-

The Lamborghini Aventador Roadster

clsadmin

The Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 defines the sport auto Supertest towards an extrovert appearance and delivers what it promises optical.The sporting facilities are at its best, as it would naturally.

It’s like always and not everywhere the large, lofty promises, which gives a relationship maintenance and substance. It is the small, endearing details that make up the key to lasting success.

But even if you’re Batman himself, you’ll have a hard time getting your hands on one of these mean machines.

And yet there are so lovable alien form like this, which will make your day – and far on this side of each border region. To awaken the bull named 700-4 Lamborghini Aventador LP from St. Agatha to life, the driver is initially stopped to open a small red flap on the center tunnel.

lamborghini-aventador2
Convinced sculpture of extreme dynamics

But quite as explosive and difficult to follow the following on the press of a button dramaturgy is then but fortunately not represent the red fuse cover is just a metaphor – not an obstacle.

700 hp and top-class racing technology

This does not mean that the new, re-named after a brave Spanish bull from the Spanish Corrida Lamborghini would not do justice to his job on the whole. But let’s be honest: It will not be easy in everyday life, even beginning to discover the 700 hp driven and experienced made ​​of exceptionally high caliber racing technology sports talents. Thus love but could cool quickly if not for anything else, which can fuel the passion in less exciting times.

Whether the investment – in this case just under 330,000 euros – can be recorded as a worthwhile contribution to improving the quality of life, thus also depends on Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 from factors other than the ability to retrieve shoulder to shoulder with him the state of maximum efficiency . Including those in this Lambo is reached only at 350 km / h.

Everything has its price

When looking into the technology and equipped with all the luxury features pulpit of the Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4, to be thermodynamically and aerodynamically necessary accessory around it and on the Aggregate collection, the Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 to achieve its ambitious required goals, one comes to the conclusion that the extra kilos are not entirely in vain incurred.

-

The Spectacular Simplicity of Gravity

clsadmin

Despite some rough patches in the script, Alfonso Cuaron’s film is a visual wonder. This movie rips a ground from under our feet, in “Gravity” shine George Clooney and Sandra Bullock as astronauts mainly fighting for survival in space. A simple story is captivating with magnificent pictures, 3-D sound effects for new and classic movie.

Early in the film, when Matt asks Ryan what she likes best about their space walk, she replies, “the silence.” The Cuarons would have been wise to supply a bit more of it.

When was it last at the end of the credits so quiet in the cinema? Only the breathing sounds of the side people are heard, then breaks from somewhere a soft “wow” the spell. It is as if the audience has to make sure only gently 90 minutes from the brilliant “Gravity“, to be truly arrived on the ground.

gravity-movie-sandra
Sandra Bullock in ‘Gravity’

No sooner is the fatal message arrived, hurtling approach a huge swarm and debris hitting the shuttle. Stone and Kowalsky, connected by a lifeline to survive the collision and find themselves floating in space again.

The uncertainty of the universe

But this cold, clear moment where everything speaks of self-sacrifice, giving way to rote acquired automatisms, courageous ignorance about probabilities and defiant pragmatism: They like the last two people up here to be, but in leaving their train passing ruins of the civil space waiting might yet a return flight ticket.

Against time and any chance to go to Stone and Kowalsky on their very own Space Odyssey. A laborious and dangerous progress that holds Cuarón in beguiling, extremely long takes. In them catch the captivating beauty and existential horror of the cosmos, are not considered in the underground certainties.

-

Bowers & Wilkins Speakers

clsadmin

Few simple powered speakers for the PC has been around for a tenner.You do not have to spend much more to give his ears to hear something. But who wants to treat his ears something, you have something to fall deeper into their pockets: From about 80 Euros you get even speaker structure, the “sound of something” that produce audible bass and which still makes listening to music for several hours of fun.

But what gets who spends a multiple thereof, are PC speaker is on the desk, which cost 400, 500 or even 800 euros? You pay all the money only an expensive name and chic design? Or is the difference really audible?

