
Sorry dude, judging from that sentence, you haven't played the TLOU of yet.
GTAV did nothing really special, i find it funny how your say that it's different each time you play it, but in all honesty, its not. Sure, while outside of missions you can do whatever you want, but during a mission, you are forced to play the game the way it wants you to play it. When planning the heist, you don't really get to plan the heist the way you want to do it. The game either gives you a option A: Go it quiet, or option B: Go in loud and dumb, yea, so much for "Diversity" Im not saying GTAV is a bad game, i just don't see why it deserves GOTY. TLOU did so many things better than GTAV. Also, lets not forget all the problems the game had with install data and GTA online being broken on launch. While TLOU had no problems at launch at all. Oh, and the true irony i see here, is that gamers say they want new, fresh ip's, and when they do come, they are overshadowed by sequels of already established games. THAT, is the true irony

[Hicken]

If The Last of Us were to turn out to be the greatest game ever made in the history of gaming, CrossingEden would say something else- some multiplat or Xbox exclusive- was better.

There is no way he would ever admit that a PlayStation exclusive deserves anything more than second fiddle, and even that he'd allow only to not appear COMPLETELY biased into oblivion.

I never got around to GTAV myself. It just never appealed to me. I know what happens when I play GTA games: eventually, I get sidetracked from the story, go do a bunch of random stuff, then get bored and never progress further. GTAV may be full of content, but it still follows its predecessors, and I know where that would lead me.

On the other hand, I've played no games like The Last of Us. It carries a bit of Resident Evil with it, but has so much more emphasis on SURVIVAL, rather than on conflict. Some of Uncharted's setpieces are present, in a way, yet different in that you can approach them multiple ways.

And that story...

I might be a bit biased, myself, but it seems to me that TLoU brought the fresher, more memorable experience.

[CrossingEden]

I have played the last of us. -__- Making your entire point invalid, I hate this stupid logic, "you have a different opinion therefore you didn't play the game" Also, outside of the heists, there is a huge...HUGE amount of things to do. Or did you only watch the trailers? The last of us doesn't give you the diversity to go stealth or to do things loudly, it's usually decided before the level starts by a cutscene. Also, hicken hasn't even played GTAV so his opinion is also invalid, he seems to believe that I have some vendetta against sony. Fact of the matter is, the last of us ISN'T the greatest game ever made in the history of gaming, not even close.

[blahblah123]

GTA is bigger
LoU is better

Either one is better than BIoshock Infinite. That was a waste of $60.

[Metallox]

Super Mario 3D World is more fun.

[Nes_Daze]

GTA has more replayability and content, but TLOU destroys GTA5 in storyline.

TLOU proved that games can be linear and still be an amazing experience.

GTA5 is an amazing game, but TLOU is a masterpiece, either way, I just can't pick the better game...

[Grave]

Well said.

[Bathyj]

I played Last of Us 3 times in a row. I finished GTA and havent touched it again. Sometimes less is more.

[Nes_Daze]

True, I also played through TLOU three times, I finished GTA5 and I would never redo the story...I am playing the multiplayer though because it is fun to play with friends online, but when they're not on, it's a borefest to be honest. TLOU is one of the few games this gen that actually had me worried about characters, actually made me hesitate to walk into a room, heck that elevator scene in the hotel when you turn on the generator is unforgettable.

[TheFallenAngel]

I haven't even beat GTA5 yet. The freaking missions are stupid, the story is laughable. The gameplay is good and the amount of stuff to do is good too. Still no where near as good as TLOU

[johnnoshark-reviews]

Personally, I loathed GTA V and I think it's a dangerous indicator of the state of the Video Game Industry that a title so blatantly misogynist was able to win such an award.

[yezz]

Misogyny? The game includes loads of messed up stuff but people bring up misogyny.. The game is kinda racist to almost every kind of people there is but you think they crossed the line with women?!

[LeCreuset]

I'm not one to take issues like this lightly, but I have to agree with you. You have to deal with GTA by letting your hair down and taking control of caricatures in a world full of caricatures. You can't just pick one element to take seriously while ignoring all of the rest.

[johnnoshark-reviews]

If I were to be completely honest about GTA V then I would need time to write an essay (which I pretty much am doing), but it was unfair of me to complain about misogyny and then fail to mention racism. Especially seeing that the dialogue includes the word "Nigga" more often than old telegrams say "STOP".

[yezz]

@LeCreuset

Exactly. Evereything in this game is stretched to the extreme. That's the joke! I'm sure that Rockstar isn't having a go with anyone..

[Ikonic]

TLOU should have won for sure...

Honestly the games are not even on the same level. Sure, GTA is fun, but the story for me at least, wasnt all that great. The gunplay is far better from GTA IV, but how could it have gotten worse? And I honestly don't have as many memorable moments from GTA when compared to TLOU.

TLOU was a piece of art. The soundtrack was simple, but still proved to be great. The combat and gunplay were fun. And best of all the game made me think about what i wanted to do. Don't have many bullets? Well lets go stealth kill people/infected. And of course the story, I don't have to explain this.

By all means, GTA V was a fun game, but compared to TLOU it is childsplay.

[Orionsangel]

They're both great games, but at the moment, The Last of Us, which I think in terms of greatness and what was groundbreaking in gaming, is the better game and GOTY, but...GTAV might win more awards because it's fresh in gamer's minds. Especially if the award is based on online voting by gamers. They have low attention spans.

[Last_Boss]

I would never associate myself with Keighly. I think he is a wannabe playboy in the gaming industry. Didn't play play GTA V, liked LoU, just choose the one you liked the most.

[BobBelcher]

GTAV is a heavy contender to begin with. But what GTAV does that TLOU doesn't do is it reaches out to both hardcore and casual gamers across multiple platforms.

