First The Last of Us Screenshots and Details Now Available

The Last of Us, the upcoming post apocalyptic survival game from Naughty Dog, has just received its first new details and screenshots since the game’s reveal last year at the 2011 Video Game Awards.

Naughty Dog impressed millions of PlayStation 3 owners with the Uncharted franchise, managing to combine action adventure gameplay with third person shooting and a Hollywood-style story.

The studio has recently expanded with a whole new second team, which is working on The Last of Us. As we saw late last year, the game focuses on Joel and Ellie, two human survivors in a post apocalyptic future where ruined cities are infested with mutants.

Now, after a pretty long wait, the first new details about the game have appeared, alongside three screenshots, courtesy of the cover story from Game Informer magazine.

First up, it seems that Ellie won’t be controllable by the player, who just guides Joel. This doesn’t mean the whole experience will be one long babysitting session, as the AI knows how to help and how to stay out of the player’s way.

In terms of actual combat, there’s a mixture of gunplay and melee, although weapons will degrade and even break over time. As such scavenging and ammo conservation is key throughout the experience.

Last but not least, as you can see in the screenshots, the game utilizes a colorful palette that makes the post apocalyptic ruins of Pittsburgh come to life. There’s no word if the action takes Joel and Ellie outside the city, but you can expect some more details in the near future.

Combining what we’ve seen in the very impressive trailer from last year with these new screenshots and details, it’s pretty obvious that Naughty Dog might once again impress lots of PlayStation 3 owners with The Last of Us.

Expect some more details in the next month, as Game Informer will continue to reveal new things about the game. Until then, check out the screenshots below.