The Last Of Us PS3 Reviews review

[capcom_suicide]

SPOILERS!!!

->Open Spoiler<-

At the end, when we go into the operating theatre, it kind of took me off guard, I expected a cut scene or a bit of dialog, but suddenly I see the kid on the table and a man in greens going at me with a knife! I shot him, immediately swung round and took the other guy out and then was left with the woman nurse/doc crying in the corner. It was an odd moment, totally absorbed by the game and acting/behaving like I was Joel and looking at Ellie on the table, then back to the woman, almost as second nature I shot her too. It was just not acceptable that there could be any threat to Ellie, and seemed the right thing to do "In character."

Afterwards in my dreams and day dreams I have questioned those decisions and the ending as a whole and wondered what I would have done if I had been in the same situation. I keep coming back to the same conclusion: Sacrificed Ellie for the greater good. It is an odd thing, where you in a sense perform the expected action in the game, but then have an internal moral debate with yourself afterwards.

This is not something I have experienced very often with video games, but very often with a good novel. Very thought provoking, and enjoyable that a game can trigger these thoughts and feelings, normally reserved for other forms of entertainment.

[Colin]

Loving hearing what others go through from that scene!

[GluedOnBeard]

Spoilerific stuff below.

->Open Spoiler<-

I think it is a great way to sum up it being like a book and is one of the few examples in this gaming that this occurs. The major point it made, albeit disappointingly for me was that throughout the game you see other people disregarding morals and what is right all the way through the game, Joel and a few other people look to be the only people not affected.

When it comes down to it however Joel is a broken man and although other peoples actions in the game were devastating and abhorrent, Joel saving Ellie in that manner is a huge point that can be viewed as the most sickening decision in the game. I think it would have been more interesting if Ellie was given the choice knowing she would die and if Joel would have made the same decision to condemn humanity if Ellie had taken it upon herself to help the greater good. It was the Fireflies utilitarian attitude that ultimately caused it all in all so that is why you come away more conflicted than the actual ending posed.

Back onto the gameplay a bit and I agree with some other comments, going into the surgery at the end was disorientating I was expecting control to be taken away from me and I was actually struggling with the notion of killing the doctor or not. I actually ended up shooting the guy in the foot in some hope that would be different but he still died!

Most of the other comments have already summed this game up but it is easily the best game I have played this year and I hope more games can follow suit with story direction this has shown. It managed to evoke emotions and capture subtleties that have been missed greatly thus far, I would not have minded if this game posed no challenge in the gameplay as it was quite enjoyable to sit back and watch the story unfold.

That being said there are certain set pieces in the game where you manage to feel a real sense of urgency and dread which comes with the connection that you are able to build with the characters.

If this is what Naughty Dog can also do aesthetics wise with the PS3 (

->Open Spoiler<-

Especially right at the end with the Giraffes

) then I can't wait to see their first installment on PS4.

[Golgo]

I'm really loving this

->Open Spoiler<-

- currently in the sewers with the two brothers after excaping Philadelphia, and we've just got separated -

, but I'm guessing I'll have to go back with a hard playthrough to get the most out of the game as it should be played. It's pretty simple to Rambo it on normal, and as combat is fun it's hard to resist...

[Lebowski]

Spoilerific stuff below.

->Open Spoiler<-

I think it is a great way to sum up it being like a book and is one of the few examples in this gaming that this occurs. The major point it made, albeit disappointingly for me was that throughout the game you see other people disregarding morals and what is right all the way through the game, Joel and a few other people look to be the only people not affected.

When it comes down to it however Joel is a broken man and although other peoples actions in the game were devastating and abhorrent, Joel saving Ellie in that manner is a huge point that can be viewed as the most sickening decision in the game. I think it would have been more interesting if Ellie was given the choice knowing she would die and if Joel would have made the same decision to condemn humanity if Ellie had taken it upon herself to help the greater good. It was the Fireflies utilitarian attitude that ultimately caused it all in all so that is why you come away more conflicted than the actual ending posed.

Back onto the gameplay a bit and I agree with some other comments, going into the surgery at the end was disorientating I was expecting control to be taken away from me and I was actually struggling with the notion of killing the doctor or not. I actually ended up shooting the guy in the foot in some hope that would be different but he still died!

Most of the other comments have already summed this game up but it is easily the best game I have played this year and I hope more games can follow suit with story direction this has shown. It managed to evoke emotions and capture subtleties that have been missed greatly thus far, I would not have minded if this game posed no challenge in the gameplay as it was quite enjoyable to sit back and watch the story unfold.

That being said there are certain set pieces in the game where you manage to feel a real sense of urgency and dread which comes with the connection that you are able to build with the characters.

If this is what Naughty Dog can also do aesthetics wise with the PS3 (

->Open Spoiler<-

Especially right at the end with the Giraffes

) then I can't wait to see their first installment on PS4.

it played out a little differently for me

->Open Spoiler<-

, i tried to push past as i didn't want to kill him, he was waving a scalpel at me and i stuck it through his neck melle style, so for me i wasn't as conflicted about killing him, i let the other two live and walked out, queen bee firefly was a bit different i think all the firefly saw Joel as an outsider and treated him pretty poorly kicking him out to die as soon as they got what they wanted. Why would he sacrifice someone he cared about in the vague hope that this rebel faction might be able to make a cure?

