Video games

The Last of Us

For those of you who follow this site you know I am a writer of post-apocalyptic fiction. I also happen to love video games. Sadly I don’t get to play much anymore since they cut into a significant amount of writing time, but every once in a while I’ll go on a marathon session and play through a game.

I was able to finish The Last of Us this weekend, and I have to say I was frustrated. I was frustrated from start to finish. The story line was frustrating. The game play was frustrating. I don’t think I ever flipped off my TV as many times as I did during playing this game.

The reason it was frustrating though was because it was great. The game stepped away from others of the genre like Left 4 Dead, and Dead Rising where you slaughter hordes of zombies and created a stealth game. Now there are times where you can go guns blazing and have a fire fight, but you’ll find the game far easier if you sneak, steal, and murder as opposed to fight. You are fragile in this game and until you have the chance to increase your health you are as easy to kill as your opponents.

In the game you play as Joel, who twenty years before lost his teenage daughter when she was shot by a guard at the quarantine zone. Since then he’s become a black market cowboy. Because of his skills he gets tasked with transporting a girl who is the key to a cure for the infection across the country. Over time Ellie grows on him and he becomes a surrogate father to her.

If you have time and patience I recommend giving this game a go. The story is rich, the game play is awesome, but prepare to be frustrated.

Hint:Upgrade to Shiv master ASAP

Also, if you like post-apocalyptic stories as much as me, you should check out my book when it releases March 25th.

I am nearing the completion of my third degree in Creative Writing, and it has finally dawned on me that there is a certain type of writer that receives no attention. I’ve been educated in graphic novels, sonnets, grants, reporting, blogging, fiction, nonfiction, you name it and I’ve probably had to study it, except one form. It would be insulting to say it gets brushed under the rug, because in six and a half years it has never been talked about once, and that is video game story lines. I’m not an easy crier, ask my friends about the hatchet incident if you don’t believe me, and in all my life I cried over two movies, no books, but better than a handful of video games have brought me to tears. The emotional commitment that a great video game can instill in the player is unfathomable. So, I would like to take this moment and invite anyone to share a video game they thought had an amazing story. Bonus points if you know the lead writer.