Zero Punctuation: The Last of Us

[Phearo]

I feel like this video was made just to bash the game. It's not the greatest game ever made, but what did it do to deserve such hate?

Isn't that basically Yahtzee's job? I mean that's kinda what he does, and of course it's important to remember that it's always subjective on his part. I've noticed people tend to get a lot more defensive if he badmouths one of those big titles that is "critically acclaimed" that everyone seems to love. Like remember when he didn't like Super Smash Brothers Brawl and people got so angry he dedicated an episode to addressing that anger?

I didn't see this episode as being any different from any other episode where he highlights the nitpicks and makes them funny except for the fact that this is a game that people are already in love with and probably expected him to say a few glowing things about. But if he didn't like it, he didn't like it, and if anyone here was expecting him to only to be kinda mad that he didn't that's their own problem, not Yahtzee's

Speaking generally of course, not specifically at you.

Well, that's not exactly what I meant, I mean even though Yahtzee does do those aforementioned things, he also mentions a few positive things about the game, as a sort of redeeming quality. This one felt like it didn't have that, like there's barely anything.

 

[Ariseishirou]

Huh. I wonder if I should bother with this game now. I was already put off by it being set in (yet another goddamn) zombie/"infected" apocalypse, featuring (yet another) father/daughter relationship as focus. Don't get me wrong, those can be great - see: The Walking Dead game - but I'm fucking sick of them. I'd hear good reviews though, and I did like the Uncharted games, so I was tempted, but... eh if it's just more soulless cliches I think I'll take a pass.

Also the "it's like Spec Ops, only better!" comments here followed by subsequently completely and utterly misinterpreting the themes represented in Spec Ops have made my eyes roll back so hard they've hit the ceiling. Is this a game I can only enjoy if I'm truly thick?

 

[Strelok]

Strange, I loved the ending, was very fitting with the rest of the tale. Can't believe Yahtzee didn't get it, I found the following on Reddit for those that finished it and did not understand it, doubt there are many though, I found it a pretty good comment on the game. Needless to say, MASSIVE SPOILERS incoming.

Spoiler

 

[A1]

Huh. I wonder if I should bother with this game now. I was already put off by it being set in (yet another goddamn) zombie/"infected" apocalypse, featuring (yet another) father/daughter relationship as focus. Don't get me wrong, those can be great - see: The Walking Dead game - but I'm fucking sick of them. I'd hear good reviews though, and I did like the Uncharted games, so I was tempted, but... eh if it's just more soulless cliches I think I'll take a pass.

Also the "it's like Spec Ops, only better!" comments here followed by subsequently completely and utterly misinterpreting the themes represented in Spec Ops have made my eyes roll back so hard they've hit the ceiling. Is this a game I can only enjoy if I'm truly thick?

"Soulless" is one of the last words I would use to describe this game. And it's very different from the Uncharted games in numerous ways. Particularly in terms of writing and characters for example. It also isn't a "zombie game" strictly speaking. You fight against more humans than infected I believe. And in more ways than one the humans are the greater threat. This becomes especially evident later in the game.

And is this a game that one can enjoy only if he/she is thick? I very seriously doubt that.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

I do agree with most of the points, but I could paraphrase every other point with a "but". Frankly I played this game without having much stock in reviews as whilst the Uncharted series does have their good points, I ultimately found them forgettable. But I'm on my second play through and I'm finding the story and Gameplay rather engaging.

But then I'm not forced to play every zombie apocalypse game under the sun, so I suppose I'm not as tired by the concept. At least the setup was interesting and felt more realistic and felt more inspired than the zombies as per bio terrorism that most games seem to go for.

I'm finding Yahtzee's reviews of the Tripple A scene more nihilist than the game itself. Is it purely setting? He gave Bioshock Infinite a possitive mention, and yet in retrospect there is a lot wrong with it and misteps much more than The Last of Us does. But reviews and critques are personal subjective opinion, and I personally enjoy the game.

 

[Slash2x]

Did not care for this game either. The story really just made me go WTF??? You mean to tell me that in 20 years you could not find or build a better knife? Hell use fucking rebar from one of the THOUSANDS of collapsed buildings. Hell build a spear out of the shit and keep the infected at arms length. Like these.... (Spoilered for size)

Spoiler

And you think after TWENTY YEARS Joel would be able to do more than 2 take-downs... He should be a hardened combat vet who should have a whole bag of moves to pick from.

And about the ending

Spoiler

Really? Going to take her head apart with your 20 year old equipment to get a cure?

"Hey Joel we have no real clue what it is that makes her immune. We are not even going to test her blood. We figure that taking her head off will give us the answer we need in one shot. No we do not want to take blood from her once a week for how ever many decades we could look for a cure we think doing it all in one try should give us the answer we need."

"Yes we know that her blood has the infection in it but we are not interested if she is producing antibodies for the spores or if she is fighting off the infection in another manner. Has to be her brain. Why? Fuck you that is why! If taking her head apart does give us the answers then we are just fucked, but we are confident...... Wait why are you pointing that gun at me?"

Didn't you post this same exact post, on another TLOU thread?

Weird. Must be deja vu or something.

Anyways. Yeah this video really made me feel for the first time that Yahtzee was just attacking the developer, and not the game. I mean yeah, some of his critiques were spot on, but still I think he could've toned down the uncharted comparisons.

