My experience with TLoU:
I loved the Uncharted games (the first two, anyway. I wasn't very impressed w/ Uncharted 3.) and I wanted TLoU but my PS3 broke in January of 2013 and I didn't get a new one until Black Friday. My PS3 came with a free copy of Batman Arkham Origins and TLoU.
My hype for TLoU had died down by then but I had managed to avoid spoilers. For some reason, just like with Red Dead Redemption, all of the high scores turned me off to the game. I tried to play it and the first thirty minutes were spectacular!! Then, the game jumps like 20 years into a generic, boring future. This immediately turned me off. After saving Tess and Ellie from an attack, I turned the PS3 off never to play it again. I was disappointed. Aside from a few combat areas, the game felt like 90% listening to conversations and walking from point a to point b.
For whatever reason, I was extremely excited to get the PS4 version of the game and somewhere towards the end of 2014, I finally got it. The game's graphics didn't wow me like it did others on PS3. Personally, I thought games like Beyond Two Souls, God of War 3, and the Uncharted titles looked much better. Well, the promise of the game looking much much better on PS4 built up unrealistic expectations and I was disappointed again. Running the PS3 and PS4 versions side by side on my 42 LED, I was hard pressed to find the improvements. Even the "Locked 30fps" mode on PS4 looked WORSE than the PS3 game--a tactic I swear had to a trick to justify the smoother 60fps mode.
Anyway, with all of that backstory aside, here is my take on the game:
-The story is amazing and really sucks you in after the slow start. As an experience, it's a tough game to beat.
-The gameplay is awesome and on par with the some of the best stealth/combat games on the market. I still think Hitman Absolution and Splinter Cell Blacklist do it better but the intelligent enemies of TLoU are really satisfying to take on. I wish there were more diversity, though. For the most part, the enemies you fight in the beginning are the same enemies you fight throughout the entire game.
-Graphics are good but not great. As I said, games like Uncharted, GoW, and even Tomb Raider look better.
-Voice acting is fantastic but most games are pretty great in that regard, these days.
-Crafting and upgrading weapons seemed like it was going to be overwhelming at first but soon became great. Very well done.
As an experience, I would give TLoU a 9/10 and a game that can't be missed. Worth it just for "Winter", alone. As a game, it was also quite enjoyable but now that I have seen the story, I can't see myself ever touching it again. Combat was great but having to replay the (admitedly well done) mood building "walking/talking" segments that take up so much of the game would make me blow my brains out. This is coming from a guy that loves story based, cinematic games. Buy it. Experience. Enjoy it. Never play it again.
