We’ve recently just covered The Last of Us a few days ago. But hot off the press, The Last of Us panel at San Diego’s Comic-Con showcased a new and exciting trailer featuring a third character named Bill.
The Last of Us first premiered as a teaser trailer showcasing real life footage of people in disarray, massive looting, demonstrations, protest, armed police and all around anarchy; basically the world in complete shambles. The message Naughty Dog wanted to convey? A fungus viral outbreak had spread throughout the far reaches of the world and has mutated healthy civilians to a zombie-like state.
The San Diego Comic-Con premiered a new trailer in addition to E3 2012 a few months back, revealing more than just basic gameplay and the story’s premise. Sony has always had top first-party developers in the their bag. Naughty Dog is among those talented folks. From the creators who brought you Crash Bandicoot to the Unchartered trilogy on the PS3, Naughty Dog is now in the midst of developing and perfecting their latest IP, The Last of Us. My first impression of it was that it looked strikingly similar to the film I Am Legend. The girl, Ellie, is perhaps not coincidentally inspired by actress Ellen Page from Juno and Inception. The resemblance and voice is uncanny. Expected to release in 2013, I have no doubt in my mind that The Last of Us has the potential to become a contender for game of the year. Anything done by Naughty Dog is pure gold and always have a way of raising the bar to unprecedented levels. Observe:
This game is beautifully crafted with the utmost care and attention to detail. Every character interaction and emotions seems natural and life-like. Something tells me The Last of Us will be a big hit when it hits the market.
The panel itself consisted of the game’s Creative Director Neil Druckmann and Game Director Bruce Staley, along with three of the game’s main voice actors, Troy Baker and Ashley John, who play as Joel and Ellie respectively. New to the scene is William Earl Brown, who plays Bill. While we can only speculate how Joel and Bill’s paths cross, it is clear that they have a shared history. Whether Bill will play a major role throughout the story or not remains a mystery, but something tells me he’s in it for the long run.
Naughty Dog has truly outdone themselves, perfecting the art of tension-building and seamless social interaction. If it’s any consolation, you only have to look at the Uncharted series and know that this game will be of superior quality in virtually every aspect. You will be left enthralled.
Druckmann and Staley explains that without revealing too much, a fungus infection has spread to all corners of the world, drawing inspiration from a fungus that causes ants to infect other ants by causing their heads to explode.
Compared to Uncharted, The Last of Us is downright more grim and a dark portrayal of a post-apocalyptic world where you gotta survive by any means necessary.
