I only got the game today, and have played for several
hours. Obviously my views are only on the initial part of the game, and I’ll
post a proper review when I’ve played rather more. I’ll keep spoilers in this
post to a minimum.
Story
It’s a zombie apocalypse - with a twist. They’re not
‘zombies’ but infected, and the disease is a real thing. It’s a fungal
infection, although in reality it only affects creatures such as ants.
Civilisation has collapsed in the main and only a few quarantined areas remain
(mostly) free of infection. However, democracy has fallen by the wayside and
the military now run the show.
Joel and Tess are a pair of smugglers who get hired to take
an unusual cargo, Ellie, out of the quarantine zone. But things don’t go quite
to plan…
Gameplay
Joel, the player-character, will face both other humans and
a range of infected. Approaches can be stealthy, Rambo-style or a combination
of the two. As well as a variety of guns (and a bow, I’ve just discovered)
there are shivs and Molotov Cocktails, and probably more weapons besides. Generally
this works well, and the enemies can often be quite difficult.
However, I have a couple of gripes. The guns are
surprisingly inaccurate. I’m not a crack shot by any means (in fact, I’m a bit
shit at this sort of thing) but early on I got a headshot when the scope was
pointing at my enemy’s chest. Given that the only way to take down a clicker
(excepting stealth kills) is with a shot to the head, this is a strange and
slightly irksome oversight.
In addition, the clickers. One hit kill enemies are not
something of which I’m a fan (Bushido Blade aside). I think it’s a cheap
mechanic.
The menu stays open when you’re combining items or using a
medkit, and I think this works well. It adds a little bit of tension, and the
system for combining items (what I’ve seen of it so far) works well.
Graphics
The graphics are excellent. Rain and water effects,
wet-clothing, character animations and facial expressions, sunrises, they’re
all brilliant.
Sound
The voice-acting is very good indeed. Sound effects,
including the echo-location clicks of those in an advanced stage of pestilence,
are also very well done. The music’s ok, although there doesn’t seem to be much
of it so far.
Ellie
My biggest single worry was that Ellie’s AI would be screwed
up. Escort quests aren’t exactly the favourite of most gamers, and there was
the risk that Ellie would be a blundering moron who would get herself and/or
Joel killed. Happily, this seems not to be the case. Ellie and Joel not only
work well together in a gameplay sense (he takes the lead, she can sometimes
help out) but they also have some nice moments of banter.
As an aside, this is probably the first zombie game I’ve
played since Resident Evil 2, about 15 years ago.
(Preliminary) Conclusion
I’ve played twice today. The second time I forgot what time
it was and ate tea later than usual, and had a crick in my neck. Can’t remember
when the last time that happened was.
So, one-hit kills and dodgy aiming aside I’m really enjoying
The Last Of Us. The difficulty will be finishing it without ruining my neck.
When I do, I’ll post a fuller review.
Thaddeus
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