Liz - Last of Us (Spoiler Free)
While there are many types, genres, and styles of games that I greatly enjoy, anything that makes it on the list of my 'favorite' games tend to be those that tell a good story. To me, a game can still be amazing even if the gameplay is crunky, or the graphics are blase, or even if the story line itself is a bit mediocre, so long as the telling of that story and the emotion it evokes is genuine and powerful.
In this sense, Last of Us is one of the best games I've ever played.
The story itself is not hugely original. It's not something you can just sit down and read to gain the same appreciation. Their concept of zombies is certainly a bit more unique (and oddly more terrifying in that it's possible, however unlikely) than others out there, but it's difficult to otherwise be surprising about a post-apocalyptic survival tale. They all tend to follow a similar formula, and Last of Us is no different.
What set this game apart was the acting. Seriously, acting, like in movies. The actors did not just provide their voices, but their motion capture as well (link contains mild spoilers), and the animation team did an absolutely incredible job here. The voice, and movement, and emotion of the characters felt so completely real that this game was seriously one of the most emotionally powerful gaming experiences I've had. Couple all that with fantastic music, sound, lighting, creature design, level design, all that good stuff. It all layered so well and became what I feel is one of my top favorite games of all time now.
I even felt so moved after beating it, I pulled out my guitar and made this piece of music in a similar style to the game. https://soundcloud.com/bombadeer-studios/brief-respite All that said, I do have to mark a few complaints. This game is only available on the PS3. Being a PC gamer, the controls were horrifyingly awful to me. You try and play the game as stealthily as possible, but inevitably all hell breaks loose and you're in a gunfight, and man I hated the gunfights. Accuracy just didn't exist, and the sniper rifle scene was...uuugh, frustrating. The best thing I found to do was to save often, and try and get as far as I could in each place doing things by hand. Upgrade your shivs early, those suckers are useful.
The upgrades and item creation systems were cool, and I loved the limited supply of ammunition/items - it forces you to really think through most situations. Those times when I could slowly pick my way through a crowd of zombies, killing them off one by one, and successfully navigating the 'arena' without starting a ruckus, felt very fun and satisfying. I just wish it were more easily possible with humans, which you fight a great deal of. Lastly, on that line, in most games like this you solve problems with violence. Violence is THE game mechanic, it's what most all your button presses result in, so it makes sense. Most games don't make much of a deal of the fact that every hero is basically a mass murdering crazy person who slaughters his or her way through every problem. This one does. It actually made it a bit frustrating, that I couldn't just evade violence, or get past someone without killing them (I like to imagine that strangling them just knocks them out, but we know better). I really don't want to be a mass murdering fekkhed, but I had no other choice. Would be cool if it were possible to avoid that title.
Anyway, all in all, well worth playing, even if you're a crippled mouse-using PC gamer like me. ;)
Interesting side note...perhaps because I've listened to/watched a lot of developer commentary on how people think through game design, or done some game design myself, or simply been a gamer for so long (more than likely all the above), but most of the time while playing I knew exactly where the game was going to go. There were definitely a few twists that caught me pleasantly by surprise...times where the storytelling moved up and beyond the gameplay and just carried me away into the moment. But there were a couple times where I predicted exactly what was going to happen...I'm curious if others were able to do the same.
Oh, tunnel ahead. Going to have to go in it, and it'll be filled with zombies. Hey, an advertisement for a zoo. Magical moment coming up. Haven't had any repercussions for letting Ellie unlock a door for me in a while...better pull out the shotgun. Oh look, zombie, and it's dead before it even finishes standing up. There were loads more, but most of them are spoilery.
I'm not saying this to try and sound elitist or anything, just an odd side effect I've noticed of better understanding game design - I've developed the ability to read the gameplay, and it's fascinating. I'm curious if this is common for other people in the industry?