The Last of Us Part II Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right, time for another review and this one will be on a game I've just finished playing and the game in question is the action horror game, The Last of Us Part II, which is the sequel to the acclaimed original and this game has proven very controversial among fans. Nonetheless the game has garnered praise as well from critics as a worth sequel to the original. 

I have to admit though that I have not played the original game, so I don't really have any major bias towards this game as such but what did I think??? Well, lets arm ourselves (well not literally!) and take a look at this game...

And I will say a bit about the plot below, so the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!

STORY 

So, for a bit about the story, I've pinched a bit of the plot from the Wikipedia page for the game.

"After the events of the first game, Joel Miller (Troy Baker) confesses his guilt to his brother Tommy (Jeffrey Pierce) for preventing the Fireflies from finding a cure for the Cordyceps fungus to save Ellie (Ashley Johnson). Four years later, Joel and Ellie have built a life in Jackson, Wyoming, though their relationship has become strained. While on patrol, Joel and Tommy rescue a stranger, Abby Anderson (Laura Bailey), from an Infected horde. They return to an outpost run by Abby's group, former Fireflies who are now part of the Washington Liberation Front (WLF), a militia group based in Seattle, Washington. They attack Joel and Tommy; Abby seeks revenge against Joel for murdering her father, a Firefly surgeon (Derek Phillips). Meanwhile, Ellie and her girlfriend Dina (Shannon Woodward) leave Jackson in search of the brothers. Ellie enters the WLF camp to witness Abby beat Joel to death, and swears revenge..."

And from here, Ellie embarks on her mission (accompanied by Dina) to find and kill Abby and the other WLF members responsible for Joel's death.

THOUGHTS 

The Last of Us Part II as a game story works very well as it tells a gripping one that is filled with interesting characters and two complex leads of Ellie and Abby, who have their own troubled pasts and of course its safe to say that this game caused a big uproar in that the player later on in the game has to play as Abby, Joel's killer. 

However, where the game really does succeed is that it does make you see the two different sides of the story with Ellie seeking revenge for Joel's death but it turns out that Abby's father, one of the fireflies that would have operated on Ellie to create a vaccine, was murdered by Joel after he was told she wouldn't survive the process. However, as mentioned, as I didn't play the original game, I didn't really feel too divided one way or another as to who I played as here. 

The game's supporting characters also work very well for the most part, with Ellie's girlfriend, Dina, being a fun and engaging character, Jessie, one of Ellie's allies and ex-boyfriend of Dina, is a likeable enough guy, who gets some amusing dialogue. In fact the game has plenty of humour in it despite its grim apocalyptic setting, it really does feel like Uncharted meets Resident Evil as there is plenty of humorous banter going on between the characters. 

So, from a story perspective, The Last of Us Part II does very well but I will say more about the gameplay and action below. 

GAMEPLAY

As for the gameplay, as usual, I will split this into sub sections for the different aspects of it below.

MOVEMENT 

Starting with movement, TLOU2 adopts the third person perspective of your playable characters and you have a full range of moves here such as the typical walking, running, crouching, sprinting and a new addition here to the game, is that you can go prone and lie flat on the ground and e.g. crawl in grassy areas to avoid detection. What's also neat in the game is that you can break windows to enter rooms and buildings, so this really does give the game quite an open world feel to it and allows you to move freely through different areas. 

COMBAT & WEAPONS

As for the combat, in the game, Ellie and Abby will use a mix of firearm and melee attacks on their enemies and they will have access to a big selection of guns and melee weapons. Combat can be done hand to hand by taking on individual enemies, performing stealth kills from behind or just basically shooting them although you can also use a mix of other items such as stun bombs, mines and Molotov cocktails to take out regular human enemies or the infected ones. You can also even attack enemies by picking up items such as bricks or empty bottles and smashing them in the face with them to stun them temporarily to allow for a follow-up attack. You do however need to be careful in melee combat as you will often have to dodge enemy attacks because if you don't there's a good chance you will get beaten or bitten to death!  

