Last of Us...More of Them

 So this week is a bit of a re-hash from a previous review I had on a game, but I think this game is definitely worth it.  The main reason I bring it up is because it's re-release coming to our late and great Ps4 consoles everywhere.....for 59.99

Previously on LinkInGaming...

The Last of Us - My first Impression upon release
20 years after the Pandemic the world is no longer ruled by men. Joel, The main character in Last of Us, comes off as a disgruntled man who loses someone very close to him in midst of the outbreak.  While the monsters do not appear like zombies, they possess enough ferocity and cause a wide spread pandemic to overturn cities to their natural state of spore infected vegetation.  I liked this in the movie “I am Legend”  because a city like New York was turned over to a grasslands environment.  However, like most movies, the goal isn’t my concern.  Whether or not someone succeeds in their goal in these movies, we honestly do not care.  From the beginning we put ourselves in the mindset that millions of zombies do not just get eradicated easily and even if a vaccine is found, there is always a rough and long road ahead.  We care for the people involved because we consider ourselves to be the ones who survives.  We care about the little girl at his side survives.  Everything he does is for her. Survival in Last of Us becomes an emotional toll as well as a physical one.

I knew so little back then, this game became so much more.  Now I don't want to blow anything but if you don't know by now then you aren't a real gamer so take that.  You need ice for that burn??? No? Okay...

Highlights (Spoilers AHEAD)

Joel is a single father with a sweet little daughter.  She got a gift for him, it was his birthday.  Typical father to forget his own birthday.  He loves his daughter and they are quite the team, playing jokes on each other and laughing.  However, we are only left to assume because of the impending doom that follows.  While trying to escape the city from what we can assume are zombies, they are approached by the military, given the orders to shoot on sight, anyone or anything they come across, fearing the infected were coming.  Shield your eyes children....

These buggers have no sight obviously but hear by a series of clicks which makes for me peeing my pants.  Joel is grazed in the escape, nothing major....His daughter, not so much.  She bleeds out in his arms.  His brother Tommy barely saves him by shooting the soldier down.  This is just the first 10 minutes.

20 Years pass and Joel is a different man, with an intense beard, Duck Dynasty style.  He's become a smuggler in the apocalypse, taking weapons past a overrun society.  The only form of government is a military-based one, "curing" all "infected" with a bullet to the brain, no matter the circumstances.  They call themselves the fireflies, no relation to the insect they're just yellow.  The resistance does what they always love to do, crochet.....and fight the government.  Joel comes into play when his friend, who is actually part of the resistance, asks him to transport not weapons, as per usual, but a person, a little girl named Ellie.  Instantly we can see how that brings up bad memories.

  Joel needs to transport her to scientists who could find a cure from her blood, but he doesn't realize this until it's too late that there is no going back.  She has been bit but does not change into our flesh eating friends.  On their journey, Joel becomes not only the protector of Ellie, but essentially her father, mentoring her and caring for her along the way.  He teacher her things no father should, including killing a greater enemy than zombies.  He fights the fireflies, random new types of zombies who all have different aspects that center around their infectious plant-like spore abilities, and the not-so-awesome cannibals.

Re-Release
While I expected this to happen, Last of Us re-release is definitely a surprise to me because it's so soon.  Typically games wait a while before they're recreated and remade, similar to movies.  Naughty Dog, the developing company, told gaming news that they would spend their time on the next game in the Drake's series which makes me think Sony is desperate to keep sales going while they can.  All marketing techniques aside, I wont take the extra time to tell you how excited I am about its release......Just kidding I love to do that.  The game makes you feel every emotion on the pallet and I love the zombie apocalypse, aside from the whole dying part.

Rating: 5/5 Story 4/5 Multiplayer 
Pros: Zombie killing, Weapon crafting, Survival techniques
Cons: Lack of Co-operative play but a completely co-operative storyline which is confusing.  Though the online multiplayer makes up for it greatly.