The Last of Us: Part II is anything but perfect, player reviews on other sites have been largely negative and while I agree that this game is not a 10/10 it is also not a 3/10. My opinion is more in the middle, the gameplay is much improved from the previous game and the graphics and physics of the game are the best the Playstation 4 will see, it honestly looks like a next-gen game. The level of polish and detail in the game is breathtaking and that alone makes up a large portion of the rating I have given the game.
My problem is the story, right from the get-go they sell out characters to push a narrative you cannot get behind. Knowing how certain characters operate in the first installment leaves contradictions the player cannot get their heads around, why would Tommy and Joel give up their names and where Jackson is to complete strangers? Why would Ellie not shoot on sight? From the very beginning you are left feeling these characters have been stripped down. This is followed by the death of Joel, it was always probable that he would die in this game but to have it at the start while not yet establishing who Abby is creates an uphill battle to make you sympathise for her later in the game. Abby is unlikable, when she is at her worst she is unredeemable in comparison to Ellie who throughout the game shows remorse for her actions. Following that Abby is an unlikeable and unredeemable character the ending falls flat, Ellie leaves everything to pursue her in the knowledge that she will lose everything so when we get to the finale and she lets her live it does not make sense. She has nothing to lose and essentially lets Abby win here, there is no sense of victory and reward for her effort and again leaves the player wondering what all the effort in playing the game 18-20 hours was for.
Personally I believe if this instalment was to be successful it would need to be stripped down. A more simplistic narrative like the first and focusing on the relationship with Joel and Ellie after she finds out what Joel has done. This gives ample time to develop characters such as Tommy, Jesse, Dina and so on which would lead to more attachment to these characters and more meaning to the player in regards to what happens to them later. Then you could have Joel die at the end still not knowing who Abby is. This would then be followed by a third instalment in which a larger portion of time can be spent developing Abby and her crew so that again having an attachment to them can create true conflicts of interest within the player when these characters finally meet their demises.
All in all this game has a number of flaws in the story and I personally believed this could have been fleshed out more in both this game and extending into a third game. There was simply not enough time or effort put into Abby's arc. However, with all that being said this game is fantastic to look at, it plays flawlessly and the polish and attention to detail is phenomenal it is a must-buy for that alone, but again the story is not there and for that reason I can only give a 6/10.
Note: I will note that my issue was with the writing of the story, I think the programmers, the art departments, the motion capture, the acting, voice acting and so on were superb and really sets the gold standard of the state a game should be in before being released. I don't wan't a negative review of the story to negate from the fantastic work that everyone else at Naughty Dog and all other related parties have done to produce a game of the level.
My problem is the story, right from the get-go they sell out characters to push a narrative you cannot get behind. Knowing how certain characters operate in the first installment leaves contradictions the player cannot get their heads around, why would Tommy and Joel give up their names and where Jackson is to complete strangers? Why would Ellie not shoot on sight? From the very beginning you are left feeling these characters have been stripped down. This is followed by the death of Joel, it was always probable that he would die in this game but to have it at the start while not yet establishing who Abby is creates an uphill battle to make you sympathise for her later in the game. Abby is unlikable, when she is at her worst she is unredeemable in comparison to Ellie who throughout the game shows remorse for her actions. Following that Abby is an unlikeable and unredeemable character the ending falls flat, Ellie leaves everything to pursue her in the knowledge that she will lose everything so when we get to the finale and she lets her live it does not make sense. She has nothing to lose and essentially lets Abby win here, there is no sense of victory and reward for her effort and again leaves the player wondering what all the effort in playing the game 18-20 hours was for.
Personally I believe if this instalment was to be successful it would need to be stripped down. A more simplistic narrative like the first and focusing on the relationship with Joel and Ellie after she finds out what Joel has done. This gives ample time to develop characters such as Tommy, Jesse, Dina and so on which would lead to more attachment to these characters and more meaning to the player in regards to what happens to them later. Then you could have Joel die at the end still not knowing who Abby is. This would then be followed by a third instalment in which a larger portion of time can be spent developing Abby and her crew so that again having an attachment to them can create true conflicts of interest within the player when these characters finally meet their demises.
All in all this game has a number of flaws in the story and I personally believed this could have been fleshed out more in both this game and extending into a third game. There was simply not enough time or effort put into Abby's arc. However, with all that being said this game is fantastic to look at, it plays flawlessly and the polish and attention to detail is phenomenal it is a must-buy for that alone, but again the story is not there and for that reason I can only give a 6/10.
Note: I will note that my issue was with the writing of the story, I think the programmers, the art departments, the motion capture, the acting, voice acting and so on were superb and really sets the gold standard of the state a game should be in before being released. I don't wan't a negative review of the story to negate from the fantastic work that everyone else at Naughty Dog and all other related parties have done to produce a game of the level.
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