As for weapons, there is an array to choose from in terms of guns, you have handguns, shotguns, rifles, assault rifles and scoped rifles and you can also gain access to a bow and a crossbow for stealthier takedowns. Melee wise however, there are also plenty of weapons that you can pick up throughout the game such as hammers, axes, crowbars, lead pipes, bars, machetes and even just broken bits of wood! These melee weapons can also be reinforced with the use of different materials but they generally don't last long before they break and you are forced to pick up another elsewhere. 

ENEMIES

As for the game's enemies there is a mixture of regular human enemies and the two main groups of enemies are the WLF (during Ellie's campaign) the armed militia and the Seraphites (during Abby's campaign but also partly Ellie's too) who are a twisted religious cult. You often need to use stealth tactics to take out your enemies to avoid large groups of them overwhelming you, either that or you can take them on in smaller numbers or failing that just run!

As for the infected enemies there are different types such as Runners, who are essentially your typical zombies but they can run fast. Then there are the Clickers, who are more deformed and have a fungal growth all over their heads and they have a stronger attack and make weird shrieking noises. As for the other infected there are Shamblers, who look something like the  alien enemies, the Zygons from Doctor Who and they emit a toxic cloud burst from their bodies that deals heavy damage. And lastly there are Bloaters, who a stronger version of the Shamblers and they can deal some hefty damage.

CRAFTING UPGRADES AND SKILLS

As for items, there are plenty of different items to be found in the game that can be used to craft upgrades for your weapons such as fire arrows & explosive bullets for shotguns and Molotov cocktails and silencers for your handguns. You can also use other items such as bandages and alcohol to create healing kits. Another things you can do is upgrade you weapons at work benches, which can be found at different points in the game but you need to obtain so many spare parts to do so but these upgrades can help increase the fire rate, decrease weapon sway or even enhance their damage. 

Another key aspect of the game is you can unlock skill trees that will enhance Ellie and Abby's abilities such as increasing their health, their ability to sense enemies, move faster in crouch/prone mode or even enhance their aiming by holding their breath when taking aim. You do however need to obtain training manuals found throughout the game in order to unlock these skills as you go along. 

GRAPHICS 

As for the game's graphics, TLOU2 really does show off just what the PS4 is capable of as it is technically a stunning looking game and its visuals are rich and detailed. The environments for starters all look beautiful and the open landscapes offer some jaw dropping views from the frozen vistas near the start, to the lovely farmland in the summer seen near the end of the game (nuff said!). Character model wise, the game is also terrific as the characters, while they don't quite look life-like, they certainly are very impressive although in the shadows, there are times where you could swear that are fairly lifelike. 

So, overall, TLOU2 visually speaking is right up there among the

very best titles on the PS4 and its a visual treat for the eyes without question, particularly if you have the PS4 Pro.

VOICE ACTING (Warning: this section might refer to the odd spoiler!)

Moving onto the voice acting, this is definitely a major strength of the game as it features a great cast of actors although most of them must provide the voice for their characters and do not provide the likeness of the character models themselves.

I won't go into this section in great detail to save on time but I will definitely mention the standout cast members below.

Starting with Ashley Johnson who is terrific in the lead role of Ellie, the troubled young woman, who spends most of the game seeking revenge for Joel's death. And Ashley really does convey a great deal of emotion in her performance as we get to see different sides of Ellie's personality from being fairly light hearted and at times even playful in her relationship with Dina, to really showing her dark side while on her hunt for revenge. Ashley also does a great job at conveying the later trauma that Ellie suffers as a result of her gruelling journey. 

Laura Bailey is also excellent in her role as Abby, the somewhat unnaturally muscly female WLF member, who gets revenge for the death of her father at the hands of Joel. Bailey also does a great job in showing Abby as a fairly complex character, who starts off being somewhat un-likeable by showing her brutal nature in killing Joel. However, as you play Abby's campaign, she develops as a character and shows her good side as she later tries to protect someone that saved her own life (nuff said!). 

Troy Baker does a great job as Joel, although most of his performance is done via a series of flashbacks as Joel doesn't last too long in the main story-line of the game. However, Baker, proves here again he is one of the most talented voice actors in the business and his soft delivery of Joel's lines, really does give credence to a guy who is essentially decent at heart albeit also pretty flawed.

