Reviews

Often I hear from people of my generation that they don't like videogames because they don't have the skill or the patience, playing games nowadays make you wonder what are they talking about since a lot of games or at least most of the commercial ones are designed to be beaten, playing Super Thunder Blade make me reconsider this way of thinking if you were a 7-year-old kid, if your first game experience was Super Thunder Blade or a game like this, surely you will get the impression that videogames are hard and also boring.

Super Thunder Blade can crush your fun and entertainment in a matter of minutes, you control a blue combat helicopter and go through 4 stages of pure mayhem of random bullets and obstacles, the controls are so stiff and slow that they can be considered an enemy per se, and once you get familiar with them with a lot of luck you'll advance. Every single screen is designed to take you down, the game scrolls at high speed although you can hover to take breathers, it seems more like an arcade game where the main objective of the game is to take all your money since you can die in a matter of seconds after you respawn. Enemy projectiles trace you down pretty easily, is more like they follow your trail by just a couple of frames so is easy to get hit, but to me what makes things worse were physical obstacles, they come in the form of buildings, trees and mountains, combine them with the projectiles and you'll be having a ridiculous challenge, an unfair challenge most precisely, and that's the problem with this game or this kind of games of that era, they are mostly punishing in an unfair way that they can make you question if gaming is a hobby you enjoy.

The game looks pretty bland and generic and sounds terrible, nothing is catchy and the worst part is the sound when you get hit, is an annoying noisy sound that you'll be going to hear again and again and again, the funny part is that it plays when you get hit and also when the helicopter crash into the floor, so you're going to hear it twice whenever you die.

Maybe I'm just n00bing hard and I'm saying a lot of junk but for any casual and semi-hardcore or hardcore player I would say that stay away from it, you'll be better playing any game.

Phenomenal achievement in gaming and storytelling. 'The Last of Us Part II' is a truly immersive experience which is challenging, thought provoking, and beautiful. The team at Naughty Dog should be super proud of what they have created. 

Before playing the game I made sure I knew practically nothing about other opinions on the game. I didn't want their thoughts to hinder my experience of the game. I made sure to finish the game at a solid pace to ensure nothing was ruined or spoiled for me. This made me shocked at the amount of hate that was directed towards the game. I initially couldn't understand why people disliked the game so much. However, I do believe there are some valid points why people may dislike the game. I understand the story is not for everyone. For instance, Joel right at the beginning, Ellie being an unplayable character for a couple hours in the game, Abby being a character who takes a quite long time to develop a connection with, and so forth. It's challenging. Whilst I believe Naughty Dog did an excellent job at making these creative decisions work.

I honestly didn't want a game that just did what a lot of other games do; satisfy fans. I feel some of the best creative projects (that be in film, gaming, music, etc.) are those which do something new and unique. Naughty Dog have done just that. They made me not want to kill the person that killed one of my favourite video game characters ever. They made me realise how revenge serves no purpose. That revenge is something that feels like it will make things right, however, it does the exact opposite. It destroys people. It destroys Abby and Ellie. More importantly, it destroys the people they love.

Neil Druckmann does an excellent job with the writing. The dialogue feels authentic, and the world in which these characters inhabit feels real and lived in. One criticism I hear a lot is how Abby is an unlikable character. This may be because she is so different to Ellie or maybe because she is somewhat emotionless for a large part of the game. However, I don't think the pure fact she is unlikable means the writing is poor. She is just different. She takes a while to grow and to realise that she is in fact flawed as a person. She wants to present herself as unbreakable and emotionally tough, whilst deep down, she knows that is not who she is. She has room to love, and Lev is the person who offers her that chance to love.

At the end of the day, The Last of Us has always been a series looking at morals and the choices we make in life. Joel made a bold choice to save Ellie at the end of the first game, even when he knew that would prevent the world from finding a cure. Ellie and Abby make bold choices to avenge the death of those they love. They kill many along the way and that's because they are inheritably flawed as people. They are blinded by passion and love. This is why I think The Last of Us Part II is a masterpiece. It's complex, layered, and truly spectacular. 

Also, if you haven't played the game, don't listen base your opinions on the game on what others have said. Video games are after all different to every other medium because they require you to be a 'player'. Immerse yourself in this world. Immerse yourself in this story. I promise you it will be worth your time.