The Last of Us is a game like no other. Naughty Dog has in recent years proven themselves a
force majeure in the gaming world with their exemplary Uncharted franchise, but they truly take things to the next level with their latest, which is easily their best and most ambitious title to date. Though the post-apocalypse is a well-mined subject for action-based video games, The Last of Us carves out its own unique niche as a survival thriller that's as intelligent and thoughtful as it is violent and action-packed. Though we're not even half-way through 2013 yet, and therefore still have big-hitters such as GTA V to come, this is a game so confidently composed that I fear not even Rockstar will be able to topple its place at the #1 spot. Not only that, though, this just might be the best game that the PS3 has ever seen, and given our impending transition to the PS4, it's a suitable title to help see us out... Here are 10 reasons why The Last of Us might just be the PS3's greatest game...
10. It's Totally Immersive
This is a game that convinces us of its world for every nanosecond of its 15-20 hour play-time, conveying the resolute pain and misery of a landscape ravaged by a fungal infection for the last twenty years. Though there are occasional bouts of levity throughout, it's the atmosphere of abject dread that Naughty Dog have achieved so strongly; from minute one, we are captivated by the stunning environments, which provide a scope and scale as convincing as anything we've seen in a post-apocalyptic movie. At the same time, there are brief bursts of beauty, also, particularly through the areas in which forestry has grown over the concrete, as though the Earth is taking itself back. The desperation of this situation is accentuated by the other people we encounter on our journey, the vague remnants of a government ripped to shreds, and the various gangs situated throughout the land. Their interactions with Joel and Ellie almost always descend into violence; that is the only law that remains.