The Last Of Us Part II Review – Let the argument begin

As you probably know, The Last Of Us Part 2 dropped last week. At his point, it has gone on to be the fastest selling PS4 exclusive to date. That’s pretty impressive, but not surprising to many of us. What is surprising though, is the argument that seems to be taking place over the internet. The argument is based on whether or not the game is good.    While a lot of game news outlets have seemingly given The Last Of Us Part 2, a rather high score rating, many consumers seem to be voicing a different opinion. Many are saying the game is an utter disappointment. To be fair, that’s not to say the game is trash (although I have seen a good amount of that speech…), but more that the game may not live up to its predecessor.    Quite a few gamers went back to play the first entry of TLOU right before part 2 was released. Remember the original? Such a good game. Great storyline, attention to detail and a good amount of actual gameplay. I went back and played it myself and I easily recalled why I enjoyed it so much. It got me even more hyped for part 2 and I couldn’t wait to see where the story would go from there.  Well, I am sad to say that I was disappointed with Part 2’s story, Not just the story, there were a few other minor things I will mention throughout this piece. For now, I’ll start with my opinion on the story, but don’t worry, I will not spoil it for those that have not played it yet. I’d also like to stress that you should come up with your own opinion, but I am giving my honest feedback that I believe is relevant here.    There are a million ways this story could have been written and played out and some of those other stories could have been better or worse, no doubt. After two playthroughs of the game, I have to say the story felt mediocre at best. I might sound harsh, but my disappointment lays within two things. How quickly things unfolded and how quickly I realized that I just couldn’t form a bond with our protagonist, Ellie. I mean, bits and pieces here and there, I felt some empathy and it could draw me in a little, but it got flat fairly quick. Mostly because the story was dragged out in unnecessary ways. Ways that made feel like it would be fun to watch some paint dry for a little while. Maybe I’m being too hard on the writers, but this entry doesn’t come close to delivering the same charm as the first one did. Sorry if you disagree.    Before I go one, let me say that if this game was made by just about any other developer, I wouldn’t be judging nearly hard, but this Naughty Dog. I have come to have certain expectations from this more … Read More

Image Leak Reveals Potential Release Date For The Last of Us: Part II

When it comes to Sony’s first-party developers, Naughty Dog is among the the best. While they’ve been known for their work in the past on Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter, and Uncharted, The Last of Us holds a special place in gamer hearts everywhere. As a result, we’ve all been eagerly awaiting some kind of release date for The Last of Us: Part II. A newly leaked image points to October of 2019 as a possible answer to this burning question, but what about the rumors that Sony has shifted focus to PS5 games? Let’s unpack this story and see where the bread crumb trail takes us. The Last of Us: Part II May Release in October of 2019 The leaked image comes from a Peruvian retailer called LawGamers. The promotional image shows Ellie’s face, along with cover art, price, and month of release. As promotional art goes, it’s pretty standard. Having worked in the gaming retail industry for almost a decade, though, I picked up a few things when it comes to this type of advertising. Let’s consider a few facts here: The cover art doesn’t look final, it looks like a stock photo Promotional art like this has shown incorrect dates in the past (when games were pushed back prior to launch) Sony has yet to confirm if this is a PS4 or PS5 title (or both) And, of course, release dates can always change While we must take this with a grain of salt, the ultimate question here is how an October release date could play into the PS5’s release date. Could The Last of Us: Part II Be a Launch Title For PS5? With the PS5 on the horizon, it would make sense for Sony to switch their first-party studios over to next generation titles. It would also explain the lackluster E3 2018 showing and the fact that Sony has decided to skip E3 2019. Daniel Ahmad, a Niko Partners analyst who moderates the ResetEra message boards, claims that Sony is looking to make current projects cross-generation compatible or exclusively release them on the PS5. Here’s what he had to say: “Sony also has a couple of unannounced games (already existing IP) with PS4 in mind, but I’m conscious that there have been discussions around making them cross gen/next gen titles.” We’ve predicted in the past that Sony’s lack of commitment on the release date for titles like The Last of Us: Part II, Death Stranding, and Ghosts of Tsushima could point to them being PS5 titles, and this news solidifies that prediction. It makes the most sense for Sony to make the titles available on both the PS4 and the PS5, as gamers kind of expect them to be on the PS4 and pushback would be significant if they moved them all to a new console. The October release date also would make sense for a PS4 version of The Last of Us: Part II, but all evidence points to the PS5 coming out in … Read More