Sony Social Media Manager Sid Shuman went hands on today with The Last of Us on the PlayStation 3 entertainment system.

Below are the details, to quote: I'm low on ammo, so I clumsily swing my two-by-four at the incoming Clicker - dumb move. The creature sinks its fetid teeth into my jugular, chirping with malevolent glee as it rips out a gobbet of flesh. Arterial blood spurts across my face, now contorted in shock and agony.

I'm dead. This time, I try a different approach. I combine one of my remaining rags and a precious bottle of alcohol to create a Molotov cocktail, then hurl it towards the abomination. Flames envelop the lumbering shape as it wails and collapses, dead at last. I'm alive - for a little while longer.

The Last of Us isn't afraid to kill you, over and over if need be. And that's a big part of its considerable charm. As you struggle to survive the game's inhospitable world, limping from one nail-biting combat scenario to the next, you'll feel strangely alive and alert.

In an era of game development that - at least to this old-timer - tends to babysit players with tutorials and handholding to dial down any chance of frustration, this game's unapologetically tough-as-nails approach feels both refreshing and quietly revolutionary. Remember when games used to kill you? Naughty Dog does.

Later, I'm ambushed in a bombed-out store by a mob of coldhearted killers - human in name only, and no less dangerous than the infected that prowl the streets. I assess my arsenal: just three shotgun shells and a handful of 9mm rounds.

Using the dim lighting to my advantage, I duck behind a counter and drop a nearby gunman with a blast of buckshot as Ellie runs for safety. With the shooter out of the way, I lunge for a pair of nearby attackers and subdue them with a series of wild haymakers.

Grabbing a nearby two-by-four, I rush the survivors and bludgeon them into submission. I rendezvous with a nervous Ellie and we move on -- though to what, only Naughty Dog knows.

That's The Last of Us. You do what you need to do and you keep moving. It's out June 14th, and I think you're gonna like it.

[imglink=http://www.ps4news.com/images/hands-on-with-the-last-of-us-on-playstation-3-whatever-it-takes-34862-1.jpg|Hands on with The Last of Us on PlayStation 3: Whatever It Takes]http://www.ps4news.com/images.php?&f=hands-on-with-the-last-of-us-on-playstation-3-whatever-it-takes-34862-1.jpg&w=500&h=400&sm=1[/imglink]
[imglink=http://www.ps4news.com/images/hands-on-with-the-last-of-us-on-playstation-3-whatever-it-takes-34862-2.jpg|Hands on with The Last of Us on PlayStation 3: Whatever It Takes]http://www.ps4news.com/images.php?&f=hands-on-with-the-last-of-us-on-playstation-3-whatever-it-takes-34862-2.jpg&w=500&h=400&sm=1[/imglink]
[imglink=http://www.ps4news.com/images/hands-on-with-the-last-of-us-on-playstation-3-whatever-it-takes-34862-3.jpg|Hands on with The Last of Us on PlayStation 3: Whatever It Takes]http://www.ps4news.com/images.php?&f=hands-on-with-the-last-of-us-on-playstation-3-whatever-it-takes-34862-3.jpg&w=500&h=400&sm=1[/imglink]
More PlayStation 3 News...