The Last of Us Review: An Overwhelmingly Awesome Experience

The Last of Us has had the biggest and most positive write ups in the gaming industry EVER! It's hard to browse the internet without a single advertisement, tweet or Facebook post raving on about it. Rightfully it deserves all the praise. If there has to be an example of a true masterpiece, well... The Last of Us dominates in all manner of gaming triumph. Sony owned Naughty Dog is proud of this title and it shows from immediate presentation that undoubtedly proves that this is PlayStations biggest and best exclusive title ever. Graphics are boasting at a maximum level throughout gameplay and cinematic sequences which tie together so seamlessly eat you up in a story that's more than just engaging, you literally lose yourself in such a world that's riddled with decaying city landscapes and characters that we can't help but know and understand as if they were in the same room.

There has been talk of players who hadn't owned a PS3 until The Last of Us hit shelves this weekend. They were tied to their PC gaming or bragging that Xbox 360 is the only console they'd ever actually play on because of this and that. The typical banter of a fanboy/girl. Seriously though those players are now coming to terms with what essentially is the biggest and foremost exclusive title to grace any console ever. Now that's saying something. To have this much influence, to bring these people to a point where the only way they can get their hands on the awesome Ellie and Joel editions of the game is to either buy bundles from in store or borrow a friends PS3 and if that friend owns The Last of Us, they'd have to be beyond loyal to ever want to lend you all this within launch week. Trust me they'll have hours of play and you won't be seeing it for quite some time.

You play the role of Joel who is a survivor of what appears to be a hopeless land of waste due to a horrific pandemic, spreading infection has caused the government to take military control and strayers to become hostile in their own parts of the city. Nothing is safe, whether it's the brutally infected clickers that have been exposed for years with oozing fungal disfigurements, soldiers looking to extinguish anyone who is willing to break curfew or stragglers who have created their own law in their corrupted society where showing brute force is their means of survival. Their are communities of survivors who are willing to help and Joel will come across them in a world where trust is hard to demonstrate.

Joel's troubled past from the events of the outbreak are apparent throughout his struggles to survive but it's not until you meet with Ellie that these characters really come to life. Ellie is a 14 year old who has been brought up in the apocalyptic world not knowing what it was like before the catastrophic events. The bonding between the two is absolutely beautiful, especially when it comes to on screen prompts that tell snippets of the story during the actual gameplay. You feel like you're teaching her about the times when life was normal and at the same time you feel like you're learning the story along with her. She's a tough kid who believes she can handle herself during traumatic situations but Joel doesn't see it that way. He is there to protect her in their journey to reach outer salvation and find answers as to what makes her so important.

Any game could provide the level of characters that The Last of Us has created but very little have produced believable ones and most of that is down to the prodigious talent behind the voice acting. Never have I felt so engaged by character voice talent in a game quite like this. Every mutter, every sentence and every interaction between the cast in truth feels genuine. It feels as if it's literally happening right before you.

It's not just the characters that make The Last of Us believable. Naughty Dogs efforts in creating a world where textures among clothing, walls, items and city landscapes are phenomenal. It pushes the limits of current gen visuals that would fool anyone to think it could have been next gen. The details of Joe’s ragged shirt are throughly detailed. Foliage, creeping ivy and other forms of plant life have taken control over the majority of the city walls. You could take a moment and count individual leaves if it wasn't for the astounding gameplay that is to follow the dimly lit alleyways. No, I'll admit I actually spent a great deal of time during our 18 hour playthrough just studying the level of detail The Last of Us has to offer.

Along with the graphics it holds a remarkable sense of player interaction. Planks of wood used to reach across from roof to roof are literally a solid object with no intentions to rush the player into dropping it. The same goes for the ladders, it's timed realistically and doesn't come across lazy. A minor mechanic that no player would usually take notice of but it's an addition to the believable characters, the believable setting to have believable weighty objects to manipulate. We love that. 

With all that is believable in The Last of Us combat proves to be just that combining scarce ammo for gunfights and hand to hand combat that connects fluidly amongst various enemies you'll have to face. Each hit with the square button leaves you with a gratifying sense of Joel's urgency to win a fight. Clickers and runners display grim death animations that can only be described as disgustful. Stabbing in the neck with a shiv or blasted their brains out with a well placed shotgun blast. I'd go ahead and say it's satisfying but truthfully it's stressful and I'd like to point out that's not a bad thing. Last of Us looks gorgeous but the beauty is short lived through realisation of despair and tension. It's easy to just pick up a weapon and go all out at these hideous creatures but with a lack of ammo you're best bet is to get sneaky.

