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Infamous Second Son is an open world third person action game a lot
like prototype (Some people might hate me for this comparison…) which means
that it involves a lot of fancy power and destruction. Being one of the first
line up and one of the few exclusives for the PS4 in its early year, this game
has a lot to prove. So how does it fare in my standard ranking and evaluation?
As to
my normal way of reviewing (which is determined by how I previously write a
review, which is only one time), I will start by judging the story. After the
event of the first Infamous (which I will not bother explaining), the conduits
(people with power) are considered as outcast and are being captured and
contained by a group of government affiliated faction. The protagonist of the
game, Delsin Rowe are your typical rebellious young adult who due to some
incident, learned that he got the power to absorb the power of a conduit by
making skin contact with them. This however, leads to the predicament in which
the people in Delsin’s hometown to get ‘Stoned’ (hahaha) by one of the
government-employed conduit as they would not sell out Delsin’s secret to them.
This also leads to our protagonist’s adventure to take the power to control
concrete in order to restore the condition of his people. Throughout the game,
the player would choose how Delsin carry out his mean to accomplish his goal,
be it good or bad. Long story short, you could expect the typical hero story in
which the main character would find help, meet enemy, get powered up and win.
As always, this is where I would say that this is how the game do it well, and
boy, did it do well.
Infamous Second Son delivered its story by masterfully using the
Playstation 4 power to process by delivering a very believable acting by the
motion of its character, especially Delsin’s. His demeanor when he talked and
his body language clearly implied what he wanted to say. It also manage to
tread on the fine line without being too over-dramatic like some game in which
the character shakes around like they have ants in their pants or be too still
like a marionette. The deliverance of its character to the player are very well
done that they manage to pull us into the infamous world.
Smile for the camera~ wait...I did this already...
Next
up on the line is the gameplay and being an action game, it really needs this
to be good. Fortunately, it does. If there’s one thing that this game stands
out from others is that how it manage to make all aspect of the animation to be
real good. This, when translated into gameplay, equals a very fluid gameplay
that rarely felt clunky (or even if so). The combat in the game consisted of
using powers for both long and close range attack. Delsin, who will be owning
quite a number of powers throughout the game, can use this in a very stylish
manner. This means shooting smoke bombs or sniping with neons, to name a few.
He will also have the ability to glide through the air, neon-walk on walls and
even smoke through fences (it is very neat). Delsin’s melee is influenced by
the power he has and that, plus the color of his power, are determined by his
morality or karma, be it good or bad.
Expect a reddish neon and smoke when you are
bad compared to purple neon and orange smoke when you are good. Delsin’s shirt
are also matched to his choice of side, being red and symbolized as a blackish
goat skull when being bad or a blue and freedom-inspiring bird image as a good
guy. The people in the Infamous world would also react to Delsin’s karmic view.
They will hate and run away from you while speaking of how fearsome you are or
worship and praise you as you show them how good conduit is. This morality
system acts as a good way to control how you play, either being as destructive
as you can or being careful to who you shot and how you neutralize the enemy.
As an evil Delsin, you would like to cause as much chaos as you can before the
multiplier to do a very powerful attack ends, while as a good guy, you will need
to stop the enemy without killing them, taking time to aim for their legs and
never hit an innocent bystander. This system will act as a limiter in how you
play the game and that is a good thing.
When you're stressed, have a smoke. The good kind.
Onto
the graphics, it is top notch. Being a Ps4 exclusive, Infamous Second Son are
not limited by many, only the limit of the Ps4 itself. It manage to prove to
the world how powerful the Ps4 is. The game looked very crisp and the lighting
and shadow is very well done. The color is saturated and manage to capture the
feeling of the setting of Infamous Second Son. The power looked really fancy
and the effects on them are not half-assed. Either it be neon or smoke, it
really captured the essence. The sound is good though not really to the point
of very marvelous. Expect the stuffs sounds like it would do. The voice acting
is great but most of it are centered around Delsin. Thus, it is not really easy
to judge how the others’ quality of voices. Execution of the game is good.
