Though winter has arrived and the evenings are that bit shorter, we want to bring a little light in to your lives with the latest edition of the SMC Express. So sit back, have a warm cuppa and enjoy the content that follows.
Contents List
Sports
- The Problem with VAR by Shane Fahy
- Mercedes Troubles by Thiseas Zabetakis
- World Cup Fantasy by Calum Brewer and Jack Hannon
- World Cup Predictions by Adam O'Donnell
Current Affairs
- Putin: Profile of a Tyrant by Aaron Lynch
Media
- Lego Star Wars by Conor McCarthy
- Clash of Clans by Senan Quinn
- The Northman Ríon O'Neill
- Dr Strange Multiverse of Madness by Cian Kelly
- The Last of Us 2: A Conversation by Ríon O'Neill and Robert Wallace
The Problem with VAR in the Champions and Premier League by Shane Fahy
Var was introduced into Football on March 3rd, 2018, by the IFAB also known as the International Football Association Board. It was then added to the Premier League in 2019 and during its first ever season, which is considered as the most competitive league in the world, it faced heavy criticism from fans and managers alike, many fans accused bigger clubs of paying the VAR officials due to how bad some of the decisions that were made. Two of the main culprits in these accusations were Liverpool and Man City during the first season VAR was introduced as they were given very controversial calls to win them games overall winning in the eyes of some of the other managers and fans.
What VAR did right
Although VAR was a very controversial addition, some of the decisions made were game saving and were correct. VAR proved it was an important addition as it saw things referees could not see, for example very tight offside calls or whether a tackle is a yellow or red card. Although this was a particularly good addition fans still complained about the efficiency of VAR as they felt some offsides that were given for centimeters offside should be counted rather than disallowed.
Games VAR was used correctly
Spurs v Man City 2018/19 UCL season. In the second leg of a close Quarter final between two English sides Spurs v Man City VAR made important decisions during the game that resulted in the game favoring Spurs. The most important decision of the game was the offside call given to Sterling in the 92’ minute denying Man City the game winner and having Spurs win on goal difference. VAR also made another important call, giving a goal to Marcos Llorente as a goal rather than disallowing it for a handball.
What VAR did wrong
VAR although did a lot of things right did many things wrong for example when measuring offside, they measured down to the last inch meaning if a player's finger was offside, it would be ruled offside, this made fans very angry with VAR as the offside rule was never meant to be taken that close. Another VAR decision I disagree with is when VAR do not check a foul that is not in the penalty box. This results in tackles that can be dangerous go without punishment if the referee does not see them for e.g., studs above the ankle. This can lead to players being seriously injured and the player receiving no punishment.
Games that VAR was used wrong
Arsenal v Liverpool 2022. Very recently in a very crucial league game for both teams, VAR made some bad decisions during the game leading to Liverpool losing 3-2. Firstly, English youngster Saka for Arsenal was deemed offside but VAR claimed they had no cameras to review the offside so they allowed the goal to stand. Secondly, Gabriel, defender for Arsenal, had a clear handball that was not even viewed by VAR giving many Liverpool fans the convincement that VAR and the referees were against them on the day. Both decisions if were reviewed properly would have resulted in a very important Liverpool win and Arsenal no longer being top of the table.
What I would change about VAR
VAR would review fouls outside the box and if the foul is a red or yellow the referee would be called over to the screen. VAR officials should be consistent different referees officiate differently every game leading to very confusing decisions, referees give a foul one game but in a different game would not give a foul for the same tackle, this is either a result of corruption or extreme inconsistency between the referees.
Mercedes Troubles by Thiseas Zabetakis
Is the dominant reign of Lewis Hamilton over?:
Mercedes AMG have been the dominant force over the last 8 years. Every year they have had a massive advantage over their competition and have gone onto win 7 World Driver Championships and 7 World Constructor Championships.
Going into the 2021 season Mercedes were looking to complete their dominance of the hybrid era with little to no development and focus on the 2022 season. The new regulations in 2022 are the biggest aerodynamic change ever seen in Formula 1.
To their surprise Red Bull who had fully focused on the 2021 season gave them a real fight for both championships and in a controversial ending to the season in Abu Dhabi on a night that will haunt Lewis Hamilton for years to come Max Verstappen and Red Bull snatched the World Drivers Championship and prevented Hamilton from becoming an 8-time World Champion.