It's fantastic how The Last of Us can have you feeling fully loaded before facing off with a horde of enemies only to gain an understanding that 13 bullets for 13 clickers just simply isn't enough. It throws an opportunity at you, to take advantage of the games awesome stealth features. Approach every threat with caution by using glass bottles and bricks to distract the enemy and sneak passed them. It's unquestionably worth saving the ammo for the harder, BIGGER enemies. 

Coming back to the tension and genuine fear I faced with The Last of Us. All the stealth moments bring your heart to an utter stop. There's this one particular area where it's essential to make it through in absolute silence. With a low lit room and the sound right up, you're going to experience a frightening ordeal even if you don't face off with one of the infected. Making sure Ellie never gets into a scrap is also a hellacious experience but it's that very experience that makes The Last of Us terrific. Be sure to always make use of Joel's ability to listen in to where enemies are. 

Before entering a room or an area where activity may occur, you can quietly creep up and listen through walls. Enemies will be highlighted and from there it's down to you whether you take them out quietly with a strangle hold or slip by unnoticed. Sometimes you're left with no choice but to take the murderous approach and the player has to watch some grisly animations.  

These animations carry out in your death as well. One of the most horrific being the bloater. With a one hit kill it'll clench onto Joel's face, sliding its fingers into his mouth and ripping the jaw clean off. The camera work is marvellous. It delves deep into the fear and conflict that Joel faces especially when facing quick time events where panic mashing buttons brings you to a point of exhaustion.

If that doesn’t bring you to a state of panic then running low on meds certainly will. To make health packs, shivs or produce upgrades you are going to need to find supplies. Supplies are dotted about all over the place from decrepit office drawers, empty garages to some of those hard to reach places that you'd least expect them to be. Creating a health kit relies on an area that's clear of enemy contact. Joel reaches into his rucksack in order to sift through all the useless junk you've found only to turn it into the most useful health aid you desperately require. It's all happening in real time and if you're spotted by a savage runner you'd best get back up and swing with your equipped weapon fast!

Those equipped weapons won't withstand too much brutal combat though. Eventually they break resulting in sheer frantic desperation in order to find the next melee weapon available. It keeps you on your toes, always scavenging for scrap to create more obscure items from nail bombs to molotov cocktails.

The gameplay thrives with the ability to swing in and out of cinematic sequences. The connection between Joel and Ellie lasts throughout bringing an element of relief to an alarming moment of terror with reasonably timed humour. Ellie has some funny lines and thankfully it conveys a certain charm in between those moments of chaos, leaving you a little reassured and ready to move onwards with their journey.

The single player has hours of joy and is worth more than a couple of playthroughs. A fair few unlocks to obtain too through collectible items. So we move swiftly onto the multiplayer side. Not really my cup of tea when it comes to groundbreaking single player action we've come to see within The Last of Us but earnestly Naughty Dog haven't gone overboard with the MP and yet they have managed to bring one of the most interesting multiplayers we've played in a long time.  

Although it doesn't have you coming back for more, lacking any real addiction or meaning to fight it still holds something unlike any other MP experience. It's very minimal in terms of game modes. Only two in fact. Supply Raid which is simply to kill off the entire enemy team to win or Survivors where you'll eliminate all enemies without respawn. Sounds like the typical additional multiplayer that comes with most games but trust us when we say this will have you in a nervous wreck. You can tell team mates are scared to make mistakes, you will be afraid to make them yourself and as most the mechanics are directly from the single player portion of Last of Us, meaning there's stealth to be had when approaching enemy teams. Tackling human players is frightening when your team have all been dropped, leaving you pretty much by yourself to discover loot and inevitably die in the hands of your opponents.  

The most absorbing action that is taking place is the metagame. The ability to call in survivors through Facebook integration is neat. Any parts looted within your matches converts to supplies for your group of survivors. To keep the metagame forever going you'll need to log in daily and rummage through for loot within the matches. Honestly though other than that it doesn't offer the frequent frenzied multiplayer fun that players will sought after. A fair few unlocks for your customisable characters are there for the taking as you progress through the ranks but ultimately that's it. Team work is paramount when it comes to Last of Us multiplayer. Best as a team of friends like any other game obviously but without the team efforts it just becomes a big pile of death mess.  