Loading is not long, fights are fun, cutscenes are marvelous and missions are
not repetitive unless you count the beat these enemies (considering it IS an
action game). The frames even with the marvelous graphic is stable and never
really see a real slow down, just some minor issues.
Into
one of the most important part in this game as it is a single-player only game,
replayibility. To make it simple, think open world game, includes a big map,
got a lot of side mission, a good main story, many panoramas to take
screenshots, collectables and mini games. Well, and the main story is if you
stretch enough, maybe could be like… 8 to 10 hours? If you are rushing, 6 hours
is not that hard. Add the fact that you can play the story two times for both
good and bad ending, plus the many side missions you can play, it must be long
enough right? As much I wanted to say that it is long, in my first playthrough,
I finish the good ending and completed the game to 100% in under 12 hours
(probably less, 10 maybe?). Thing is, the side missions are a bit too easy
though it is worth playing through as it is enjoyable. The end game (at 100%)
are also very disappointing as by the time, enemies are scarce and the few
invasion is also quite easy compared to some of the mission’s difficulties.
Big and beautiful, but not much to do
In conclusion, I would say that though the game
is incredibly fun with great graphic and fun gameplay. The game itself lack the
replayibility value as the game is, to put it simply, not hard enough (believe
me, even on hardest it is easy to win with the right strategies, unless you put
a limit to yourself like not retreating or taking cover). My advice, rent it
(though the disc cover is beautiful, it might worth to buy it just to display
in the shelf). So, the verdict.
Pros:
+Great graphic and effects
+Fun and fluid gameplay
+Morality system determine how you play
+Powers are very beautifully done
Cons:
-A tad too easy
-A bit short with little replayibility
Tag :// action,
Tag :// games,
Tag :// open world,
Tag :// Playstation 4,
Tag :// PS4,
Tag :// Story-Driven games,
Tag :// super power,
Tag :// Third person
Developed by the studio Naughty Dog, creator of the Uncharted series, comes The Last of Us or more specifically, The Last of Us: Remastered which is the essentially a remake of the 2013 Playstation 3 hit to the Playstation 4. First of all, this review will not solely focus on the improvement made from its predecessor, but see it as a whole game in order to let those who never played the PS3 version know what the game is about. With that out of the way, let's review.
The Last of Us is a story-driven game viewed from a third person perspective. It is set in a post apocalyptic world 20 years after an outbreak of a virus that turns people into creepy brain-tumoured zombie-like monster plunge mankind to near extinction. Simply put, the living condition at the time is bad enough that the factions in the game fits all the stereotypical role at said settings. Government that the people hate, Rebels that the government hate, and the bandits that everyone hate. Add a protagonist and a cause for he or she to do and you got Hollywood material right there. Fortunately, what the game focuses on is not the big story that drives the world, but the emotional ties that was born from the two unlikely protagonists in the game.
The game puts us on the role of Joel, a hardened man with a dark past involving his teenage daughter Sarah and his companion, Ellie who is unsurprisingly, a teenage girl with a surprisingly curse-happy vocabulary. Together, they travelled (sometimes with others) in a quest to find a cure for the infection that have befall the world. In all seriousness, it is put better in the game but that is the story in the nutshell. Along the way, we will witness the bond the was formed between the two and see how they react to the world that they live in. This, my reader, is where The Last of Us shines the most. Ellie and Joel, no matter how cliche'd and obvious the pair is on paper, the game depicts this in the most dynamic fashion that we could not help but stare in awe in the camaraderie that they showed us. In one point of the game, Ellie barely able to climb a ladder before it broke. This however, causes Joel to be left alone to fend for himself down below. Ignoring the safety up above, Ellie jumped downed and shrugged it off by saying "together till the end." before accompanying Joel to find another way to escape the place. To top it off, the game did not even make a deal out of it, it is just seamlessly added into the story, never forcing players to learn that, 'hey, Ellie cared for Joel now, like so bad that she even risked her life for him'. The game also includes a lot of minor conversation in which Ellie, who has never went out of the secured government protected city, observe a lot of new stuffs like a music store with old songs and even contemplating the poster of a movie around the place.