Pre-season testing:
Many people were expecting big things from Mercedes in the bid to regain top spot and return to the dominate days of the hybrid era. In their car unveil Mercedes showed off a rather-basic car design. People were suspicious that Mercedes were hiding something and believed they would bring a different car design to the first pre-season in Barcelona. To their surprise Mercedes spent all 3 days of testing with the ‘rather-basic’ design. Mercedes over the years have been accused of ‘sand-bagging', deliberately going slower than possible to bluff their opponents. Mercedes came out saying they were not sand-bagging and were genuinely struggling although no-one believed them.
Going into Bahrain pre-season testing however Mercedes did bring a completely different design almost completely removing side pods. Many other teams held talks with the FIA over this design thinking it was illegal however the FIA stated everything Mercedes had done was completely legal within the regulations. Again though, Mercedes were struggling for pace and a serious problem emerged. Due to ground-effect being allowed again in this year's regulations, all teams would run their car as low as possible to increase downforce and extract maximum performance. Many teams would suffer from ‘porpoising’.This is when the car gets so close to the ground that there is not enough air flow beneath the car leading to less downforce being generated. This results in the car rising up and then due to more air flow under the car it lowers again resulting in a bouncing effect. This hurts the straight-line speed of the car and overall grip round the corners meaning a lot of lap time is going astray. Many drivers were complaining about porpoising and how painful it was for them to drive the cars at 200mph while bouncing up and down.
First race of the season:
Mercedes struggles from testing were evident in free practice and heading into qualifying things were looking bleak for the Silver Arrows. Ferrari and Red Bull had nailed the new regulations and were light years ahead of the rest with Mercedes fighting for 3rd. Hamilton ended up qualifying 5th, 6 and a half tenths off pole while Russell would be starting 9th after a mistake on his final Qualifying 3 run.
In the race itself Ferrari and Red Bull were in a league of their own. They were averaging 1 second a lap quicker than Mercedes but due to a late Safety Car the gap was flattering towards the Constructors Champions. Red Bull had a disaster in the last 3 laps as both cars suffered power unit failures leading to 2 DNF’s. Mercedes maximised points from a poor first race by picking up the pieces and finishing in 3rd and 4th.
Fixing the issues:
Lewis Hamilton and his side of the garage were determined to find a way to fix the problems and improve the drivability of the W13, Mercedes’ new car. Constantly trying different setups at every Grand Prix left Lewis a bit behind his team-mate in the standings. Hamilton finishing 10th in Saudi Arabia and 14th in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix were definitely a low point for the 7-time World Champion.
Promising signs:
In Spain however things seemed to turn for Mercedes as they had very minimal porpoising and solid pace. The mercs qualified in P4 and P6 and were looking for a podium as the W13 has shown that it works better when filled up with fuel and had shown promising race pace in the long runs in FP2. Things went off plan however by Lap 1 as contact between Magnussen and Hamilton led to a puncture which put him 30 seconds behind 2nd last. Hamilton went on to have a brilliant comeback drive and climbed his way to P4 before engine overheating made him have to slow down and ultimately finish in P5. This was a staggering achievement given the pace of the W13 so far. Mercedes looked like they had fixed and understood the W13 and were looking to start driving forward towards Ferrari and RedBull.
Things did not go to plan however as the dreaded problem that had ruined their season up till this point had returned in the following race, porpoising.
The Brackley based team continued to struggle in many races, unable to extract the potential from their car. They had underwhelming pace in the following races at Monaco and Azerbaijan.
However, in Hamilton’s and Russell’s home Grand Prix at Silverstone due to the flat layout of the track and new resurfacing of the tarmac the team had competitive pace and were looking to have a real chance at grabbing their first win of the season. In a wet qualifying Hamilton managed to qualify 5th and was looking to move forward in the race. Hamilton was setting fastest laps after fastest laps and after a problem to Verstappen's floor he found himself in 3rd place and hunting down the 2 Ferrari’s. Leclerc had slight damage to his front wing and Sainz was having to save fuel in order to finish the race. Hamilton was catching rapidly before a failure for Ocon’s Alpine brought out the Safety Car. Ferrari made the strange decision of leaving Leclerc out on old hard compound tyres compared to everyone else who pitted for fresh rubber.
