Oh that doesn't matter because Treyarch or Activision didn't develop it. -sarcasm-
Exactly that's the core of the game, the develop of the protagonists, the story itself is just fine, the gameplay good, nice soundtrack. But to say that is a masterpiece? it's really sad how will be the next gaming generation. I think is a 8.7 considering all the effort (that everybody praise) of ND.
I'll admit that the game has it's issues - gameplay issues for me, but it's a game that I'm proud to own the collector's steelbook for and have no intention of selling or trading... ever. When it comes to games, I've taken a liking to more story oriented games. Resident Evil 6 had more "consistant" gameplay like the author describes here. I regret paying $60 to preorder Resident Evil 6... completely... and I'm a moderate Resident Evil fanboy (I like most of the games, hate most of the Paul W.S. Anderson movies).
The Last of Us > Resident Evil 6
In The Last of Us, the infected are referred to as... well... "infected." The game developers stressed that 'THEY'RE NOT ZOMBIES.' Most zombie games and movies have a mystery virus or some dorky one that the writers made up. The one in The Last of Us actually exists in a manner of speaking - there are a few different strains of cordyceps that infect insects.
Back to to gameplay - I don't know why everyone is bitching. Unless you only ever play on Survival difficulty, I don't know what your problem is. There are certain problems for me, in that Ellie's AI and the AI of other partners you'll have aren't always that bright and often give away your position at certain parts in the game. The selection of stabbing weapons and throwing objects left something to be desired - at least for me. I didn't understand why Joel couldn't find a knife or machete like the AI characters had. There are probably some I'm forgetting but to conclude - THERE IS GAMEPLAY IN THIS GAME AND YOU CAN SKIP CINEMATIC CUTSCENES.
Just play the game on Hard difficulty or lower and you have the choice of feeling like Batman and take out your enemies with stealth, or you can gun them down like Mad Max, or mix it up as you go. In the heat of battle, don't forget about the other tools you have: Molotov cocktails, nail bombs, smoke (screen) bombs, throwing objects, etc that can be used tactfully. I'll concede to the point that this game isn't perfect in every way, put all of this whining about how bad it is... I can't agree with it. If you're having a hard time - don't bitch that it's a horrible game - just lower the difficulty level - which can be done on the fly.
If The Last of Us is the first of a series it's a damn good foundation. If you absolutely hate this game and are all about brain numbing "consistent" gameplay - go back to your God awful Call of Duty, because apparently the good games don't resonate with you.
Ahh, the all-too familiar sight of Tom Chick's review at the bottom of the Metacritic list for a uber-popular game. While I agree that this game is overrated, the gameplay is still decent (if bland), it's highly replayable, and has a phenomanal story. I agree also that this is honestly more movie than game, but it's amazing at what it does. I'd rate this game as a 8.8/10 personally (a 4.5 star on this scale I guess). Now, I'm ready to be blasted by fanboys.
Review was spot on.
Anyone ignoring the mediocre gameplay here is just blind, and every bit as hypocritical for calling out the reviewer for 'hating for the sake of it', when they 'like the game for the sake of it'.
If this game was not made by ND, and did not have an amazing story, it would be getting a 3 by everyone at best.
Please read more about mycotoxins and entomopathogenic fungi before you say this premise is ridiculous. This type of fungus is prominent in the animal kingdom, being specifically designed to infect varying moth and ant species to devastating effect. To say a mutation or two wouldn't make this applicable to human physiology is rather short-sighted.
The game was far too short. It has the elements of an RPG in which you can level up your guns and build the relationship between Joel and Ellie, but seems to end just as you've managed to personalise your experience and really get a hold of the world you've been crawling around in for the last 15 hours.
The game play combined with the movie is worth the outlay, but the concept seems to be better than the end result. Although the deer section of the game was just wonderfully ethereal and seemed to belie the rest of the gaming experience as well as encapsulating the reality of the situation rather beautifully.
You were able to get flanked? Really? Where?
See this is why people have been shy about giving harsher criticism about this game...report the negatives and get called a "troll". I don't troll for clicks, that's not a strategy of mine. I'm not a 'pro-reviewer' and was only directing WinterEdit there because he wanted a fuller opinion. If I was trolling for clicks, I wouldn't bury my link in the middle of a comment thread.
As far as a "GAME OF THE YEAR" winner for this year, I can't make that call yet...but its easy to say that it is HIGHLY pretentious for reviewers to call "TLoU" just that.
Most previous situation that comes to mind is playing as Ellie in the Warehouse with David and sneaking around Clickers. Survivor mode...got flanked about 6 times in a few different places before I got past it. I could get more specific if you would like?
Say you aren't a troll then. And you really do believe the enemy AI in both TLOU and Far Cry 3 are poor. What are your expectations for enemy AI then? I play quite a few games a year. It's pretty easy to tell the difference between poor, mediocre, and superior AI. It's one of those things in games that it's not really a matter of opinion...it's of fact. It's all based on the technology. Far Cry 3 had great AI. Maybe not superior, but not mediocre by any means. The Last of Us, throughout my gaming career has been the best I have encountered up until now (granted I dont delve into super hard games like Demon Souls).