Next, the gameplay of The Last of Us. The game includes a mix of stealth, gunfights, crafting and simple puzzle solving in its repertoire to keep it from being a CGI movie. Stealth is used when dealing with both the infected and the human enemy which you will find in the game. While the human are self-explanatory, the infected played a bit differently as it focus more on sound rather than sight, though that still does not mean you could stand beside one without care. Although shooting is a valid strategy in the game, it is ill advised as ammo in the game are scarce enough that you would want to keep as much as you can unless is really needed. As a matter of fact, any direct confrontation is a rather poor outcome in the game as even the stealthiest takedown a person could do have the chance to expose oneself for all to shoot. That said, the shooting in the game is satisfying enough that even when it does nothing new, it does not take the fun out of the game as a whole. It even provides you with a good selection of weapons, though unless you want to beat the enemy by punching them in the face, you better learn how to use all of them. Crafting involves using stuffs you found in the world to create bombs, molotovs, health kits etcetera. It is important to carefully manage when and what you want to craft as materials are limited and items are important to win. The puzzle section provides a mean to relax after having a big shootout with the humans or tension inducing sneak moment with the infected. It is easy enough that the only reason you cannot finish it is because you don't see around the map. The game even use character interaction to give you hints of the puzzle(don't worry, it's subtle enough that it is not immersion breaking). It also stands as separating plot points so the story will not advance so fast and felt like having a jump every so often. There's also a few button prompt event that keeps the player engaged in the cutscene. All in all, the gameplay provides a balanced feeling that allows player to not felt bored with the game and just want to see the story or to be too exciting that people could not care less about the story and just wanna do stuffs in the game.
Now, the graphic, sound and execution of the game. Being a ps3 remake, it could be said that it is unfair to compare it to Ps4 games like Infamous Second son(I will use this as example as it serve as a fine standard for a Ps4 game). Although it is true that The Last of Us is certainly not as vibrantly colored as said game, it certainly felt like a class above the Ps3 standard. The original game is considered one of the most beautiful game on the Ps3 and on the Ps4, it manages to not be overwhelmed by the standard. I would refrain myself from using advance graphical terms as i myself have limited knowledge in it. However, I will judge it using my standard of graphical and execution rating. First of all, animation. It is marvelously extensive and detailed. In the game, there's a lot of time that Joel would boost Ellie up to reach something and almost none of the animation would be the same due to the plot requiring something else. Movement felt fluid (Although not as in Second Son's fluid movement) with the exception of horse control which is a bit clunky. Shooting angle is fine. Though for those who wants to aim from the left shoulder, be prepared for L2 then R1 for a lot of time. A pity that there's a lot of time that the view would be useful but is just too bothersome to be used. Facial Expression is very well done. This is a big point to touch as i love to compare The Last of Us' Ellie's expression to Second Son's expression mainly Delsin Rowe's. If Delsin's manage to be give a very realistic and believable feeling, Ellie's would be a very expressive and emotional feeling. Infamous Second Son puts me in a lot of situation where i would just clap my hand on how awesome looks like. For The Last of Us, it makes me believe the event I am seeing. Moving on, the modeling does have a bit of clipping but it is understandable as it is consisted of many layers. Rather, it is impressive that clipping is not much of an issue considering how much animation the game have. The sound in the game is good, the composition fits the game and manage to capture the feeling. The ambiance felt right and the gunshot felt solid. Voice acting is superb. Shout out to Ashley Johnson for her very impressive performance for doing Ellie.
