The Last of Us Preview

Over the years, the survival horror genre has spawned a unique experience in gaming for the dedicated (and brave) gamer.  Think of games like the first instalments of Silent Hill and Resident Evil.  These games all steered from constant action and fighting, and took us for a suspenseful ride through the lurking darkness, where the main goal was simple, get out alive!

Players explored everywhere from abandoned mansions to hellish elementary schools, picked up clues, solved puzzles, and used whatever weapons available to fend off zombies or demonic spawns that could be waiting just around the corner.  These games were created for the mature audience, not only because of the blood, gore, and controversial themes (Cults burning a little girl in Silent Hill anyone?), but the plain fact that in order to get through these games, a lot of thought and strategy was needed.  Ammo was sparse, puzzles were more than simply finding a key, and many times running away from an enemy was the best option (God forbid you don’t shoot something in a game!)

Resident Evil 4 has become iconic in the horror genre

Today we have horror games like Dead Island, Left for Dead, and Dead Space.  All of these games are great but they seem to have lost the tooth and nail challenge of exploring whilst trying to survive that was in the older games amongst the genre.  I feel like this genre has really been dumbed down to make it accessible for more gamers.  Even Dead Space (though challenging at times) was extremely straightforward (you simply hit R3 and it showed you which way to go.)  Does anyone remember running from Nemesis in Resident Evil 3 or being hunted by the T-rex in Dino Crisis back in the day, one wrong move and you could be dead in a second.
"Today we have horror games like Dead Island, Left for Dead,
 and Dead Space.  All of these games are great but they 
seem to have lost the tooth and nail challenge"

The trailer for The Last of Us brings me hope.  This survival horror game being created by Naughty Dog (Crash Bandicoot, Jack and Daxter) is set in a post apocalyptic America where a type of fungus has infected the brains of humans.  A teenage girl and a man are alone in this wasteland and must fend themselves against what has become of humanity.  The game focuses on surviving day by day through the uncertainties and horrors of the new world, and the emotional aspect of what the two characters are going through as they encounter all sorts of terror.  The game is Ps3 exclusive and the graphics in the trailer look terrific.  Unfortunately, not much else has been released about the game.  But hopefully it brings back the challenge and intensity of the survival horror genre.  Look for it in late 2012

Written by Michael Easton