It appears some press got the chance to play the game hands-on. Some new info is revealed about the enemies, the NPC companions, and the crafting system.

Greg Miller (IGN) emphasises the game's audio and with the new footage provided I can see why. Those infected are creepy.

Geoff Keighley (GameTrailers) also provides an interview with the devs and new footage after playing the same 20 minute demo.

Is this game still shaping up to meet your expectations? I'm still excited.

The more I hear about the game that more I think I'm going to end up buying a PS3 just to play it. The problem is I know the PS3 is going to plummet in price once the PS4 gets announced so I should wait for that to happen.

Jeff mentioned he got to play a mystery game recently too, do we think this might have been The Last of Us?

Here's Polygon's write-up as well:

http://www.polygon.com/2013/2/4/3949544/the-last-of-us-hands-on-high-tension

i am not as excited now because of the whole, "i am legend vibe". i was really looking forward to this being post-apocalyptic-sans-zombies. i think you can have more interesting and disturbing fights with enemies that are not just mindless. it makes stealth more meaningful imo. fighting a zombie just makes the fights repetitive. they all have the same motive. fighting or sneaking past people with different motives and maybe killing some in self defense or just stealthing past makes fights have individual meanings if you catch my drift. that sounds way cooler. also, is it just me, or didnt this game seem like it wasnt gonna have zombie type creatures? i am really disappointed, because i thought it was just gonna be people. that kinda seemed like the hook to me.

Considering it's Naughty Dog, it better be good!

@Jayzilla said:

i am not as excited now because of the whole, "i am legend vibe". i was really looking forward to this being post-apocalyptic-sans-zombies. i think you can have more interesting and disturbing fights with enemies that are not just mindless. it makes stealth more meaningful imo. fighting a zombie just makes the fights repetitive. they all have the same motive. fighting or sneaking past people with different motives and maybe killing some in self defense or just stealthing past makes fights have individual meanings if you catch my drift. that sounds way cooler. also, is it just me, or didnt this game seem like it wasnt gonna have zombie type creatures? i am really disappointed, because i thought it was just gonna be people. that kinda seemed like the hook to me.

There's both the human enemies, who are going to require a more tactical approach, and there's the infected.

Damn after reading that polygon article it seems this game will be a true horror game. I am so pumped for this game. There is no way this game will disappoint me. Naughty Dog have it figured out.

Lookin' goooooooooooooooood. 'Bout time they shown some gameplay surrounding the infected, too. I was a little hesitant to classify Last of Us as an actual horror game, but if it's as foreboding and tense as these previews are making out, then this'll basically be a big-budget survival horror game. Hallelujah, the renaissance hast begun!...

Also what in the shitting fuck:

It's called ''Infected door in progress'' so... yeah, that looks like some Resident Evil levels of body horror monstrosities. I'm sure they won't go that far of course, but still, I never would have expected to see something like that show up in here. And maybe it won't! It's only concept art, but it was posted on that polygon article so you gotta wonder.

@Yummylee: Cool!

Those Clickers sound absolutely terrifying

@Humanity: No kidding, every time they showed gameplay clips with the clickers I just felt really uncomfortable.

There's fucking zombies in this? Shit, did not know that...my excitement just dropped pretty substantially...

@dgtlty said:

Is this game still shaping up to meet your expectations? I'm still excited.

@Jayzilla: 

The infected were shown in the reveal trailer from December 2011. The entire reason for the apocalypse was a fungus that affects ants in a very specific way - it mutated and began infecting humans. Besides, there are a ton of human enemies in the game, considering you'll meet scavengers a lot.

Also, reading from Miller's write-up, it seems that the parts with the infected are still tense and not exactly mindless, considering that the enemies react mostly to sound and aren't exactly easy to fight off if there's more than one and you can't set a trap for them. There was a sequence at the end of the demo when he could blast three infected in the face with a shotgun, but the devs said that it was inserted mostly for cathartic factor and it's something that will happen mostly in the later parts of the game.

@Ghostiet said:

@Jayzilla:

The infected were shown in the reveal trailer from December 2011. The entire reason for the apocalypse was a fungus that affects ants in a very specific way - it mutated and began infecting humans. Besides, there are a ton of human enemies in the game, considering you'll meet scavengers a lot.

Also, reading from Miller's write-up, it seems that the parts with the infected are still tense and not exactly mindless, considering that the enemies react mostly to sound. There was a sequence at the end of the demo when he could blast three infected in the face with a shotgun, but the devs said that it was inserted mostly for cathartic factor and it's something that will happen mostly in the later parts of the game.

