I think we’ve all heard of this game. Set in the not-so-distant future, The Last of Us takes places in an alternate universe where a fungus known as Cordyceps Unilateralis, that basically if an Ant touches, will infect it. Ants that are infected generally die within 4-10 days, so the infection clearly has a different effect on the Human population in this universe. The infection has taken over (as far as we can tell) continental United States, and few, small, restrictive quarantined camps exist around some major cities. Pittsburgh, being one of them.
The game follows a man named Joel (who you’ll be playing as) and Ellie, a 14-year-old girl who was born into the infected world. The basic premise of the game is for Joel to get Ellie to safety with a trusted friend outside the quarantined zones. Don’t worry though, Ellie isn’t some useless A.I. who will just get stuck in a corner until you shoot her enough to get her to move, oh no.
Say for example, you’ve found a few survivors who don’t take kindly to strangers, you’re engaged now in a gun fight. Ellie will automatically take cover, and proceed to find either something large, blunt, or even sharp to help you fend off your new-found foe’s. In the gameplay example released at E3, Ellie picks up a brick right before Joel is caught up in a fight, and just before he’s shot, Ellie throws the brick at Joel’s attacker and Joel is able to recover and shoot him. Here’s the gameplay released, and you can see just for yourself how awesome it looks.
The game still doesn’t have an official release date, but we know it is coming in 2013. The Last of Us is being developed by the folks over at Naughty Dog, Sony’s crowned jewel. Hype is high for this game, and as a gamer, I’m confident Naughty Dog can deliver the goods everyone is hoping for here. There are a few trailers out right now showcasing the game’s storyline, but other than that, nothing. We do also know though, that there will be some form, whether it’s co-op or versus, of multi-player.
Stay tuned for more information on The Last of Us.