I've just played through the 'Last of us' demo included in the GOW: Ascension pack and I thought I'd give my initial impressions of it and what I predict for its place in the industry.
First of all I'd like to point out the demo was short, VERY SHORT. But it didn't really matter that it was short
it showed me what I needed to know as a player. The graphics excelled through both the lighting and character animations though some of them might be familiar due to the engine used. The thing is it wasn't the graphics themselves that mattered it was the attention to detail of the actual environment , a ravaged landscape of broken buildings, broken civilization. It became immediately clear as I tread through the swamp like remnants of this 'city' that I felt an instant connection to the world. I looked around with the camera taking in every detail of this carefully crafted environment, an environment that didn't need the extravagance of some other game worlds of late to stand out, simplistic imagery with polished detail.
The second thing therefore I'd like to mention is the sound quality.
The soft music in the background only adds to the beauty of the world being explored, creating tension with a soft build up to a crescendo in the action packed sequence when I was spotted by the runners (basically a type of infected) before lowering back down as I hid away creating an ominous silence that created tension. Whilst I'm on the topic of sound I may as well talk about
the voice acting which is again from what I can tell top notch, Naughty Dog excels at creating a game which uses a cast of characters that appear to resonate with each other, which is all the more enjoyable for the player as we immerse ourselves in the game's world.
Finally and most importantly, the gameplay.
Those of you going into this experience expecting Uncharted are very wrong. Some of the shooting mechanics are reminiscent of Uncharted, if not a lot more refined.
What matters though is the difference in how you will actually play the game. First off obviously the jump button is gone from Uncharted because this game isn't a platformer. Next is the
tactical nature of combat. As stated this demo was only about an encounter long but it gave me a grasp of what should be expected.
You have to be careful to sneak around and preserve your bullets because there are hardly any, I ran out real fast when the clicker (other infected more difficult than the runners, only respond to sound) noticed me. It required two shivs to the face and a couple of gunshots (the gun only had 6 bullets) to the face to stop it attacking me,
the clickers are no joke and I got killed by it the first time through.
Unlike many other games which are about survival these days, Last of us seems to excel in creating tension and having you think on your feet as I found myself asking how best to adapt to the situation as I played through the second time on hard mode. Of note is the 'sound' mode which allows you to see through walls the sillhoutes
of the infected to plan a tactical route.
This adds a layer of depth to the game because this is not your typical run and gun this is a game which requires strategy.
I've only played about 15 minutes but from this I can tell the 'Last of us' will be something special when it ships June 14 and I believe at the moment that it may well become my new GOTY. If you have had TLOU off your radar I ecommend trying it out somehow, it will be out in a couple of weeks and will be a great way to top off your E3 week.
I am absolutely excited for this game and will give my full impressions on the week after E3 as well as my thoughts on M*****ft, Sony's press conferences and Nintendo's Direct!
My thoughts on the Last Of Us demo! - Blog by c0mmandershepard - IGN