Exactly. The only way people could have been disappointed with this 'revelation' is if they weren't paying attention. And yeah, this isn't suddenly going to turn into a third-person left4dead, either. ND have been very adamant in emphasising the fact that you're never going to be running n gunning through a pack of zombies. Considering your lack of ammunition and how apparently easy it is for them to overpower you, using your guns and alerting them to your presence looks like it's intended as a last minute resort.

The infected sections sound like a 28 Days Later - The Game sort of deal given how fast they are as well.

Here's the gameplay from the GT interview.

troy baker is the man!!

I'm really digging how "free-form" the combat looks. Throwing a bottle and then moving in for a bat to the face or jumping around, arming a bomb, throwing it and then putting in a few shots looks extremely fluid.

Also, I love that the AI reacts to the environment - Ellie telling you that there's a guy to your left, her acting shocked when she stumbles upon you after the action and there's a burning corpse in her way or a goon becoming more aggressive when he hears you don't have any bullets in your clip left. So good. I just fucking hope this becomes a standard in the next generation.

Naughty Dog is really on top of their game with this one. Can't wait to play it in a few months.

Eh, games just not for me. Not going to deny that naughty dog knows what the fuck they are doing but something about the game isn't clicking with me.

@golguin said:

The more I hear about the game that more I think I'm going to end up buying a PS3 just to play it. The problem is I know the PS3 is going to plummet in price once the PS4 gets announced so I should wait for that to happen.

I'm in the same boat, had a PS3 for a year only 3 games I played on it were Uncharted 1 and 2 and Killzone 2, I sold my PS3 for 50 dollars less than I paid for it, but want to get a new one for Uncharted 3, Last of Us, Journey and Ni No Kuni, but at this point may as well just wait to see about the PS4, will it be backwards-compatible with PS3 games and how much will it cost.

So far this is my most anticipated game for this year. The animations look great, the gameplay looks awesome and the story is intriguing.

Sessdawg's Impressions and interview.

@SharkEthic said:

There's fucking zombies in this? Shit, did not know that...my excitement just dropped pretty substantially...

Same. I was hoping for just human vs. human.

If you're stuck there is probably a button to push the little girl in front of you while you backward somersault out of harms way like a boss. May only be used once. :D

This and Ni No Kuni make me glad I haven't sold off my PS3. But I'm still bummed there is no PC version. Damn console pricing!

Is it May yet? 'Cause I need this game. Like now.

@Giefcookie: Now that we're really coming into the DLC era, surely there is a price revolution on the horizon for consoles as they move away from physical disks to a more digital store/cloud system. It better happen. I agree the prices can be really discouraging.

@OllyOxenFree said:

@SharkEthic said:

There's fucking zombies in this? Shit, did not know that...my excitement just dropped pretty substantially...

Same. I was hoping for just human vs. human.

Ditto but this still might be neat.

@Solh0und said:

@OllyOxenFree said:

@SharkEthic said:

There's fucking zombies in this? Shit, did not know that...my excitement just dropped pretty substantially...

Same. I was hoping for just human vs. human.

Ditto but this still might be neat.

Agreed. My reaction to hearing this was "Ugh"

@Thoseposers said:

@Solh0und said:

@OllyOxenFree said:

@SharkEthic said:

There's fucking zombies in this? Shit, did not know that...my excitement just dropped pretty substantially...

Same. I was hoping for just human vs. human.

Ditto but this still might be neat.

Agreed. My reaction to hearing this was "Ugh"

I don't have a PS3, though I have been curious about the game since it was shown at E3 some time ago. I can't say I fancy the idea of having yet another variation of the "infected" trope, especially when the idea of having to fight against humans and only humans seemed so appealing. But, hey. I know I'm not the target audience for this game. As long as the people who buy it are happy with it, good for Naughty Dog.

ughn, I don't know if I want to take my PS3 back out for just one more game. Too bad it'll never be on PC. I think I'll just wait for the reviews and a quick look before I get it.

@Thoseposers said:

@Solh0und said:

@OllyOxenFree said:

@SharkEthic said:

There's fucking zombies in this? Shit, did not know that...my excitement just dropped pretty substantially...

Same. I was hoping for just human vs. human.

Ditto but this still might be neat.

Agreed. My reaction to hearing this was "Ugh"

Have you guys not seen the initial reveal trailer years ago? It was entirely based on the infected - this isn't new.

Honestly, my favorite part of that video? When he's messing with his inventory and the girl says "Joel..." all panicky. I dunno if that was triggered by them being in inventory, or just the proximity of the zombie dude or what, but having the game directly contribute to the tension the player would be feeling at that point is such a brilliant little touch.