On the restart the Mercedes which has always struggled with tyre warm-up was overtaken by Perez and fell to 4th. As Leclerc struggled for grip Perez went for an overtake round the outside of the 2nd last corner pushing both of them off the track and opening a path for Hamilton to sweep through into 2nd place. The 7-time world champion wasn’t able to hold onto 2nd and came home in 3rd place. Overall, a good weekend for the Silver Arrows but one of ‘what could’ve been’.
Mercedes were looking to continue this form into the 2nd half of the season and get their first win of a troubling season. Mercedes struggles continued for the rest of the season and now they are giving their full focus on development for 2024.
With 2 races left in the season Hamilton and the Silver Arrows still on 0 wins will give their all to get that victory at either Sao Paulo or Abu Dhabi.
Going into the Brazilian Grand Prix it felt like a home Grand Prix for Mercedes and Hamilton as earlier that week Lewis Hamilton was awarded honorary citizenship of Brazil and was given a warm welcome by all the Brazilian fans. Mercedes had good pace and despite a poor qualifying they were showing good pace going into the sprint and race. An encouraging sprint by George Russell managing to take first place showed that the Brackley based team were not messing about this weekend. Hamilton made it up to P3 in the sprint and after a 5-place grid penalty for Sainz made it a front row lock-out for the Silver Arrows. Going into the race Mercedes were the team to beat. After a Safety Car on the first lap contact between Verstappen and Hamilton on the restart left Lewis down in 8th with possible damage to his floor. The Mercedes pace was unbeatable however as Russell was able to fend off Sainz and Perez as Lewis climbed his way back up into P2. Mercedes finished the race with a 1-2 and a first ever win for George Russell. A special weekend for the German team.
In the final race weekend of the season in Abu Dhabi, Mercedes had disappointing pace as only qualified P5 and P6 and were unable to compete with Ferrari and Red Bull. On the 3rd last lap of the race Hamilton was forced to retire the car with a hydraulics leak. A race and a weekend that summed up the 2022 season.
World Cup 2022 predictions by Adam O'Donnell
The 3 countries that have the best chance of winning
Brazil: Brazil are the favorites to win the World Cup, they have plenty of players on top form currently such as Neymar, Vinicius Jr, Antony, Lucas Paqueta and more. They did very good in the World Cup qualifying and made the tournament with minimal effort. They have a mix of experienced players in the team such as Neymar, Marquinhos and Thiago Silva and youth in players such as the Real Madrid duo of Vini Jr and Rodrygo.
Argentina: Off the back of a Copa America victory in the summer of 2021 and the Finalissima in 2022 with a comfortable 3-0 win over Italy who are the current European champions with star players such as Lionel Messi, Aston Villa shot stopper Emi Martinez, Roma forward Paulo Dybala and Tottenham center back Cristian Romero.
Germany: The Germans off the back of a very disappointing World Cup 2018 campaign, they are looking to hopefully go all the way in Qatar this winter. Hansi Flick’s team has a lot of talent and is filled with veterans of the game such as Manuel Neuer Man City midfielder İlkay Gündoğan and Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich there is a good mix of youth amongst the side with players such as Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Nico Schlotterbeck.
Dark Horses
Senegal: Off the back of winning AFCON in February of this year the Senegalese could not have any more of a confidence boost going in to this tournament. They have been drawn in group A consisting of the Netherlands the hosts Qatar and Ecuador. With Koulibaly and Mendy the Senegalese Chelsea duo in defence and Everton midfeilder Idrissa Gueye. But unfortunately for Senegal, Sadio Mane picked up an injury pre World Cup ruling him out of the squad and entirety of the World Cup.
Serbia: Serbia looked very impressive in qualifying finishing above Portugal and the Republic of Ireland led by captain Dusan Tadic and with star players like Fulham striker Alexander Mitrovic, Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic and his club teammate Filip Kostic. This team has more than enough quality to get to the quarters and maybe even a semi final.
