Naughty Dog is by far one of the greatest developers out there. In my mind, they haven't had a single disappointment. Crash Bandicoot was my childhood, along with Spyro of course. Jak and Daxter were simply amazing. Then there's the Uncharted franchise, 3 of my favourite games of all time. And one studio created all these masterpieces. When it was announced that they were creating another new IP, not only were my expectations high, but my hopes and excitement levels too.
With so many bars raised in their previous games, making something to blow me away would be a tall order. But I was ready. I was ready to learn to love Naughty Dog again, for the 11th time.
Did they succeed? Hells yes. For the most part.
I'll start with the goods parts, yeah?
First off, holy shit how did they make my PS3 look so good? Naughty Dog has always been known for their graphical fidelity, but this was next level shit. My heart pines, sings the song of sadness that it won't come to PC.
You know what else was amazing? The acting. Troy Baker is certainly rising in popularity lately, and for good reason. I felt like Joel was a real damn person. The emotion and sheer humanity he brings to the role is confounding and extraordinary. He was easily the shining star of the game. The script and writing certainly helped as well. The story and characters, while making some decisions I don't fully agree with, are without a doubt complex and beautifully woven people. The story is simple, yet charming and horrifying in the same instance. While I will always prefer Nathan Drake over any other character in existence, Joel and Ellie are nevertheless welcome additions to Naughty Dog's long list of unforgettable imaginings.
Where it fell a little short, in my regard, was the gameplay. In particular the gunplay. It was pretty much copied straight over from Uncharted, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, except that it was the worst part of Uncharted. It worked there because I always felt that it was never the most important aspect of the game. What Uncharted did really well was enjoyable platforming to epic music and destruction. It was a character and story driven game, interspersed with occasional annoying gunfights. However when the gunplay is more or less the focus of the game, like in The Last of Us, you got to get that shit right. Also, Nathan Drake was a quick, nimble character who got around quickly. Joel is certainly not. I get that it made sense for the story and characters, but I think the game itself suffered a touch from it.
All in all, The Last of Us is undeniably one of, if not the best game of 2013. Please don't let the negatives make you think I didn't like it, because I did. With all my heart. The positives far, far outweigh the negatives, in every regard. Naughty Dog has most definitely stepped up to the plate and delivered another masterpiece. The game is fantastic.
It truly makes me excited for Uncharted 4
With so many bars raised in their previous games, making something to blow me away would be a tall order. But I was ready. I was ready to learn to love Naughty Dog again, for the 11th time.
Did they succeed? Hells yes. For the most part.
I'll start with the goods parts, yeah?
First off, holy shit how did they make my PS3 look so good? Naughty Dog has always been known for their graphical fidelity, but this was next level shit. My heart pines, sings the song of sadness that it won't come to PC.
You know what else was amazing? The acting. Troy Baker is certainly rising in popularity lately, and for good reason. I felt like Joel was a real damn person. The emotion and sheer humanity he brings to the role is confounding and extraordinary. He was easily the shining star of the game. The script and writing certainly helped as well. The story and characters, while making some decisions I don't fully agree with, are without a doubt complex and beautifully woven people. The story is simple, yet charming and horrifying in the same instance. While I will always prefer Nathan Drake over any other character in existence, Joel and Ellie are nevertheless welcome additions to Naughty Dog's long list of unforgettable imaginings.
Where it fell a little short, in my regard, was the gameplay. In particular the gunplay. It was pretty much copied straight over from Uncharted, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, except that it was the worst part of Uncharted. It worked there because I always felt that it was never the most important aspect of the game. What Uncharted did really well was enjoyable platforming to epic music and destruction. It was a character and story driven game, interspersed with occasional annoying gunfights. However when the gunplay is more or less the focus of the game, like in The Last of Us, you got to get that shit right. Also, Nathan Drake was a quick, nimble character who got around quickly. Joel is certainly not. I get that it made sense for the story and characters, but I think the game itself suffered a touch from it.
All in all, The Last of Us is undeniably one of, if not the best game of 2013. Please don't let the negatives make you think I didn't like it, because I did. With all my heart. The positives far, far outweigh the negatives, in every regard. Naughty Dog has most definitely stepped up to the plate and delivered another masterpiece. The game is fantastic.
It truly makes me excited for Uncharted 4