GribbleGrunger
Dreams in Digital
Oh, so it's not broken AI now, it's a bug. If you had a bug that's different but it would be moving away from your original claim.
Aside from the story, is 'The Last Of Us' really that special?
- Thread starter sploatee
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Oh, so it's not broken AI now, it's a bug. If you had a bug that's different but it would be moving away from your original claim.
Well I guess I'm using the wrong word there then. Maybe I should have said plot. I agree the characters are the focus point, hence I really enjoyed game because of that, but how popular is the opinion the plot is mediocre? Like is this a shared sentiment at all?
I think it's more of a waste of time to make assumptions on other posters who are just asking a rather innocuous question. Hark, was that criticism! Must be a drive by troll, right?
Cthulhu_Steev
Member
It's not a zombie apocalypse.
I'd actually prefer you said nothing if you haven't even played it, rather than comment on why you think it isn't special because of 'fan reactions' that you've heard, especially when you appear to be ignoring all the fan reactions that are contrary to what you're saying.
How can I take your opinion in consideration given these premises?
It's too hard --> I switch to easy and avoid combat --> lol stealth is not necessary.. is this what happened?
Come on, seriously. The player is almost forced to go stealth sometimes or things will get bad easily and you'll probably not have enough ammo or medikits or the necessary stocks to create one.
GribbleGrunger
Dreams in Digital
I know you're trying to rile me, but I'm just baffled. I was being open with my question. Yes there are gameplay aspects that don't appeal to me right now, but I wanted to listen to how others found them to see if they made it transcendent. Anyway, have a nice day.
I don't have any preconceived notions! That's why I asked! I wanted to hear what others thought. Thanks for sharing.
I don't like gangster films. Godfather transcended genre. Perhaps that was what I was curious about here.
Three threads filled with negativity towards a masterpiece and you thought: 'I know, I'll start the hundredth thread calling the gameplay out.'
Coincidental? Yeah ... of course ...
superNESjoe
Member
I think one of the reasons The Last Of Us was so special was the cohesive binding of both its narrative and its gameplay, through the campaign and into multiplayer.
The Last Of Us features a narrative that is bleak and takes place in a desperate world. The characters are afraid of the world and (so long as you play above easy) the gameplay does a good job of reflecting that anxiety on to you.
There are lots of people that simply write it off as a third person shooter or action game like Uncharted, but it really isn't. Especially on the higher difficulties, the game has an emphasis on scavenging and crafting that stops you from going into a situation guns blazing and coming out fine. It creates an equal amount of tension between the cut scenes and the gameplay. That's really the best part about it, the gameplay is paced really well and uses mechanics that emphasize the tension and desperation of the narrative. This same treatment goes to multiplayer with players constantly rummaging around and trying to make the best of what they have.
I strongly recommend anyone who thinks the gameplay was "mediocre at best" needs to expose themselves to a wider range of video game quality. Having played my fair share of games like Bubsy 3D and Two Worlds, I find it laughable that anyone would place TLOU anywhere below a high tier of quality.
The Last Of Us features a narrative that is bleak and takes place in a desperate world. The characters are afraid of the world and (so long as you play above easy) the gameplay does a good job of reflecting that anxiety on to you.
There are lots of people that simply write it off as a third person shooter or action game like Uncharted, but it really isn't. Especially on the higher difficulties, the game has an emphasis on scavenging and crafting that stops you from going into a situation guns blazing and coming out fine. It creates an equal amount of tension between the cut scenes and the gameplay. That's really the best part about it, the gameplay is paced really well and uses mechanics that emphasize the tension and desperation of the narrative. This same treatment goes to multiplayer with players constantly rummaging around and trying to make the best of what they have.
I strongly recommend anyone who thinks the gameplay was "mediocre at best" needs to expose themselves to a wider range of video game quality. Having played my fair share of games like Bubsy 3D and Two Worlds, I find it laughable that anyone would place TLOU anywhere below a high tier of quality.