Oh lord I have a stalker.....

Yes I posted something very similar in the Critical Miss comic. I posted my problems with the knife there. Here I was more posting about the story, but then I read the stinger at the end and though "eh what the hell why not point out the shitty knife problem again?"


Wait a minute...... You just used a reply to my post to cover a double post with an edit..........

 

[EXos]

As someone who liked The Witcher, I think people should really relax off this issue about Yahtzee not liking "your new favourite" game.
So he didn't like the game you love? Big deal, because next week when he rips apart something from EA most of the complainers here will be cheering his name again.

Personally I can see where he's coming from. The story is pretty poor and that just seeps into the rest of the game. It's not bad. Just hyped.

 

[Yahtzee Croshaw]

Isn't that basically Yahtzee's job?

People tend to think Yahtzee's job is to praise the games that they love and trash the ones they don't. It's funny when it happens to Call of Duty or whatever, but don't you DARE talk about something we actually like.

I don't really think that's it... I think everyone expects him to hold a certain degree of coherence to his own standards... and that's what is off-putting, the fact that he barely seems to have even played the game. Anyone who has watched the show for a while, surely does expect quite a bit of taking the piss out of any game, even the ones he really likes. But when a game such as this that adheres to so many of the concepts he generally praises (in a more serious manner), seems to be so brutally overlooked, I get a slight tinge of dishonesty.
And dishonesty from yahtzee is disappointing.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Well then, who criticizes the critics?

Whoever wants to. I mostly find it funny that people only have an issue with Yahtzee being "lazy" or "teh bias" when it comes to games they like. In fact, more than a few of these same people seem to be more than happy to join in with Yahtzee if they don't like the game.

Because sometimes you can disagree with someone, and it's totally fine to make a comment as to why, which is what I see most people here doing.

This review came across squarely as "Zombies, ugh... Killing, ugh...", when I'm sure Yahtzee knows the game has way more going on than that, which he decided not to focus on for some reason. This is why people are a bit negative on this review, not because he didn't like it.

 

[Sheo_Dagana]

I genuinely laughed at a lot of this review, especially the part about the cauliflower monster arbitrarily deciding what attacks can harm it.

That's kind of how I land on the Last of Us. It has a well presented story, but it's the kind of story we've heard dozens of times. Even though I'm only about half way through it at the moment, I've been able to call most of the plot points as they've come along. The game has great music and is well voiced, but the game play is a little too heavily influenced by Uncharted for my liking - specifically in the way that enemies are willing to sacrifice themselves for the glory of the hive-mind by rushing in to tie you up in melee combat while his buddies shoot you with their guns from a safe distance. Stealth's the name of the game, but as in Uncharted, I really feel like it's way too easy to get spotted in this game. After years of playing Thief, Metal Gear, Deus Ex, Splinter Cell, Hitman, and a number of other games with stealth classes, the Last of Us manages to frustrate me greatly whenever I sit down to play.

This game is good - it's hard to deny that Naughty Dog knows how to make a good game - but I guess I'm not seeing what everyone else is seeing, because I don't think it's the Citizen Kane of gaming, as I've heard others call it. I dunno, maybe I'm just tired of the hype, the zombies or post-apocalyptic settings. I'm ready to move on to dystopian settings now, although Remember Me turned out to not be that good either.

 

[Belbe]

Too many people are babies and played this on normal instead of hard.

 

[Sarge034]

I am dissapoint Yahtzee. -.-

I agree the story was predictable, the combat was repetitive, and the puzzles were laughable, but the one thing that carried the game, and I thought you would love to death, was the character development. Joel is never made out to be this great hero. Hell, in the beginning he doesn't even want to take the job.

Normally I can laugh at the review even if I don't agree, but this one just felt like a, "I'm tired of this and you should be too" rant. Well you know what? I enjoy good zombie games, so Yahtzee...

 

[abdul]

Godfather is a fuckin terrible movie,Apocalypse Now has way better action scenes. <- This Yahtzee video in a nutshell.

 

[LAGG]

I agree the story was predictable, the combat was repetitive, and the puzzles were laughable, but the one thing that carried the game, and I thought you would love to death, was the character development.

That's kind the part I agree with people not liking the review, the fact Yatzee found unimportant things to pick against the game.
If anything his video is saying the game is good by picking story and characters as flaws.

This is what I actually expected from Zero Punctuation, to talk about the actual game, not a sort of "story/characters" rant to make us look int he other direction:

 

[Emmenia]

This was a strange one for me. Yahtzee has ripped games I've enjoyed to shreds and I've still found the video very funny. This one however did grate on me a tad. Yes he raises valid points about gameplay and the scenario but it wasn't all that humorous (to me) and sounded like the game has no redeeming qualities at all. I actually completely agree with him about the set up. Try explaining this game to someone who has no knowledge at all of it without it sounding clichéd. I don't think it's possible.

I'm not one to comment on someone else's opinion, but this is probably the first ZP video that I actually didn't like. I guess if I'd found it funnier I would have been fine with negativity (which you have to be with these videos).

Ah well, it hasn't taken away from my enjoyment from TLoU or my enthusiasm for Zero Punctuation videos :O)

Roll on next Wednesday!!

 

[Vale]

BLASPHEMER!
How DARE you disparage the finest Ladder Simulator of this generation?
Critics these days...