Netherlands: The Netherlands looked very impressive in qualifying, they have a strong all-round team consisting of players such as Virgil Van Dijk, Stefan de Vrij, Matthijs de Ligt and good midfielders in Frenkie de Jong and Steven Berghuis. Netherlands also have very good attacking options in Coady Gakpo and Steven Berwijn.
Top scorer
Neymar: The best player in the Brazil squad and one of the best in the world this season. Neymar comes into the tournament on very good form with PSG and if Brazil do win any penalties at the tournament, he will take them as he did in qualifying and if Brazil do end up going far in the tournament as expected he should end the tournament as top scorer.
Giroud: Coming off the back of a decent season with AC Milan, Giroud will be expected to hold the front line of France with Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, France have been drawn an easy group and are expected to get far in the competition.
Mbappe: The same case as Giroud applies for Mbappe. On the back of a very good season for the young Frenchman and he comes in as one of the favorites to win the golden boot.
Player of the tournament
Neymar: Neymar is by far the favorite to win player of the tournament if the Brazil star ends up leading his team far in the tournament, he makes a good shout for winning the player of the tournament
Mbappe: Frances best player at the World Cup, France have been drawn an easy group and are expected to go far in the tournament but this is all based on if the dreaded champions curse doesnt strike again
Vladimir Putin: His Rise to Power by Aaron Lynch
Part one of a two-part feature on the Russian tyrant
Vladimir Putin was born in saint Petersburg, Russia on October 7, 1952.
His Early Life
Putin studied law at Leningrad State University. Putin served as a foreign intelligence officer for the KGB including six years in Dresden (east Germany). In 1990 he retired from active KGB service with the rank of lieutenant colonel and returned to Russia to become prorector of Leningrad State University.
His Political Career
Putin then became an advisor to Sobchak's the first democratically elected mayor of St. Petersburg. Putin became known for his ability to get things done. By 1994 he had risen to the post of first deputy major. In 1996 Putin moved to Moscow where he joined where he joined the presidential staff as deputy to Pavel Borodin, the kremlin's chief administrator. Over the years Putin grew close to Anatoly Chubais who attended Leningrad university with Putin. In July 1998 President Boris Yeltsin made Putin director of the Federal Security Service. Putin slowly began to gain the respect of the public and quickly rose in the governmental positions. Putin became prime minister in 1999.
Although he was not very well known, Putin's approval amongst the public ratings rapidly increased when he launched a well-organized military operation against successors in Chechnya. Effected by Yeltsin's erratic behavior, The Russian public, appreciated his coolness and decisiveness under pressure. Putin’s support for a new electoral bloc, Unity, ensured its success in the December parliamentary elections. On December 31, 1999, Yeltsin unexpectedly announced his resignation and named Putin acting president. Putin won the 2020 march elections with about 53% of the vote. As president, he sought to end corruption and create a strongly regulated market economy. Putin quickly reasserted control over Russia’s 89 regions and republics, dividing them into seven new federal districts, each headed by a representative appointed by the president.
Putin as Prime Minister
Soon after Medvedev won the March 2008 presidential election by a landslide, Putin announced that he accepted the position of chairman of the united Russia party. To no surprise, Medvedev nominated Putin as the country’s Prime minister within hours of taking office on May 7th, 2008. Russia’s parliament confirmed the appointment the following day. While some speculated that Medvedev might run for a second term, he announced in September 2011 that he and Putin would trade positions. On March 4th, 2012 Putin was elected to a third term as Russia’s president. In advance of his inauguration, Putin resigned as United Russia chairman, handing control of the party to Medvedev. He was inaugurated as president on May 7, 2012, and one of his first acts upon assuming office was to nominate Medvedev to serve as prime minister.
Fantasy Football Tips by Calum Brewer and Jack Hannon
World Cup Fantasy
With the World Cup having kicked off on November 20th the official fantasy football game is now live.
Picking Your Team
When picking your team there are a few things to keep in mind. You are given £100m to spend on your 15-man squad. Like the Premier League game, you have a max of 3 players per team, but this will start increasing once teams start to get knocked out. When picking your players, you need to be careful of certain players that are not going to the world cup. For example, Fikayo Tomori costs £4.5m but is not going to the world cup.