Shannon Woodward is very good in her role too as Dina, Ellie's girlfriend, who is actually something of a bisexual given that Dina had just not long broken up with her boyfriend in the game, Jessie. Dina is however one of the most likeable characters in the game as Shannon does a great job at showing Dina's compassionate and humorous side that obviously appeals so much to Ellie. 

Stephen Chang is also very good as Jessie, Dina's ex-boyfriend who also helps out Ellie in her tracking down Abby. Chang provides some humorous moments in the game too such as his first scene where Jessie teases Ellie from having kissed Dina, not long after they had split up! 

Ian Alexander is also pretty good as Lev, a Seraphite who has renounced their cult and who Abby becomes good friends with as the two of them fight against the Seraphites. Victoria Grace is also very good in her role as Yara, Lev's sister, who helps rescue Abby at one point and together they fight against the Seraphites. 

And last of all is Jeffrey Pierce as Tommy, Joel's Brother, who sets out to also get revenge for Joel's death and he is pretty good in his role as well. I did however find Tommy's character to be a bit of a dick at times in the game, so I didn't always take to him but Pierce does well in his performance all the same. 

MUSIC 

As for the music score, it is by Argentine composer, Gustavo Santaolalla and its very good score that fits the tone of the game perfectly and its a pretty grim score for the most part but it does have its lighter moments too. The score also has the feel of western to it but then again so does the game's setting given the characters spend quite a bit of time on horseback out in the open.

FLAWS (WARNING: THIS SECTION WILL CONTAIN A FEW SPOILERS!)

So, as for flaws...yep! The Last of Us Part II has some! 

For starters one of my main complaints about the game is that it is simply TOO LONG and towards the end I felt it really started to outstay its welcome as it drags on and on too much! And endings wise, it really does feel like we are watching the Lord of the Rings film, the Return of the King, which had its fare share of endings and this game abuses that concept to nth degree here! And with the game running in at 25 hours long, it just way too long-winded and they could easily have trimmed 5 hours off the run-time.

Another issue for me with the game is that its action set pieces are VERY repetitive as you keep doing the same things over and over, which consists of going from building to building, hiding from enemies and clearing them out via use of stealth or other means of attack. And the overuse of these sequences again impact on the enjoyment of the game to an extent as they could easily have cut down on the amount of them to make the game that bit better!

And now for my biggest complaint in the game overall...the combat! Yep, for me THIS game has one of the MOST frustrating combat systems that I have EVER seen in a game! In fact, the combat was so annoying, I actually rage quit it on my first playthrough! However, I did eventually decide to return to the game and finish it off and to be fair I'm glad I did.

As for why its so frustrating???? Well, for me, its mainly to do with the Ellie sections of the game, as to start off she has some really crappy weapons, which are hampered by her sluggish and slow aim, which makes it difficult to kill enemies efficiently, who take at least three or fours shots before they die (depending on the difficulty level of the game). This is also especially the case with the rifle Ellie uses, which is bloody useless thanks to its sluggish aim and it takes ages to reload, so an enemy will already be on top of you and clobber you to death before you can do anything! You could also say the same for Ellie's bow, which has limited range and the crosshairs for it are too small and it is too easy to mess up when trying to hit an enemy from a distance. 

Another issue related to the combat is to do with the melee weapons you pick up as most of them break so easily! Now yeah OK, I can see that some of them such as broken off pieces of wood and small hand axes might break easily but you also have weapons such as lead pipes that break with ease too! I mean a lead pipe BREAKING THAT EASILY??? I mean come off it! It makes the relatively poor weapon durability in Dark Souls II appear positively brilliant by comparison! It was also my experience at times that I could not swap back to the melee weapon I had in the first place and I sometimes did swap by mistake and was really annoyed to find I couldn't get my original weapon back! 

Another problem relating to the combat is the enemy placement as enemies are liberally positioned ANYWHERE so even if you are crouched in a corner, there's a good chance one of these guys can spot you from somewhere! This is especially annoying during the many different sequences where you need to navigate through areas to reach an objective.