Even turned up they still sound clear and round, without distorting the complex construction pays off.

Since the first would be the Bose Computer Music Monitor, which acts initially tiny. Ridiculous 12.5 centimeters, each of the two boxes high, 6.5 inches wide. That for as little speaker after all supposed to pay about 400 euros, makes me skeptical. Good sound volume needs that everyone knows. And volume have these mini things that fit loosely in my hand, so just do not. As there should arise a useful sound?

bower-speakers-review1

Sound in stealth mode

This is not only the unusual design, that on closer examination can not guess where under the black fabric covering the speakers are hidden.That they are there, however, is perfectly audible in operation. Powerful bass are accompanied here by crisp highs. On the treble B & W is proud anyway. The tweeter is a special construction in which a resonance tube is connected directly to the sound generator. The result should be a particularly good separation of high and low frequencies.

Not so good playing the MM-21 in the central region on the other hand, the person something sounds too washed out.

Pages: 1 2 3
-

Apple iPhone 5S Review

clsadmin

A paginated review video post format which includes a table specifications. This is a big week for Apple; it has two new phones hitting store shelves, and a brand new operating system that becomes available Sept. 18 for compatible devices. The new mobile operating system is a big visual change, and is likely to feel somewhat disorienting to users upgrading from iOS 6, but in most important ways, it’s not that dissimilar from what you’re used to, and many of the changes are definitely for the best.

Apple has entered the spec wars. The iPhone 5S isn’t just supposed to be “the most amazing iPhone yet.” It’s not “the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever.” No, Apple says the 5S is “the most forward-thinking iPhone yet” and “the best smartphone in the world.”

Like its predecessor, the iPhone 5s is one of the best handsets you can buy. But more importantly, it’s laying the groundwork for the smartphones of tomorrow.

Along with the A7, the 5s also includes a new separate helper chip, the M7 coprocessor. It’s designed to efficiently monitor data gathered from the phone’s accelerometer, compass, and gyroscope without bogging down the CPU and draining the device’s battery. Argus and Strava Run were among the first apps updated to take advantage of this feature.

The touch, the feel

Using Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint security system feels very much like being in a secret agent movie: you pull the phone out of your pocket, touch the ringed home button (which is now much more tactile, directing your finger to exactly the right spot), and presto — you’re in.

[hr style=”striped”]

Specifications Overview

Model 5s 5 5s
Thickness 0.3 inches 0.32 inches 0.4 inches
Camera 8 MP 8 MP 8 MP
Screen size 4 inches 4 inches 3.5 inches
Chipset Apple A7 Apple A6 Apple A5
CPU DC 1.3 GHz DC 1.3 GHz Dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9

The Up’s vibrating motor is used for two different alarm features, both of which I’ve come to love. When you’re sleeping at night, you can set your alarm, and the Up will rouse you up to 30 minutes before that time based on when you’re in lighter sleep and will wake up feeling better.

Future-proofing the smartphone

Apple’s spent more time talking about the 5S’s specs than I’ve ever seen the company do in the past, but the improvements are hard to evaluate. In benchmarks, the new A7 processor is spectacular — the top of its class in nearly every way.

Pages: 1 2 3
-

Vespa GTS 300 Super Review

clsadmin

Before content review box and a Vespa scooter is not conventional, but a special kind to ride on two wheels with leg shield. Whether the new technology in the 300 GTS Super blends with the traditional look, clarifies the practical test.

The Vespa GTS 300 Super is not just a scooter.It is the top manufacturer of Italian tradition, the successor to the glorious GS and sellers at the big scooters in Germany.No wonder real hot scooter Vespa or Lambretta times now.The first brand is rather forgotten and the second still successful.

But with the new 300 Sport is respectively sportiness in the foreground, and less racing.

So it first went on the famous Milan ring road towards Linate. On cue, all went – we were now only 18 because the colleagues Ehn and Farkas are demolished because of a (almost) red light – the heads of a. High-speed test. To have, as always, the lightweight overweight chosen for themselves.

