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Infectious sounds of terror in Naughty Dog's 'The Last of Us'
In Naughty Dog's upcoming PS3 exclusive, The Last of Us, the narrative inspiration for the parasitic plague wreaking havoc on civilization is ripped from a segment in the BBC-produced documentary series, Planet Earth. The segment delves into the natural actions of a fungus known as "cordyceps." The fungus takes over an insect before it bursts from the host's body in an effort to spread its spores to other insects, wiping out colonies.Though first assumed to be an undead army, the infected in The Last of Us are living humans. Each stage of the infection modifies their physical and mental capacity. People in the first stage of infection – referred to as Runners – know in their hearts and minds that their instinct to attack uninfected survivors is wrong, but they cannot control the impulse to harm life around them. Later stages of the infection offer encounters with more ghastly creatures. At stage three, the infection blinds hosts and turns them into 'Clickers,' agressors with faces bloomed in blood and gore. These enemies rely on echolocation to sniff out survivors, bellowing a haunting sound that serves as warning for survivors to remain completely still.With these rules and languages, The Last of Us establishes a terrifying new universe to explore.%Gallery-177916%
The Last of Us special editions in US all about Survival, Post-Pandemics
The Last of Us doesn't want its special editions to feel lonely, so it has two for the US: the Survival Edition, available at retail and online for $80, and the Post-Pandemic Edition, which is GameStop-exclusive and runs $150.The Survival Edition, pictured above, includes a hardcover art book and issue one of The Last of Us: American Dreams, complete with an exclusive variant cover, both from Dark Horse. It comes with a steelbook case featuring Ellie and Joel, and includes the Sights and Sounds DLC pack. Sights and Sounds comes with the game's original soundtrack from Oscar-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla, a dynamic theme for PS3, and the Winter Joel and Winter Ellie PSN avatars.The Post-Pandemic Edition, shown below, is available only at GameStop, and it includes the steelbook case and American Dreams comic from the Survival Edition. The bulk of its price seems to come from a 12-inch statue of Joel and Ellie from Project Triforce, which has an estimated retail value of $200. Post-Pandemic comes with the Sights and Sounds DLC and the Survival multiplayer DLC pack (that's not confusing), which has bonus XP, a melee booster, in-game currency, customizable items, and bonus Ellie and Joel skins once the game is completed.These both differ from the UK special editions of The Last of Us, also announced today.
The Last of Us UK special editions come in Ellie, Joel flavors
The Last of Us gets the VIP treatment in the UK, where it has two, slightly different, retailer-exclusive special versions, the Ellie Edition and the Joel Edition. The Ellie Edition, pictured above, is available only at GAME, and includes a mini artbook, the first issue of Dark Horse's The Last of Us: American Dreams, the Survival multiplayer DLC pack, the Sights and Sounds DLC pack, a LittleBigPlanet Ellie skin, and the game package, collectable poster and Dualshock skin featuring Ellie's face.The Joel Edition contains exactly the same things, but with Joel's face and skin (ew) instead of Ellie's; take a look at that version below. The Survival DLC pack includes bonus XP, a melee booster, in-game currency and customizable character items for multiplayer, and bonus Joel and Ellie skins after the single-player game is completed. The Sights and Sounds pack features the official soundtrack from Oscar-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla, a dynamic theme for PS3 and the Winter Joel and Ellie PSN avatars.All pre-orders, from any retailer in the UK or US, get the Sights and Sounds DLC pack. Pre-orders from US GameStops and snag the Survival DLC, too.
