Zero Punctuation: The Last of Us

[Casual Shinji]

There's also some flat out intellectual dishonesty. Saying Ellie has no use in gameplay just isn't true, given she throws items at enemies and eventually helps Joel in firefights. Elizabeth in BioShock Infinite had the exact same problem of floating through combat with nary a scratch, but he never found that to be an issue in that game.

This is one I actually agree with. Ellie does suffer from the "untouchable" disease that seems to run rampid among every friendly NPC this generation. But as you said, complaining about it now, hot off the heels of Infinite, feels a bit personal.

 

[Something Amyss]

Also, "I don't like what yahztee had to say so he did a bad job."

Not only did I sum up a lot of comments in this thread, but in most ZP threads, with one line.

 

[Something Amyss]

I think Pop Culture keeps dodging around the term "zombie" because most people, myself included, are getting sick of zombies being everywhere.

Evens straight up zombie movies rarely use the word zombie, though. This goes way back, to boot.

Honestly, I'm more sick of the concept than the diction anyway.

 

[Arppis]

"Fuck you, got mine!" That's brilliant.

 

[Nico4]

Doesn't surprise me, that he didn't like it that much. While I agree with him on the AI part, and somewhat the predictably of the story, I still find it a pretty good game.

As for the ending: what the hell did he expect? Did he expect them to die or something? While I did have issues with the ending at first, it's one of those 'the more you think about it, the better it get's' endings, because the ending fully realises the point, that no one in that world is morally good, especially Joel.

 

[C14N]

his lack of anything along those lines kind of surprises me considering all the acclaim the game is getting.

Except he did say good things about it.

I do think Yahtzee kind of missed the point a bit though. Joel IS a bad guy and it just becomes more apparent as the game goes on. This is shown especially at the ending. The picture at the end with the characters skipping off into the sun seems really out of place considering it was probably the most depressing ending I've ever seen in a video game.

Other than that, the review was mostly quite amusing.

 

[Quorothorn]

I...kind of was hoping for 'more' from this one, honestly. It felt like a large part of the video was more about the (entirely true) overuse of zombi--I mean "Infected"--in popular culture plus Yahtzee's problems with Naughty Dog in general, than about specifically The Last of Us. I was looking forward to this one as a way to get another take on the game, since the zombie aspect (plus the fact I'm broke) has mostly turned me away from it unfortunately, but this video didn't really help me figure out anything new, whereas usually I find Zero Punctuation quite helpful...ah well.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Also, "I don't like what yahztee had to say so he did a bad job."

Not only did I sum up a lot of comments in this thread, but in most ZP threads, with one line.

Well then, who criticizes the critics?

The whole "You're not allowed to criticize, because you don't agree" line then basically means we're never allowed to call critics out on anything, ever.

 

[Coreless]

Thank you yahtzee for finally putting this game in its place, greatest game ever made ..../eyeroll.

Oh god am I so tired of zombies...why can't they fall down the same hole WW2 games fell into.

 

[Mossberg Shotty]

I normally get consistent chuckles out of Yahtzee's humor, even when it's crass. But that 'motorboat' joke hit me badly. Jokes about underage characters and sexual acts just aren't funny.

The sad thing is, I may very well be the only one who thinks so.

Nah, I guess I'll second that. This review left me a bit disappointed all around, it seems.

Yahtzee, I've been watching your show for five years. Five years. Ever since you got plugged on X-Play and I was still about knee-high to a grasshopper. And I rarely ever post in the comments, but this is the only game I've ever wanted you to like.

You've failed me. ):

 

[Lovely Mixture]

Not sure why people are taking issue with this review. It's not a bad game, but it's safe and predictable. Yahtzee seemed pretty fair.

HOWEVER, it does bear mentioning that Yahtzee should give similar criticism to Valve games.

Why does Yahtzee say "Fuck you Got mine" like it's a bad thing?

Cause he doesn't like it?

I think there are plenty of reasons to not like it, but I'm a little confused by how he applies it to the Last of Us. Considering that Naughty Dog explicitly changed a key part of the ending to make it less happy-end.

 

[Scribblesense]

Pretty much agree with all of it.

I haven't played through the whole game yet, but I've yet to see anything that hasn't been done before.
I will give Naughty Dog major points for the gameplay and environment design, which are what elevate it to the best zombie game I've ever played, though I feel the storytelling was better in The Walking Dead than here (though that's because TWD is nothing but story due to its genre).

It's a good game, great even, but I really don't see why people are proclaiming it to be game of the century.