The Ancestral Scooter Territory

Thither namely asked us Piaggio for the first test drive with the GTS 300 Super. Super alone was the sight of twenty Vespas outside the hotel, aligned neatly, one black and one white. The Super’s only in these two colors.Since then even the layman knows that there is no 250.But it is also identified on the lateral cooling slots in the rear panel, just like at times the air cooling. Also, there is the racy red spring on the front suspension.

vespa-gts-review-1

Finally, because of the increasing afternoon traffic density were the photographers soon more cars and buses and trams, now and again passers-by, as we Scooteristi front of the camera (s). While it all looked in awe at the Vespa horde but not realized that they cause picture interference. So it first went on the famous Milan ring road towards Linate. On cue, all went – we were now only 18 because the colleagues Ehn and Farkas are demolished because of a (almost) red light – the heads of a. High-speed test. To have, as always, the lightweight overweight chosen for themselves.

Conclusion

Even with the Super-Vespa is no room under the seat for a full face helmet. Will not you walk around with his hat in his hand in town and country, you have to take a jet helmet. There’s quite dashing goods, but that is not cheap, as the Vespa itself 5,000 Euronen are not little. But you get something real, which, if it is not too often ghaut to the Earth ‘, his money is worth.

-

The Breeder’s Cup

clsadmin

In honor of the 30th Running of the Breeders’ Cup, we’ll be looking back at a many of the great moments and stories in Breeders’ Cup history.

In the first Breeders’ Cup Classic in 1984 , there were three steeds available to play the Chiefs and Packers 1967 : substantial most beloved was turning “gold , whose record of four years , the race was as shining that his hooves were delicate.

The Breeders Cup Juvenile, the first of Saturday’s races, will likely produce the future’s book favorite for the next May’s Kentucky Derby.

Few of these present at Hollywood Park might have guessed that the seven races, beaked as a daylong set of championship-deciding events, would outlive the park—but it’s. they’ll shut the lights on Hollywood for the last time simply before Christmas, however the Breeders Cup continues to grow, attracting horses from Europe to travel head to move with America’s best.

Hall of Champions

It’s difficult to recall now , from a separation of 29 years, what a variety first Breeders Cup was sincerely his presentation . Few of the aforementioned present at Hollywood Park might have speculated that the seven races Billed as a set daylong title choosing occasion , could outlive the recreation center , however it has .

motility the coaching schedule of two-year-olds (who would possibly preferably be defrayment their Nov mornings on the farm before all the heavy preparation races on the road to the American state Derby), and reworking the game at the blue chip level. assume what the creation of the Super Bowl did for professional soccer in 1967, Associate in Nursingd you get an glimmer of what the Breeders Cup has in hot water racing.

Breeders Cup Race
Breeders Cup Race

Promotoriicupa Breeders couldn’t compose an improved script to push the occasion . The atunciclasic , which more than any occasion choose Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year and sends his Champ Stud expense through the top , it was leverage not just for quickening agents , raisers  and bettors.

Elusive Classic Victory

Arcangues bundle rising up out of 133 to 1 in 1993. Smoke decimates his rivalry in once again to -back years in 1995 and 1996. Horse Zenyatta inexplicable run in the mists to pulsate men in 2009 , and a tragic close miss ( and first profession misfortune ) in 2010 . Fans will eternity revile the day rides excessively quiet on Easy Goer Pat and Mike Smith on Zenyatta , yet nobody who saw this race will ever question Classics acting piece these past.

I don’t know whether restored Saturday at Santa Anita will fit best Classics , however on paper it appears to be an exceedingly focused race to crown a contraining story lines set to race for the duration of the day . Raisers Cup Turf Mile has superstar and a year ago Eclipse Award – victor Wise Dan – whose just misfortune came in his last exertion in a stellar runner -up completion in a race machine grass – attempting to catch the second continuous Breeders’ Cup win. Reproducers Cup Turf is run in the morning.