Uncharted 3 multiplayer celebrates the holidays with free items and map
Naughty Dog is getting a little nuts with the holiday goodies this year. They're giving away a free new map and some free custom avatar items for Uncharted 3 multiplayer, and the look of these freebies makes us wonder if there's been a little too much egg nog drinking around the offices over there in Santa Monica. The goofy "present head" hat above is only the beginning - there's also a t-shirt with Naughty Dog Co-President Christophe Balestra as an elf that everyone gets for free.And the wildest thing is a "Block Mesh Lab map," made completely of polygons by former Naughty Dog Richard Lemarchand (who's now teaching interactive media at USC). It's quite funky, especially when you imagine the relatively realistic forms of Nathan Drake and friends wandering around it with guns. All of these items are free for all players in the game right now until January 8, after which they'll only be available in the weekly tournaments, so pick them up now. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good Nate!%Gallery-173694%
The Last of Us behind the scenes vid shows how mo-cap becomes final copy
This video for Naughty Dog's The Last of Us introduces the Tess character, played by Annie Wersching (Renee Walker in 24). It also neatly shows off the effects of what's required to get from motion-capture to final animation, and those bauble-dotted mo-cap suits which are always fun. %Gallery-173446%
The Last of Us pre-order bonuses detailed, trailer unveiled
Naughty Dog revealed the pre-order bonuses for The Last of Us this weekend, hot on the trail of the new trailer from the VGAs, which you can watch above. As for the pre-orders, they're split into the stuff all participating retailers are offering and the additional in-game content GameStop is bundling in.All participating pre-orders include the game's official soundtrack, a PS3 dynamic theme based on the box art, and 'Winter Joel' and 'Winter Ellie' PSN avatars. That sounds perfect for a game confirmed for late spring - May 7, 2013, to be specific.Pre-order at GameStop and you'll also get multiplayer goodies on top of the soundtrack, theme, and avatars. Those goodies include bonus XP, a melee attack booster, customizable character items, bonus skins, and a bit of extra in-game cash to help you on your way. Naughty Dog confirmed earlier this year that multiplayer would be coming to The Last of Us, but not in the form of campaign co-op.
The Last of Us finds a friend in all of us May 7, 2013 [update: video pulled]
The evil fungus of The Last of Us is among us on May 7, 2013. Check out the new trailer beyond the break!Update: Sadly, this trailer's been pulled. We'll update this post (and the rest of our VGA 2012 posts with video) as soon as it's back up.
This Last of Us gameplay video lasts for a while
During PAX, Naughty Dog publicly demonstrated the section of The Last of Us gameplay shown to press at E3, which was previously released in part here. Now you can see the fifteen-minute slice of (desperately clinging to) life for yourself, above.Over fifteen minutes, you'll see some downtime movie talk, exploration of a run-down building, some stealth, and lots of fighting. You also see surprisingly little of the mutant monsters who have destroyed the world – their presence has required monstrous behavior from those not infected.
Uncharted 3 GOTY Edition swings into Europe Sept. 19
The Game of the Year Edition of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (not to be confused with the "Gotye" version, Uncharted 3: Some Treasure That I Used to Know) will whip-swing its way onto European PlayStation 3s next month, on Wednesday, September 19.No word yet on an official US release date, but we do know that the European GOTY box will feature a smörgåsbord of DLC, including four class skin packs, two different co-op multiplayer modes and six different multiplayer maps. It also comes bundled with an artistic music video and additional vocals by New Zealand singer/songwriter Kimbra. Wait, we might be confused again.
The Last of Us and the process of creating a cutscene
It's quite the process to create a cutscene in The Last of Us – from the animators to the actors doing the motion-capture to the end result in-game, it takes a lot of effort. Developer Naughty Dog has given us a behind-the-scenes look at how one scene in particular was made, which is, to be quite frank, equal parts fascinating and daunting. But, hey, if all this insight isn't your thing, then at least you get to watch people run around in funny suits. There's got to be some value in that, right?
Nate Wells leaves Irrational Games for Naughty Dog
BioShock Infinite art director Nate Wells just left Irrational Games, and today he's revealed it's for a new gig at Santa Monica-based Naughty Dog. Wells announced the news on Twitter earlier today, though didn't say much more beyond that – it's unknown whether or not he'll have any hand in Naughty Dog's next game, The Last of Us.Wells was one of three high-profile vacancies at Irrational Games last week, which was soon followed by one high-profile hire: Epic Games alumnus Rod Fergusson. In a follow-up piece, Irrational Games creative director Ken Levine commented on Wells' departure and BioShock Infinite's new art director, Scott Sinclair.
Uncharted 3's v1.13 update adds tournaments, micro-transactions, more Drake dress-up
You know that new content Naughty Dog teased? Well, aside from the usual balance fixes that come with a game patch, the 1.13 update for Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception installs a pipeline for weekly DLC updates to the multiplayer side. Each week will bring a new flood of items and other goodies, either unlockable in-game by leveling up and completing certain actions, or purchased directly through the game with micro-transactions.There's also a new Sniper/Pistole game type for online matches, and a Tournament feature where players will be gifted 10 tickets each week that can be used to participate in special tournaments – don't worry, if you run out of tickets, you can always purchase more with real-life cash.Naughty Dog released a pair of video overviews showcasing this new content – one above the text here, the other just past the break.
