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The Last of Us: Part II (2020)
Far From Perfect, Far From Garbage. A Flawed Masterpiece.
First thing's first, play the game for yourself.
Buy the game, turn the lights off, and get cracking. In the end, this is a video game, and the only thing that matters is your own personal experience. You might hate it, you might love it, but it's your opinion, and nobody should be able to change that. I have played all the way through the game, and I took my sweet time. What follows are my honest opinions:
The Gameplay: Putting everything from the story to one side, this is stellar, top class gameplay. Combat is fluid, tense, and really exhausting in the best possible of ways. It takes everything we loved from the first game and only builds on it. You're able to approach encounters however you please, but playing smart (using stealth and your tools) feels immensely rewarding. I thoroughly enjoyed scavenging for materials and planning ahead to decide how I could be the most effective predator in combat while utilising as little resources as possible. Whether you're up against human foes, or the infected (Including the absolutely terrifying new infected types!) it's up to you as the player to determine how you can be the most effective against each very different enemy type. This is a true post-apocalypse experience.
The Story: It's extremely difficult to talk about the narrative, for many reasons. First and foremost, spoilers. (I won't be spoiling anything!) Reading the leaks and not playing the game will not give you the faintest idea of the direction this story takes. It's a video game, and it must therefore be played in full, by you. In my opinion, the story is truly complex and multi layered. Sometimes you want to cry, sometimes you want to laugh, sometimes you want to throw your controller through the TV. There's a lot at work here, and my understanding is that most of these emotions you feel are intentional. There are points in the game where you will NOT be satisfied with the outcomes of events, and this is the way it's designed. This is a story about the cost of revenge, sins of the father, and the near impossible ability to swallow hatred. The game is a message, and only by playing through the entire story could I piece together -and comprehend- the message I was being taught.
But given this, I believed the story was far too long, with some really odd and dissatisfying decisions mixed in. There's a particular sequence of the game that has you go back in time to relive events from a new perspective. There are moments here that are crucial to the overall narrative arc and your understanding of the plot, but it turns into a 10+ hour deviation. I found myself wanting to get back to "the game" as if I was playing something completely different. The game lost it's flow for me here, and I began to feel disconnected from all of the characters on-screen. There are moments (that I can't go into) Where the game wanted me to perform actions that I simply did not want to perform. This did not feel intentional to me, all I was feeling in these particular moments was confusion and disappointment.
But, the final hour brings it all back together, and finally concludes what the game is setting out to say in a really intelligent and hard hitting way. I am likely to carry these feelings for years to come!
In conclusion, I saw this as a heavily flawed masterpiece. It added upon things I loved about the first game, and it took away things I loved about the first game. It was an exhausting journey through just about every emotion a person can feel. It was incredibly intelligent, well constructed, and beautifully rendered. I often found myself admiring random, totally unimportant spots in the game world, considering just how much work had gone into creating such gorgeous environments.
But it's far from perfect, the concept of "If you don't like it, you don't get it" is preposterous, nobody can tell you how to feel. You are perfectly in your right to dislike this game, but only once you have played it for yourself.
Mafia III (2016)
A really solid 1960's playground with a dark and provocative undertone.
If like me, you're into old timey/retro cars, fashion and music. Then this game will be an all you can eat buffet for you.
Mafia III drops you in the middle of the late 1960's, everywhere you look you'll see a really inspired and accurate recreation of the time period. But things are not as pretty as they seem.
After the exciting intro, the story takes a fast and surprisingly dark turn. Leaving you as a player with a strong motivation to complete your characters daunting mission.
You play as Lincoln Clay, a dark-skinned Vietnam veteran who's just returned from battle. You'll discover with him that the world you've come back to could very well be worse than that of the battlefield. Crime, Racism, Crooked cops and Sinister politicians infect the streets of your hometown.
Right off the bat, the game does it's very best to remind you constantly that these are not happy times. The story is formatted like a dark Netflix crime drama, missions are broken up by cut-scenes of interviews about the events that take place in the story.
Exciting blocks of fast paced action are very neatly divided by these intriguing interviews, but you're not limited to the story. Mafia 3 permits you to travel around it's exciting open world at your will. And with the incredible choice of classic songs at your disposal, cruising around the city is a genuine joy that you'll want to experience as a gamer. You may very well be reminded of L.A Noire.
But this is where there's a couple points of complaint, despite the fantastic racing mini game. And incredible (But not overwhelming) collectibles, You might quickly discover how there isn't much for you to take part in, but this absolutely does not ruin the game, let me convince you why!
Firstly, the objectives in the game are very open ended. You're never limited as a player, you're instead given many different ways to conquer a mission. Do you prefer stealth? Guns blazing? Being a sniper? Drive by shooting? Your objectives are never closed areas, You can approach or escape any mission whenever you fancy. Need to escape and stock up on ammo? That's fine!
Secondly, the game world sometimes feels alive. You can enter bars or night clubs that are always bustling with life inside. But because of your skin color, you may find that you aren't welcome in most of the joints. It's little things like this that really differentiates Mafia 3 to other Free roam titles.
You may find that the police even present some racism, in a black neighborhood police are less interested, they arrive later and the dispatch call seems generally bored. Whereas if you cause trouble in a wealthy white neighborhood, the police will be all over you before you have a chance to say sorry.
And you best always be ready for a gunfight, a well placed shot (Even on easy mode) can do some serious damage. Sometimes even killing you instantly. Gunfights are brutal, you're forced to be light on your toes and dance around the battlefield. Always keeping an eye on enemy locations.
The characters are also surprisingly interesting, the story is missing any 'good guys' meaning you're likely to be conflicted at some points about who your friends and enemies should really be.
In conclusion, Mafia 3 is a really solid free roam title. The historical accuracy is a fantastic experience. And the dark story should intrigue you in a really satisfying way, don't believe all of the negative hate for this game. It's absolutely worth giving it a try for yourself.