I haven't forgotten about this blog, even though it seems like it. I'm just being really lazy about finding a new photo hosting website where I can stick all my wonderful pictures of toys on there.
Nonspoiler. Naughty Dog your instruction manual was so bare bones I don't get why you included a digital copy. The manual could have been printed on a small instruction booklet and included what was really necessary in my opinion, the manual for multiplayer.
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***Spoilers Start***
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As for The Last of Us. Like Uncharted 2 it has received much praise and has been called the best game for PS3. While is it is a fun game with very good visuals I feel it has some flaws. I personally wouldn't give it a 10/10 like so many game reviewers are doing. Sometimes I feel like Naughty Dog has deep pockets and those reviews are based on how much Naughty Dog pays them.
-Gameplay. The Last of Us feels like a slower version of Uncharted 2 at times. The player is forced to walk slowly and and cannot move swiftly unless there is action. It usually isn't a good idea to move fast during action bits either as it alerts enemies to the player's presence. So if you're reading my review you'll probably hear how this is the greatest game ever well I think it's ok. You technically only fight two types of enemies. Humans and mutated humans. If you count the varieties there are only five different enemies to fight in the entire game and it gets really repetitive. You get a good amount of weapons to use but not enough ammo to use them! I know Naughty Dog was going for realism but how come I have plenty of ammo for the flame thrower during the later part of the game when I barely have enough bullets for my revolver??!?
Naughty dog showed off the AI for this game and said it would be amazing and mind blowing, I know I'm exaggerating here but the AI isn't so great. When I played my partners rarely were able to take down opponents on their own. They would often get grabbed by zombies and need my assistance in fighting them off. Human enemies would react to my presence and take cover but would soon forget I existed or gave up looking for me. The infected always ran straight for me even if they lost sight of me. The exception is the Clicker type enemy. With hand to hand it's usually best to let the weaker infected get close enough to start swinging their fists to miss you then and then start mashing the melee button on them rather than hitting the melee button when they are in range.
In the hardest difficulty setting in single player they take away prompts which makes the game much more difficult. There is no Listen Mode for Joel. There also isn't enough supplies to craft all the items you need. This is supposed to be more realistic but what it does it create a game that is increasingly difficult. I think they could have left in Listen Mode for Survivor difficulty but made it so it has a stamina bar like in multiplayer.
-Story. This game has a good story. Definitely one of the games strongest points. I don't want to spoil it too much but the story is great. The ending however... what's the polite way to put this, sucked big time. This game felt more like a movie with video game elements added into it, rather than a video game with cut scenes.
-Graphics. I can't argue here. Great graphics both ingame and cutscene. With the PS4 around the corner the in game graphics are starting to look dated but they still look amazing.
-Multiplayer. (You the reader will probably not understand what I am talking about until you play the game.) The multiplayer in this game is flawed, mostly due to lag, but I am addicted to it. Sometimes I ask myself why bother playing the multiplayer if I get so angry but I find it satisfying using what little resources I have and making a weapon which is then used to take down my opponents. But oh boy does that lag hurt sometimes. Emptying whole magazines of a fully upgraded gun into a foe and have him not go down only for him to shoot three bullets from his little pea shooter to execute you is really frustrating. Not to mention the match making is somewhat flawed. Another gripe I have is trying to support your clan over one hundred people can be difficult if you not dedicate hours to reach the end. Not to mention the game throws in a mechanic which has your survivor group attacked a lot during the end. There's no way I can have over 85 survivors at the end of week 12 if I get attacked twice during weeks 10-12... each attack takes away a fraction of your survivors. I've gotten everything but the skull mask. Oh you will be mine some day!
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***End Spoilers***
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Multiplayer tips!
Gotta get all those parts! Get all those parts early so you can enjoy the multiplayer game later on. Each person has their own way of getting to 120 survivors and here's what I used for my set up. It took me until week 4 to get 126 survivors and I got attacked twice. People who say your group doesn't get attacked til week 5 are liars.
YOU MUST PLAY SURVIVORS TO GET THE MOST PARTS. Supply Raid ends way too quickly and the most parts I've gotten from this mode was about 80.
-Revolver (don't forget to upgrade!)
-No big gun
-Crafter 3
-Collecter 2
-Reviver 2 (not used a lot but it really helps when it takes like 10 seconds normally to revive a teammate.)
The first few days you can mess around but even with 100+ parts you only increase your clan about 9-14 people.
When using the above set up sprint to each of the parts boxes closest to you. Craft only smoke bombs, first aid kits, and shivs. Gift items when you can but preferably at the start of rounds so your team can use the items to the fullest.
*A first round for me would consist of sprinting to three or four supply boxes. Crafting as many shivs(or melee board), first aid kits, and smoke bombs as I can. I then rush the typically two gifts I crafted to a teammate(s). Thanks to Crafter 3 I then have enough parts to upgrade my revolver by one level. I rush off to my teammates to help where I can and mark my opponents, shiv them, or take them down my more accurate gun. If I'm good enough I can take down all four by myself.
*Second rounds usually have me doing the same thing as round one but then upgrading my revolver a second time. I usually get most of my kills in this round because of my gun upgrade and my opponents lack of armor.
*Round three gets tricky because people are able to afford better weapons and armor meaning a lot of my teammates do the killing or it's harder to kill my opponents because they have armor and a bunch of molotovs and machetes spawned from the supply cases because they are losing. I mainly craft and gift this round and try to get some stealth shivs in.
*For the forth, and hopefully not final round because more rounds means more parts, I start to use armor. I also might switch a class because usually I have enough parts (unless I have a group over 100) that takes away reviver 2 for a big gun and adds in maybe covert 2 or marathon runner and bomber. I upgrade the bigger gun and it helps get rid of the other team's pesky armor upgrades.
*Rounds five though seven are played much like three and four. With the exception that half my team and opponents usually don't have enough for armor. I usually like to craft and gift at these stages to push my parts earnings over 90.
Phew that was a lot of text so finally...
Should you get The Last of Us? For the $60 I paid I think it was worth the price but only because I play the heck out the multiplayer. The single player is short, about 12 hours and that can be knocked out in a weekend. If you only want to play for the single player then rent this game. If you are enticed by the multiplayer only I say try it out first if you can. There's only two multiplayer modes but I personally find them both addicting. There is future DLC coming out and it hopefully will add another chapter to single player and more game modes for multiplayer.