Transfers
You are given unlimited transfers at the start of the game to build your team. Before matchday 2, you are given 2 free transfers. Before matchday 3, you are given another 2 free transfers. Before the round of 16, you are given unlimited transfers to rebuild your team after half the teams are knocked out in the group stage. Before the quarter final, you are given 4 free transfers. Before the semi final, you are given 5 free transfers. Before the final, you are given 6 free transfers.
Boosters
You are given 3 boosters that can be used once each throughout the tournament. The first booster is the wildcard. This will allow you to make unlimited number of transfers within a specific round. It cannot be used for the first match of the group stage or the last 16 because you already have unlimited number of transfers. The second booster is the 12th man. The 12th man allows you to select 1 additional player to score points for your team in a matchday. When selected, the 12th man cannot be substituted, captained, or transferred. You can select any player to be your 12th man, budget or team restrictions do not matter here. The third booster is the power captain. The power captain will allow you to get double points from whichever player scores the most points from your 15-man squad. This player will automatically be assigned the captaincy. A booster can only be once and multiple boosters cannot be used at the same time.
Captaincy
Unlike the premier league fantasy football, you can change your captain during a gameweek due to the games taking a week to finish. Although you must change your captain to another player before that player plays. Your previous captain will also get his double points taken away and will only have his normal points earned for that game.
Subs
There are automatic subs and manual subs. Automatic subs are when a player in your team does not play and your first sub is automatically subbed in. Manual subs are when a player in your team plays, but does not get a lot of points. You can then sub them off manually for a player that has not played yet. Once you have made a sub, you cannot undo it.
Symbols
This symbol indicates a transfer being made using one of your free transfers.
This symbol indicates your chosen captain who will receive double points unless they are changed.
This symbol indicates bench priority. There is 1, 2 and 3. The number 1 is the first player that would get subbed in, the second would get subbed in second and third would get subbed in third.
This symbol indicates a player being subbed on this can be done before or during a gameweek for a player who has or has not played.
This symbol indicates the final draft of your squad and you will have a limited number of transfers instead of unlimited.
This symbol indicates a reset of your whole team if pressed you will be asked to confirm the resetting of your team.
This symbol indicates the use of your boosters when pressed you will be given an option of the 3 boosters stated above.
This symbol indicates an injury to one of your players and the seriousness of the injury is defined by the colour of the symbol. The more red it is the worse the injury is.
This symbol indicates a player who has been knocked out of the tournament and will no longer receive points so must be transferred out.
Lego Star Wars Review by Conor McCarthy
In-depth review of Lego Star Wars
The long-awaited Star Wars the Skywalker saga is here. After copious amounts of delays dating back to when the game was first meant to be released in 2019, the game, after long last, got its release on April 5th of 2022. Having played it for hours on end, I can safely say that it has lived up to the promise and it was worth waiting for.
The game includes the main nine films of the beloved saga, and you can play them in any order you wish. It has upwards of 300 playable characters and around 24 planets with areas that are different from planet to planet. You can go to the planet of Coruscant, sand dunes of Tatooine or even the underwater city of Naboo, the range of locations and places to explore is truly endless. Each playable character has their own custom animations and voice lines which shows the developers put a lot of needed time and effort into the game. Each level is different from the last, ranging from intense lightsaber fights with Anakin and Obi-Wan to escaping the death star like in the movies. The range of missions and enjoyability is impressive and I feel I could play the game for months to come.
However, there are some issues with the game. I’ve personally experienced some glitches, drops in performance and the missions can be a little too short, bringing you to the next movie faster than it should. Other than these issues, the game is amazing, it is the perfect compilation of all the movies and is exactly what all Star Wars fans have been waiting for, making me rate it a 8/10.
Clash Of Clans Review by Senan Quinn
Supercell’s Clash of Clans is the 6th most downloaded mobile game of all time behind games such as Pokémon Go and Subway Surfers. It was released on the app store on the 2nd of August 2012, with its ten-year anniversary coming up later in the year. It has always been a highly respected game since its release and has a 4.6/5 rating on Google Play store. In this article I'll be giving an insight into the game mechanics, and touch on my experience with the game.
