The Last of Us Remastered
For: PS4
From: Naughty Dog
Five stars (out of five)
For those unfamiliar with the original game, The Last of Us depicts a world where the population of the United States has been overcome by a Cordyceps virus (Google it!), decimating the population and leaving only groups of survivors battling the environment, the infected and themselves.
You play as Joel, who together with his associate Tess is tasked with smuggling Ellie out of the Quarantine zone.
I won't mention any more of the story because it truly is one of those kind of games that you must experience yourself.
This is the absolute benchmark of storytelling in gaming as far as I'm concerned.
Naughty Dog has crafted perhaps the most believable and engrossing post-apocalyptic story and world I have seen: it simply sucks you in.
The gameplay is the same as before, but now that it is running at 60FPS it is a superior experience.
The combat, which could be a little hit and miss, is now smooth as butter, and the environment (and your movement through it) seems more natural and fluid.
It makes an already captivating world more believable.
It is not just the base game that has been included.
The Remastered version also includes the Left Behind DLC expansion pack, which is well worth playing, and all the released DLC for the game.
Left Behind is a prequel and adds to the story.
Obviously, I do not want to delve into spoiler territory, but it follows Ellie and the events in her life both before and after she meets Joel, and it is outstanding.
The only down side about it on PS3 was its longevity and therefore value for money, but hey, this time around no such worries.
My only recommendation is that you play it AFTER finishing the main game.
The multiplayer is just the icing on top.
It is brilliant.
A mix between aggressive and tactical play, teamwork and out thinking your opponents, it is unlike any other multiplayer mode I can remember playing.
There are three modes: supply raid, survivors and interrogation.
Supply raid is a team deathmatch of sorts, where teams have 20 cumulative lives and the last one left standing wins.
Survivors is a one-life mode where stealth and tactics are essential, and in Interrogation teams must interrogate captured or injured opponents to achieve their goal.
Each game has vastly different tactics required to succeed and that really livens it up.
Tactics employed in Supply Raid will get you nowhere in Survivors.
If you played and loved The Last of Us on PS3, I strongly recommend you pick it up again.
If you somehow let it slip by (or are new to PlayStation), there is no way you can let this game slip past.
After all, it is the best game of all time.