The Last Of Us

A pandemic has radically changed known civilization. Twenty years later, infected humans run wild and survivors are killing each other for food, weapons, or whatever they can get their hands on. Joel, a ruthless survivor, is hired to smuggle a 14 year-old girl, Ellie,out of an oppressive military quarantine zone, but what starts as a simple job soon transforms into a profound journey across the U.S.

Naughty Dog, the critically-acclaimed developers of the Uncharted franchise, are back with The Last of Us, a genre-defining experience blending elements of survival and action developed exclusively for PlayStation 3.

World

Set in a devastated, post-pandemic United States,The Last of Us invites players to feel the tension and action of this visceral world. Ellie's being escorted out of the military-controlled quarantine zone by Joel and Tess to a group known as the Fireflies. The quarantine zone is where Ellie has spent her entire life, Boston is where Joel and Tess do business as smugglers. They run guns, drugs and ration cards. They even smuggle humans; in this case 14-year-old Ellie. The Outskirts is a bombed out wasteland rife with humans infected by the fungus that has turned millions into savage beasts.

Naughty Dog has equipped Joel with an aural skill of his own: "listen mode." With a pull of the DualShock trigger, Joel can focus on the sounds Infected make. In black and white, the game visualizes the groaning sounds, clicks and footsteps of Infected, helping Joel "see" through walls and aiding the player in devising a strategy with which to take Infected down.

Survival

Joel has limited means with which to fight the game's version of zombies. He'll have a gun, but access to limited ammo. Killing an infected may drop a single bullet, sometimes two. Joel often has to rely on his bare fists, bricks and bottles to kill Infected. He can sneak up behind Runners and Clickers, taking them out with a stranglehold or a shiv to the neck. Using supplies scavenged from deserted buildings, Joel can craft new weapons. A scissor and some tape will left him craft a knife, or modify a two-by-four into something deadlier. Everything is makeshift, from first aid kits to Molotov cocktails.

As players move through The Last of Us, they'll find supplies: batteries, blades, binding, alcohol, explosives and sugar. Using these elements, players can craft crude weapons and consumable items. Naughty Dog manages to ground the crafting of these elements in small, but interesting ways. Shivs and melee weapons break. Batteries deplete as Joel uses his flashlight.

The Last of Us is a cruel sequence of high tension horror moments, a puzzle of ruined architecture where no structure feels safe, where every howl and footstep could mean death. It's a beautiful, disgusting, horrifying thing to behold.