The last of us by Naughty dog

[Philligan]

You are talking about The Last of Us here, right? Major shame, and you just cemented my "bargain bin" idea.

That is a PRETTY BIG beef in my book... It sucks a lot when this kind of stuff happens. Thanks for the honest, grounded, feedback (not that I'm saying other people were lying or overhyping, excuse my wording. I can't seem to phrase this one better but I mean no insult to anyone. Philligan just pointed out stuff that I'm SURE I would notice and would annoy me a great deal).

It's definitely still worth playing, and I think it was done a little better than Uncharted (not as many massive waves of bad guys for one thing), but in hindsight, I wish I could have picked this game up used, or rented it. I beat it, and next time I get some free time I'm gonna go trade it in for credit, or sell it. It was a letdown purely because of how hyped it was/is, but I think the fact that I still enjoyed it overall says a lot.

Amazing game, absolutely loved it, save for the definite lack of choice. I'm not saying I would've done things differently at the end were I given a prompt to decide the actions the game dictated I make, but it would've been really good to be given the opportunity to decide Joel's actions at the end.

I think just playing Far Cry 3 before this gave me unrealistic expectations for the amount of choice there would be in the game. FC3 didn't have a huge amount of choice in the story (definitely some, but not much that overly affected the plot), but the gameplay choices were unreal - where/when you go, how you tackle objectives, how others see you based on your choices, etc. I think a big problem was that I went from an extreme sandbox right to a tightly scripted movie, basically.

It's cool what you said about not doing things differently if you had the choice. Got me thinking.

I'm gonna use spoiler tags to be safe

Spoiler

Probably the biggest letdown was the end, because I had this horrible feeling that I was gonna have to choose between saving Ellie or giving her up. I really wasn't looking forward to making that decision but I think that says something for how the game did a good job of making me feel the characters. The downside to that was it made it that much more obvious when I had no say in the matter at all, and had to do what the script said to finish the game. The ambiguous ending was cool - frustrating, but the more I thought about it, I realized that was a good thing haha.

 

[Mordacain]

Uncharted 1 was incredibly buggy, but I can forgive a lot of it's problems because the story was engaging.

Uncharted 2 & 3 were pretty stellar though and are the most polished games on PS3 that I'd played before Last of Us.

I can understand people lamenting a lack of choice in Last of Us, but it isn't a game in the traditional sense. It's not about choice, it's about narrative. Adding choice would have killed the narrative.

I'm not sure if I can really agree on the controls or AI. I noticed a few moments where the AI bugged a bit but I've never played any game where the AI acted like it was supposed 100% of the time (and the closest is probably the original Halo in my experience). Controls in U2, U3 and Last of Us are spot on for what they are supposed to be. Most of the people I've talked to that had problems with the Last of Us controls didn't realize that popping pills into weapon sway fixes aiming

 

[glpg80]

There really isn't a game that I can recall playing being like this experience. It really proves how good and geared towards adults a game can be when a team strives to push the medium. It makes you feel uneasy, it makes you ask moral questions. I find the best games really center around characters and their relationships and imperfections.

You have to get the player engaged and emotionally invested. Personally this is a small gem of a triumph in my book for the industry. I hope more teams are inspired to "raise the bar" and push the medium and craft smarter games. I'm tired of people feeling they just want to make brainless games or try to make a quick $ by chasing fads.

I clocked in at just over 20hrs and I want more. It doesn't have to be the same characters , it could be a new storyline with new characters. I just the grittiness and the mix between stealth and action, beauty and ugly.

I actually felt a bit of sadness after finishing the game after such an intense journey.

+1 to what you mention. It gives me hope for some of the market in reference to gameplay quality. It was like reading a book or being taken on a journey.

Spoiler

I do wish there would have been the option to make a choice at the end, and i did hate the repetitiveness that the fight scenes had. Cliche places to hide using the same stealth tricks.

I did enjoy looking for the pallets in some places though. Overall I was also sad but a bit relieved.

It was overall very adult themed and definitely has you wanting more at the end.

 

[Mordacain]

The only similarities between this and Uncharted is that it is a 3rd person game that has a couple similar controls.

Other than that, the tone, feel and atmosphere of the two games are completely different. There is no jokesy, upbeat feel in The Last of Us. This game is bleak as ...., but so good. It would be a real shame to not play it because of one's problem's with Uncharted.

Absolutely. Uncharted and Last of Us have nothing in common other than the game engine and staff.

Uncharted is a big time summer blockbuster kind of movie. It's essentially Indiana Jones in game format. It's about set pieces, spectacle and some minor puzzle solving.

Last of Us is like nothing I've ever seen. I didn't recognize any zombie tropes at all personally. This isn't a zombie title though; it's post-apocalyptic, dystopian fiction. It's not even really a game in the strict sense because I really don't think I'd even call it fun. It's just an amazing story. I'm glad there wasn't choice and that Neil Druckmann took a hard line and told the story he wanted to tell; it's dark, depressing and emotionally gripping and personally it resonates with me.

