The Last of Us (2013)

Giocai a The Last of Us sotto consiglio di amici, che ritenevano essere uno dei migliori giochi di sempre. Ho giocato l'edizione per PS4 e a me sembra solo sopravvalutato: La grafica è notevole (immagino per una PS3 non ci sia meglio anche se gli ultimi titoli usciti come Grand Theft Auto V, Killzone 3 e Resident Evil 6 fanno la loro bella figura ancora oggi), ma per il resto trovo esagerate le lodi. La trama è prevedibile e scontata, mi hanno fatto odiare la scena finale, si salva il rapporto "padre-figlia" tra Joel e Ellie anche se a momenti era un po' forzato. il gameplay l'ho trovato generico, un third-person shooter come altri condito con meccaniche survival. Sebbene lo reputi un prodotto buono non lo considererei minimamente vincitore del gioco dell'anno (lo darei a Grand Theft Auto V). Voto: 8/10

Holy crap Joel has to be dead. Just got to the point where he fell off the second floor balcony and ended up impaled on a piece of metal. I thought for sure he was done in the world TLOU takes place in. The segment that followed where you play as Ellie was pretty fun, even though I usually hate when games take away all your leveled up goodies. Her knife was almost unfairly effective, and I'm left wondering why she would leave it in David's head. If I killed 112 people with a knife, I would certainly have retrieved it. I stopped for the night right before we entered Salt Lake City, and I'm kind of surprised at how healthy Joel looks. We'll see if there are any lingering effects when I pick it back up.

I'm just about to enter the "building that looks like a mirror" on the ECU campus. I'm scrounging through the empty dorm rooms when I fall through the floor and come across a bunch of clickers. No big deal, I start taking them out. All of the sudden I realize one of the big guys is around. I get scared because the first one I came across, back in the gymnasium in Bill's town, game me a lot of trouble and I died two or three times before I unloaded everything I had at him. This one? Two molotovs and a nail bomb. BOOM.

SOME MINOR SPOILERS
ALSO NOTE I HAVEN"T PLAYED THE ORIGINAL, ONLY REMASTERED*
The Last of Us is saved from being a generic third person adventure shooter by how well the gameplay ties into its story and theme. The "him or me" mentality is absolutely captured. Combat is very intense, primarily because resources are so scarce. Every bullet fired feels like a choice, in a way that choice oriented games can't capture (not that I don't love those games). Large scale infected battles are especially intense.
The environments are very well detailed, and the voice acting is just... perfect. My hair stood on end during first death scene. The game is very atmospheric and the chemistry between Joel and Ellie is fantastic. Each supporting character is surprisingly well developed as well.
The multiplayer is also quite fun. While the characters and environments aren't quite as well polished as the story mode, it too captures the him or me feeling that I just don't get from games like Call of Duty with popular online play. You have to seriously rely on your team and manage your resources. I didn't like interrogation very much.
TLOU isn't without a few problems, with occasional bugs, especially in multiplayer, and an AI system that doesn't always seem to remember its own rules. Enemies will fail to see your companions if they haven't spotted you yet or ignore the body they just walked by, your companions will sometimes force you out of cover so that you're spotted, enemies will occasionally see you when they shouldn't, and become seemingly blind in situations they should.
These issues don't really take much away from the experience though. While it isn't my favorite game or anything, TLOU is deserving of every bit of praise it gets from critics, and is undeniably a great game.

The Last of Us is an incredible experience. I came into this game expecting a typical zombie survival horror game but it proved to be so much more. The story is deep, powerful and unpredictable it will surprise you with the emotions you will feel. The gameplay is straightforward but responds perfectly. This game will make your heart race with intense combat scenarios. One of the best games I have ever played. I highly recommend it.