Riona (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rionaleonhart) wrote2013-07-11 09:25 am
rionaleonhart) wrote2013-07-11 09:25 am
Entry tags:
Fuck You, Laundry Basket.
More of The Last of Us; I'm now at the hydroelectric dam, but this entry doesn't deal with anything beyond the hotel (and I'm talking mainly about gameplay; there's nothing plot-related in here). I'm sort of amazed by how long this game is, compared to the developer's other PS3 productions. The Uncharted games were so short, about ten or twelve hours of gameplay each; in The Last of Us, I've already played for twelve hours and, judging by the percentage on the save screen, still have a good way to go.
Of course, that playtime may have been inflated by my strategy in stealth sections, which is 'hide and panic for ten minutes, try to sneak to a new location, get spotted immediately, end up dead, try again'.
Every so often, I remember that I'm playing this on Easy mode and sort of want to cry. I'VE DIED MORE THAN TWENTY TIMES. At least the checkpoints are kind; Naughty Dog generally doesn't believe in forcing you to redo things you've already succeeded at, which I think is a good attitude for a game developer to take.
Going through the hotel full of hunters was probably the most terrifying experience I've ever had in a videogame. I think the human enemies in The Last of Us frighten me more than the zombies do. One lit a Molotov cocktail and I freaked out and wasted half a clip panic-shooting in his general direction, because I'd been set on fire before and it hadn't gone well.
(Speaking of Molotov cocktails: at one point I accidentally equipped a Molotov, and Joel pulled the bottle out and lit it just before I switched to my pistol, and when I changed weapons he tucked the still-burning Molotov back into his pocket. JOEL. JOEL, THAT'S A TERRIBLE IDEA.
What with that and my inability to sneak and the times when I end up furiously punching a wall instead of the guy behind me, Joel is starting to look more than a little incompetent when I play him.)
This game makes me feel like a hunted animal. Playing it is a horrible experience sometimes. But then there are the lovely moments, like when I catch Ellie trying to balance-walk along the edge of the pavement, or when she pulls out a joke book and regales me with terrible puns.
I was a little worried, before I started this game, that maybe I wouldn't love Ellie. She was the reason I was considering playing this game at all; the gameplay isn't my thing, the genre isn't my thing, but the fact that you were travelling through a post-apocalyptic world with a fourteen-year-old girl made the game seem more human and more interesting. If I hadn't loved Ellie, The Last of Us would have had very little to offer me.
I needn't have feared, because I adore Ellie. Part of this is probably an inclination to become attached to anyone on my side when I'm in an unsettling environment - the worlds of Shadow of the Colossus and Red Dead Redemption both frightened me, and I ended up clinging to my horse for comfort in both - but I'm pretty sure Ellie is great even when I'm not blinded by how glad I am just to have someone with me. It's an attachment forged by fear and maintained by Ellie being generally delightful.
The Last of Us is really a very, very good game. It's a bit more violent than I'm generally comfortable with, and it can be extremely stressful, but I'd definitely recommend it. Just be prepared for a challenge, even on the lowest difficulty setting.
Of course, that playtime may have been inflated by my strategy in stealth sections, which is 'hide and panic for ten minutes, try to sneak to a new location, get spotted immediately, end up dead, try again'.
Every so often, I remember that I'm playing this on Easy mode and sort of want to cry. I'VE DIED MORE THAN TWENTY TIMES. At least the checkpoints are kind; Naughty Dog generally doesn't believe in forcing you to redo things you've already succeeded at, which I think is a good attitude for a game developer to take.
Going through the hotel full of hunters was probably the most terrifying experience I've ever had in a videogame. I think the human enemies in The Last of Us frighten me more than the zombies do. One lit a Molotov cocktail and I freaked out and wasted half a clip panic-shooting in his general direction, because I'd been set on fire before and it hadn't gone well.
(Speaking of Molotov cocktails: at one point I accidentally equipped a Molotov, and Joel pulled the bottle out and lit it just before I switched to my pistol, and when I changed weapons he tucked the still-burning Molotov back into his pocket. JOEL. JOEL, THAT'S A TERRIBLE IDEA.
What with that and my inability to sneak and the times when I end up furiously punching a wall instead of the guy behind me, Joel is starting to look more than a little incompetent when I play him.)
This game makes me feel like a hunted animal. Playing it is a horrible experience sometimes. But then there are the lovely moments, like when I catch Ellie trying to balance-walk along the edge of the pavement, or when she pulls out a joke book and regales me with terrible puns.
I was a little worried, before I started this game, that maybe I wouldn't love Ellie. She was the reason I was considering playing this game at all; the gameplay isn't my thing, the genre isn't my thing, but the fact that you were travelling through a post-apocalyptic world with a fourteen-year-old girl made the game seem more human and more interesting. If I hadn't loved Ellie, The Last of Us would have had very little to offer me.
I needn't have feared, because I adore Ellie. Part of this is probably an inclination to become attached to anyone on my side when I'm in an unsettling environment - the worlds of Shadow of the Colossus and Red Dead Redemption both frightened me, and I ended up clinging to my horse for comfort in both - but I'm pretty sure Ellie is great even when I'm not blinded by how glad I am just to have someone with me. It's an attachment forged by fear and maintained by Ellie being generally delightful.
The Last of Us is really a very, very good game. It's a bit more violent than I'm generally comfortable with, and it can be extremely stressful, but I'd definitely recommend it. Just be prepared for a challenge, even on the lowest difficulty setting.
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