 

[flexkill]

and after my first play through of Fallout 3 I was bored and absolutely had no interest in playing again.

Blasphemy!!!!

 

[Philligan]

+1 to what you mention. It gives me hope for some of the market in reference to gameplay quality. It was like reading a book or being taken on a journey.

It was overall very adult themed and definitely has you wanting more at the end.

This is very true It's cool seeing games that are finally mature and geared towards adults. Games like Uncharted really aren't bad, they're more fun, but "Mature" games like Gears of War really aren't meant for a mature audience. This game and Heavy Rain are setting the bar high for the future

 

[flint757]

Blasphemy!!!!

Hey, to be fair huge games drive me insane as I can't leave any stone unturned and I hate it when games have ridiculously long mandatory intro/tutorials. ACIII and FO3 lose a lot of replay value for me because of the intro portion.

 

[Philligan]

Hey, to be fair huge games drive me insane as I can't leave any stone unturned

I had this really bad for the longest time I tried to play GTA IV and I couldn't turn down any side mission, and just got lost and forgot what I was doing. Bioshock kinda helped me with that, and Far Cry 3 sealed the deal - I figured out how to enjoy the ride, and not just think about beating the game.

 

[Cloudy]

I bought a PS3 basically for this game alone...First play through on Normal was fantastic, emotional roller coast and all that jazz.

I then began playing it through on Survivor and started to see the large number of flaws in the game, mainly little things that really only bug hardcore nerds like me...enemies having unlimited ammo, enemies dropping ammo for guns they aren't using, clickers being broken as ...., companion AI was totally retarded and NOT revolutionary at all like I expected, and forcing you to abuse game mechanics to pass certain sections because of heightened difficulty (Specifically the ending of the sewers) and so on so fourth.

My main issue with companions was unlike all the prelease gameplay trailers implied them to be they were infact not useful at all, they hardly ever actually hit enemies (especially infected) and the "ellie throwing objects at people to save you" happened maybe once in a blue moon. They were also invisible to enemies, time after time I would see my companions standing up for jogging around armed enemies/infected and them being none the wiser, ruined the experience of fear for me entirely.

Also convenient waist high walls everywhere, incoming fights were super obvious and I almost felt like it was a joke at times, I wish they had more of a realistic environment in some of the fight scenes.

This game is fantastic on lower difficulties, falls off really hard if you're a gamer (like me) who tends to enjoy hard style playing, would recommend to basically everyone whos looking to coast the game for the emotional movie-esc experience.

Ending was amazing.

ps: game is brutal as hell, the amount of messed up stuff you can do in the game is insane. Beating peoples brains in with bricks and pipes, executing people point blank with your gun as they beg for mercy or just shooting them in the head while you use them as a meat shield.

 

[metalstrike]

Just beat this Sunday night. Wow, what an incredible game! So many shocking, gut wrenching, tense, and downright awesome moments throughout.

I love the ending. *Ending Spoilers below*

Spoiler

I love how this game ended. My pulse was elevated for the final half hour from the moment you shoot the Firefly that was escorting you out of the hospital. Joel has lost so much, damn it he wasn't going to lose the last thing keeping him going in this crazy world, fate of humanity be damned. No typical heroic sacrifice here. No sir. It just felt very real. (almost like something I'd do in that position which is kind of scary to think about). The "I swear" line was perfect, very Walter White like.

 

[glpg80]

^my comments on that part:

Spoiler

Yeah i remember that part where he shoots the firefly in the nuts/gut because he "doesn't have time for his shit". I felt that awesome feeling of revenge. Served the character right with the mouthed off comment about giving him a reason. Its the little details in the videos and commentary like this that make it a great game.

I do agree that the AI was very clunky at times. But i will be honest i have seen much much worse. N64 days with AI glitches make today's games seem perfect

 

[jwade]

I think my only real complaint would be that

Spoiler

the end portrayed Joel lying to Ellie in a selfish, out of character way. Obviously at this point, she's done and seen enough that she could've handled hearing the truth, in my opinion.

I find myself frequently thinking about the overall story and situations presented, and wondering how I would respond/behave (and how quickly I would be wiped out ).

 

[beneharris]

I think my only real complaint would be that

Spoiler

the end portrayed Joel lying to Ellie in a selfish, out of character way. Obviously at this point, she's done and seen enough that she could've handled hearing the truth, in my opinion.

I find myself frequently thinking about the overall story and situations presented, and wondering how I would respond/behave (and how quickly I would be wiped out ).

Spoiler

see, i don't know if i agree with that. I think that when he was facing off with marlene after getting out of the elevator was when that change happened. She pointed out that it was what Ellie would have wanted. She would have sacrificed herself for humanity, and Joel was taking that away from her. Throughout the whole game ellie made that apparent.

