Beyond Two Souls

What defines a video game? The control? The completion of a story because of a player? The levels of enjoyment a person experiences? The concept of a video game, like art, seems to become more abstract every day. Technology now allows games to parallel movies and incorporate cinematic elements into telling a story. But to compare video games to art, in some, perhaps elitist, perspectives, would mean lowering the standards of one or raising the bar for the other. It's a difficult debate to argue and defend. Thus, for this review and potentially those following it, Subculture Times may cease to give a score (we're still experimenting on style, so feel free to accompany us on this journey) . Rather than turning video games further into a commodity by quantifying their value with an arbitrary score, this review will only examine the game in regards to its mechanics, gameplay, narrative and everything else that makes or breaks the experience. In the end, it's up to you, the individual, to decide the final score.

With Heavy Rain and the Telltale's well-received Walking Dead episodic adventure, the surge and popularity of narrative-focused video games are undeniable. From the folks who brought you Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls is the latest release from Quantum Dream.

The story surrounds Jodie Holmes, a woman whose entire life is bound to the lingering entity she calls "Aiden." Aiden's presence has not only guaranteed Jodie's constant surveillance, but Jodie's "powers" mark her as a pariah amongst the world. None, least of all Jodie herself, understand Aiden or his origins and it consequently erupts prejudices of danger and caution from all those around Jodie.

Beyond Two Souls is first and foremost a modern bildungsroman about Jodie. The game takes place throughout moments in her life, offering glimpses into her troubled childhood, her military training and even her time spent homeless. Jodie and Aiden's journey spans across America and even overseas. The narrative also unravels in non-sequence. One minute, players will control Jodie, say, at a grand soiree of military officials only to then find her, within the next half hour, as a teenager arriving at a birthday party.

This form is initially convoluted in regards to telling a cohesive tale, but the plot itself  is an enigma meant to be uncovered by the player throughout the course of the game. It helps that the story gracefully transitions from one segment to the next. In creating this non-sequential narrative, Quantum Dream accomplishes several impressive feats: Beyond Two Souls rightfully balances action and suspense versus slower and more thoughtful moments. The flow from suspense to stealth to dialogue or vice versa  are captivating respites puzzle-pieced together within a grand narrative. And Beyond Two Souls incorporates this pace beautifully and artistically into its story.

The broken timeline also perfectly reflects the plot as a coming-of-age story. Beyond Two Souls achieves this by highlighting impactful phases in Jodie's life. The always-looming consequences of the journey offer deep and meaningful reexaminations for her character. What serves as her truth one moment is completely shattered in the next. Quantum Dream breathes life into Jodie, her character and the journey, making Beyond Two Souls' already excellent narrative and characters that much more significant.

Of course, the power of a strong video game narrative depends on the strength of its actors as much as its gameplay. 2013 already boasts several top-quality, triple-A titles, all of them sporting excellent voice work and motion capture. Beyond Two Souls, however, easily sets a new standard. In tandem, the motion capture and voice work fall nothing short of cinematic bliss.                

Ellen Page is the fulcrum to Beyond Two Souls. Now while Quantum Dream director David Cage said he wrote the main protagonist with her in mind, Ellen Page's performance is the essence of Jodie Holmes' character. The moments of happiness, life, death, despair and confusion are portrayed to such a perfect pitch, Ellen Page often over shadows her fellow actors and actresses. This is not a sleight to her fellow cast members however. In fact, Willem Dafoe honors the game with a stellar performance as Nathan Dawkins. And even some of the more minor actors, such as Kadeem Hardison and David Coburn, demonstrate their excellent acting prowess through their characters.

Beyond Two Souls blur the very lines between video games and movies; it's sometimes easy to forget you're playing a game because transitions between cutscenes and gameplay are cohesive and seamless. Adding to the cinematic aesthetic of Beyond Two Souls, the visuals, the environments and the characters all look amazing. Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe, through the extensive motion capture, are technologically  mirrored within the game. The digital avatars bear such a similar resemblance to the real life actors.