Clash of Clans is one of the first mobile games I installed on my phone, and I have been playing it on and off for a couple of years now. It’s a game that can take a lot of patience and commitment, so I ended up forgetting about it for short and long periods of time. I've recently become more consistent in playing and have upgraded my base from a level 8 to a level 9. I've enjoyed the slow progression and I’m steadily catching up to my friend. There’s also a separate island base where you can play games repeatedly without waiting for your army to train, so there is always something to do.
In conclusion, Clash of Clans is a great game and even though it's been on the app store for almost ten years, the game stays fresh and exciting with its consistent updates. I enjoy playing it for the majority of the time, but it can get boring and repetitive after a while, especially if you're in the middle of a base upgrade and there aren't much new features to use. I would rate this game 8/10 because of the amount enjoyment I get out of it, and I would recommend it for anyone of any age to install it.
Doctor Strange Review by Cian Kelly
Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness is the newest comic book movie released by Marvel Studios. This movie follows Doctor Stephen Strange as he is called to protect a teenage girl after he figures out, she has the power to cross the multiverse as demons and our main villain hunt down this girl.
Directed by Sam Raimi and written by Michael Waldron, this is the first horror style movie in the MCU, and it was really refreshing to see them stray away from the so called “Marvel Formula” and bring forward something new. It was also great to see how they did not focus entirely on action and prioritized their character’s development and really fleshed them out and we really got to see why they were acting the way they were.
The best part of this movie was by far Wanda Maximoff's development and her continuing arc from Wandavision. At the end of wandavision we see her come to terms with Visions death, but she promises she will not stop until she gets to be with her children, we see her following through on her promise in this movie as she tries to cross the Multiverse to be with her children, as the movie progresses, we see Wanda realize that the measures she is going to are far out of line and then at the end we see her sacrifice herself to destroy the dark hold and put an end to the corruption she has experienced.
But then we see at the end of the movie that Strange has learned to let other people do what they can rather than him doing it alone, this is most apparent when he is deciding what to do with America Chavez’s power and he lets her keep her power and trusts her to do what is necessary.
Even though I liked that this was a more character driven story I did enjoy the action sequences and the cinematography. You can defiantly recognize Sam Raimi's stylistic choices in the way this story was told, the way he brought in horror aspects such as jump scares and disturbing visuals. They used a lot of practical effects rather than relying totally on CGI for their effects and it shows, this has some of the best CGI of all the marvel movies, but it does not come as a surprise due to the incredible CGI in the first Doctor Strange movie.
The ending of this movie and the post credit scene set up the third movie and the future of Doctor Strange's character perfectly. I am excited to see how they continue his story. This was a very enjoyable movie; I would rate it a solid 8/10.
Northman Review by Ríon O'Neill
The Northman is Robert Eggers third directorial debut, with his last movies being critically acclaimed films like The Lighthouse and The Witch, the director has a lot of expectations set on him by critics and cinephiles alike. While this film is the weakest of all his work, Robert Eggers still delivers on a thrilling movie experience which surpasses the majority.
One of the areas this film is strongest is the cinematography with great shots throughout the entire story with the phenomenal directing enhancing it. There is a specific long take during a village being raided which I believe is when the directing peaked. There are many supernatural elements and a dark tone with characters often being animalistic and the film not restraining from displaying gore. Something people should be aware of before viewing the film is that it can differ from the typical mainstream movie, but it never becomes quite as experimental as some indie films, although that is where the director’s past is rooted. This differing from the norm isn’t a criticism but the film may not be for everyone.
Regarding where I believe the story is lacking, almost every aspect of the film is quite well executed but it can struggle to work as a combined whole with there being many different concepts throughout but none of them can be fully explored due to this vastness. Overall, I would say The Northman is terrific even if I believe it had more potential if it stuck to a narrower set of ideas, allowing to explore them more thoroughly, making me give it a rating of 8.5/10.
The Last Of Us 2: A Conversation by Ríon O'Neill and Robert Wallace
The Last of Us Part II is one of Naughty Dog’s most recent games and arguably the most controversial game of the past few years. In this interview, I’ll be asking Mr. O’Connell and Ríon O’Neill about their differing opinions to give insight into different arguments for or against the game. Spoilers for the game are contained in the interview ahead.
Q1: Do you like the game?
