There is no denying that The Last of Us was something very special indeed. A game that excelled in nearly every area possible and that showed the world that games can be just as good, if not better at telling stories than TV, film and books.
Just over a year later and the game that sent the Playstation 3 off with a spectacular show has been refined, re-textured and of course...remastered, for the Playstation 4. We all know that The Last of Us is worth buying, but is it worth buying again for owners of the PS3 version or opting for the upgrade rather than the cheaper original if you are yet to experience the masterpiece?
The year is 2033, 20 years ago a fungus based virus known as Cordyceps infected the human race and as a result killed the majority of the population. Middle aged and hardened survivor Joel is a cold hearted man, dead inside from 20 years of anger, violence, oppression and loss.
He is tasked with smuggling a 14 year old girl named Ellie from the Boston Quarantine Zone to a hospital in Salt Lake City in hope of using her immunity to Cordyceps to create a vaccine for the rest of the human race.
As the year long journey progresses, we see a father and daughter relationship begin to flourish between Joel & Ellie. Showing us an extremely beautiful, touching and human side to the end of the world. The things they do and the people they meet shape a world that is distinct and unlike anything else available on the market today.
Remastered also packages in 'Left Behind', a prequel DLC that lies between the American Dreams graphic novel and the beginning of the main game. In this bite sized adventure you play as Ellie as she and best friend Riley enjoy a day of fun at an abandoned mall. An expansion that not only expands our understanding of the complex character of Ellie, but also our understanding of human relationships, helping us feel that importance of being a child all over again.
Gameplay, much like the story, is left unchanged besides controller layout. Thanks to the PS4's inward con-caving triggers, the aim and fire button have been swapped with the run & listen functions. Meaning now you use the triggers to shoot and the shoulder buttons to mark enemy locations or get the hell out of a sticky situation.
The backpack has been placed on the touchpad which is handy as its a much larger surface than the options button on a Dualshock 3. Flashlight sounds also relay through the Dualshock 4 speaker and health status is displayed on the light bar as well as on screen.
Action sequences flow much better thanks to the higher frame rate and the small changes to button layout make it a much more comfortable experience, though its no major change from what was already in place on the PS3.
The visual upgrade is the obvious upgrade from the PS3 version. The game now runs at 1080p and at a smooth 60 frames per second (compared to the standard 30 frames). This adjustment of resolution and frame rate alone helps The Last of Us' beauty shine even more than before, allowing for much more detail in objects, environments and characters and moving at a smoother speed.
If you aren't a fan of the 60 frames per second you can lock it to the standard 30 and though this doesn't ruin the experience, the frame rate rarely drops at 60 and it does lose a little of its upgraded charm because of the slower frame rate.
The Last of Us was one of the best looking PS3 games and Remastered follows in its footsteps by being one of the best looking PS4 games available at this time. There are times when I have stopped just to look at the scenery, take in the lighting, the gentle blowing of the leaves in the wind and the birds fleeting overhead. There was no denying that it was stunning on PS3 but thanks to an upgraded resolution and improved lighting, Remastered can at times be mistaken for a photograph. Speaking of photographs, developer Naughty Dog obviously saw the praise that InFamous: Second Son had with its 'Camera Mode' allowing people to take high quality screenshots and apply minor visual tweaks before sharing to social media sites such as Facebook. As such, TloU Remastered includes a similar feature, allowing you to enter a free floating camera mode and capture the perfect photograph to share to your friends and family. Though I personally feel that the PS4's share function is good enough, its nice to have a little more freedom and control over capturing the beauty on screen.
Character models have been upgraded, much like in Tomb Raider Definitive Edition, allowing for much better looking in game characters, ones that closer resemble those in cutscenes. You can see this even down to the tiniest detail such as the tiny grey hairs amongst the black in Joel's hair and beard being much more noticeable one the PS4 compared to the PS3.
The Last of Us is an essential buy whether you purchase the PS3 version or the PS4 upgrade. But which one is the decision newcomers will have to make and here is where I make that decision a lot easier.
Though the PS3 version may be cheaper, it only contains the main game. Remastered contains not only The Last of Us, but also the Left Behind singleplayer DLC, two multiplayer map packs, an extra difficulty mode and the Making of Documentary, Grounded. This alongside significant visual & performance upgrades make Remastered not only the better option in terms of content out of the box, but its also cheaper than buying the PS3 version and all the DLC separately.
What's even more embarrassing is that The Last of Us Remastered is likely to be one of the best current gen games this year due to the expected slow release of PS4 & Xbox One games so you would be even more of a fool if you passed up on it now after doing so last year too.
It didn't win 200 Game of the Year awards for nothing. The Last of Us is still one of the best Sony exclusive titles available as well as one of the best games ever made, Remastered just made it look a bit prettier than it already was and made it a bit more affordable t get all the content available for it.
The Last of Us Remastered – 10/10
+Touching Story
+Brutal Combat
+Drop Dead Gorgeous Visuals
+Amazing Soundtrack
+All the DLC & A Documentary
