Can “The Last Of Us” Save Us From Generation Fatigue? | TheSixthAxis

TSA: "Let’s face it, we’re all just a tiny bit bored with this generation.

Sure, there’re some interesting titles still to come on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but we’re now at the stage were publishers are taking fewer risks than normal, preferring to play it safe with masses of homogenised shooters and rehashes of old ‘classics’ designed to entertain late buyers rather than those who have stuck it out for the last seven years."

[GribbleGrunger]

yes and no. The problem is that the press and a lot of people are convinced that games can only get better when tech improves. It's the reason a lot of people say they are disappointed with this gen. They were convinced that the improvement in tech would lead to much better games. The same will happen again with next gen. The problem isn't the tech, the problem is developers who aim for the lowest common denominator or developers that lack imagination and inventiveness. It doesn't matter how much horse power you throw at a game, if it's mediocre in design, it will just be high resolution mediocrity.

[Thatguy-310]

This yr has been pretty boring. Gaming season is about to kick in starting with borderlands 2 and lbp for vita. Overall it has been Ehhh this yr. I think Last of us will join the other promising titles giving this generation a grand finish.

[Brosy]

No, I dont think anything but new hardware could raise the fatigue I feel with this generation. I will continue to buy the heavy hitters like Borderlands 2, but I am ready for the next-gen of consoles. The Unreal Engine 4 demoes and Star Wars 1313 have already excited me for next-gen.

[Bimkoblerutso]

Yeah, I agree with you. The indie scene is flourishing right now because (I like to assume) people are growing tired of developers and publishers that seem willfully content to release safe, unimaginative genre-locked entries in established franchises.

It seems like the vast majority of AA to AAA games we get these days have to have a hundred genre tropes for every one imaginative mechanic or interesting narrative included in the final product.

[Knight_Crawler]

I was watching a new series called Revolution lastnight and it kind of reminded me of TLOU.

[MrDead]

Yeah I'm so board all I have to look forward to is

The Last of Us
Borderlands 2
Bioshock
GTA5
Last Guardian
Yakuza 5
Tomb Raider
Unfinished Swan
Beyond: Two Souls
Sly Cooper
Dishonored
Hitman: Absolution
Tokyo Jungle
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale
Metal Gear Solid Rising
Far Cry 3
Prey 2
Aliens: Colonial Marines
God of War: Ascension
Devil's Third

I'm sure there's more I've missed

Some may be rehashes but who’s to say that they'll be stale remakes?

[TryMe]

Agreed.

2013 alone looks to be a monster year...and those games you mentioned are just half of the gems that are coming out next year.

If your having fatigue towards this generation, than it seems you just hate video games in general, and should find a different hobby...rather than relying on new eye candy to renew your receding interest.

[smashcrashbash]

I think the Last of Us look like it is going to be a great game. I don't know about it saving us from fatigue but I know I will enjoy it. If anything i think games like Rain and Puppeteer will help with generation fatigue.

[Allsystemgamer]

I think it will be fantastic and I've already paid for mine BUT I just can not see why people are blowing it so far out of proportion. The AI is superb and so are the graphics and animation but in the end it's still nothing we haven't seen. It's just a very well put together collaboration o everything we've seen.

[DigitalRaptor]

I agree somewhat, but.. the AI that has been shown, it's never FELT that real. The enemies from the demo look and act real and unpredictable. They act like humans who have the personal desire to survive, unlike any game I have seen before. They will change based on how you play, and that is what will influence developers going into next generation with more horsepower for things like incredibly real AI. That is what excites me most - the promise it shows for the future of our games.

The premise of the story might have been seen before, but never has the storytelling and characters been poised in such an important way as what Naughty Dog has done with Joel and Ellie. It's the way this is crafted with subtle yet firm direction that makes The Last of Us appear unique in a sea of rehashes and safe bets. It's good to see that they've gone out of the way to push their linear storytelling into a wider gameplay scope because they could easily rest on their laurels and provide a post-apocalyptic set piece ridden Uncharted experience, but from what has been released so far, it's nothing of the sort.

