The TV show “The Last Of Us” improved the game again

It seems I was too quick to judge HBO The last of us. While the first four episodes certainly caught my eye as a well-written and delightfully shot prestige television, I was a little disappointed as the adaptive process of turning the game into a show has so far failed to recreate certain memorable action sequences from the Game. Well, with “Endure and Survive”, the fifth episode of the first (but not the last) season of The last of usthe show has shown that it’s more than capable of adapting the action of the video game, and in some cases maybe just does a better job with it.

Adapted from the hit PlayStation 3 title of the same name, The last of us‘ Gripping, character-driven storyline co-exists alongside tense, deadly moment-to-moment combat encounters. As Joel, the player must defeat both enemy humans and infected using a combination of stealth, firearms, and crudely improvised weaponry. For the first four episodes Adaptation by HBO has primarily prioritized the story elements, in some cases opting not to recreate memorable action sequences or to offer unique, handcrafted props of the kind we’ve seen in-game. It makes sense for TV to focus on the actors and the story, but so far I’ve found the show lacks that key action ingredient that I loved so much, not just because I’ve seen the game, but also play It.

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There’s a reason The last of us appears on our list of The best action games You can play this year. With a slower cadence than what you’ll find in something like Naughty Dog’s other current series, Unexploredand an emphasis on survival, The last of us As a game weaves tight, intense action sequences into the overall narrative, remember that as much as things feel in your control during narrative downtime, you’re never truly safe in its deadly world. The action sequences are when the rug has been pulled out from under you and you have to deal with a situation in the here and now. Screw it up and someone dies.

Our action games list highlighted the sequel, Part II, as it’s a bit more flexible and offers more options for how you approach and react to different situations. But the sequel follows what the first game did so well: moments when, forgive the cliché, all hell breaks loose and you have to react. Immediately. It’s stress-inducing action for sure, but damn it’s a thrill.

Continue reading: 16 of the best action games you can play in 2023

While I certainly would have traded the first game”Upside down shootout sequence in the “Bill’s Town” level for the beautiful story of bill and frank we got in Episode three of the show, I began to worry that HBO’s TV adaptation would continue to omit other, more explosive sequences, rather than trying to bring the immediacy of the game’s action to the screen. But here we are at the suburban sniper sequence from episode five. This gripping scene not only translates the game’s plot particularly well, but does so with a narrative overhaul that makes the carnage even more intense.

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Just like in the game, Joel and Ellie have teamed up with Henry and Sam. But this time, Henry and Sam’s situation is a little more pressing. Kathleen, the leader of a revolutionary force, is desperate for Henry to die for his role in her brother’s death. As in the game, Joel, Ellie, Henry and Sam must drive down a deserted suburban street and switch from car to car to avoid getting shot by a sniper who is surveying the area.

The TV show deviates a bit from this scenario as it exists in the game. First off, Joel doesn’t face any additional enemy forces as he approaches the sniper nest. And once Joel deals with the sniper, it becomes clear that this person is one of the revolutionaries in Kansas City (the in-game parallel version of these events takes place in Pittsburgh and does not feature Kathleen, nor any of the revolutionaries introduced in episode four). This is one of the improvements the show makes over the original game, something its sequel has also worked harder on: lending faces, intricate motivations, and identities to the antagonists.

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But we have to talk about the sound design in the sniper sequence first. Although I’ve noticed the show before (particularly unnerving but satisfying ambient music, as well Joel, Ellie and Tess

climb the stairs episode two Museum is one such example), I’m unhealthily obsessed with the shots in this scene. The precise and penetrating shot of the sniper rifle is followed by a split second of silence that could swallow the universe, followed by a timeless whisper of air and sensually percussive smacks on car bodies and windows. Satisfying bang culminating in powerful clinking, sharp glass shattering… heavy metal bands will spend their entire careers delivering something so sonically beautiful and destructive at the same time. This is bliss.

The sounds are endearing as special effects and creations of their own, but the effect really drew me in with an intimacy of the kind I’ve felt in video games – and particularly the one this show is based on. The scene mirroring this in the video game is an example, but the second half of it The Last of Us Part II also has a similar sniper scenario. Moving from cover to cover with the threat of violence pushing you back is successfully brought to life on screen. But we’re not done yet.

As in the game, Joel eventually gets to the top of the sniper’s nest, eliminates the shooter, and then must get behind the scope as enemy human forces advance. In the show is the personalityless mob of enemies replaced by the new character Kathleen on her quest for revenge, with her armed forces in tow. Joel has to make several sharp shots, one of which is recreated from the game: he hits the driver of an enemy vehicle, with the camera going behind the scope of the rifle itself. And yes, like in the game, this car crashes into a house… a house that has a surprise in store.

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The TV show’s vehicle veers off track and crashes to the right. It crashes in game on the left; this reflection of re-enactments seems to be a common element of the show. Joel and Sarah are turned around in their position on the couch the opening sequence; Joel’s “I’m sure you’ll figure that out” line to Ellie, who asks what the heck she’s supposed to do while he’s napping in the first episode, sees the couch he’s lying on falling onto the other side of the room is rotated.

And while in the game a collection of infected people ultimately floods the street, it’s very different on the show. Here, the emergence of a horde of infected from underground serves as a reward for some wonderful forebodings in the previous episode and earlier scenes in this one, where we learn that FEDRA had previously hunted down all of the infected underground to “fix” the problem. Problem. It is clear that this is something that will come up again to cause a problem. And in that scene, as soon as you see that truck fall into the house…you know what’s coming, and that the hubris that caused Kathleen to go to such extremes will soon take its toll.

Destroying the quiet madness of Kathleen’s short-sighted quest for revenge, the overturned truck, and the chorus of screams and roars of the crowd of infected he unleashes is a powerful redemption, snapping us from the daze of following Kathleen’s justification for atrocities . We barely have time to digest the outlines of their bloodlust before the long-buried rage of the infected drowns out, the great leveler who thinks no one is safe and needs no justification for his anger and violence. By the end of that scene, I had an instinctive urge to put the controller down and take a breath. Only there was no controller.

Episode five’s sniper scenario not only adapts a key action sequence of the game, it makes it better. The pace is tighter, more intense. The narrative packaging draws you into what’s at stake in a far more satisfying way, and deserves its zombie mob scene. This is the kind of game sequence adaptation I’ve been waiting for on the HBO show, and it didn’t disappoint. Until next time, I’ll see if Whole Foods has crows for sale.