Naughty Dog has just revealed some exciting news regarding the much-anticipated downloadable content (DLC) for "The Last of Us,” and the long-awaited sequel to the mega-popular Uncharted franchise.
The announcements were made during the PlayStation 4 launch event on Spike TV, according to Arcade Sushi and Computer and Video Games.
Ellie returns in 'The Last of Us: Left Behind'
Those who fell in love with Ellie from The Last of Us will be happy to know that the indomitable Cordyceps apocalypse survivor is making a comeback in the new story DLC for the game, titled "Left Behind.”
“Ashley Johnson reprises her role as Ellie in The Last of Us: Left Behind single-player DLC,” stated Naughty Dog on the PlayStation blog. “Left Behind takes place while Ellie is attending a military boarding school in the Boston quarantine zone, prior to meeting Joel and the events in the main campaign of The Last of Us.”
Aside from Ellie herself, the video—shown during the launch event—also reveals her best friend Riley Abel, who was only briefly mentioned in the original game.
“Joining Ellie on this new adventure is Riley, her best friend and also a mentor of sorts at the military boarding school. Just as 'The Last of Us' focused on the bond between Ellie and Joel, 'Left Behind' explores the bond between Ellie and Riley through a series of events that will forever change both of their lives,” said the original game’s creative director and writer, Neil Druckmann.
Riley Abel also appeared in the comic book miniseries, “The Last of Us: American Dreams,” written by Druckmann himself, and published by Dark Horse Comics. The comics show how Ellie and Riley meet and become friends, and so serves as a canonical prequel to the events that will happen in Left Behind. Left Behind, in turn, is a prequel to The Last of Us.
Though both Ellie and Riley will play central roles in the DLC, it has yet to be announced whether only one or both of them will be playable in the game.
Druckmann also dropped some hints about a possible sequel for The Last of Us. “We’re playing with some ideas, but no direction has been set yet for the next game,” he said.
Though Sony has not yet announced an official release date, Left Behind is expected for release in early 2014.
New Uncharted game exclusive for the PS4
Fans of Naughty Dog’s other flagship title also have something to look forward to. Also revealed during the event was a teaser trailer for Sony’s seminal franchise, Uncharted.
“We have great news for all our Uncharted fans,” said Naughty Dog on the PlayStation blog. “Amy (Hennig), Justin (Richmond), and the team are hard at work on an amazing new installment of the Uncharted series to be released exclusively on the PlayStation 4 system. Our goal is to continue what we’ve done in previous console generations and once again deliver the best in storytelling, performance capture, technical innovation and graphics on the PS4.”
It is unclear from the video if Nathan Drake is coming back for the sequel, leaving some fans understandably worried that that the game will have a new protagonist. In fact the teaser shows very little about the actual game; only a voiceover and a map serve as clues as to what it will be about.
More news regarding both titles are expected to surface in the coming week. — VC, GMA News
source: gmanetwork.com
