Good post!

It's pretty closed-minded to think the only way to end a game is with a final boss anyway.

I'm not sure that telling the best story ever would qualify, though, as almost silly as that sounds. Lots of games have told stories where much of the focus is on the main characters acting in morally questionable ways to protect those they care about (the earliest such example I can recall being 2002's PW:Justice For All), and even if everyone on Earth could decide that TLoU did it better than anything else before it, I don't think that would be enough to get it remembered alongside the "timeless classics." The best remembered games aren't necessarily the ones who did it best; they're the ones that did it well first. There have been some really great stories in games before The Last of Us, without cheesy lines or lame voice acting. Even if TLoU improved on them dramatically, there aren't any new horizons being reached, so to speak.

To illustrate the point, take Okami, the PS2 game from 2006. I would argue that its story is one of the most engaging I've run across in a video game. Witty dialogue, well developed characters, well rounded character arcs, and an extremely satisfying ending. And yet, when Okami is remembered by the public, it's usually remembered for one of two things; the art style or the celestial brush mechanic; which were the two big "new" things it did. Personally, I think remembering Okami just for that is a bit of an insult to everything else it does so well, but that's unfortunately the way long term popularity in video games seems to go. Perfecting things that have been done before, even if you're vastly improving on them, comes a very distant second to the new things you're trying out.

Well that was a load of crap. It doesn't take a "well trained eye" to see the difference in acting quality between something like Transformers and Atonement LOL. Also, you're confused here, saying it depends on how intelligent you are. You're talking about art, and how you perceive art has nothing to do with your intelligence.

Your example would be apt if someone were trying to say Madden 11 had better writing and acting than Last of Us. That's how far apart Transformers and Atonement are in style and intention. Luckily we're all gamers here and have plenty of experience with games and we know better. Last of Us does have better writing and voice acting than most games but actually compare it to the games that strive for similar experiences.

To me, no. To others probably, maybe

Hell yeah!

You forgot to mention Final Fantasy VII. It deserves to be recognized as a timeless classic, possibly moreso than the other games.

Nah cos it's just a generic third person shooter with a great story. All though it's a story I've seem a thousand times before in film and books. But I certainly enjoyed it.

I think this is an important point that needs to be recognized, setting aside the issue of whether FF7 is a "timeless classic" or not. The question OP asks isn't whether Last of Us deserves, or should be a timeless classic. The questions is will it be remembered as one, presumably by a significant portion of the video game community. There's a difference between whether something deserves to be remembered, and whether it will be.

One of the few games that truly is timeless.

No and I will lobby intensively for this. It's a good game but way overhyped. This has to do with the fact that's it's a console exclusive so more emotional attachment is given to this fact. Bioshock 1 and Infinite are multiplats but are way more memorable and deserving of such a title.

Bioshock has a more immersive and unique story/world. Better and more colorful art which is truly timeless. TLOU will eventually become obsolete in the graphics and art department. The gameplay is also frustrating at times with instant fail stealth, instant death encounters, etc.

It is however, one of the best "zombie" games of all time (so far).