I agree that TLOU cant be called Game of the Year yet, but I think that giving it any less praise than it deserves is also being pretentious.
No, it would still be 5 stars from me even if this was created by a random garage-operated indie-developer in Switzerland.
Developer does not matter; but Naughty Dog is known to produce quality games.
See, this website is the point where you realize that reviews don't matter. I personally loved the game and say it's the best of the year. Bioshock: Infinite too.
OH, but they give PayDay 2 and Saints Row IV a 4! Like the others said....go back to CoD.
Demon Souls! Hell yeah.
Also, I LOVED playing as Ellie and thought her sections were THE BEST part of the game!
See, here I think I can say it comes down to taste, gaming style, and appreciation of difficulty for us.
I gave it a lot of praise, I believe, and ranked it above average. Also, I don't want you to think I called you pretentious. I was directing that at corporate reviewers.
I'm really glad you had a good time with the game and hope you get lots of hours out of it. I finished my copy in less than a week and was pretty well satisfied that I got all I was going to get out of it.
Happy gaming in the future!
This has to be one of the worst reviews I have ever read. Wish I hadn't stumbled across this. Is the author even a gamer? Way to drop a metacritic score douche!
I see what you're trying to say with this review, I just think you're wrong. I completed my first playthrough recently and it blew me away. Sure, the gameplay could have been more complicated, but I liked it more because it was simple. It allowed for you to focus more on the other aspects of the game, rather than constantly wondering when you'd get your next gun upgrade, etc. They weren't going for a game with super complicated gameplay, they set out to tell a good story and completely immerse you in that story through gameplay, which they did an amazing job of. The hours spent playing aren't entirely mandatory, either. I can guarantee that at least a third of my time was spent scavenging in every nook and cranny of the game for supplies and enjoyed every moment of it. I didn't, however, find it necessary once I had completed the game. I could have definitely beaten it, with not a whole lot less difficulty, without spending that extra time doing that. I'm playing on survivor mode now. You might as well not scavenge for all the good it does you since there's almost no supplies anywhere, and I'm still doing fine. A lot of it does come down to personal preference. For instance, I like single player games driven by story that take time to beat. When I read a book, I don't want it to end, and games are the same way with me. Some people prefer games like Call of Duty that you can beat in less than two hours and then move on to the multiplayer without giving the single player campaign a second thought ever again. That said, I think anyone could agree that this game merits at least an 8/10. For me it's a 10/10. I feel that a 6/10 score on a game like this seems at least partially just to go against the popular opinion, which is petty. I used to avoid anything that was really popular and realized that I missed out on some cool stuff. A majority of things, games included, that are popular, are pretty crappy. Some things deserve the popularity though, and I believe this game is one of them.
Don't think you get my point. Obviously, the developer doesn't matter when it comes to an end product, but in the eyes of a critique, it certainly pulls weight. People are just obviously open to ignoring the faults because they already know what to expect from ND. If this was a new dev, with no real fanbase and history, I'm willing to bet a lot more would have been made of the barely above average gameplay mechanics in TLoU.
And if you genuinely didn't find anything wrong with the gameplay here, perhaps you shouldn't be reviewing video games.
I can just about stand people willing to overlook and give praise to something that overcompensates its faults with brilliance, but to suggest a reviewer is in the wrong occupation for pointing out LEGITIMATE faults within the game, and adjusting his opinion accordingly, is just moronic.
Edit - nvm. Just seen some of your reviews. 10s for Skyfall and Elysium, 9 for MoS... 2 for Only God Forgives. Man, I got taken in by a troll.
Gamespot sucks balls, go to gamerankings and it takes all the reviews and makes an average...as long as it has over 20 reviews its pretty good to know the real review of a game...and the last of us sits at a 95...not the best game ever...but not a 60....ive played so many bad games rated a 70 or 80...and this a 60...bye bye
The last of us improved uncharted after the 3rd game by far...the movement was retarded...and im an uncharted fanatic...i still like uncharted but just the first scene in the bar in uncharted 3 seems unrealistic
at least u agree its better then a 60 rating
Perhaps I shouldn't. Either way, I still have people that trust my opinion enough to run my own site soooo I think I'll keep doing it.
I stand by my reviews 100% and the simple fact that you brought up Only God Forgives discredits your cinematic opinion completely in my eyes. That movie was ATROCIOUS. Drive was one of my all time favorites. Only God Forgives is one of the worst movies I have seen in theaters.
You're entitled to your own opinions. Just know that this troll has his own site that a decent amount of people visit and value my opinion, AND you visited it and got me more hits. So yes, you did "get taken in by a troll". Remember not to feed us!
Perhaps... however, I like the gameplay mechanics. I don't have any real complaints about them. I would say the game mechanics were "quite" realistic, although some minor glitches did happen to me. And I still would say this even if Naughty Dog didn't make this game.
Anything I dislike about the game? Well, some glitches were somewhat annoying, such as Ellie getting stuck in a bus. But those were rare situations, e.g. that kind of situation happened to me only in one scene/place in my 8 playthroughs.
But the game would definitely get 10/10 from me, because nothing (gameplay, occasional glitches, AI) is that bad that it'd detract from the splendid experience the game provides.