So The Last of Us has been out for just about 3 weeks now and I can’t help thinking that the game had just a little bit too much hype, which in a way ruined it a bit for me. The game was given prior to release 10/10 by a number of different reviewers making out that it was the perfect game, however much it pains me to say, it is not.
If it is story you are after then I cannot deny that this is one of the best I have seen in a long time, as I felt I had a real emotional attachment to the characters. The game is set in post-apocalyptic America where a zombie-like pandemic has hit, making quarantine zones the only safe place for people to live. It is hard to explain much of the story without ruining it for the people who are yet to play the game.
The place where the game lacks is in its gameplay; it is arguable whether or not it’s a cover based shooter or not, at times you think you are in cover and then your character runs out into the open only to be turned into human mash potato by enemy gun fire. To get the most out of the game you must use stealth as much as possible and does not reward you for using open combat to get to your objective and I sometimes found myself beating my enemies to death rather than having a fire fight.
I feel that there is a real sense of survival as you scavenge for supplies whilst only being able to carry a small amount of ammo. However annoying this is I feel it is a lot more realistic than in Call of Duty when your comrades around you are complaining about running low on ammo whilst you still have hundreds of bullets to spare.
Although the game has an undead enemy, you frequently find yourself fighting fellow survivors who have reverted to killing their own kind in order to survive.
When you do come across infected, the variations in mutations go from: runners who have recently been turned and are like crazy people, Clickers who have been infected for longer and move slower, although kill you very easily once up close, and lastly you have bloaters, who have been infected for a very long time.
Throughout the game you come across a number of different people who join your party, mainly Ellie, a 14 year old girl, who many notice as having a likeness to Ellen Page. Although it is understandable, I often found my companions running out in front of unalarmed enemies and was ready for a battle–however they just carry on their way.
Overall I give it a 9/10, it gives you a rich story which is easily capable of 10/10, although it is let down by the at time janky gameplay.