Reproducers Cup Juvenile , the first race on Saturday , will probably process future book most beloved for the Kentucky Derby future . Quickest two year ‘s Havana Todd Pletcher , will beat the breaking out of the far post.

-

Light Painting Evolved

clsadmin

Gif animations included in this post. Add photoreal images, abstract designs, and animation to your long exposure photos and timelapse. Light painting is a fairly simple to do. The first step is to make sure you have the right equipment. Almost every DSLR, and most point-and-shoots, have a long exposure mode.

Pixelstick began as a proof of concept using an arduino and some off the shelf LED strips. We got results, but weren’t happy with the resolution of nor with the durability and usability of the actual device.

It’s as simple as choosing the length of the exposure (from a few seconds to a few hours) and moving a light source within the frame. The process itself is fun and the excitement of seeing what you captured immediately can be extremely rewarding.

The fine detail

Pixelstick reads images created in Photoshop (or the image editor of your choice) and displays them one line at a time, creating endless possibilities for abstract and/or photorealistic art. Taking this one step further, Pixelstick can increment through a series of images over multiple exposures, opening up light painting to the world of timelapse, and allowing for animations the likes of which have never before seen.

light-3
Rainbows are no longer beholden to the laws of physics

The Tale of pixelstick

Pixelstick began as a proof of concept using an arduino and some off the shelf LED strips. We got results, but weren’t happy with the resolution of nor with the durability and usability of the actual device. We moved quickly into custom LED circuit boards, a more powerful ARM microcontroller and a sturdier design made of lightweight aluminum rather than plastic tubing. With the ability to control the density of the LED count while at the same time refining the custom aluminum extrusion, the current version of pixelstick began to take shape.

light-1
Animation to your long exposure photos and timelapse.

Each iteration performed better and was tweaked as we logged more hours with the pixelstick.

The full package contains:

  • LED PCBs (198 LEDs total)
  • Two 3’ aluminum extrusion with connecting bracket & diffusion lens
  • Handle with foam grip and rotating sleeve
  • Controller box with connecting cables and clips
  • Battery holder (AA Batteries not included)
  • Carry bag
-

Mission to The Edge of Space

clsadmin

How does it feel to jump from 21,800 metres? Ask Felix Baumgartner. This comes against Red Bull, as the company sold in 2011 while 11.4 percent more doses, but still of the 4.25 billion euro annual turnover more than half (2.3 billion) in Austria is generated. Outside the country, the Group still has plenty of room for improvement.

The Austrians broke through the first man to break the sound barrier in free fall. Although the project initially was under an unlucky star, Baumgartner likewise made exactly a year ago after several attempts in the desert of New Mexico in Roswell.

I wanted to open the parachute after descending for a while but I noticed that I was still at an altitude of 50,000 feet.

Red Bull moves in dimensions that are usually only achieved the Olympic Games or World Cup Soccer Championships. The 50 million euro (15 million euro amount to the expenses for the team 35 million those for the equipment), which can cost the life dream of Felix Baumgartner Salzburg, are a trifle compared to the advertising value that is generated by the media attention .

Passion is priceless

May say that Felix Baumgartner, adventure and passion have no price in the face of these numbers is not surprising. Red Bull looks for his exceptional athlete and that he has refused to rise when the slogan “Welcome to my world – the world of Red Bull” recite. We will see in Fuschl far behind when Baumgartner was at least the attention of the world on the sweet juice from the silver-blue box.

mission-redbull-stratos-2

Was calculated switched to 1.8 billion TV sets and a billion connections to the live broadcast on the Internet. Last comparisons were drawn to the New Year’s Concert of the Philharmonic, which acts as a provincial event over the Stratos project. The advertising value of the New Year’s Concert is estimated at a range of 150 million to 450 million euros households. Extrapolated to the Stratos would be more than eight billion euros.

Three world records

The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, which cares for the recording of data records in the aviation world, recognized with the jump to three world records.Baumgartner reached the maximum speed of Mach 1.25 or exactly 1357.6 hours kilometers, the highest jump at 38969.40 meters and the longest free fall, with a length of 36402.6 meters. Only a teddy bear outplayed in August with a “Spung” 39 kilometers from the record of Baumgartner.

