Top 5 Things That *Kinda* Sucked About The Last of Us
Hey man, nothing's perfect! Take a thought-exercise with us...then you can pick up your pitchfork. Today, we're risking our lives to do a bit of critical thinking about an untouchable franchise - by counting down what we feel are 5 Things That Kinda Sucked About The Last Of Us! God help us all.
Special thanks to our user “rtucci” for suggesting this topic using our interactive suggestion tool at http://WatchMojo.comsuggest
#5: Only 4 Zombie Types
The Last of Us is set in a post-apocalyptic America after a fungus left large portions of the population infected and zombified. With a campaign lasting well over twelve hours, one would expect to see a variety of gruesome humanoid monsters, ensuring the game-play never gets stale. Unfortunately, The Last of Us has only four types of infected enemies, and two of those – Runners and Stalkers – are nearly identical. While the design for the Clickers and Bloaters are quite cool, a few more enemies would not have hurt.
#4: PlayStation Exclusive
Competition is important for any industry, but there are few things more frustrating than not being able to experience an exciting new game because it was not released on your console. While anyone who bought a recent Sony device probably owns The Last of Us, a huge section of the gaming community has to make due with Let’s Play Videos or the PS Now streaming service. Exclusive games serve a crucial role in the marketing of a console, but it would be nice if they focused on improving the hardware rather than locking away desirable content.
#3: Lackluster Combat System
The Last of Us was nominated for just under 200 awards, and it took home the gold 122 times. With an aggregate score of 95 on Metacritic, Naughty Dog’s adventure game is recognized as a masterpiece. Now, imagine what the scores could have been if the game-play was anything more than a standard stealth-based third-person shooter. To the game’s credit, none of the mechanics are broken, but The Last of Us does not really do enough to differentiate itself from other cinematic shooters. In our experience, the multiplayer is a lot more fun than the campaign. Don’t get us wrong, the story and characters are very compelling, but there’s nothing like outsmarting real people.
#2: Way Too Many Human Opponents
The fungus decimated most of the population, leaving only a handful of settlements across the country. So it seems counterproductive for Joel to follow in Nathan Drake's footsteps and wipe out hundreds of people. Leading up to the release of The Last of Us, the trailers highlighted the dangers lurking within Naughty Dog’s America – with a heavy focus on the infected. This is understandable, as showing waves of human enemies is considerably less exciting. In reality, players are left begging for a herd of Clickers just to take a break from fighting another group of hunters.
#1: Focus On Story Rather Than Game-Play
Since the seventh generation, Naughty Dog has specialized in creating a cinematic gaming experience, which blends a well-developed story with engaging game-play. While the Uncharted series tends to aim for somewhat of a middle ground – especially in A Thief's End – The Last of Us prioritizes its serious narrative over anything else. At times, the interactive sections felt like unnecessary padding before another great cut scene. While the story might not be groundbreaking, Naughty Dog executed it brilliantly, resulting in a great movie embedded in a game. Seriously, watching the cut scenes on YouTube can be just as enjoyable as playing through the game.
