The Last of Us: Fungus Among Us Company: Sony Interactive Entertainment America Perhaps it's a blessing that demo access for Naughty Dog's upcoming action stealth survival horror hybrid The Last of Us was withheld for so long. After playing the game for the first time, I'm confident I would not have been able to stand the wait if I had played it any earlier. The game is due out in just under two weeks, and I'm still wondering just how I'm going to be able to stand the wait. That's how good The Last of Us is looking. If what I played is any indication, it is what the future of survival horror should be. The Last of Us takes place in a postapocalypse United States, where a parasitic fungus has wiped out most of humanity, and turned most of the rest into mindless, hostile freaks. My weariness of the zombie craze has been documented time and again, so it's really nice to see something this creative and unique. Martial law has been declared, and the world has turned into a dog-eat-dog husk of its former self. Those who ignore government orders to report to specialized quarantine areas prey on others to ensure their own survival. Long story short, this is not a friendly world. The Last of Us is the story of a dangerous escort mission. As black-marketeer Joel, you are charged with bringing a young teenaged girl named Ellie out of the frying pan and into the safe arms of a resistance group known as the Fireflies. Beyond this, Ellie's role in the plot is a mystery, though she will accompany Joel through the entire journey. She's an interesting companion; besides being wide-eyed and foul-mouthed, she was born after the infection ravaged the country. The demo for The Last of Us contains a ten-minute gameplay sequence entitled "The Outskirts." In it, Joel and Ellie make their way across an infection-ravaged Boston with Tess, a woman from Joel's past. The game is astonishingly beautiful, a trademark of all Naughty Dog games. Nature is slowly but surely reclaiming what man once built. Foliage grows up the sides of buildings, one of which leans precariously against another. Cars are strewn about the flooded roads along with traffic signs, broken freeways, and other detritus. Joel, Ellie, and Tess slowly make their way down the abandoned Boston streets and eventually end up on a giant precipice overlooking the collapsed Boston Metro. Their goal is apparently the Capitol Building, which is on the far end of town. Their only way to get across the chasm is to enter the Goldstone Building (the aforementioned leaning skyscraper). Upon entering the dilapidated skyscraper, they are greeted with the fresh corpse of what appears to be a peacekeeper. The trio continues on, looking for anything that might help them survive. Some tape here, a pair of scissors there, medicine buried in a pile of rubble, an empty bottle. The sense of desperation is palpable. Almost anything helps. This is illustrated a bit later, when Joel finds the body of a mutant who seems to have grown into the door. His head has been reduced to a clump of fruiting bodies, and the growth has spread to the hinges. This is the corpse of a Clicker, a victim whose infection has reached its final stage. Clickers are blind, but can see using echolocation. They are also extremely fast and powerful, as illustrated not a minute later, as Joel is tackled by one. He takes a few hits before Tess rips the Clicker off him and puts two bullets into its head. Eventually, they find themselves detected by another Clicker, but Tess and Joel are able to ward it off by throwing empty bottles and bricks away from them. The Clicker shrieks and pursues the source of the noise while our heroes slip past unscathed. Finally, they find themselves in a room swarming with Runners, infected individuals who are on the same level as rabid dogs. The infection hasn't completely ruined their bodies, but it has ruined their minds. Joel finds a pipe, and we finally get a glimpse at just how every little thing you find can help. Through the game's crafting system, he can tape scissor blades to the end of the pipe, resulting in a weapon that looks absolutely nasty. That being said, running into this encounter with the intention of going all Patrick Swayze in Road House is a bad, bad idea. You've got a gun, but infected take tons of shots before they go down (and shots to the head are seemingly the only way to efficiently take down Clickers -- if you absolutely must engage them in combat). Stealth is the ideal approach. Joel can sneak up behind any unsuspecting enemies, grab them, and then either strangle them to death or shiv them in the neck. Shivs can double as lockpicks or crafting tools, so these are best saved for emergencies. Clearing the room without alerting any enemies is extremely difficult, but even if you get their attention, you get to experience the game's combat system, which is incredibly brutal. A hit with the scissor-pipe might rip the upper half of an enemy's head clean off, while a hit without the scissors might obliterate the head completely. There are lots of approaches to use in combat, but every time you play it, it feels like a desperate struggle. Naughty Dog is not playing around. The Last of Us is easily their darkest and most adult game yet, and it's also looking like it just might be their best, as well. It infects store shelves on June 14. Get your pre-orders in and check back for a full review. -FenixDown, GameVortex Communications AKA Jon Carlos Related Links: Official Website of The Last of Us Pre-Order The Last of Us at Amazon