And thing brings me onto another annoying issue in the game...the dogs! Yep f--- these things! I thought the dogs in Dark Souls were annoying but nope they have NOTHING on the bastards in this game! The dogs here are far worse as they are almost similar to Dark Souls III where they can virtually teleport on top of you and once they grab you, they are difficult to fend off and often kill you! They also can sense what I'm guessing is your body odour trail, which will allow them to find you with ease if you can't move away fast enough! So, in short these dogs SUCK and are the worst!

WARNING: THESE NEXT PARAGRAPHS CONTAIN SPOILERS!

Moving onto the plot there are also a few issues that seemed a bit daft, starting with Ellie in the sequence where she had just killed Abby's friends, Owen (also her ex-boyfriend) and Mel (Owen's then present partner, who is heavily pregnant). In the sequence, Ellie suffers a brief panic attack having seen that Mel is pregnant but then Tommy and Jessie come in to get her but she leaves behind her map, which Abby later on finds to locate her! Now, I can understand Ellie being distraught at this point but you'd think at least Tommy or Jessie would think to pick up the map for her, either that or at least she could have reminded them to get it for her! 

Another issue I had was to do with Ellie's character as there are times where she is actually unlikeable as she could be quite bitchy with people and was also a dick (or female dick if you like) to Joel especially when in the flashback where he lept to her defense in the bar sequence. She was also even totally ungrateful for Joel even saving her life in the first place and would seemingly rather have died on the operating table in order to secure a vaccine. 

And further to this point, I found it a bit ridiculous, not to mention hugely selfish that Ellie would willingly turn her back on her happy life with Dina, living out on a peaceful farm, to hunt down Abby one last time to secure her revenge. And at the end of the game, during their final fight, Ellie decides to let Abby live after all! So, basically Ellie's quest for revenge turned out to be a failure after all and wasn't really worth following through with, especially as Dina ends up leaving Ellie anyway (and after all that who could blame her?!).  

I also found it bizzare how Ellie and Abby are able to survive the amount of wounds they take in the game from gunshots to knife and stabs wounds not to mention even from arrows! I mean at the end of the game where Ellie and Abby fight, Ellie keeps slashing away at Abby's arms and chest, yet Abby can still carry on the fight unaffected! Not to mention, Ellie sustains a pretty nasty stab to her side from running into a rope trap that suspends her from a tree, which impales her side into a sharp branch that sticks out of the tree. I mean yeah OK, Ellie does stitch up the wound but I think it bleeds open again as she is about to fight Abby, so you'd think there would be a stronger chance of her bleeding to death more than anything else from the fight alone!  

And lastly another thing was a bit daft is to do with just how does Abby keep her muscly physique going in the game??? I can understand for sure that she could work out while she is a member of the WLF as they are bound to have gym equipment she can pump iron with. However, when the game fast forwards a year, Abby STILL has her muscle! It makes you wonder just how did she maintain it?! I very much doubt there was a gym or any gym equipment to be found during her travels with Lev, so it is a bit puzzling to think she can keep her "guns" so to speak! 

Anyway that's it for the flaws!

SUM UP

So, to sum up, The Last of Us Part II is overall a pretty good action/adventure horror game that tells an engrossing story that features some interesting characters although the story really did split the fans right down the middle with its choices. The game also has a terrific voice acting cast, great visuals and to a certain extent enjoyable gameplay. 

However, it certainly does have its problems as it runs on way too long and the combat system in the game is VERY frustrating to say the least to get used to, especially in the Ellie sections of the game although I have to admit that I preferred Abby's sections in the game as they were less frustrating overall. It also has some daft plot issues here and there too, which I'm sure also confounded quite a few fans too. 

But if you are willing to forgive its flaws, The Last of Us Part II is still worth checking out. 

RATING

So, as something new, I will be rating the blog reviews, so the Last of Us Part II get's...

7.5 out of 10. 

Right, that's it for now and I will be back with another review sometime soon.

Till then, bye for now!