The more I hear about the game that more I think I'm going to end up buying a PS3 just to play it. The problem is I know the PS3 is going to plummet in price once the PS4 gets announced so I should wait for that to happen.

It's really looking like a strange mix of Uncharted and I Am Legend, in my opinion.

It looks great and is coming out the day before my birthday, so I'm super pumped about getting it.

@Demoskinos said:

Eh, games just not for me. Not going to deny that naughty dog knows what the fuck they are doing but something about the game isn't clicking with me.

http://instantrimshot.com/

@Garfield518: When the initially showed it and said they were infected, I was thinking in the same way the townsfolk were infected in "The Crazies"

@Garfield518 said:

@Thoseposers said:

@Solh0und said:

@OllyOxenFree said:

@SharkEthic said:

There's fucking zombies in this? Shit, did not know that...my excitement just dropped pretty substantially...

Same. I was hoping for just human vs. human.

Ditto but this still might be neat.

Agreed. My reaction to hearing this was "Ugh"

Have you guys not seen the initial reveal trailer years ago? It was entirely based on the infected - this isn't new.

This, I'm a little bit taken aback by this reaction.. >.> Did nobody actually watch the reveal trailer? There were these exact things in the first trailer they put out.

@Krullban said:

@Garfield518 said:

@Thoseposers said:

@Solh0und said:

@OllyOxenFree said:

@SharkEthic said:

There's fucking zombies in this? Shit, did not know that...my excitement just dropped pretty substantially...

Same. I was hoping for just human vs. human.

Ditto but this still might be neat.

Agreed. My reaction to hearing this was "Ugh"

Have you guys not seen the initial reveal trailer years ago? It was entirely based on the infected - this isn't new.

This, I'm a little bit taken aback by this reaction.. >.> Did nobody actually watch the reveal trailer? There were these exact things in the first trailer they put out.

I don't watch a lot of trailers, as they're usually not very indicative of what the actual game is, so the two of you simply must excuse my ignorance of a trailer released fucking years ago.

Gameplay videos on the other hand, I do pay a fair amount of attention, and the emphasis haven't exactly been heavy on the zombie aspect of things - and understandably so. God damn, those zombies bums me out...

@Garfield518 said:

@Thoseposers said:

@Solh0und said:

@OllyOxenFree said:

@SharkEthic said:

There's fucking zombies in this? Shit, did not know that...my excitement just dropped pretty substantially...

Same. I was hoping for just human vs. human.

Ditto but this still might be neat.

Agreed. My reaction to hearing this was "Ugh"

Have you guys not seen the initial reveal trailer years ago? It was entirely based on the infected - this isn't new.

This, I'm a little bit taken aback by this reaction.. >.> Did nobody actually watch the reveal trailer? There were these exact things in the first trailer they put out.

I don't watch a lot of trailers, as they're usually not very indicative of what the actual game is, so the two of you simply must excuse my ignorance of a trailer released fucking years ago.

Gameplay videos on the other hand, I do pay a fair amount of attention, and the emphasis haven't exactly been heavy on the zombie aspect of things - and understandably so. God damn, those zombies bums me out...

@DarthOrange said:

@SharkEthic said:

I don't watch a lot of trailers, as they're usually not very indicative of what the actual game is, so the two of you simply must excuse my ignorance of a trailer released fucking years ago.

Gameplay videos on the other hand, I do pay a fair amount of attention, and the emphasis haven't exactly been heavy on the zombie aspect of things - and understandably so. God damn, those zombies bums me out...

Based on the story trailer it seemed to lean more towards the people vs people aspect, though like you said sometimes the trailers can be deceiving. That said I love me some zombies, and these ain't no zombies. Just think of it as a modern Mario game set in the Mushroom Kingdom with Toads that want to kill you. :)

You make a compelling case, good sir!

On the other hand, the realistic interaction of the characters, the relatable tension of the fight or flight aspect of each human encounter, the frantic reactions when attacked and the scramble for any kind of weapon...it just seemed so fucking spot on! And now zombies..? I'm still gonna play it and all, but those zombies really detracts from what drew me to the game in the first place.

Edit: ...or Toads or whatever.

even if you're only looking for gameplay trailers, i think pretty much every bit of promotional material for this game has been about or indicated the plot device of the infected. i've only had cursory glances at the videos/etc and i immediately knew there's be zombie-like creatures in the game. don't see how this is a surprise at all. and lol at how fickle some of you are.

You people haven't seen, absorbed and remembered every trailer released in the last three years?!? You sicken me!!!