Remember when you would open up the box to your new NES and had a copy of Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt ready to play? Your SNES with Super Mario World? Seems like Sony is going back to the days of that.
The Last of Us bundle that Sony sold over the holidays will be making its way back to stores shelves for an undetermined amount of time. There was no mention of this being a limited time offer. It appears the PS4 will now come bundled with one of the greatest games of all time from now on.
The future is bleak in The Last of Us. Zombies (sort of), horrific violence, teens using foul language, trying not to cry because of a f***ing giraffe. The guys at Smosh have given us an Honest Trailer that points out some of the game’s flaws, but still knows that it is one of the best games ever made.
Sony has announced that they have reached a deal with Screen Gems and Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures to bring Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us to the big screen.
Raimi will be one of the producers and the script will be written by the game’s creative director Neil Druckmann.
This gives me mixed feelings. The Last of Us was my Game of the Year last year because it was such an emotional journey watching Joel and Ellie’s relationship develop. It was perfect as it was and I don’t know if a movie can match the impact of the game. Of course, I am not saying it can not be made into a worthy film with good casting, direction and Druckmann writing the script.
What do you think about The Last of Us being brought to theaters?
Amy Hennig, the creative director and writer for the Uncharted trilogy, has left Naughty Dog after a decade.
Sony has issued a statement on Hennig’s departure:
“We can confirm that Amy Hennig has left Naughty Dog. Amy has made significant contributions to the game industry and we appreciate all she has done for Naughty Dog. The development timeline of Uncharted will not be impacted.”
The shocking part of this news is that those close to Naughty Dog have said that she was forced out by Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley, the creative minds behind Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us.
It does seem odd that she would leave the company in the middle of development of Uncharted on PS4 so there may be some validity to the ousting.
Naughty Dog is the best developer in gaming right now and the last thing they need is internal problems like this. I loved The Last of Us (it was my GOTY) but Uncharted is their cash cow and she provided Nate, Sully, Elena and company their direction.
Whoever lands her is going to get a proven gaming great.
The single player DLC for The Last of Us, Left Behind, seems to have a Valentine’s Day release date if the picture from the PSN store stays true.
The add-on will be a prequel to my pick for Game of the Year and will feature Ellie and her friend Riley. Only one survives and I will give you one guess who. Of course, Naughty Dog could troll us all and Left Behind is a parallel universe story where Ellie and her friend have to make their way through the Rapture with guest star Kirk Cameron.
The Last of Us: Left Behind will cost $14.99 to download or free to those who purchased a Season Pass last year.
2013 was one of the strongest years ever for video games. So many games that deserve recognition for being incredible in their own right. When it comes right down to it, as I sat and looked at my list of possible picks, there was only one choice that was easy for me to make.
The Last of Us is a game that defines a generation and it comes at the very end of the current one. Naughty Dog’s reputation as a premiere developer was already sealed with their Uncharted trilogy, Jak and Daxter and Crash Bandicoot, but with The Last of Us they married the gameplay and story so seamlessly it reimagines what is possible in video gaming. Not just very good at one and slack at the other, rather a symbiosis created and learned over 30 years of gaming.
Led by Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who set a new bar for voice acting, The Last of Us is the story of Joel and Ellie and their journey across the country, which spans a year, and set against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic outbreak twenty years prior that has left mankind hanging on by a thread. We have seen the apocalypse scenario before. In fact, we are inundated with it in pop culture with the current zombie craze which makes Naughty Dog’s ability to make it feel fresh all the better. The lines of “video game as art” are blurred further the more you play.
It has been a long, long time since I felt so much emotional connection to characters in a game, not since the original Mass Effect in 2007. As Joel and Ellie’s relationship grows from contentious to so much more you can not help but have your own attachment to both of them, especially if you have experienced the type of loss that both of them have. I can not thank Naughty Dog enough for creating such a fully realized world and characters that will always stick with me.