Also, I love how Joel pretty much decimated the Fireflys. The last set of people who - from what the story implies - could have used ellie to fix it. Now there is no chance.

 

[Scar Symmetry]

This game is incredible. The story, voice acting, graphics and gunplay are all top notch. The best from each category I've seen in a game! Can't wait for the Naughty Dog next gen release.

 

[mikernaut]

Ok after all these years on this forum why can't I figure out how to be able to read the spoilers? LOL anyone ?, thanks in advanced.

Not sure if anyone mentioned this but I loved how there was no load screens or saving msgs. it really keeps you engaged.

I gotta say I felt the controls and AI are pretty solid. The aiming was greatly improved since the Uncharteds's. All in all , yes there's some room for improvement but when most company's are too focused on how to milk micro-transactions or go the way of casual games, I will be glad to throw money at Naughty Dog. They are striving to push gaming. wink wink Valve .... I haven't heard from you in quite some time.

 

[flexkill]

Ok after all these years on this forum why can't I figure out how to be able to read the spoilers? LOL anyone ?, thanks in advanced.

Put your cursor over the green and highlight. Like when you copy and paste.....it just turns the words the same color as the background to hide it....so when you highlight you can see it.

 

[jonajon91]

I think another reason for it being very linear is that I heard it was the first game of a series. If you had multiple endings, then following on in a new game would be really hard.
Using grey text for lack of knowledge on writing spoilers The decision at the end to steal Ellie is one that I would have done differently. I would have sucked it up for the greater good, but we are forced to kill and take her. I guess it is more of a movie that you control than your standard game though. Interested to see what comes from the series in the future.

 

[Mexi]

Just finished the game last night and took some moments to reflect on it. I think we're entering an age where video games can truly rival television/movies in telling stories that are gripping, emotional and honest.

There have been a few games that I've played that have gotten me choked up at some point (HL2:E2, Heavy Rain) but the performances in The Last of Us feel so genuine that it really sets the bar to a whole new level. In fact, it's what I liked so much about this game over the Uncharted series. Sure, those games are well crafted, cinematic and fun; however, they lacked that kind of realism that you only really get when the player is emotionally invested in the game. Some scenes are downright heartbreaking and you'd have to made of stone to not feel something from it.

This game wasn't "fun" in the typical way that I'd enjoy a shooter, sports game, fighter etc. It was a far more emotionally-involved, sometimes cathartic experience (maybe I'm just emo as ....) that drew me in like no game has in the past (and I've been playing videogames since I was 5 years old) Dealing with issues of such profound human loss, survival and life, often in brilliantly poignant scenes, is a rarity in video games today. I sincerely hope that Naughty Dog decides to revisit the world in some way for next gen gaming.

 

[morethan6]

Just finished the game last night and took some moments to reflect on it. I think we're entering an age where video games can truly rival television/movies in telling stories that are gripping, emotional and honest.

There have been a few games that I've played that have gotten me choked up at some point (HL2:E2, Heavy Rain) but the performances in The Last of Us feel so genuine that it really sets the bar to a whole new level. In fact, it's what I liked so much about this game over the Uncharted series. Sure, those games are well crafted, cinematic and fun; however, they lacked that kind of realism that you only really get when the player is emotionally invested in the game. Some scenes are downright heartbreaking and you'd have to made of stone to not feel something from it.

This game wasn't "fun" in the typical way that I'd enjoy a shooter, sports game, fighter etc. It was a far more emotionally-involved, sometimes cathartic experience (maybe I'm just emo as ....) that drew me in like no game has in the past (and I've been playing videogames since I was 5 years old) Dealing with issues of such profound human loss, survival and life, often in brilliantly poignant scenes, is a rarity in video games today. I sincerely hope that Naughty Dog decides to revisit the world in some way for next gen gaming.

I'm just about to finish this and for me it is the best game ever made. I don't care what anyone says.

The things that are important in a good contemporary video game are immersion in the world and narrative - otherwise known as 'a reason to give a shit'. If I don't care about the characters and their goals, why would I bust my ass fighting through it?

People who only play games for competitive reasons to me are missing out on the best things this media has to offer - it is escapism where you are in control. This game captures the kind of suspense and emotional engagement you feel from watching something like season 1 of the Walking Dead, but puts you in the driving seat and envelops you in its world.

Amazing game. Nothing this generation has remotely compared.

 

[Osorio]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7638-The-Last-of-Us

Like most of yahtzee's work, not to be taken seriously. But thought I would share for the people that care to have a laugh at it.

Using grey text for lack of knowledge on writing spoilers

You do spoiler marks the same way you would bold text or quote. Key is SPOILER, singular:

Spoiler

Test.

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If you quote my (or any other) post, the tags show up.