Coming from UC2, the team have no mainstream influence to ruin this game. Their influences are coming from the lesser known or somewhat forgotten. It's a fresh take on the survival genre coming from people who appreciate the stories and lives of characters. The game is VERY focused on the characters, just like the extraordinary novels and films it is inspired by. Besides multiplayer, it will be its own standalone piece, and as a new IP I couldn't be more excited.

[doogiebear]

So far, I dont see what is so great about puppeteer

[OC_MurphysLaw]

one game can't save us from fatigue, but many good games certainly can. This holiday there appear to be just that... a good amount of quality games coming out on many systems.

[NastyLeftHook0]

the last of us is this generations console undisputed graphical king with the highest quality technology only naughty god can deliver. so yes, the last of us ( best looking console game) will save us the fatigue of other boring shooters, but there are other good games (ds, gow a, beyond exc...)

[WrAiTh Sp3cTr3]

Undisputed? Lol, you're wrong already...

Edit: Lol, your "FACTS" are glaringly wrong.

[NastyLeftHook0]

I NEVER ASKED FOR YOUR OPINION, IM GOING BASED OFF FACTS.

9.6 meta (highest rated hd console exclusive)

highest rated game of ALL TIME.

those are my facts, it would be interesting to see yours.

[QuantumWake]

@tentonsoftube

Yeah but here's the thing about your "facts", they're for UNCHARTED 2! Not TLOU (Unless you have been into the future then please, let me in that time machine). We have no idea how the game will play until we have it in our hands.

[Allsystemgamer]

Just ignore his fanboy drivel.

[IHateYouFanboys]

@tentonsoftube: "highest rated game of ALL TIME. "

uncharted 2? please, dont make me laugh. its not even the highest rated game this generation on metacritic, let alone all time.

take a look at this to see many games from previous generations on equal score and MANY higher:

http://www.metacritic.com/g...

its also not the highest scoring exclusive - thats super mario galaxy 1 and 2. who cares if theyre not "HD", theyre still games this generation and exclusive.

[doogiebear]

Best graphics? Not even close. IT SEEMED that way a year ago when they showed it, but now Metal Gear Ground Zeroes, Castlevania Lords of Shadows 2, Grand Theft Auto V, and Watchdogs all make it look decent. Next year we're gonna see PS3 and 360 games being pushed to unimaginable graphical heights. Remember, Last of Us has been in developement about 2 or more years. What looked good then will be decent come 2013.

[yesmynameissumo]

Absolutely. Everything I've seen screams badass, as well as great story telling. Troy Baker is a hell of a voice actor. naughty dog is a hell of a developer. I don't see how anyone can question the quality were going to experience.

[doogiebear]

I dunno man, I own uncharted 3 and its horrible storyline, and 4 hour campaign doesnt do the awesome Uncharted 2 any justice. All I play on it now is the multiplayer, and even still, it kinda sucks now becaise ND is whoring it out by selling all of the items instead of just making people earn it. Plus the mp is a bit unbalanced. But my main gripe was the garbage campaign uc3. Terrible.

[AznGaara]

Two words... Health Bar!

That alone sets itself apart from every other 3rd person shooter. I've grown so tired of shooters in general this gen. From Gears, CoD & Battlefield, its just run out > shoot > black and white pallet > hide until health regenerates > repeat. While I understand from a competitive standpoint regenerating health can be a good thing but from a single player perspective it... gets... boring and frankly... too easy.

So in that sense it'll save the fatigue I have with shooters. As for the generation itself, it'll fall in line with games like Tomb Raider, MGS:GZ, Bioshock Infinite & GTAV.. All those games will save this generation's fatigue and will allow it to go out with a bang.

[Allsystemgamer]

Dayz and arma series have no regenerative health bar.

[Ducky]

I agree about the health bar. Completely removes intensity out of the game when you can always cower behind some cover and regrow all your limbs back.

There have been a few games without regenerating health though (ex: MaxPayne3 & Resistance3) but yea, they've been relatively scarce.