Overall if you don't fancy the multiplayer then you're not missing out on much at all. The Last of Us is heavily aimed for the most exceptional single player experience, from story to gameplay and most importantly immersion. There hasn't been a game like this in along time where you can actually feel every emotion brewing inside you. Fear, concern, urgency, relief, sadness, anger and so much more. Name every human emotion and you're gonna feel it in this one.... except disappointment.  

As a player you feel that every choice made by Joel is acceptable for the survival of Ellie and himself. You are behind him in every way even as a cold blooded killer. I've grown to love these characters more than any other in recent games. Naughty Dog have presented what is a true masterpiece behind every aspect you look at within a video game. Awesome narrative, superb voice talent, beautifully detailed surroundings, gripping gameplay and chilling suspense. Our reviews don't usually rate games out of 10 but if we did the Last of Us would be beyond maximum! Easily GOTY!

Positive:

+ Pretty graphics 

+ Vicious and satisfying combat 

+ Frantic and appealing loot system 

+ Gripping narrative and beloved characters

Negative:

- NPCs tend to blow your cover when stealth really matters.

The Last of Us

Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Genre: Action / Adventure / Survival Horror
Rating: 18+
Platform: PlayStation 3 (Exclusive)

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State of Decay Review: Neighbourhood Zombie Watch

There have been so many zombie games since the dawn of gaming time. Whether you're bored and fed up with the sighting of “ZEDs” State of Decay actually is one hell of a surprise. I'm not entirely fond of the senseless zombie slaying you'd expect in a typical zombie plot. State of Decay has you killing zombies by the plenty but this massively open world title by Undead Labs sure has you panicking over more than just a few zombies. It brings an element of survival like no other. From hordes of brain munchers leaving you running scared, to growing trust within a community of survivors and making sure you have enough resources to withstand further onslaught from those pesky ZEDS!

There's not a general story to the game. The plot doesn't evolve with just one protagonist. In fact you can play as multiple characters as you recruit more and more people into your community. Certain stronghold missions with the community will give a little insight into their characters but your true intentions are not to get wound up in their story too much but just working together in order to survive.

Immediately as you fire up the game you're forced to help your friend from a vicious orgy of zombies. Instantly you'll take a grasp of the combat, just bash away with the X button will deliver countless satisfying blows to the frail zombie heads. Classic frantic melee with a crisp beautiful popping sound as you turn their heads into mush. Using these planks of wood or even baseball bats to sledge hammers and shovels, pretty much anything you can find, they have these sounds you just don't get tired of. It's sweet listening to the connection of bat + zed skull. As a third person you'll be aware of many attacks happening right behind you giving a quick scare to say the least.

State of Decay throws in at the deep end fast. It's time to head on out and check for survivors but what you're going to have to get used to is the very discouraging UI within the journal. Now from the get go it looks a little complicated and admittedly it is at first but it's something you'll get used to. Maps provide easy navigation from town to town including all the outskirts with no roads. You'll always have an objective to go for but be prepared when pulling your map out as this living world doesn't stop for no one. If their an infestation of zombies heading your way, having the map in hand will make you inevitably undefended. While this may be considered a worriment it adds to the suspense and fearfulness as you make your way round the vast areas during exploration.

You're exploring for many reasons. One is to find survivors and the other is resources for your eventual stronghold. Building trust amongst the community is vital and while you're hunting around for valuable items it's best to consider your carrying capacity. Within the UI you'll see a rucksack which takes up one of your blocks of space. Depending on the size of the rucksack you are able to cary melee weapons, guns, ammo, drinks and meds. Careful commitment to the content you're holding is vital. Considering whether to carry two or more melee weapons is a choice that can prove vital in your hunt for others. Weapons tend to break and become unusable ad if there's nothing left in your inventory you're pretty much down to bare knuckle fist fights with the undead.

Your findings are paid off well when loot sacks of resources are brought back to your stronghold. This will boost your small community of survivors morale as well as bring you influence which will offer more resources from neighbours and other town folk. Managing your home is a brilliant feature you'll grow to love instantly. It looks complicated but think of it as one of those mobile tablet games where you'll set up a task that last 30 minutes and you'll back once it's complete. Thankfully State of Decay doesn't force to spend out on coins to get the job done faster. Patience is important and you'll come back to a group of people all fed, well rested and less worried about the outside world full of zombie infestation. Within a home you can build fortifications to fend off the undead as well as sleeping areas because bedrooms alone will only handle a handful of survivors.

If you're looking to grow your community by finding survivors, you're going to need to find a larger household with a better accommodation for them. You'll feel safe at first but once the nearest town has been ransacked of supplies, relocation is your best bet for faster supply delivery. Of course relocating isn't easy, it requires you have the certain amount of population in your community as well as enough resources to start building up.

