The Last of Us

Please note, there are no spoilers in this review.

On Playstation 3

The Last of Us represents the end of an era in many ways. It is one of the last big titles on the Playstation 3, it represents the culmination to a body of work from developer Naughty Dog and it embodies a high point to a particular style of game we've seen many, many times this generation.

Throughout the last ten years we have seen more and more big budget titles, with blockbuster presentation values and grandiose stories. Call of Duty, Assassins Creed, Bioshock and Uncharted are just a few that come to mind. The Last of Us is the climax to that particular ideology and design philosophy. It is by far the best amongst them.

One of the main talking points about The Last of Us is it's story. Set in a post apocalyptic world destroyed by a cordyceps virus (a spore fungus that infects the brain and triggers mutation), The Last of Us follows the journey and relationship of Joel and Ellie. Without giving any details away, the narrative is gripping, it is tense, it is emotional and it asks many questions. Key among those: how far would you go for the last of yours? There are many variants of the “us” within the game. Separate factions and groups, all who answer that very question in different ways. Whether that answer may help our protagonists on their journey or not. More often than not that answer is also incredibly violent and morally grey.

Joel and Ellie are wonderfully realised in a manner that is not commonly found in video games. Both feel real, their relationship feels real and the ups and downs within that relationship feel real. The performance, through voice work and motion capture, made me care immensely. Both go on an emotional journey, both have flaws and are paradoxical, and together they make you emotionally invest in their story.

Their story is really the highlight here. Gameplay, while serviceable, is nothing to rant and rave about and this has become a common theme throughout this particular style of game. The Last of Us shares the same flaws as Bioshock Infinite, Max Payne 3 and many others. There is a disconnect between the gameplay and narrative – however unlike previous titles, The Last of Us takes significant steps to reduce the dissonance. Resources are scarce and scavenging becomes both a game play mechanic and narrative element. The gameplay doesn't award points for stealth or action, both are what they are and either choice isn't celebrated or punished. This is a fact of the world The Last of Us is set in.

It is a violent world and violence is just tolerated, it is a fact of life. The slow movement and “tanky” controls help to convey the underlying tension that runs throughout the narrative as every gun fight becomes a game of resource management and self preservation – exactly how it would in a barren wasteland world.

My biggest gripe with the gameplay is the fact that when you are in control, Ellie cannot be detected by enemies. It rarely plays a factor but when it does become obvious that she is essentially invisible to them, it does take you out of the moment a little. Here is a story based on survival, survival of this couple and yet her safety is not a factor when you are in control.

This is where improvement needs to be made. Talking about character and narrative is fine but form and craft has to be taken into account. A perfect delivery of dialogue is both performance from the actor and the crafting of a director. In this instance the craft needed to be of a higher standard to keep in line with the high quality narrative. Treating the narrative and gameplay as two separate entities is a flaw of the particular design philosophy and ideology The Last of Us exploits to it's advantage and, at times, disadvantage.

Regardless of the gameplay slip ups, The Last of Us is still a fantastic game. It is the best game on Playstation 3 because it tells a story with conviction, with passion and heart. The big moments are not huge explosions or fight scenes but quiet, tender moments in a car, with two characters conversing. The key moments are not the blaring gun fire but the eerie guitar strum and a lingering camera shot across the desolate landscape. It steps away from conventional “press X to be hero and O to be villain” and presents an unflinching and uncompromising ending that many may not see coming.

The Last of Us represents, to me, the very reason why I dream to get involved in such an industry. To be able to lose yourself in such a lovingly crafted world is the best form of escapism, it has been true for the longest time with novels and stories. It is the same with this.

T

Better than Hoboken: Conflict of Narrative and Gameplay

Max Payne 3 was without a doubt one of my highlights of 2012 however it has an odd issue of identity crisis plaguing it at the core. Still, for me, Max Payne 3 represents an important step in exploring strong and compelling narrative in gaming, and was ultimately a really enjoyable experience.

It’s clear from the outset that the gameplay in this game plays second fiddle to the narrative. The biggest example I can give you of this huge flaw is the fact that there are compilations of all the cut scenes from the film (with the gameplay removed) and they run as a movie would, quite an enjoyable one at that. The only thing missing from this movie is the action which is often left up to the player to play through. This represents Max Payne 3 biggest flaw. The dissonance between gameplay and narrative is striking as the gameplay has no bearing on the narrative and the narrative only really changes where and what Max is shooting at.

Max Payne 3 is a solid third person shooter with some serviceable mechanics and a few key standout features. There are some problems with the second chance mechanic, which is when Max is dealt a fatal blow with pain killers in his possession he is given the chance to shoot his murderer and stay alive. The implementation of this feature comes off as quite wonky and can sometimes be hampered by the environment getting in your way or the inability to reload in this mode. There isn’t much to say about the gameplay other than that in its entirety it is quite well done but largely unimportant. Nothing you do when you have control over Max really matters. It’s a shooting gallery – a well-constructed and largely well-made shooting gallery.

One of the highlight features of Max Payne is its production style and aesthetics. Max Payne 3 boasts a thumping soundtrack from Health and a visual style that apes Tony Scott’s films like Domino and Man on Fire. Overall the production of Max Payne screams high quality and a lot of effort went into constructing a certain tone and mood to the game that feels very gritty and mature. Both the look and soundtrack really do wonders to give the narrative legs and an extra oomph in its emotional punch.

The story of Max Payne 3 starts out as a plot about revenge and redemption and while it remains that to the end there are a few issues that crop up with the story. Much like the paradoxical nature of the game, the narrative seems to be unsure of what it really wants to be. Here and there, ever so gradually, political overtones begin to appear and the latter half of the story feels muddled as it deals with the weight of large issues such as capitalism, American foreign policy and the value of life.  While there is room for an undertone of political commentary in most narratives, the problem with Max Payne 3’s story is that at times it detracts from what Max ultimately set out to do.

Some of that confusion is alleviated by James McCafferys performance of Max. The actor really shines in his portrayal of Max and his delivery of dialogue, which has just the right about of dry, wry wit about it really settles the game into “serious story” mode but one that doesn’t take itself too seriously all the time. McCaffery carries the weight of the entire game and really pulls off a strong performance that gives us a character we can engage with. It’s not all perfect in the realms of characterisation but it is there and Max, as a person, does change.

It’s just a shame that this change isn’t reflected in the gameplay and ultimately this dissonance between narrative and gameplay stops Max Payne 3 from being an amazing must play game but rather represents an important but tentative step in the evolution of gaming.

To me there are two clear cut types of games now: games which present systems and gameplay as the main engaging factor and games which present narrative and story in the forefront. Games like Max Payne 3 and Uncharted provide shining examples of relatively well written and engaging stories in games and they bring a form of validity to the medium. These stories are far from perfect but by in large they are really well done, even when compared to some films that are released.

On the flip side of the spectrum you have games such as FTL or Terraria which present players with hugely addicting and compelling gameplay mechanics, with little story and narrative to frame them, which also legitimise the medium. There is room for both styles of game in the genre and Max Payne 3 represents, to me, an important step in ensuring high quality, mature, story driven content with which players can interact with and ultimately enjoy. However for story and narrative to truly be seen as valid constituents of the spotlight they need to engage with the gameplay in meaningful ways providing players with input and interaction to fully engross the player and provide them with a full-fledged, story driven game – like Heavy Rain.

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