Even with motion capture and green screens, Beyond Two Souls meshes a graphically polished world with the grime of a mature narrative. The end consequence is a noir-like painted America. Landscapes are stunning, yet whether the suburbs, Arizona desert or snow-white cities, Quantum Dream manages to craft these locales to reflect Beyond Two Souls darker themes.

Those unfamiliar with Quantum Dream's track record may be surprised to find Beyond Two Souls a game "lacking gameplay." It's true the majority of gameplay consists of navigating Jodie, quick time events, traversing around a room as Aiden to tip something over, and using the face buttons to decide what kind of response Jodie should  give another character. But Beyond Two Souls is first and foremost driven by its the narrative; the gameplay is secondary, supplementing the experience of Jodie's adventure. Quantum Dream reinforces this concept through two difficulty settings at the main menu, one of those settings being geared to an audience who does not play games often or at all.     

This aside, Beyond Two Souls follows the suit of Quantum Dream's previous title, Heavy Rain. Players, as Jodie, navigate the game space, interacting with people and sometimes items to forward the narrative. At almost any time, players can control Aiden. Aiden can phase shift through walls, manipulate objects, and sometimes possess the weak-minded. Players will control Jodie for the majority of the game, but will often switch between Aiden and her to solve small puzzles. The other mechanics of gameplay revolve around quick time events. Some actions require players to press the right series of buttons to complete a segment, while the right stick, and sometimes the sixaxis,  is used in combat sequences. The combat system may seem simple, but it's handled really well and looks extremely stylish.

Beyond Two Souls does a better job than Heavy Rain in managing frivolous gameplay. While there are a few moments where Jodie is able to roam around, trifling through everyday items, it doesn't become a chore to progress the game. Instead, interacting with the environment often proves to unveil more about the world and characters.

Beyond Two Souls will immerse and envelop players into the experience. Sure, there are those that will say gameplay is limited. However, the mechanics of controlling Aiden and the quick time events are meant to supplement the narrative. Beyond Two Souls is an impactful journey brought on by the crisp, fantastic visuals, the deep, compelling narrative, high-quality voice work and acting, and the balanced pace throughout the game.

Stay tuned for Subculture! 

The Last of Us Review

Set around the year 2033, The Last of Us offers a glimpse into the broken and brittle nation after a mysterious infection has raptured America for nearly two decades.

Cities are in disrepair, threaded together only by overgrown vines and erupting greenery. Walled off government-controlled checkpoints, raiders, anarchic rebel forces and no-named communities left on the fringes of a decayed nation are the few and last bastions of humanity. The infected, humans who have been corrupted by the mysterious fungal infection and thus turned into raging husks of their former selves, roam everywhere else. Few places are truly safe.

Road to Ruin

The Last of Us truly begins when Joel and his partner-in-crime, Tess, set out to retrieve their stolen guns. However, the initial mission that ended abruptly presents a better opportunity. Marlene, the leader of the rebel Firelfly group hellbent on returning American government to its past glory, asks Joel and Tess to escort a girl, Ellie, to a nearby base. Left in the dark on details, Joel and Tess soon unravel Ellie's significance in their forlorn world and fight their way through hordes of infected and desperate survivors.

Ellie

A survivor born amidst the infection, Ellie soon becomes the focal point within The Last of Us. Her demeanor is as tough as her wonder for the world before the decay is high. Naughty Dog crafted a character that's very likable, capable and funny, but her persona is brought to life by the voice actors.

Voice actress Ashley Johnson does a stellar performance in crafting Ellie's naivete and wonderment. However, saying that her performance alone propels The Last of Us to a higher degree of quality would be a wrong presumption. Ellie's little quips aimed at her allies, the tirade of "fuck you(s)" shouted at hunters and those moments of angst held in silence form a cohesive relationship with not only other characters, but the dire world painted in The Last of Us. Nonetheless, it is in tandem with Troy Baker's dark and brutal Joel where players see the most natural connection between characters. Their time spent together across America highlights a growing friendship and reverberates the warmth of hope these characters are searching for. The time and detail spent creating these personas beautifully weave players into the broken world.

