Finished it last night! My mini review of sorts:
Im just going to throw this out there straight away: it is probably my GOTY. Bear in mind, this accolade is coming from someone who never fully boarded the TLoU hype train and whose expectations were more or less in check, especially after NDs disappointing effort with UC3 and my general jadedness towards the cinematic shooter genre (Tomb Raider was the straw that broke the camels back, even if it was a decent game). Heck, I dont even own a PS3 anymore, so the plan was to return it after seeing what all the fuss is about.
First and foremost: there is nothing else like this game well, not that Ive played. It truly possesses a unique identity in every department.
Needless to say, the presentation is peerless. ND have truly outdone themselves in this regard. The narrative is handled with quite the deft touch, lending to it the feel of a revered and well directed film; not something youd expect from a video game, basically. Dialogue is realistic and expertly delivered by all cast members. I guess thats the benefit of having a small and talented cast of VAs. It makes Uncharted or any other narrative-heavy title seem somewhat poorly executed in comparison. Obviously, the UC comparison doesnt hold that much weight, given the completely different mood/subject matter, but the kicker is that the comparison can extend beyond merely the scope of storytelling... Yep. Its also a better shooter than UC, which brings me to
Gameplay. Its gud, guys. Very gud. At first, I was a bit lukewarm on it thats not to say that I thought it was bad I just didnt think it was anything amazing (stupid semi-hype) After persevering for a few hours, though, it clicked.
Firstly, the movement is superb. In particular, the feel and look of Joels sprint animation is fantastic and probably the best Ive seen in a TPS; the camera wobble/shake is perfect. As expected, all animations are top-notch and theres a satisfying sense of weight and presence. Its not Killzone heavy, but its heavy and its beautifully suited to the game.
Secondly, the gunplay really is quite delicious. Its not just in the feedback, recoil and sound, which is all top shelf, but in the way shootouts unfold. Theres an unprecedented realism in the way ND have orchestrated these encounters. Room-clearing fire fights can consist of the trading of 3 or 4 bullets, rather than the silly maelstrom and hailstorm of shrapnel that we see in other games. Actually, lets go even further: fire fights in this game play out more realistically than 95% of movies, yo. Trigger pulls have catastrophic consequences.
And then theres the melee combat, which is just straight-up satisfying. The ring-out of steel pipes and the shattering of two-by-fours
Glorious. And hey, Im a fan of egregious gore in my video games when its not hilariously out of place, so I appreciate that, too.
All of the above combines to form the real backbone of the brilliance of TLoUs gameplay: the dynamism. Never before in a game has the stealth > shoot-bang > stealth dynamic been so well handled. You all know what Im talking about: its the blatant disregard of lines of sight; the otherworldly senses instantly imbued in your enemies as soon as you pop off a single, innocuous shot. Its BULLSHIT and its nowhere to be found in TLoU (99% of the time). Sure, sometimes its a bit too nowhere to be found, but thats still better than the alternative. It makes for some seriously satisfying and seriously unique encounters. To express it another way, Im pretty anal in any game with a stealth emphasis, usually to the point where detection = the fastest checkpoint reloading in the history of mankind. TLoU is one of those few special games that deters you from doing that (not entirely, though; reloads were still had) because when shit hits the fan, fun sprays down from the ceiling.
A few words on the technical aspects: the game looks fantastic. And frame rate issues were more or less non-existent for me, oddly. Maybe I have a high tolerance, but I really dont think so.
Look, I know Im gushing. I do have some gripes, though, like the tendency of one-hit deaths to become annoying, the occasional trial and error frustration, wishing I could sprint when I couldnt, or the inevitable silliness of AI partners wandering about invisibly. I was also left a bit wanting with the ending, but I understand the decision to go that route. All in all, however, the abundant good outweighs the very little bad considerably, which is what you should give stock to. More importantly, its a forward thinking game that dares to be a little different and dares to be uncompromisingly itself.
Kudos, ND.
i've been doing it wrong
