9 Terrible Openings That Almost Killed Great Video Games

4. The Last Of Us

Before you begin your fury in the comments, let me clarify something: The opening of The Last of Us is amazing- the prologue, that is.

Set during the panic of the initial outbreak, it is one of gaming's best opening sequences, and remains truly outstanding how much developer Naughty Dog gets you involved in this heartbreaking story in the space of about fifteen minutes.

But what comes after is nowhere near as effective as that gut-punch of an intro.

Jumping forward 15 years, the game begins in earnest as you take control of Joel to hunt down a group of thugs who have back-stabbed him on a weapons deal. It's a decent set-up, but the problem is the gameplay that follows just isn't up to snuff.

The first few firefights especially don't reflect the flow of The Last of Us at all, as you're dropped into a bland environment with a few patrolling human enemies and some extremely conveniently placed cover.

As a tutorial it's fine, but the obvious "video gamey" presentation jars horribly with the more natural open areas that come after you finally meet up with Ellie.