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| TITLE: The Art of The Last of Us EDITOR: Rachel Edidin PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics PUB DATE: Jul 2 2013 |
"Naughty Dog Studios and Dark Horse proudly present the essential companion to The Last of Us, a richly detailed and compelling game set in a postpandemic world where humans have become an endangered species. Featuring concept art, character designs, and astonishing settings and landscapes, The Art of The Last of Us provides a unique look at one of the gaming world’s most eagerly anticipated titles."
- Source: goodreads.com
Rating:
The Last of Us has been the talk of the gaming world ever since the news came out of its upcoming release. In spite of the delay, players who have played and/or finished the game have then since raved about it.
Other than trying out the demo version, I haven’t played The Last of Us video game yet. I know. How dare I, right? In my defense, I am working in a company that involves game designing. Contrary to what other people think, being in the gaming industry (or in my case – game-ish), you don’t get to play video games all day. In fact, you even end up rarely playing or not playing at all. Unless you’re a reviewer, critic or tester, then that’s beside the point.
Since I mentioned about my job, research and inspiration comes with the territory. When I stumbled upon an advance copy of The Art of The Last of Us on Netgalley... This is the part where we say the rest is history, but I need to elaborate. I was thrilled to be granted access to view this before it got published. Oh, the joy of flipping through this book!
Not only is it fascinating to see a glimpse of the story (thank you for the not-so-much-spoiler-ish way of detailing the course of the story, by the way) and how the game came about, seeing how each character’s defining growth and creation was something I genuinely appreciated. I love that several intricate details were given out to attest to fans and readers.
I’m not much of a freehand artist, but I was grovelling over the concept art of the environment the artists and designers of this game created through the course of Joel and Ellie’s journey.
It’s always definite for me to know the history behind something I am interested in. This book was not only inspiring for an artist/designer; it also enthrals the curious reader in me.
After reading The Art of The Last of Us, and in spite of being a wimp and being jumpy over horror/suspense games, books and/or movies, I’m anticipating my chance to play the video game. There is a lot said there coming from someone who ruined her brother’s controller by “accidentally” dropping and throwing it countless times while playing Resident Evil every time a zombie or whatever infested creature jumps out (PS1 days). That person was not me. I swear. Okay, I’m lying. It was me.
*Thank you, Diamond Book Distributors, Naughty Dog Studios, Dark Horse Comics and NetGalley for the copy of The Art of the Last of Us.