The way i see it what was worth saving at this point? from Joel's point of view humanity didn't have much left, the game showed you a few army controlled quarantine zones full of people ready to stand on each other to get what they want and a world full of hunters and scavengers.

[capcom_suicide]

Another aspect that I loved with the game, was that rather than just "looting" you were getting back story on how people had tried (and often failed) to survive. The choices they made, the chaos around them, how the risks of "Humans" were just as bad as from the infected.

If you could be bothered to search off the main track (and there were dozens of oppertunities) it was a sub plot on it's own. Rather more stimulating that just looking at rubbish bins.

The level of care in the design is incredible. I really hope the game sells well.

The combat also impressed me greatly. I don't know how many times I literally only had 1 bullet left and made every shot count. What I find hard to comprehend is the balance. It's edge of your seat stuff, but seems so fair. I never normally enjoy being low on ammo, but this game made an art out of it. So much FUN FUN FUN!!!!

[GluedOnBeard]

it played out a little differently for me

->Open Spoiler<-

, i tried to push past as i didn't want to kill him, he was waving a scalpel at me and i stuck it through his neck melle style, so for me i wasn't as conflicted about killing him, i let the other two live and walked out, queen bee firefly was a bit different i think all the firefly saw Joel as an outsider and treated him pretty poorly kicking him out to die as soon as they got what they wanted. Why would he sacrifice someone he cared about in the vague hope that this rebel faction might be able to make a cure?

The way i see it what was worth saving at this point? from Joel's point of view humanity didn't have much left, the game showed you a few army controlled quarantine zones full of people ready to stand on each other to get what they want and a world full of hunters and scavengers.

->Open Spoiler<-

That's pretty cool that it gave the melee option but it is also a good point on the decision Joel made but what about the future for people who were making a go of it? The town they go back to living in, it isn't all bad.

I'd like to think Joel would let time pass let Ellie live a life and hope the scavengers died out then tell her about the possibility of a cure. This is the first game I have really wondered 'what happened next' so to speak at the end of the story.

[Lebowski]

->Open Spoiler<-

That's pretty cool that it gave the melee option but it is also a good point on the decision Joel made but what about the future for people who were making a go of it? The town they go back to living in, it isn't all bad.

I'd like to think Joel would let time pass let Ellie live a life and hope the scavengers died out then tell her about the possibility of a cure. This is the first game I have really wondered 'what happened next' so to speak at the end of the story.

->Open Spoiler<-

I wonder how big a problem the infected population is now as you see some areas that are completely devoid of anything except wildlife and when you do come across clickers and runners there always in small numbers.

unlike zombies the infected in this game dont stay around forever they have a life cycle, the first infected have gone full circle and have turned into piles of spore mush so if you take the games logic the infecteds method of reproduction is wiped out when the vast majority of the humans are, And when a species primary source of reproduction disappears then so dose that species.

It all adds up to either them not needing a cure if the humans that remain stay away from infected zones, the game shows humans being a bigger problem than the infected. the power-stations where joel and ellie end up biggest issue is human raiders not the infected.

[nakamura]

Another aspect that I loved with the game, was that rather than just "looting" you were getting back story on how people had tried (and often failed) to survive. The choices they made, the chaos around them, how the risks of "Humans" were just as bad as from the infected.

If you could be bothered to search off the main track (and there were dozens of oppertunities) it was a sub plot on it's own. Rather more stimulating that just looking at rubbish bins.

The level of care in the design is incredible. I really hope the game sells well.

The combat also impressed me greatly. I don't know how many times I literally only had 1 bullet left and made every shot count. What I find hard to comprehend is the balance. It's edge of your seat stuff, but seems so fair. I never normally enjoy being low on ammo, but this game made an art out of it. So much FUN FUN FUN!!!!

I killed less than half the amount of enemies with guns as Strider on here did. So much variation to the play. I have full ammo throughout pretty much all of the game!

[Colin]

Same here, if I could take it to them melee style I did, only ever used guns when it was strictly necessary. Funnily enough playing the uncharted games through again now shows just how much they advanced the combat from those games.

[rmoxon]

I took out most enemies with my shotgun. It's easier than sneaking about.

[Golgo]

I took out most enemies with my shotgun. It's easier than sneaking about.

What difficulty, rmoxon? I'm finding the combat option too tempting on normal, so may go for a playthough on hard to see if that forces a change of play style.

[rmoxon]

I played it on normal.

I don't think it's particularly an easy game whichever way you play it, but shooting things is generally easier than sneaking just becuase if you mess up while sneaking its very easy to get surrounded, where as if you just shoot your enemies you can keep them all mostly at a reasonable distance from you and it's also a lot easier to avoid a clicker pouncing from behind you that way.

[Golgo]

The 'getting caught and running away' option is fun as well, though. Always turns up new movement and search patterns in the enemy AI.

[capcom_suicide]

It seems I wasn't alone in struggling with

->Open Spoiler<-

the moral implications of the ending

& what being "Joel" really means.

A far more elequent article here: SPOILERS ALERT!!!!!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2013/06/17/coming-to-terms-with-the-difficult-ending-of-the-last-of-us/