Replayibility is a o-kay for the game. Although there are collectibles that is quite interesting to get in the game as it tells story of what happen in the game, it does not give a reason too replay the game just to find it. It does not instill the feeling of needing to find those collectible missed in the first playthrough. Multiplayer is interesting and although it require teamwork and strategy to win the game. It is just mostly a shooting deathmatch game. Not that it is bad, but it would help to have more variety. It does however, manage to not allow a player to go on a spree. The game do require patience as to not make careless mistake like triggering a bomb or get surrounded by the enemy. Balancing ammo and stealth also plays an important part in multiplayer and the perk-like system does give a minor variety and advantage that could turn the tide of the battle. The progressiveness of the multiplayer is well designed and does make it a point so that the player would play seriously in each match and not just throw it after messing around. It is also worth mentioning that the multiplayer games are 4 on 4 so each member counts. It is also hard for me to find a multiplayer game which I am not sure where the trouble lies in, the game or the fact that not many people bought the game yet.
So, with the seamlessly balanced gameplay and storyline, how does this 2013 remake fare among the next gen games?
Pros:
+Engaging story with emotional value to the characters
+Exciting encounter with great focus on stealth and management
+No loading screen in campaign
+Bows are not overpowered
+Marvelous voice acting is marvelous
Cons:
-Minor clipping issue
-Multiplayer, Y U NO find me a game?
The Last of Us is a story-driven game viewed from a third person perspective. It is set in a post apocalyptic world 20 years after an outbreak of a virus that turns people into creepy brain-tumoured zombie-like monster plunge mankind to near extinction. Simply put, the living condition at the time is bad enough that the factions in the game fits all the stereotypical role at said settings. Government that the people hate, Rebels that the government hate, and the bandits that everyone hate. Add a protagonist and a cause for he or she to do and you got Hollywood material right there. Fortunately, what the game focuses on is not the big story that drives the world, but the emotional ties that was born from the two unlikely protagonists in the game.
The game puts us on the role of Joel, a hardened man with a dark past involving his teenage daughter Sarah and his companion, Ellie who is unsurprisingly, a teenage girl with a surprisingly curse-happy vocabulary. Together, they travelled (sometimes with others) in a quest to find a cure for the infection that have befall the world. In all seriousness, it is put better in the game but that is the story in the nutshell. Along the way, we will witness the bond the was formed between the two and see how they react to the world that they live in. This, my reader, is where The Last of Us shines the most. Ellie and Joel, no matter how cliche'd and obvious the pair is on paper, the game depicts this in the most dynamic fashion that we could not help but stare in awe in the camaraderie that they showed us. In one point of the game, Ellie barely able to climb a ladder before it broke. This however, causes Joel to be left alone to fend for himself down below. Ignoring the safety up above, Ellie jumped downed and shrugged it off by saying "together till the end." before accompanying Joel to find another way to escape the place. To top it off, the game did not even make a deal out of it, it is just seamlessly added into the story, never forcing players to learn that, 'hey, Ellie cared for Joel now, like so bad that she even risked her life for him'. The game also includes a lot of minor conversation in which Ellie, who has never went out of the secured government protected city, observe a lot of new stuffs like a music store with old songs and even contemplating the poster of a movie around the place.
Beautiful vista filled the game at every corner
Next, the gameplay of The Last of Us. The game includes a mix of stealth, gunfights, crafting and simple puzzle solving in its repertoire to keep it from being a CGI movie. Stealth is used when dealing with both the infected and the human enemy which you will find in the game. While the human are self-explanatory, the infected played a bit differently as it focus more on sound rather than sight, though that still does not mean you could stand beside one without care. Although shooting is a valid strategy in the game, it is ill advised as ammo in the game are scarce enough that you would want to keep as much as you can unless is really needed. As a matter of fact, any direct confrontation is a rather poor outcome in the game as even the stealthiest takedown a person could do have the chance to expose oneself for all to shoot. That said, the shooting in the game is satisfying enough that even when it does nothing new, it does not take the fun out of the game as a whole. It even provides you with a good selection of weapons, though unless you want to beat the enemy by punching them in the face, you better learn how to use all of them. Crafting involves using stuffs you found in the world to create bombs, molotovs, health kits etcetera. It is important to carefully manage when and what you want to craft as materials are limited and items are important to win. The puzzle section provides a mean to relax after having a big shootout with the humans or tension inducing sneak moment with the infected. It is easy enough that the only reason you cannot finish it is because you don't see around the map. The game even use character interaction to give you hints of the puzzle(don't worry, it's subtle enough that it is not immersion breaking). It also stands as separating plot points so the story will not advance so fast and felt like having a jump every so often. There's also a few button prompt event that keeps the player engaged in the cutscene. All in all, the gameplay provides a balanced feeling that allows player to not felt bored with the game and just want to see the story or to be too exciting that people could not care less about the story and just wanna do stuffs in the game.