State of Decay is massive. It may not be considered as big as most blockbuster sandbox titles but there is definitely a vast area to discover. Thankfully vehicles are scattered from the apocalyptic state of towns, gas stations and abandoned barns giving you the extra miles you need. One of the particular fun activities while driving is the ability to run down hordes of zombies bringing some oozing gratification along with it. Be wary of your vehicles condition though as hit and runs tend to leave more than just a dent in your front bumpers. What's amazing about sandbox titles is the events that take place in real time. You could be driving from one side of the map to the other and find the sun has gone down leaving you pretty much out in the open in pitch black darkness. It just makes you feel a little more edgy about scavenging in peoples homes. Never fear... you do have a little flash light to see who or what is feeling peckish for your flesh.

Roaming freely in a real time world plays havoc on your fatigue. Completing objectives will eventually bring your character to a point where he or she needs to rest. Swinging melee weapons, jumping fences and busting down doors all drains your energy. You could simply take an energy drink for consumption but it's best to get a good nights sleep. Swapping characters allows for a well earned rest and you can carry on throughout the evening.

Using different characters is vital, build enough trust with a fellow member of the community allows them to become playable. You can check vital statistics of any member by using your journal. Whether they're hurt, unhealthy or just plain tired. With each character you build a number of upgrades along the way. Using firearms will level up precision and a chance at critical hits on zeds heads. Cardio will allow characters to sprint and attack for longer. Powerhouse traits provide extra hitting power with most melee weapons. There's plenty of reasons to be taking on enemies just to build your characters stats up to maximum.

Overall State of Decay brings an element of actual desperation and concern for your fellow community. It doesn't play in a linear fashion and the choice of what you want to do next is entirely down to you depending on the situations you're having to face. Main objectives don't provide a compelling story but more of an understanding of the surroundings and the gradual progression that is required to survive as a team. Why the army isn't getting involved and what the Wilkersons are up to at their home base, they are snippets of the surrounding state of affairs and you won't become attached to any characters like The Walking Dead (the good one) but that's not the intentions from Undead Labs.

What's golden about State of Decay is the level of depth throughout the gameplay. It literally holds all the elements you desire for the zombie genre. A genre that's both stale and repetitive elsewhere is most certainly freshened up with a game that keeps you busy, that keeps you on your toes and proves to be addictive at the same time. It brings meaningful hours well spent rather than a quick blast through corridors of worthless waves of zombies.

With all that said there's something missing isn't there? Co-op! A game that boasts vast spacious terrain and team bonding would thrive with the ability to drop in as one of your own saved companions and help build a stronghold together. Lets not end on a negative. State of Decay is still a freakin' great experience even as a single player only title with hours of gameplay and that's coming from someone who detests the zombie genre. A few frame rate issues will bug you when speeding the immense open world in your vehicle but nothing that'll ruin your overwhelming urges to get things done and enjoy the apocalyptic views.

Positive:

+ Exploring vast open world of the undead. 

+ Survival mechanics are prime. 

+ Transition from day to night within a real-time world brings edgy atmosphere and desperation.

Negative:

- Lack of Co-op. 

- Frame rate stutters and struggles to load objects instantly. 

State of Decay

Developer: Undead Labs
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Genre: Action / Adventure / Survival / Strategy
Rating: 18+
Format: XBLA

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FIFA 14 Gameplay Trailer and Next Gen Screens : E3 2013

The next generation of FIFA is fast approaching. With Pro-Instincts, players will react to the action on the pitch. True player motion adds to the athleticism of pro players showing urgency towards the ball. Finally Elite technique is added to the next gen versions bringing more than 100 new animations to footballs finest players. 



Such improvements like these are what's expected with the annual release of FIFA. What's interesting to hear at E3 is EA's ambition to bring a fully living stadium to players in their living rooms. You'll feel the electricity as the players walk out onto the pitch and every shot on goal, every movement on the ball and every tackle made will make a huge impact from the crowds reaction. Here's a handfull of next gen screens.

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Project Spark : E3 2013

Project Spark is what we would call a digital canvas. You start from scratch and build worlds that are unique in every way. Project Spark allows the player to create literally anything, not just luscious landscapes but your very own game and then share it with the world.

Project Spark has been confirmed as a free-to-play game that combines the use of Xbox 360 / Xbox One / Windows 8 and Smartglass to share your creations and even play others in one of the most ambitious projects we've ever seen. It's going to be unlimited amounts of fun.

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