This week just became amazing.
Not only did I buy two boxes of Haagen Dazs at the Costco, I also found out that Gustavo Santaolalla is working on a soundtrack for an upcoming video game. Details are hard to come by but the Argentine is working on a PS3 exclusive, The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic survival game in the vein of The Road and The Walking Dead. While the game itself is intriguing, the really exciting part is that Naughty Dog Studios will be developing this game.
For those not in the know, Naughty Dog Studios is the developer behind the critically and commercially acclaimed Uncharted series of video games. Why are they such a big deal? Their games are top notch not only in gameplay but in artistic direction and storytelling. The games are so good that a movie adaptation would be an exercise in redundancy at this point. Go ahead and play a copy. We’ll wait.
As for good ‘ol Gus, he fell in love with the project the minute he saw the trailer. According to Game Informer, after watching it, Santaolalla simply said “I want to be a part of this. Whatever it takes, I want to write for this.” Some of his finished work can be heard in the trailer for the game. (It kicks in at about 2:00.)
As for the actual game, the trailer is quite appealing and strives for a grittier approach to the genre, jettisoning generic zombie and vampire tropes for a fungus that infects humans and causes the breakdown of law and order. In fact, the game’s primary antagonists are fellow humans who prey on stragglers who seek out an existence outside of military control. In short, the game strives to tell a story that is ambiguous and seeks out excitement that jumps out of nowhere. Of course, this is still a game, but if Santaolella thinks this is worthy of him, then that’s all we need.
The Last of Us is expected to be released either by the end of 2012 or the first half of 2013. It will be worth the wait.