After the Stratos project, the now 44-year-old Baumgartner announced plans to return to professional sports and the back to build up as a rescue helicopter pilot a new foothold.

-

2026 We Build Sagrada Familia

clsadmin

Since construction began over 125 years ago, the Sagrada Família has stood in various stages of incompletion. But, according to The Guardian, Gaudí’s sprawling basilica has finally received an “official” completion date–sometime between 2026 and 2028. That timetable is scheduled around the centenary of the architect’s death, in 1926, when he was struck by a moving tram.

At the time of his death, Gaudí had been living in the church crypt, amid a menagerie of large-scale models and plaster mock-ups.

Over the ensuing 85 years, the construction site has experienced numerous setbacks

Barcelona’s world famous Sagrada Família will finally be finished by 2026, the architect in charge has vowed… nearly 150 years after work began. That will make it ready in time for the centenary of the death of architect Antoni Gaudí, who famously joked that his client, God, was in no hurry to see it finished.

sagrada-familia-completed-nave
Sagrada Familia Finished Nave

La Sagrada Família attracts around 3million visitors a year, whose entrance fees pay for most of the €25million a year cost of continuing its construction, with gifts from private donors making up the rest.

Barcelona’s world famous Sagrada Família will finally be finished by 2026, the architect in charge has vowed… nearly 150 years after work began. That will make it ready in time for the centenary of the death of architect Antoni Gaudí, who famously joked that his client, God, was in no hurry to see it finished.

How Sagrada Familia Will Look In 2026

Construction began in 1882, with Gaudí’s involvement commencing the following year when he took over the project and radically transformed it’s design with his distinctive Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau style. Problems have long dogged work on Barcelona’s second cathedral, with Gaudí neck-deep in the project when he was killed in 1926 when he was run over by a tram.

This video shows what the culmination of the work being funded mainly through public donations, including the massive, yet-to-be-finished 564-foo tower at its center. But a lot can happen between now and 2026—so we’ll believe it when we see it.

-

Bates Motel is this week’s TOP pick

clsadmin

The Old Head Golf Links is one of the most remarkable developments ever conceived in the history of golf; an Atlantic promontory that will never be rivalled in terms of drama and beauty.

It rises hundreds of feet high above dramatic cliffs, surrounded by the ocean on all sides and commanding the most spectacular views from virtually every part.

Is it a true links? Is it a great test of golf? No matter the question, the answer is the same: Find a way to get to this clifftop layout  unabashedly set on a headland jutting into the Celtic Sea.

The Old Head of Kinsale is a national monument and an ancient royal site, fortified by a castle at the narrowest part of the promontory, with history traceable back to several centuries before Christ. It is a place of special historical, archaeological and scientific interest.

Glory Game

The Erainn Celtic people, the first Irish settlers, fortified the peninsula by building a fort, the remains of which can still be seen today, along with the castles and signal tower on The Old Head itself. The new lighthouse was built on the site in 1853, carrying on the ancient tradition of “Navigational Fires” situated on the promontory.

Nature Conservation

The Old Head was included in the “Inventory of Outstanding Landscapes in Ireland” as being ‘a narrow coastal headland with spectacular cliffs of geological interest’. The landscape development program at The Old Head is designed to enhance, complement and harmonise the newly planted areas with the existing vegetation. It consists primarily of native maritime species, coupled with a refined selection of seaside plants from the flora of all five continents.

-

Embracing slow time

clsadmin

When you work in a traditional office and have a question, instant gratification is hard to resist. It’s so easy. Just stumble over to a co-worker’s desk, make sure they stop whatever it was they were doing, blather on until the lights of recognition come on in their eyes, then await the answer.

Unless your query concerns inflammable materials currently engulfed in said flames you’ve likely wasted their time – in fact, you may have even wasted your own. One of my favorite side-effects of working remotely is the way slow-time communication forces you to stop and think before you speak. When I have a question for one of our programmers, for example, here’s a bit of what goes through my head:

The basic idea is this: you try to minimize the things that are bad, and maximize those that are good.

