BonsaiForest
Since: Jan, 2001
07/18/2013 00:00:00
Thing is, you were mostly praising the story, but it's so heavily scripted that I found it hard to be immersed. It's not immersive when you're being pushed by a script to run in the general direction of _____, and deviating ever so slightly equals instant death, as it does when you're part of the panicked crowds. You have no control over what happens, and you're basically playing a movie.
kay4today
Since: Jan, 2011
07/20/2013 00:00:00
That's only true in the crowd scene (where, you know, bloodthirsty zombies run around). For the rest of the game you can run around everywhere until you reach the video game wall of no passing.
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Incredible (some minor spoilers)
I hesitate to call any game flawless. As an experienced gamer, I'm mature enough to realize that there is no such thing as the perfect game, the end-all-be-all experience. Every gamer is unique; they have different interests, different skill levels and skillsets- it's impossible to make a game that hits on every gamers' bases. But damn if The Last Of Us doesn't come frighteningly close to dashing those notions like so much spun glass.
The game immerses you immediately by casting you as the main character's daughter in the very instant the apocalypse begins via parasitic fungus. Buildings explode, infected grasp at you with malicious intent, and panicked crowds run rampant. And then the character you've been controlling the whole time dies, and the game cuts forward 20 years to a world on the ragged edge, as everyone- EVERYONE- is desperately trying to stay alive just one more day. Joel (the aforementioned main character) is a smuggler who in the beginning is just looking for a stolen shipment of weapons. This doesn't last long.
I won't spoil anything- and hell, I'm not even done playing it yet- suffice to say that Joel's notion of an easy shakedown is derailed when he is charged with escorting Ellie, a young girl, across the United States. Along the way, you face off against other survivors, the perils of a collapsing world, and many, many Infected.
The presentation is sublime- the characters are all voiced and animated to perfection (as can be expected from developer Naughty Dog), but the environments are what really shine, completely averting the notion that Real is Brown by placing you in a desolate former America being rapidly reclaimed by nature (Real is Green?). The gameplay supplements the presentation and overall feel of the game beautifully. Combat is quick, frantic, and reeks of desperation. Whether you're trying to strangle that smuggler quickly, hoping his buddy doesn't turn around and see you, or scrounging for supplies, or wading your way through a hallway of Clickers, this game is perfectly willing and able to convey the overall hopelessness of the world.
In the end, The Last Of Us is still not perfect- some minor bugs, such as your companions running full-tilt through enemy territory with nary a glance break up the immersion slightly. But the overall package is highly recommendable. Seriously, play this game. NOW.