Smile for the camera~
Now, the graphic, sound and execution of the game. Being a ps3 remake, it could be said that it is unfair to compare it to Ps4 games like Infamous Second son(I will use this as example as it serve as a fine standard for a Ps4 game). Although it is true that The Last of Us is certainly not as vibrantly colored as said game, it certainly felt like a class above the Ps3 standard. The original game is considered one of the most beautiful game on the Ps3 and on the Ps4, it manages to not be overwhelmed by the standard. I would refrain myself from using advance graphical terms as i myself have limited knowledge in it. However, I will judge it using my standard of graphical and execution rating. First of all, animation. It is marvelously extensive and detailed. In the game, there's a lot of time that Joel would boost Ellie up to reach something and almost none of the animation would be the same due to the plot requiring something else. Movement felt fluid (Although not as in Second Son's fluid movement) with the exception of horse control which is a bit clunky. Shooting angle is fine. Though for those who wants to aim from the left shoulder, be prepared for L2 then R1 for a lot of time. A pity that there's a lot of time that the view would be useful but is just too bothersome to be used. Facial Expression is very well done. This is a big point to touch as i love to compare The Last of Us' Ellie's expression to Second Son's expression mainly Delsin Rowe's. If Delsin's manage to be give a very realistic and believable feeling, Ellie's would be a very expressive and emotional feeling. Infamous Second Son puts me in a lot of situation where i would just clap my hand on how awesome looks like. For The Last of Us, it makes me believe the event I am seeing. Moving on, the modeling does have a bit of clipping but it is understandable as it is consisted of many layers. Rather, it is impressive that clipping is not much of an issue considering how much animation the game have. The sound in the game is good, the composition fits the game and manage to capture the feeling. The ambiance felt right and the gunshot felt solid. Voice acting is superb. Shout out to Ashley Johnson for her very impressive performance for doing Ellie.
Even after the apocalypse, The Sun still shines beautifully
Replayibility is a o-kay for the game. Although there are collectibles that is quite interesting to get in the game as it tells story of what happen in the game, it does not give a reason too replay the game just to find it. It does not instill the feeling of needing to find those collectible missed in the first playthrough. Multiplayer is interesting and although it require teamwork and strategy to win the game. It is just mostly a shooting deathmatch game. Not that it is bad, but it would help to have more variety. It does however, manage to not allow a player to go on a spree. The game do require patience as to not make careless mistake like triggering a bomb or get surrounded by the enemy. Balancing ammo and stealth also plays an important part in multiplayer and the perk-like system does give a minor variety and advantage that could turn the tide of the battle. The progressiveness of the multiplayer is well designed and does make it a point so that the player would play seriously in each match and not just throw it after messing around. It is also worth mentioning that the multiplayer games are 4 on 4 so each member counts. It is also hard for me to find a multiplayer game which I am not sure where the trouble lies in, the game or the fact that not many people bought the game yet.
So, with the seamlessly balanced gameplay and storyline, how does this 2013 remake fare among the next gen games?
Pros:
+Engaging story with emotional value to the characters
+Exciting encounter with great focus on stealth and management
+No loading screen in campaign
+Bows are not overpowered
+Marvelous voice acting is marvelous
Cons:
-Minor clipping issue
-Multiplayer, Y U NO find me a game?
Tag :// action,
Tag :// games,
Tag :// multiplayer,
Tag :// Playstation 4,
Tag :// PS4,
Tag :// Story-Driven games,
Tag :// The Last of Us,
Tag :// The Last of Us: Remastered,
Tag :// Third person