 

[RedDeadFred]

I feel really bored of this whole "gritty and dark zombie apocalypse" genre. It's been done too death. I was really hoping that this game would do something new with the genre but instead, it just felt like the same territory I've seen a dozen times. It was good, but nothing special IMO.

 

[Astro]

Not sure why people are taking issue with this review. It's not a bad game, but it's safe and predictable. Yahtzee seemed pretty fair.

HOWEVER, it does bear mentioning that Yahtzee should give similar criticism to Valve games.

Why does Yahtzee say "Fuck you Got mine" like it's a bad thing?

Cause he doesn't like it?

I think there are plenty of reasons to not like it, but I'm a little confused by how he applies it to the Last of Us. Considering that Naughty Dog explicitly changed a key part of the ending to make it less happy-end.

Because the good things about the game are not safe and predictable. It's fair to say that it has a safe and predictable plot, but when you can play for thirteen hours with almost nothing happening except meeting new characters and character drama, it's time to reanalyze its intentions. It's about the characters, not the plot.

 

[IronMit]

The 'What' is predictable but the 'how' & 'why' is executed well

The part about not liking Joel....That was the point. What all the survivors do to survive is supposed to be in question, whereas in Uncharted it was not a theme. For example (spoiler) the cannibal/rapist/pedo guy mirrored Joel. Ellie calls him an animal just as she goes down on all fours and scoffs up the grub. All this stuff was intentional. Tess and Joel argue about weather they are good people or not.
Everyone being selfish murdering a-hole was addressed.

random analogy:
It's like complaining about the Dark Knight because Batman doesn't just kill Joker when that's what half the movie is about. It's a weak criticism unless you are criticising the execution or believability of it , unlike let's say the 'Man of Steel', when 100,000 people die and it's not really addressed.

There are a few reasons to dislike this game but the main criticism here is way off mark. Especially coming from someone that liked spec ops the line.

Spec ops the line and Last of us are so far the most powerful character driven stories I have experienced.
(Before you mention it, stuff like portal, Bioshock etc are stories with a silent protagonist, walking dead is more role play)

 

[FinalDream]

I think when the world comes to a terrible cataclysm like in the Last of Us, Cadburys Creme eggs will be a vital trade item, worshiped for the ages as the tastiest thing to have ever existed!

 

[A1]

Especially since it's kinda similar to Spec Ops: The Line (except way better), which he really liked. That too was a game that had way more going on then just its familiar setting.

The whole thing read (or... listened?) like an anti-Naughty Dog spiel. The frequent comparisons to the Uncharted series were completely unwarranted and unfair, especially when the style of gameplay, tone, narrative and characterisation barely ever syncs up between the two. It all just smacked of a refusal to be drawn in and take the narrative seriously due to preconceived notions of what a Naughty Dog game is, relying on the assumption that it must be shallow because of the developer. The image of Joel with the sign of 'This is the protagonist you like him' just screams how little effort has gone into investing in the game and its ideas.

There's also some flat out intellectual dishonesty. Saying Ellie has no use in gameplay just isn't true, given she throws items at enemies and eventually helps Joel in firefights. Elizabeth in BioShock Infinite had the exact same problem of floating through combat with nary a scratch, but he never found that to be an issue in that game.

I honestly expected better from Yahtzee.

True. This review does seem to reek of anti-Naughty Dog bias doesn't it?

 

[A1]

Not sure why people are taking issue with this review. It's not a bad game, but it's safe and predictable. Yahtzee seemed pretty fair.

HOWEVER, it does bear mentioning that Yahtzee should give similar criticism to Valve games.

Why does Yahtzee say "Fuck you Got mine" like it's a bad thing?

Cause he doesn't like it?

I think there are plenty of reasons to not like it, but I'm a little confused by how he applies it to the Last of Us. Considering that Naughty Dog explicitly changed a key part of the ending to make it less happy-end.

Because the good things about the game are not safe and predictable. It's fair to say that it has a safe and predictable plot, but when you can play for thirteen hours with almost nothing happening except meeting new characters and character drama, it's time to reanalyze its intentions. It's about the characters, not the plot.

Yes and if I'm not mistaken someone at Naughty Dog did at some point outright state that the primary focus of the games was the relationship between the two leads.

 

[Foolery]

Eh. I'll be honest. I've never really considered Yahtzee much of a reviewer. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy his videos. But to me, they fall into the category of entertainment. He's an entertainer. Fun to watch, but not all that practical for getting an idea of what a game is like. Can't take him that seriously. The video was ok this week. Not terribly amusing.