It’s usually at this point that I either figure out the answer for myself or come up with a new way of considering the problem, never having to even ask the original question. I didn’t bother my co-worker, I didn’t look like an idiot trying to articulate the question on-the-fly, and most importantly I figured out the answer!

embracing-slow-time-1

People who struggle to work remotely often bemoan the lack of in-person collaboration jumping from this tool to that tech in an effort to recreate the magic that only happens when we’re all in the same room. There are definitely advantages to face time, but too often it seems like facial expressions and waving arms are substituted for clear thought and courtesy.

The next time you have a question for a coworker, try writing it out as if they were 1000 miles and 3 time zones away – even if they’re sitting right next to you. You might surprise yourself with the answer.

-

Zedd’s Music Moment Of Clarity

clsadmin

This audio post is probably just amazing. All the white-hot techno DJs and producers, few are more molten right now than Anton Zaslavski, better known as Zedd. Zedd’s single “Clarity” (featuring London-based female vocalist Foxes).

When we entered The Fox, which is the unofficial sister-venue of SF’s The Warfield in look, decor, and size, Oliver was on, pounding the crowd with their heaviest brand of “Oliver” house music–edgy and powerful, but still very composed and endlessly sexy.

What is creativity really?

From a scientific perspective, creativity is your ability to think of something original from connections made between pre-existing ideas in your brain. These connections are controlled by neurotransmitters like adenosine, which alerts your brain when you’re running out of energy and reacts.

zedd-1

This got me wondering about coffee and beer and which one would actually help me be more creative and get work done. Hopefully, this will help you decide when it’s best to have that triple shot espresso or ice cold brew.

From a scientific perspective, creativity is your ability to think of something original from connections made between pre-existing ideas in your brain. These connections are controlled by neurotransmitters like adenosine, which alerts your brain when you’re running out of energy and reacts.

-

Australian Open and Guide to Melbourne

clsadmin

Simply thirteen years past, it had been revelling in a very triumphant Olympic Games amid claims it had been the best town within the world. London has since snatched the “best-ever Olympics” title. currently Melbourne, long-time second fiddle to Sydney, has been voted the world’s most inhabitable town for the past 2 years.

One US columnist said ‘women fell for him like ninepins and when he went to Hollywood, male film stars went and sulked in Nevada.

It shouldn’t be a surprise in a very country with such competitive instincts that the 2 cities are slugging it out for thus long (Melbourne hosted her own successful athletic contest in 1956). within the nineteenth century, Melbourne enjoyed a gold rush and therefore the world’s highest per capita champagne consumption and, despite the Victorian grandeur, was a busy port choked with high-rollers adopting fairly low morals. Then the town developed a rep for being too British, whereas vivacious Sydney player the sequential waves of immigrants seeking the nice life in Oz.

australian-open-guide-2

There are some unpleasant sights to behold when the camera crosses idly over the crowd at SW19 – giant Union Jack headwear, portly gentlemen spilling Moet on their trousers, Alex Ferguson… but thankfully, it’s not all bad.

Tennis players, like footballers, Formula 1 drivers – hell, any young, rich, male athlete – seem to have the incredible knack of ending up with stunning wives and girlfriends to sit on the sidelines, chewing their nails and cheering them on. No, we can’t figure it out either.

Now, the Ugg’s on the opposite foot. Melbourne is as inventive a town as any at once, with hip eateries, gig venues, galleries and speakeasies stoning up faster than you’ll say “strewth”.

-

Top Cocktails of The Week

clsadmin

From a straightforward gin-and-tonic to a gussied-up concoction like Associate in Nursing absinthe-infused cocktail, cocktail preferences vary vastly. we tend to collected our favorites from a number of the most effective bars and restaurants within the country.