[Rock_On_PS4]

Both are great games that helped push PS3 console system sales. Buy and play both games. Both are great games available on the PS3.

[DerekFlint007]

Played both games, completed both games, absolutely loved both games.

Here's the thing though, a few months later, i have almost forgotten about GTAV's story and characters, whereas i remember everything about Naughty Dog's story, characters and gameplay.

While i find GTAV incredible in both size and scope, overall i found the Last Of Us to be a more memorable and lasting experience.

[Spurg]

The only reason I like TLOU is because of the story...everything else was just generic stuff. I mean it could have been more open with its areas...they didn't experiment a lot.
For example:
-The weapon upgrades. They could given weapon chances of dealing double damage when it about to wear out..an element of strategy to combat.
-Skills feel generic as well...I mean how many time have we seen people increasing health and how many weapon you can carry.
-Scavenging was a good part of the game but if you play the game again the same stuff are still there unless your playing on the harder difficulty.

People tend to ignore Bioshock: Infinte....it has an amazing story as well. I prefered it more than TLOU. Sorry Sony fanboys u can disagree with me all you want but its my opinion.

If you dont understand what opinion means...
Opinion
əˈpɪnjən/
noun
1.a view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

Storywise it goes like this FOR ME:
-Bioshock Infinite
-TLOU
GTA5

Gameplaywise it goes like this FOR ME(Had to say it again just to remind you its my opinion):
-GTA5
-Bioshock: Infinite
-TLOU

[JohnHeatz]

That's the good thing about games and gaming, it gives place for everyone to have their own opinion and not be wrong about it.

Indeed, Bioshock was an amazing game, as I mentioned in the article, I wasn't really trying to ignore the other contenders, but realistically speaking, when it comes to the GOTY Award the main contenders were GTA V and TLOU.

I might start a series of this, and I love the response this article has gotten so far, so in the near future, more of this is to expect!

[LeCreuset]

I guess I'll finally pitch my 2 cents.

1) Without factoring in the online, to me TLOU and GTAV are solidly in place as #1 and #2 respectively, in my opinion.

2) Factoring in the online, there is no way GTAV should have been reviewed that highly. It should not have received game of the year. As fun as the single player was (which I have no desire play again after beating), I can't help but have negative thoughts pop into my head now when I hear about GTAV, because of the inexcusably horrendous online.

3) Whatever VGX was going to vote GOTY shouldn't have been defeated in any other best game categories, as GTAV was for PS3 Game and Action Adventure Game. Also, if Naughty Dog's only game that year wasn't going to be voted GOTY it makes no sense to have them as studio of the year.

[ELCUCO]

I played and finished TLOU 3x. It was so good. Had me hooked on every play through. As for MP, I was addicted to it for a good while. Very fun.

I played GTAV and got bored about half way. It was too repetitive. It wasnt a bad game by far, but I couldn't even finish it. MP? Well that was a buggy mess as we all know. As a matter of fact, it got to the point where I was having more fun glitching money/XP than in the actual missions.

TLOU deserved that award. With that said though, the whole show seemed like a joke. Looks like they gave a little love to everybody that has somewhat of a fan base as to not piss anybody off too much.

[LeCreuset]

Exactly. The whole thing just seemed so political. Don't give the exclusive GOTY, but make sure to spread some love around so as not to piss people off. TLOU should have got GOTY, but since it didn't ND shouldn't have received Studio of the Year. It makes no sense. And how is the GOTY defeated in categories for best PS3 game and best action adventure game? Factor that in with the presence of some questionable journalists on the judging panel and a planned GTAV concert for the show, and the whole thing just seems too political, staged, and lacking credibility.

[Poodlejamas]

Gameplay in games stomps all over story any day. Besides the last of us is a new ip, of course gamers are gonna be excited over something new. I bet in the long run the last of us say part 5 won't carry as much a hype as Gta5 currently does.

[The_Villager]

So glad TLoU didn't get it. The game was unplayable for me.

[LeCreuset]

I would ask you to explain how it was unplayable, but...

[Majin-vegeta]

Cuz he tried putting it in his Wii u and it caught on fire xD.

OT:He/she a ninty fanboy/girl.

[Sideras]

Honestly ACIV is a better game than GTA V. GTA V prides it self as a sandbox, but in truth you finish the story and that's that, the world is stale as fuck. And I wouldn't blame the developers talent or anything mostly it's the decision to go with a modern day city. Sure you can drive cars and helicopters and shit, but doing that outside of the missions is just downright boring.

[Letthewookiewin]

GTA is good but TLoU is one of the most amazing games I've ever played. I think it's far more deserving of game of the year. Glad ND at least got best studio.

[JasonKCK]

Does it really matter? The award has been given, move on. It's not like complaining about it is going to change it. I personally can think of about 20 games that deserve it more. GOTY awards are given out like candy on Halloween these days.

[Double_O_Revan]

GTAV was great and entertaining. But No game has gripped me the way TLoU did! It was Amazing! I can't think of any better way to describe it. It had everything and was damn near perfect.

TLoU is without a doubt the GotY for 2013

[chobit_A5HL3Y]

tlou was a fantastic game, imo. i usually don't like sp games but i passed it 2 times within the first week of buying it. i even started a game on hard mode , which i NEVER to for ANY sp games. i've only played about 15 minutes of gta5, so idk how it compares, but tlou definitely deserves a spot as one of the top 5 games of this gen.

[asyouburn]

Gta was awesome, no doubt, but it came out and was exactly what everyone expected if to be. Tlou on the other hand, came completely out of left field and brought with it a kind if awesome no one expected

[plaZeHD]

The Last Of Us. But GTA V comes incredibly close.