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Raven's The Last Of Us (PC)
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| [February 20, 2017 04:31:18 PM]
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I finished up the fall chapter and delved into the first portion of the winter chapter in this next play through of The Last of Us. I started up being reunited with Joel’s brother, Tommy, in a self-sufficient outpost. I loaded up on plenty of ammunition and provisions, while eyeing the horses out front. I felt that the sudden “intruders” moment at the base was an obvious attempt by the game makers to create some action. I felt it was a little unnecessary and would’ve been fine without another going-through-the-motions action sequence.
By the time the characters were ready to head off, Tommy and Joel were deliberating over who would take Ellie to the Fireflies. Tommy didn’t see the point in leaving his wife and safety to deliver some girl he had just met. I could understand the ethical dilemma Tommy had to face. Ellie had the potential to help find a cure to the zombification, but the risks in achieving that was dangerously high. Once again The Last of Us explored the clash between Kantianism and Utilitarianism, as Tommy was weighing the consequences of his own departure versus the greater good for humanity in doing so.
Another dilemma surfaced right after the confrontation between Tommy and Joel. When Joel told Ellie about his decision after finding her (which required a super fun race through the forest) I became upset with Joel for being such a cold asshole. He made it clear to Ellie that she was not his daughter and that he didn’t want her to stay with him (even after Ellie admitted he was the only person close to her still alive). It was a difficult and sad conversation to witness. Joel felt that Tommy could help Ellie better than he, and helped justify that decision even more by acting like he had to attachment to Ellie.
I was relieved when Joel pulled through and realized he needed Ellie. He chose the potential dangerous consequences of taking the lead over the possible greater-good.
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| [February 16, 2017 10:38:14 PM]
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My next binge of The Last of Us was edge-of-the-seat action-packed as I had to avoid militarized groups and make a break out of the city. On the way out, the game introduced two new characters that tagged along, Sam and Henry. The two brothers were friendly and willing to help Ellie and Joel out of the city. Making our way to the final bridge included plenty of dodging and hiding from many patrolling soldiers. My already poor-ability with a controller and non-sneaking tendencies led me to many retries of the various levels since I kept getting caught and triggering every enemy in the level to swarm me. I much prefer combat that doesn’t include sneaking around and silently killing people. Let me rush in gun-hoe with my battle cry.
Frustrations and sneaking aside, the scene where the group breaks onto the bridge was a particular moment of morality. Henry, Sam, and Ellie were able to get through a segment of the barricade while Joel was stuck behind. Henry instantly decided to leave Joel (me) behind, apologizing profusely. He didn’t want to risk his own life along with Sam’s in an attempt to save Joel. Henry decided on utilitarianism. Henry believed that leaving Joel behind would mean the greater good for the group. Ellie, on the other hand, decided to jump down with Joel. She was expressing Kantianism because she believed her outcome would be better with Joel instead of the group as a whole. Ellie was taking in the human element, and decided that the categorical imperative (not leaving behind another human being) was the most ethical choice for her. If the categorical imperative implies that if the universal law of leaving someone behind was in place, then no one would save each other, and that did not sit well with Ellie.
It was cool to see that her choice ended up being a good one, since everyone ended up re-uniting and saved. While it did leave Joel pretty pissed at Henry for leaving him, Henry ended up following Kantianism like Ellie by saving Joel in the river. This session of gaming is making me realize that The Last of Us likes to disprove utilitarianism.
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| [February 15, 2017 05:11:04 PM]
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For the last few weeks I’ve been playing The Last of Us for the first time ever. I’ve heard nothing but fond regards about the game and after having so many recommendations to play it, I finally sat down for a binge. The opening sequencer for the game is both intense and heartbreaking. I was instantly impressed by the motion capture and voice acting of the characters. The graphics are insanely detailed and the atmosphere of the game is forebodingly realistic.
I instantly liked the character of Tess, since she’s a strong female character and a helpful NPC companion. I enjoyed how the game balanced intense sequences with relaxing ones. The level design was also on-point as it seamlessly directed me throughout the map and never once did I bump into a loading screen (thank you interesting cut-scenes). While there aren’t many moral choices to make in the game as in the Walking Dead, the game still plays out morally difficult situations.
The toughest one so far was leaving Tess. She had been bitten during a dangerous journey to the capital. During an intense moment right before a squad of soldiers moved in on the characters, Tess decided to stay behind to give Joel and Ellie time to run. Joel insisted on her to join them, but she was set on her decision since she knew becoming a zombie was inevitable. Tess had chosen to go down fighting instead of killing herself beforehand or asking Joel to do so. I usually hate it when games use the woman-sacrificing-herself trope, but I felt the game handled it tastefully. Tess wasn’t begging for her life to be taken (as is the case for most of the tropes) and instead took her life into her own hands in a practical way. I was also glad that I didn’t have to kill her myself, because that would’ve been very distasteful for me. While I was sad that Tess wasn’t able to live long, I was relieved that the moral issue was handled respectfully.
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Raven's The Last Of Us (PC)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Wednesday 15 February, 2017
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