What will further draw players into The Last of Us is its powerful narrative. Each moment in this post-apocalyptic universe is one of survival. The term "survival" though takes many faces: greed, hunger, companionship, murder,  isolation, or desperation. Morality is only a facade to a survivor. And the decayed nation turns a blind eye to all. The Last of Us basks in these morality-questioning moments and throws Joel and Ellie into the middle of them. Within the story's frame, Naughty Dog uses abrupt, yet confident hard cuts in its narrative. Though these moments leave burning questions, they grip and stylistically writhe the player into the next segment.

Survive at all cost

The tone and power of any video game narrative can be broken through the dissonance between a protagonist's plight and player control. Such a problem does not exist in The Last of Us. The brutality and survivor-mindset is mirrored perfectly in its gameplay.

Stealth works as a slow, tense hum. Players can slowly creep around corners and throw objects to incapacitate enemies silently, use bottles and bricks laying around to distract infected or even sneak past enemies completely. Joel and Ellie are more than often outnumbered and outgunned, so a direct confrontation can prove fatal for the tandem many times over. Precision and timing are the utmost importance in stealth as enemy survivors and infected are deadly in not only ammo and power, but numbers. As Joel says to Ellie, "Our luck is bound to run out sometime." This sentiment perfectly applies to the tide of battle.

One wrong move will change the pace of combat instantly. That hum of stealth will swell into a frantic fight or flight moment because one alerted enemy could equal several infected suddenly running after the player.

This will not end well.

Combat in The Last of Us is quick, dangerous and versatile. Despite an ever growing arsenal throughout the campaign, which includes a shotgun, revolver and a bow, conflicts may evolve past the typical shooter-archetypes.This is due to the crafting mechanic. Picking through essential parts and pieces, Joel can craft items and weapons, such as smoke-bombs or shivs, to suit any situation. However, crafting items occur in real time and does not stop the game nor its enemies. Having Joel sift through his backpack mid-battle to craft or look for items is not only dangerous, but can also prove fatal. This layer of detail further adds to the intensity, immersion and versatility of combat. At anytime, guns, traps, avoidance and even reemerging into stealth are all viable options in the majority of conflicts.

Combat in The Last of Us immerses players further into the broken world because, like Joel, Ellie and everyone else in the game, the means to fight stems from a raw, brutal, yet improvisational urge to survive. This is one game that beautifully weaves and balances stealth and action into a synergistic flow.

Yeah, there IS a multiplayer mode....

Surprisingly, The Last of Us has a mlutiplayer mode; and surprisingly, many mechanics from the single-player campaign actually make it into the online realm, including the real-time crafting mechanic. Called "Factions," multiplayer takes on two variations of team deathmatch: Survival and Supply Raid. Both game types are a standard four versus four deathmatch, but the former is grounded in eliminations while the latter has both teams stocked at twenty lives and the first team to drop down zero lives, loses.

Unlike most shooters, the Factions multiplayer mode, very much like the campaign, is slow and methodical. While players may choose to run and gun throughout the map like a crazed Clicker, Factions allows cohesive teams to sneak and flank their way through seven campaign-inspired maps. The Last of Us' emphasis lies with its campaign, but Factions provides a fun respite from it.

The fifteen hour campaign draws, immerses and keeps the attention of those who brave the broken streets in this gritty tale. Naughty Dog has excelled in creating a world and narrative so gripping and dark that it is only matched by the excellent balance and versatility of raw action and stealth. Technologically, there were very few problems with The Last of Us. There were a few moments where Ellie or other supporting characters would run obliviously in-front of an enemy and  be totally ignored. The shooting mechanic in both single and multiplayer, while solid, can feel a bit clunky and sometimes awkward. But given the scope and magnitude of The Last of Us, these issues are easily forgivable.

Naughty Dog crafted this game as close to perfection as possible. The Last of Us hits the PS3 on the verge of a new generation of consoles. However despite its latency, Naughty Dog proves there is still purpose in the current generation through the game's brutal combat, fantastic visuals, the hard-hitting, grim narrative and its spectrum of characters.

The Last of Us gets a 5/5.

Pick up your copy immediately and Stay tuned for Subculture!