Uncharted 3's latest lab is 5-on-5 SMGs, riot shields, and grenades
Naughty Dog has issued an update to Uncharted 3 with a brand new experimental Lab playlist to play around in. The playlist is going back to a 5v5 format, this time giving players a combination of riot shields, uzis, and grenades to carry out to the battlefield. Kickback and boosters are disabled, too, so it sounds like your best strategy is to be vicious: Shoot everything until you get close enough to stab them in the back.With this update, Naughty Dog also fixed an issue with DLC maps not showing up properly in the rotation, and there's a full rundown of what you'll see when on the company blog. The developer also promises a full schedule for upcoming labs and events soon, as well as more news about a new character coming to the game (from a Sony contest) and other updates in the next patch, 1.13.
Watch The Last of Us Comic-Con panel without waiting in line
Naughty Dog waxed poetic about The Last of Us in front of a packed panel room at San Diego Comic-Con, sharing design processes and story hints, and you now have a front-row seat (which is more than we can say when we were actually there).We've already covered the new character announcement, a cranky old man with a familiar name and face. In the above video creative director Neil Druckmann and game director Bruce Straley discuss the intricacies of post-apocalyptic survival with Joel and Ellie, while actors Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson and W. Earl Brown talk performance capture.
Uncharted 3 patch 1.13 tweaks gameplay, adds mysterious new content
A new Uncharted 3 patch due "around this August 14th" brings a raft of balance tweaks and alterations – like switching Deathmatch from round 3 to round 5 of Team Objective games, and increasing the vertical distance required for the "Death from Above" medal.In addition to more unannounced gameplay fixes (see the full list so far after the break), Naughty Dog is teasing even more content – including an "exciting new system" and more DLC – to come alongside the update.
Meet Bill, the grizzled elderly gentleman in The Last of Us
Bill's doing fine on his own ... then Ellie and Joel come busting through his boobytraps, calling on old favors for him to piece together a workable vehicle. Like so many characters we've seen in The Last of Us, Bill isn't what we'd call "all there." The end of society will do that to a man, it seems.
The Last of Us adds another survivor, Bill the angry old man
Bill is a new character in The Last of Us, set as a supporting actor in Joel and Ellie's main storyline, Naughty Dog announced at its San Diego Comic-Con panel. The first look at Bill, who is portrayed via performance capture by William Earl Brown, shows him as a crotchety, tough old man with a safe house that Ellie and Joel break into, apparently setting off all kinds of booby traps along the way.The introductory cinematic cutscene suggests Joel and Bill have a history, and as is expected for the game, it's a relationship based mainly on four-letter words and raised voices. The scene sets Joel and Ellie up to scavenge around the town for parts so Bill can build a car for the main duo's escape.We assume that earlier in his life, Bill helped another group of lost souls survive a zombie apocalypse. He's surprisingly nice for a mean old man.
The Last of Us multi isn't campaign co-op
The multiplayer portion of The Last of Us will not be campaign co-op, Naughty Dog recently told Gaming Examiner. The possibility of cooperative play hasn't been ruled out entirely, as the developer noted, "We're not ready to talk about the details of how multiplayer will be implemented, however we can say that it is not co-op within the main campaign."It's still possible we'll see cooperative play offered in discreet episodes, as Naughty Dog did with the Uncharted series. Of course, there's the possibility for adversarial multiplayer as well, though that seems a bit ... inappropriate given the heavy subject matter in The Last of Us.
The Last of Us not hitting (or shooting, or sneaking) until 2013
The last we heard about The Last of Us arriving at retail, it was pinned to "late 2012/early 2013." That date seemingly shifted to a less definitive "2013" recently, as Naughty Dog creative director Neil Druckmann and game director Bruce Straley told Jimmy Fallon as much on last night's Late Night.The Naughty Dog duo also gave Fallon a personal walkthrough of the gameplay we saw back at E3, with 100 percent fewer swears and 100 percent more Jimmy Fallon commentary. If you're into that kinda thing, we've got it above.
Uncharted is a 'pillar franchise,' nothing to say about its future just yet
"This show is about Naughty Dog and The Last of Us. So we're not talking about Uncharted for the future," Sony VP of product development and worldwide studios Scott Rohde told Joystiq in an interview this week. That doesn't mean there aren't things happening with the Uncharted franchise elsewhere at Sony, of course. "It's a Sony IP, but it's just not something we're talking about. Of course it's one of our pillar franchises," Rohde said.The latest entry in the Uncharted franchise was the Vita's Uncharted: Golden Abyss – the series' first title not developed by Naughty Dog. Its production was instead handled by Sony's internal Bend studio, with Naughty Dog overseeing development. Rohde added that "it'd be ridiculous to say that we're not always thinking about [Uncharted], but we're just not talking about it right now."
