Summer is supposed to be the time of year when we store the boots and jackets, turn off the television, and shut down the video game console to head outside and enjoy the good weather. Normally this is easy to do for most gamers as summer is not the hottest time of year to release new video games, but the summer of 2013 has had one surprise in store for gamers.

During the usually dull summer release period, developer Naughty Dog unleashed a quiet hit with the post-apocalyptic game The Last of Us. Released in mid-June, the game takes gamers on a journey of survival across a futuristic United States that has been reclaimed by nature after a modern plague decimated mankind.

The question now becomes, is the game worth coming indoors to try out?

Story and Presentation

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There are few games that come along and offer the depth in experiences and a creative storyline all in one game like The Last of Us.

The story begins 20 years after a modern plague that infects the brains of human beings has swept across the U.S. The government and military have faltered under the weight of millions of lives lost and hordes of infected beings roaming the country.

Quarantine zones have been established in most major cities, those which haven’t been abandoned and overtaken by nature that is, and this is where we find our two main characters.

Joel and Ellie driving around Pittsburgh before being ambushed by several vicious survivors.

Joel is a smuggler proficient in trading drugs and arms on the black market. He’ll trade anything to anyone, but he does have a conscience underlying his seedy career. He meets Ellie when a life-long friend of his makes him promise to care for the young teenage girl. The two set out on a journey across country from the quarantine zone in Boston in search of a group known as the Fireflies. This organization hopes to restore society and cure the infection afflicting millions of citizens, but to get there Joel and Ellie must survive the hordes of infected humans and other smugglers looking to take advantage of them.

After the collapse of the government, a pocket of US military controlled Pittsburgh as a quarantine zone.

The game’s presentation earns it the highest possible marks from users and critics alike. Unlike so many other games with over-the-top, almost cookie cutter storylines that seem more ridiculous than realistic; Naughty Dog struck a more down-to-Earth note inside their cautionary tale of life after pandemic disease. The storyline and the impressive single player campaign easily facilitate the forging of a connection between Joel, Ellie, and the gamer. From a presentation and storyline perspective, The Last of Us is one of the greatest video games to hit the PS3 and sets a high bar for expectations on next generation console games.

Gameplay, Graphics and Sound

Gamers take control of Joel throughout the game, which takes places as a third-person action shooter. While the infected hordes are offered up as a potential enemy, in reality the main protagonists Joel and Ellie will face are other humans struggling to survive and looking to take advantage of Joel and Ellie whenever possible.

Infected are humans that have been infected by the cordyceps fungus that has decimated mankind.

Naughty Dog rolled out a new AI for this game known as “Balance of Power,” and it made a good showing in The Last of Us. As the name suggests, there is an attempt to have the game to have a more realistic feel. Gamers will notice that Joel doesn’t need to unleash a hail of bullets to kill every enemy. One well-placed round from a handgun can take down an enemy. Likewise, enemy forces will react with proper caution based upon the weapon in a player’s hand. A blunt object in Joel’s hand will not raise the same level of alarm as a firearm would.

[soundcloud params=”auto_play=false&show_comments=true&color=4099ff”]https://soundcloud.com/sony-soundtracks/sets/the-last-of-us[/soundcloud]

The Last of Us features outstanding graphics and sound, both of which are necessary to survive the campaign and add joy to the game. Unlike so many other games, careful planning and thought are required to play this campaign effectively. Everything occurs in real time and the “Balance of Power” engine makes the AI smart enough to take advantage of player weaknesses.

With great graphics to aid the gamer, they can choose when to fight and when to sneak past enemies. Great transitions between light and dark and real-world obstacles make it easy for gamers to decide if the time is right to fight the enemy, or take cover and stealth their way past. From start to finish, the game is a “thinking-gamers” game. A perfect example is health regeneration.

In the game Joel can only regenerate health by applying health packs, but this requires time and in the midst of combat the enemy might take advantage of his lull in activity to fight.

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Multiplayer

The Last of Us features an online multiplayer story, of sorts, in which players must choose a clan to join. Players can join either the Hunters or Fireflies, and that selection is permanent until a clan is wiped out. There is a story involved in multiplayer, but it is not at all deep and really just gives context to the online gaming experience.ARVE Error: The [[arve]] shortcode needs one of this attributes av1mp4, mp4, m4v, webm, ogv, url

Multiplayer features two modes to choose from, Supply Raid and Survivors. In the supply raid mode teams have a finite pool of respawns for players, while survivor mode provides each player with just one life. The goal of either mode is to build up your clan and help it survive against the onslaught of other online clans.ARVE Error: The [[arve]] shortcode needs one of this attributes av1mp4, mp4, m4v, webm, ogv, url

Lasting Appeal

The Last of Us has only been out since 14 June in the United States, but it has been met with rave reviews from critics and gamers alike. The average online review of the game gives it a 4.5 out of 5 score. Personally, the depth and sophistication of the storyline in single player campaign mode alone is enough to give the game a 9.0 and with the stellar graphics, sound, and extras it is worthy of a 4.8.

There are few games that come along and offer the depth in experiences and a creative storyline all in one game like The Last of Us. The multiplayer side of the house leaves a little to be desired, but it is far from shabby. Overall, the game has immense lasting appeal as the campaign could be played through several times with a different approach used each time, dependent upon the skill of the individual gamer. This game is a true must-own.

[alert type=”blue”]This is an exclusive Stagger’d review written by Matthew McCabe. All rights reserved.[/alert]