The Last of Us is a journey that reveals just how good…and horrific humanity can be in its worst hour. As a species on the brink of dying off you are focused on these two engaging people who show you that The Last of Us isn’t about the last of humanity, but rather, the last of humanity left in us.
The best of the rest
-Bioshock Infinite
Any other year. Any other year this would be sitting at the top of my list. Taking the fun Bioshock formula and add in a host of mindfucks and you have only just begun to realize what awaits you.
-Tomb Raider
Welcome back, Lara Croft. It has been awhile. Where Uncharted was a spiritual successor to the original Tomb Raider this brings it full circle and the new Lara is a spiritual successor to Uncharted. Smooth controls and beautiful to look at.
-Assassin’s Creed IV
I had all but given up on the Assassin’s Creed franchise then Ubisoft goes and does this. Who doesn’t want to be a pirate on the high seas? It lets you live out your Jack Sparrow fantasies and reinvigorates the series.
-Super Mario 3D World
It looks like I bought a Wii U just in time. Crazy level design and co-op play that will make friends enemies. It is easily the best Mario game since Super Mario 64. Should be a system seller.
Oh Naughty Dog, you know just how to make me excited in all the right ways. You give me new Uncharted and now you give me more The Last of Us.
The developer announced the long-awaited single player DLC for their Game of the Year candidate. It will be titled Left Behind and has you taking control of Ellie before the events of The Last of Us. The story will include her friend Riley, who was also in the comic prequel to the game, The Last of Us: American Dreams. Something tells me things will not go well.
Of course with the title Left Behind Naughty Dog could be mind-fu**ing us all and we will have to play as Ellie as she makes her way through the Rapture and the Tribulation. This is the way my mind works. Join the fun.
The Last of Us: Left Behind will release in 2014. It will cost $14.99 and is free for Season Pass holders. Check out the trailer below.
This is a good news week for DLC involving two of the year’s biggest releases. Today sees the first single player piece for Bioshock Infinite, Burial at Sea, available for download and now Naughty Dog will reveal the first single player DLC for The Last of Us on November 14th.
The reveal will take place at the Playstation 4 All-Access event which will air on Spike TV at 11PM EST.
With a big PS4 game being revealed on Thursday and news that The Last of Us will be featured could that mean the PS4 game will be a Naughty Dog game as well? Say it is so Mr. Drake.
Playstation Network is here to get you in the Halloween spirit with a big sale on games that go bump in the night. You can pick up the entire first season of The Walking Dead for only $2.50 if you are a PS Plus member. Really, if you have not played The Walking Dead yet and pass on it costing $2.50 please turn in your gamer card at the door.
The Last of Us is also on sale along with both Dead Island games, multiple Resident Evil titles and Sleeping Dogs with DLC for an insane $12.
The deals will only be available October 22-28th.
-Dead Island: Riptide- $24.99/ $19.99 PS+
-Dead Nation- $5.99/ $3 PS+
-Dead Rising 2: Off the Record- $9.99/ $6.99 PS+
-Plants Vs. Zombies- $4.99/ $2.50 PS+
-Plants Vs. Zombies (Vita)- $7.49/ $3.75 PS+
-Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare- $19.99/ $13.99 PS+
-Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare- $9.99/ $5 PS+
-Resident Evil 4 HD- $7.99/ $5.59 PS+
-Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition- $14.99/ $10.49 PS+
-Resident Evil: Code Veronica X- $9.99/ $6.99 PS+
-Resident Evil: Revelations- $29.99/ $22.94 PS+
-Sleeping Dogs and Nightmare in Northpoint DLC- $12.49/ $11.24 PS+
-The House of the Dead Bundle- $14.99/ $7.50 PS+
-The Last Guy- $3.99/ $2 PS+
-The Last of Us- $44.99/ $35.99 PS+
-The Walking Dead: 400 Days DLC- $3.49/ $2.44 PS+
– The Walking Dead Episodes 1-5- $2.49 ea./ $1.25 ea. PS+
