Just wanted to get this out here because there are too many people overhyping and all. Well, I think that it doesn't deserve that much hype as most people stating "it's the best game ever", blah blah blah etc. It isn't the best game ever. It's flawed in many ways. However, it did some things that I have never seen before.
1.) The graphics - of course, last gen hardware (yes, it's already last gen) can't compete with the top of the line PC games out there in terms of graphics fidelity, aliasing, texture quality, etc. But there's something about the art and attention to detail that you just can't get enough of looking at the game. I have never stopped and just looked at any background of any game before. Sure, there are a lot of rough edges and clipping issues. But the sheer amount of detail just takes your breath away. Just looking at how the flashlight behaves against a staircase handrail gives me the creeps. The lighting in this game is just absolutely awesome. It's AWESOME. I don't like praising graphics much. To me, it's the least important part of a game. But in this case, I can't say enough about the love, dedication, and effort it took to produce such incredible vistas.
2.) The atmosphere - this is the first game, and I mean the first game in the history of survival games that I have played, that actually means it. Resident Evil is not a survival game. Neither is Dead Space. Neither is "insert game here". All those games have you shoot up a whole lot of nonsense in order to progress. In this game, it is entirely possible to progress with killing just a handful of bad guys (or maybe it's possible to kill nobody, but sometimes I have no choice). Ammo is severely limited, supplies are crafted real time (no pause menus where you can make shit while zombies are around), and wounds don't heal by themselves. This makes it something... different. A whole new genre here folks. Stealth survival.
3.) The action - since it's a whole different experience, what with the "requirement" to have stealth, I don't have any other game to compare it with. Metal Gear claims to be all about stealth, but you can just shoot up everyone if you want, just like other so-called stealth games. But in this game, I think it's impossible to do that. You MUST go stealth or else you won't get far. This presents both a famine and a feast. On one hand, it's a little annoying that you have a lack of choice in the game. You kinda are forced into doing things the quiet way because the loud way is so damn hard to do. On the other hand, it's incredible that I'm experiencing real stealth, the kind that you just saw in World War Z. It just makes sense, when you think about it. How does Chris Redfield destroy 100000000 zombies with his shotgun that never runs out of ammo? No, that's ludicrous. At least here, Joel is goddamn human. I go with the other hand.
4.) The characters - It's rare that a developer takes this much time to craft personalities and such on any character. Sure, some of them are rather one-dimensional, but the main characters are very deep and they interact in mostly non-cliche ways. I'm not that far into the game yet (maybe 50%) so I don't know what happens yet, but I am invested, and I feel affected by their plight, thanks to the excellent voice acting and story direction. I just wish the police/army guys weren't so stupid.
5.) The AI - If there's one thing I have to criticize, which actually breaks the game a little bit, it's the AI. On one hand, it's really a big step forward. Guys don't follow set patrols that you can memorize (to start with, they do, but when you do something, they react in totally random ways), so it's hard to go through a level by just remembering where to walk. The bad guys are really good at looking for you and once they find you, it's an absolutely brutal exchange that leaves your heart pumping. However, they're also extremely stupid. The zombies, I can accept. After all, they're rather brain dead. The humans? I choke one out, and when the rest of them find the corpse, they just give this little surprise thing, without reporting to their squad, which leaves them open to be choked out again. I remember one level wherein I choked out 6 different army dudes in the same room. These guys are just dumb. I dunno, well, the AI kinda breaks the game in that point.
6.) Overall - It's a fresh perspective on survival and stealth. By limiting supplies, you're actually playing the game the way it's meant to be played, and it fits the mold of the story too. It's like you're playing into the developers hand even though you don't realize it. And it's an awesome experience that you're getting real immersion. While playing, I'm freaking worried. I don't want to die. I don't want to get discovered. It's like I have no choice and I must be careful for my own good. It's like I'm not even playing a game, and more like I'm taking care of some people that must survive.
That's The Last Of Us for me, at first impression. So far, 9/10..
