The Last of Us (PS3)

[Yoshi]

The only negatives that come to mind are the sequences where you have play as weak, weak Ellie.

That part with ~10 runners, ~5 clickers, and a bloater was a pain in the ass at the time, but killing the bloater with just arrows was one of the most memorable parts of the game, looking back.

So, I've been playing this and it's pretty good I guess.

Naughty Dog are amazing, but I was hoping this would be a little more unconventional in terms of gameplay. The story/gameplay disconnect isn't as jarring as Uncharted because of the theme, but it ends up feeling like the story and presentation have become more sophisticated than the game design.

Would Have Appreciated (WHA): A shorter game with more sparse, thoughtfully-placed encounters. Far fewer enemies.

I completely agree with fewer enemies. I am not sure if playing on Hard affected that. The problem with a shorter game for me would be that wouldn't have the appreciation of the epic trek the characters had completed.

[Glass Joe]

My only real gripe with this game is shivs being one use only. Having to constantly find things to craft them is silly. It would have been much better if they lasted like 20-30 shanks before they were gone. Other than that, I'm enjoying this game.

[Yoshi]

You never upgraded them? They can be used three times once upgraded. You should have searched better for the manuals!

[Joust Williams]

Halfway through the game, my only use for shivs was to break the locked doors.

[Yoshi]

I used them on mobile clickers and locked doors. Still clickers got arrows to the head, since you can usually re-loot the arrow from a head shot.

[Salsashark]

That part with ~10 runners, ~5 clickers, and a bloater was a pain in the ass at the time, but killing the bloater with just arrows was one of the most memorable parts of the game, looking back.

I completely agree with fewer enemies. I am not sure if playing on Hard affected that. The problem with a shorter game for me would be that wouldn't have the appreciation of the epic trek the characters had completed.

I think you could keep the sense of distance and scale and still cut it down a bit. The repetition of enemy encounters makes sense for a game, but it detracts from the whole of the experience.

It's starting to get kind of numbing walking into a space conveniently filled with objects I'm clearly going to have to use for cover. I think the game would actually benefit if they had only the number of encounters (and enemies) that was right for the story.

[Glass Joe]

You never upgraded them? They can be used three times once upgraded. You should have searched better for the manuals!

I have, it just seems lazy the way they designed it. It would have helped suck you in more if they lasted a bit longer and every so often have one break on its first use. It would have felt more like you were just winging it.

[Yoshi]

That's a fair point, though I had enough randomization with the fact that Joel would decide to curb stomp some guys instead of quietly strangling them when I hit square. That always brought unwanted attention.

[Salsashark]

This game reminds me of Resident Evil 4 and Half Life 2 quite a bit, but I'd say it's better than both of them.

[Yoshi]

Now that's a quote they should put on the back of the box.