Persona3rocks

Then by your logic no game ever can be bad, and everyone has to like every game ever. Most games ship pretty much intact, without being broken (though 2014 is a bad year for that, I admit). Anyway, that means that most games can be judged by their core design. If that design does not resonate with people, it's fair for those people to call that bad design. Hence, the design of that game is flawed for those people.

I don't know how many times I can explain this. The Last of Us has a design issue in terms of very linear, at least to me. You feel differently, and that's okay. So to me the game is flawed, and to you it is not. It's a subjective opinion. Whether or not a game is flawed or problematic or whatever you want to call it, comes down to your subjective opinion. There's nothing like a objectively good game.

And that's why you absolutely can call something flawed without there being a general consensus on the matter. When it comes to games, movies, music and any other type of media or culture, there will be never be a consensus on anything. It's purely up to taste. The Last of Us is a okay game to me. If I reviewed it, I would give it 3/5. Among it's core problems is that it's too linear. I don't think it's enough to have the choice between hitting a dude with a hammer or shooting him the face. That's not enough player agency. And the worst examples are when you sneak your way past a myriad of dudes, only to have your progress blocked because you have to kill everyone. That's no good.

@persona3rocks: thanks. Writing that made me wanna go back and play the game for the millionth time.

I think that it's unfair to say TLOU doesn't have choice. Despite the story being linear, there's a vast amount of variety in how you engage the combat. Overall, I'd say the storytelling fits what Naughty Dog intended the game to be. Skyrim is amazing because of how open and non-linear it is. The Last of Us is brilliant because the way you watch the choices unfold in front of you is beautiful and lovingly crafted.

Obviously someone can find linear games not to their taste, or vice versa. That's fine. But it doesn't necessarily mean the game is flawed simply because it doesn't align with the player's preferences.

You say you understand what an opinion is, then you prove that you don't. I perceive it as a flaw that the game isn't more open. Some other dude posted earlier that he thought the game was too open, and he considered that a flaw. And that's fine. If something is flawed or not is actually a matter of opinion, or else every game would be objectively good or bad, and who would decide that?

A lot of people think Skyrim and Dragon Age: Inquisition are flawed for being too open, and thus having a lot of dead time associated with them. I like that they're that open, and if anything, I'd wish Dragon Age was even more open. But again, that is my opinion. I think the Last of Us is a flawed game in many ways, including it's linearity. Boring combat and a generally weak plot doesn't really help it either. I will give the game credit for strong performances and generally good writing though.

Another example is Dragon Age II. A lot of people complained that the game was set in one city. But by your logic, that is not a fair complaint, because the game was designed that way. You're basically saying that if something is designed in a certain way, that can't be a flaw. Ever heard of a design flaw?

I'm not trying to be a dick, but you just seem butt hurt that people don't like a game you like, and think that they're opinion is wrong for that reason. At this point, instead of arguing any more, just accept that you made a mistake.

I wasn't aware people complained about this, and if they do have a problem with it maybe they should learn how to research something before they buy it. And I don't understand by what they would mean by linear? Like it's not open world or something? I found the combat situations allowed you to approach them from a variety of positions.

What? Of course they can complain about that. It's just the same thing that you don't think that's a flaw. That also just your opinion. There's no right or wrong here. For some, The Last of Us is flawed because it's not more open. For others, it's not. I find it so weird that the concept of a opinion is still something that has to be explained in 2014.

Like other people have already said, some people don't like linear games. That's a matter of taste. Some people don't like The Last of Us and I don't see how that's a problem. Everyone has different tastes. I think the Uncharted games are better games than The Last of Us and that's my opinion and I'm entitled to it.

I had no problem with it, and the fact that an encounter never played out the same for me is all the "choice" I needed. The combat was very tactical, in the Halo or Crysis type of design. That's more important to me than a choice that changes 5 seconds of dialogue later.

That's why the new Uncharted reveal was exciting to me: big combat arena with a ton of options.

I never had a problem with it - Naughty Dog had a specific story they wanted to tell, and the "linear" story line lets them accomplish this. To be honest, I don't feel like I've heard that many people complain about it either.

Some people don't like linear games, I prefer open word systematic games like FC, GTA, Skyrim etc..

Not that one is better than the other, just different people diferent taste.

Hey guys,

I just picked this up on the PSN sale. So far, it seems okay. Not as good as Persona 4 but still manages to scratch that itch, hopefully until P5 comes out.

Anyways... I'm about 2 hours in and the way this game dungeon crawls is very similar to Persona 4... except one really important thing: I can't seem to issue specific orders to my other two party members. They act on their own. Is there a way to change this? It's really annoying. So far I only have a fire spell, so if an enemy is weak to ice I can't tell my party member to use their ice spell...