Along with the game you mentioned, I'm looking forward to Hitman and Dishonored too. We've seen plenty of high-quality linear games recently, but not many that allow for a diverse range of playing styles.

[ChunkyLover53]

I think if it releases too late in 2013 it might lose a bit of its audience because some people obviously are going to go next gen.

I think the game looks fantastic and I'm excited to play it, but the same thing goes for any game that is scheduled to come out late in 2013, its going to be hard to compete with new consoles and software for those consoles.

Also, they used the perfect word to describe what is going on with this generation "fatigue" is what is currently wrong, we've been conditioned to buy new hardware every five years, now we have to wait longer, and even though we are still getting technically great and amazing games, people aren't as impressed with these games and in some cases aren't interested because of the length of the generation.

No one game is going to save a generation, it'll get people excited for the game, but lets not go crazy here.

[TryMe]

yes. TONS of people won't be there to play The Last of Us because of next gen consoles..riiiigggghhht...last time I checked, the 1st year of new consoles are usually the weakest...so if you enjoy playing 5 new titles for your ps5 than please enjoy.

If this game was releasing in late 2014 you'd probably have a better argument ;)

[ChunkyLover53]

Well I can speak personally, but when the next gen consoles are announced from Microsoft and Sony, I'm probably not going to buy anything for current consoles. I think this is why so many developers are releasing these AAA titles so early in 2013, because believe it or not, a large part of the gaming community will take this approach as well.

Console launches are usually huge, so I'm not sure why you are saying they aren't. Within the first year of the Wii U they are guessing over 10 million units, that is huge.

I understand my original comment was somewhat negative on a PS3 exclusive, so I didn't expect a ton of agrees or anything, but given that nobody bothered to actually give me a conclusive argument to the contrary, I'll take it as butthurt fanboys.

If you don't think next gen announcements can hamper sales, you need to wake up and look at the facts.

[Hicken]

It's not fatigue. It's a newfound desire to be dissatisfied with everything. Granted, a lot of games aren't as long as last gen, and the replay value on many of them is minimal, at best, but people blow through games- and subsequently trade them in- faster now than ever before.

It's a self-induced, false "fatigue" brought on by this desire to play and beat every game in the shortest period of time possible. Gone are the days of gamers(the majority, anyway) being collectors that would, at best, give away or trade games to their friends. People don't enjoy games the way they used to, and it's pretty sad.

I don't have a 360 or a Wii yet, I no longer have my DS or PSP, and haven't gotten a 3DS yet; there are literally hundreds of games I'm interested in playing that I haven't touched yet. Sure, I'm not the type to be tied to one or two genres, but rather than generational fatigue, I'm more likely to have generational burnout from entirely too many games to play.

As such, while I'm definitely looking forward to games like The Last of Us, it won't save me from a "fatigue" I don't have, and I doubt it'll actually save anyone who "suffers" from it, since they do so of their own free will.

[CommonSenseGamer]

What i hate is the way, Sony especially, release no real good functionality in their firmware updates a good 18 months out from the release of their next platform. Happened with the PSP and now the PS3.

[Fishy Fingers]

Why would you, the OS footprint isnt getting any smaller, there's only so much optimization you can do, and frankly, why release a half assed version of a feature you likely had in mind for next-gen, which requires next-gen hardware (likely just more OS memory).

Nicely related to the article though.

[CommonSenseGamer]

MS got around the OS issue by releasing their changes as an app. However, i was commenting on what makes me feel current-gen fatigue. Its not so much the games as it is the way for the last 18 months you only seem to get stable and secure firmware updates.

There are $50 media centres that clean the floor with the PS3 (and 360 for that matter) that provide regular updates to make sure all media codecs are supported. The PS3 is vastly more powerful than these cheap devices but is purposefully held back.

[Fishy Fingers]

The Last of Us is just one of many great looking games next year. It's not the be-all end-all of 2013's line up.

[TongkatAli]

I'm buying it.

[FinaLXiii]

Last of Us and Ground Zeroes are definite buys for me.

[ShaunCameron]

LOL. No. It's just a case of all good things must come to an end eventually.