The Last of Us

Naughty Dog takes a more stealthy approach through the derelict hotel in this eyes-on new demo.

If you watched Sony's stage presentation via streaming, you saw Joel and Ellie's violent trip through a flooded hotel. In a behind closed doors theater presentation, Naughty Dog showed off the same area, but with a completely different approach and went farther into the level.

The first difference we saw when they were walking around the initial area was a new conversation between the pair concerning an old movie poster for Dawn of the Wolf. It seems that if the player stops and looks at it, Joel and Ellie will kick off a chat. Ellie seems confused as to why people would enjoy gory entertainment since she's so used to it in everyday life. Joel brushes it off as a "dumb teen movie."

They continue inside and spy a ladder up on some scaffolding. It's highlighted in a strange glow that makes it stand out as a goal/interactive object, yet it also mildly breaks the otherwise stark realism of the game. They search around and find a laundry cart and Joel rolls it over and boosts Ellie up. She pushes the ladder down. Joel grabs it and moves it over to another area they need to go and climbs up. It seems like he can move and place it anywhere so we wouldn't be surprised if Naughty Dog used this to hide stashes of supplies or secret collectibles.

Once they get up to the new area, a group of survivors start searching the place. Joel grabs an empty glass bottle and tosses it into an open window to distract them. One of the guys goes to investigate and the pair moves to another room. Joel sneaks up behind another guy and chokes him out. Next they enter a bathroom and two long-dead corpses in the tub. Joel scavenges some bandages out of a drawer and grabs a metal pipe off the ground outside. They move up to the next floor and look for an exit when they hear some coughing.

Another patrol starts searching this floor as well and Joel decides on a more offensive tactic. He picks up a brick and smashes the hell out of a man's face. Another guy sees it and darts off to warn the others. Joel pull out a revolver and lets off a few rounds, but the guy ducks away. Out of nowhere another goon tries to grab Joel from behind. He prompts the enemy with the gun to shoot Joel while he's got a hold of him. Joel quickly reverses the hold and the attacker is shot instead. Then Joel shoots the man with the gun. He flanks around and catches another enemy off guard. He throws a glass bottle at his head and dashes at him with a metal pipe. After a brutal beatdown, this guy is most certainly dead.

The final scavenger tries to escape and Joel chases him with his gun. After missing a few times it seems a little too quiet. Joel creeps through the hall calling out to the goon. Out of nowhere he springs out of a doorway and tosses a Molotov cocktail at Joel but it just misses and ignites the wall next to him. As Joel stumbles away from the flames, the man charges. Joel pulls himself together quickly and shoots him down.

Ellie joins up with him and they move toward the abandoned elevator shaft. It creaks menacingly as they jump down onto the roof of a car. Joel boosts Ellie up to an open elevator door and as the camera zooms in you can see a sizable gash on Joel's face that is seeping blood. The moment he gets her up the car gives out and Joel falls with it a few stories. When it slams into the bottom of the flooded shaft, Joel bounces violently off the top and splashes into the water. He manages to swim back to the surface to the sounds of Ellie calling out his name. He says he's okay and flips on a flashlight to wade further into the darkness. The demo fades to black here and we're left to wonder what happens next.

Be sure to check out The Last of Us' collection of E3 2012 screens and a trailer.