WHO will resist sampling quite a couple of in one sitting? Not the T&C staffers, WHO sipped everything from Burgundy to Black Label within the name of analysis.

Basically it’s a can of Tecate with some lime juice, hot sauce, and salt. That’s pretty much it

Specifically, testing cures for the aches you will likely be feeling the morning when January 1 Eve. Blowfish ($2 per dose, forhangovers.com), a pill to be dissolved in water à la alkaliser, contains a not entirely revolutionary however winning combination of alkaloid and Empirin. It received out and away the best praise of all the hangover cures we tend to tested.

BARTENDER QUESTIONS: WHAT DOES HIS AIRNESS DRINK?

It worked sort of a charm,” one editor reported . alternative remedies we tend to tried enclosed milk “I felt rehydrated, however the nausea didn’t fully subside”, greasy food Helped settle my abdomen, however I did not regain full operation till regarding five p.m. that day, and greasy foods extremely gain the pounds, sensible recent hair of the dog “While the Bloody The Virgin helped distract my body from the hangover promptly, the new buzz eventually wore off, and that i was back to wherever I started: on my couch, feeling horrible, and 2 of the oddest and oldest cures: tripe No change and ice in one’s underclothing If the aim was to show my happy place into a frozen plain appropriate for the likes of Happy Feet, yes, it worked.

Did it rid of American state of my hangover? completely not. Of course, one might simply settle for the pain and take it as a lesson to indicate moderation within the coming back year, however nobody volunteered to check that strategy.

-

The Last of Us Game Review

clsadmin

The end of the world is near! Especially if you’re into pop culture. A parade of apocalypses is storming theaters this year in an effort to turn the end of humanity into the beginning of lucrative franchises.

A pandemic has decimated humanity. The world is struggling to survive. And at the centre of this are Ellie, a teenage girl, and Joel, the hardened survivor hired to smuggle her out of the quarantine zone and across America. As they travel, you’ll encounter a stunningly-realised America that has been reclaimed by nature, and take the characters on an emotional journey as long and fraught as their cross-country trek.

The broad strokes are spectacular, but the finer details impress the most, the environment telling its own stories as Joel and Ellie explore

But while moviegoers can spend their last days with good-looking celebs, gamers will be spending theirs with one of the best-looking video games ever created.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

Developed by Uncharted developer Naughty Dog, post-apocalyptic survival game The Last of Us (due out June 14) has been on “must-watch” lists since its tremendous debut at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards. Already the winner of numerous pre-release honors from countless outlets (us included), the PlayStation 3 exclusive is about as hyped as games come. Should we really be this excited about our final days?

According to critics, absolutely. With over two dozen perfect scores and an overall 95 current rating on Metacritic, it’s already among the best-reviewed games in the PS3’s seven-year history and a shoo-in for Game of the Year contention.

the-last-of-us-game

That’s to be expected, to a degree; Naughty Dog has already earned a reputation for delivering jaw-dropping graphics. But The Last of Us sets a new bar.

The Last of Us seamlessly intertwines satisfying, choice-based gameplay with a stellar narrative. It never slows down, it never lets up, and frankly, it never disappoints. It’s PlayStation 3’s best exclusive, and the entire experience, from start to finish, is remarkable. I lost myself in Naughty Dog’s vision of a pandemic-ridden United States, in the characters that populate this unfortunate wasteland, and in their individual stories. The 17 hours I spent playing through the campaign are among the most memorable I’ve ever spent with a game.

The collapse of society

Joel and Ellie develop a sort of dysfunctional father-daughter relationship as their collective experiences bind them, and rooting for Ellie in particular is commonplace in The Last of Us. Her success means the player is successful, and her hardened exterior is the perfect complement to her complete ignorance of the world before it was destroyed.

Ellie was born after the collapse, and as such, she’s full of questions and wonder, often communicated through the many contextual conversations she and Joel share. She’ll pick through records at a music store, become fascinated with wildlife she’s never seen before, and ask a million questions about the past. You watch her learn, grow, and gain meaning. It’s impossible not to become attached to her.