Ríon: The game has great aspects and is very impressive from a technical standpoint. However, I think the underlying story these elements are there to support is problematic.
Mr. O’Connell: Overall, I found the game to be very enjoyable. I love survival horror and this game delivers an excellent adventure in the genre. The gameplay is solid and the plot is fascinating.
Q2. Do you like The Last Of Us as a sequel?
Ríon: I believe the game misses the mark as a sequel. I view the first game's ending as one which actively discourages a continuation of the story, leaving the player at a point in the narrative which is intentionally unsatisfying so a sequel would need to justify a return to the world of the story. Unfortunately, this game does not because it disregards the point of why the first game ended at the point it did by opting not to let that aspect of the story grow in a way which still keeps first ending's impact
Mr. O’Connell: I think the game has some problems as a sequel like the lack of evolution from the original in the gameplay, particularly. The game is not drastically different from the original in its controls and level design, but I think it works better as a sequel in how it evolves the characters and plot. The decision to kill Joel at the beginning of the story was a brave move made by the writer and was a powerful moment in the story. As a result of this happening, Ellie has her own character arc in her search for revenge which I found to be very interesting. Generally, I think the game is a good sequel.
Q3. How would you feel about this being a standalone rather than a sequel?
Ríon: In my opinion, the game works better as a standalone title, allowing Joel’s eventual death to motivate Ellie while not being as compromising to the empathy players are supposed to feel towards Abby in the later segments of the game.
Mr. O'Connell: I would say the game also works well as a standalone, the graphics were excellent, the atmosphere was tense, and the action was exciting. One complaint I do have though is how linearly the game is structured, hurting the game’s replay value.
Q4: How do you feel about the message of the game?
Ríon: I feel the message of the game isn’t necessarily bad, but its execution made it a lot less nuanced than the original game. While the moral message of The Last of Us Part II is made bluntly clear throughout with a singular and somewhat simple answer to that question in the end, The Last of Us Part I offered far more complex moral dilemmas and made the decision to not give a perfect answer to these questions in the end. So, in comparison to the original, it’s a significant downgrade in quality but if you are evaluating this game’s message by itself then I think the themes work.
Mr. O'Connell: I think the themes of the consequences of a cycle of revenge and how it can destroy people are done well and I would consider the narrative worthy of academic study, something which I have not experienced before in a game. The audience is transported - we experience the feelings of the characters. I think the director want us to live the realities of the protagonists - the message being how devastating pursuing revenge can be for everyone involved.
Q5: Do you think it was a good idea to swap the player to Abby's perspective midway through the game to try rationalize her and her motives?
Ríon: The decision to swap to Abby sounds like a promising concept but I believe the execution was poor. I would change the order of scenes by interweaving Ellie and Abby’s stories, making it so you switch between them consistently throughout, allowing players to more easily connect with Abby, showing the consequences of Ellie’s actions immediately after doing them, improving the pacing by allowing both stories to always flow throughout the narrative and preventing the whiplash of switching to Abby in the middle of the game after progressing so far with Ellie
Mr. O'Connell: I initially felt it was a very jolting move. It seems as if I was playing a new game - and not in a positive sense. I wanted to get back to the main narrative. But as Abby's story arc unfolded I understood why the makers had made this brave move. I began to appreciate the game from a new perspective and actually quite enjoyed this feature of the game, which ended up surprising me given how perturbed I was when the Abby plot thread was first introduced.
Q5: Do you like the writing of the characters?
Ríon: I think the writing for the characters has positive and negative elements, Ellie’s character organically grows right up until she makes the decision to spare Abby in the end, something which I feel wasn’t developed enough for Ellie to have a change in heart at that final moment. I think Abby has her positive elements too, but it is undermined by how her story is told, giving the audience a lot of justification in hating her before we are shown any likeable traits of hers.
Mr. O'Connell: What I liked about the characters in this game is the realism. No character is perfect. They are all very human in how they are sketched. They make bad decisions, they have fears and regrets, they aren't paragons of virtue of heroism. This is what too many games do - they give us characters that are flawed in the wrong way, meaning that they are perfect, and so we can relate to them. But with this game we can really form a bond with the imperfections of the characters presented to us.
Images sourced using Google. Videos sourced using YouTube.