Sony ended its E3 press conference by demonstrating a level of one of their most highly anticipated PlayStation 3 exclusives, The Last of Us, a survival action game from Uncharted developers Naughty Dog.
The demo began with protagonist Joel and computer-controlled ally Ellie exploring a flooded city, conversing all the while. They entered a building through a window and commented on how nice it looked before hearing a conversation and hiding. Joel snuck around to avoid being spotted by any of the gun-toting hostiles, and was able to knock one out and take their pistol.
A brief shootout with another enemy left Joel and Ellie cornered in a bedroom, where they ran into another stranger brandishing a pipe. Joel beat the stranger in combat and took him hostage with the gun before shooting both him and their previous attacker, who was distracted by Elly throwing an object at him.
The two heard more voices soon after and hid again, where Joel assembled a molotov cocktail and took another enemy out with it. Another enemy was ambushed by Joel and, after a rather ferocious struggle, was again distracted by Ellie jumping on him and had Joel grab his shotgun, push him to the ground, and aim the barrel at his head. One desperate “DON’T!” from the stranger and a headshot later, the game quickly cut to a black screen with the title, ending the demonstration.
The Last of Us looks to be an intense ride chronicling a fight for survival, and the audience reaction to the whole demonstration seemed very favorable.
The game’s release date has not been announced, but we will continue to keep you updated as more news on it develops.