BiGBoSSMk23
A company being excited for their new game is a huge slap in the face to all the fans that liked their old games.
This.
To add to that, the OP not only complains beforehand about the game's already praised mechanics and asks for people to "convince" him/her, but also throws in "the PS4 release schedule is so dry", another subjective, negative generalization.
This thread is just a fire starter.
Pretty much. Same stuff has happened in the Going Gold thread and the 1080p 60fps thread. I don't know, I always enjoyed the gameplay the most out of any aspect besides the Atmopshere when it came to TLoU. I just felt that the third person mechanics mixed with the exploration were perfected, but now I'm coming to find out that people only think this game has a story and no gameplay (or good gameplay) at all?
Fancy Clown
Member
Yeah, I would say it's pretty widely acknowledged that the basic plot uses cliches/tropes as a foundation, but I don't think I would say its mediocre because of that. If you boil down many classic stories to just their plot, they don't sound nearly as good, or original, as they are. Jaws is about people trying to kill a shark, Alien is about people trying to kil/escape an alien, Apocalypse Now is about people trying to kill a man. The outlines of most stories all start to sound kind of the same if you just go on plot alone, so that's why there is so much more to them than that, and why I don't think it's necessarily fair to throw "the last of us has a cliche plot", when just like those movies it has so much more going for it.
hardcastlemccormick
Banned
It's a valid question because every single time one of these threads pop up, I rarely see any good conversation, I just see a lot of exasperated defenders expecting their arguments to be self-evident.
I don't really think your examples of reduction display anything. The problem that one could have with The Last of Us is that the plot is already pretty reductive. It's a short story told over many hours, with character development used to fill in the gaps. It uses a lot of TV show ideas to do that, but the real gist of the plot is basically Children of Men remixed - and you don't have to reduce the plot to prove it, it's pretty obvious in the details. Not to say that's a bad thing, it's just, well, that's what the game wants to be. The plot is a vehicle for the characters.
Everything related to a game's presentation is exceptional and TLoU is overall the best game of its kind. Yes it made me feel a variety of emotions and arguably that's ultimately all that matters. However once I start breaking down the gameplay it just doesn't hold anymore and quickly becomes merely good at best.
- Puzzle sections are a joke, too simple and no variety. (Raft and plank parts)
- Too little enemy variety. The level 3 zombies were barely used and there was only 1 (brilliant) boss encounter.
- Almost no gameplay variety, one time you had to avoid a vehicle and the sniper part. That's it.
- I liked the sub weapon system but I hated the scavenge aspect. It makes complete sense story wise given it's post apocalypse and survival horror, but it felt boring and
distracting to constantly be on the look out
for generically placed materias.
- Melee combat was a QTE
- MGS series shows that the stealth aspect of TLoU is pretty basic. Always the same type of level design layouts and boils down to line of sighting humans, being silent during zombie parts. The only depth was throwing a brick as misdirection.
I will never understand how TLoU can be considered to be on par with or better than stuff like Vanquish and A Link Between Worlds
- Puzzle sections are a joke, too simple and no variety. (Raft and plank parts)
- Too little enemy variety. The level 3 zombies were barely used and there was only 1 (brilliant) boss encounter.
- Almost no gameplay variety, one time you had to avoid a vehicle and the sniper part. That's it.
- I liked the sub weapon system but I hated the scavenge aspect. It makes complete sense story wise given it's post apocalypse and survival horror, but it felt boring and
distracting to constantly be on the look out
for generically placed materias.
- Melee combat was a QTE
- MGS series shows that the stealth aspect of TLoU is pretty basic. Always the same type of level design layouts and boils down to line of sighting humans, being silent during zombie parts. The only depth was throwing a brick as misdirection.
I will never understand how TLoU can be considered to be on par with or better than stuff like Vanquish and A Link Between Worlds
OH PLEASE! It is getting annoying now. Please, re-read my statement.
This is what I mean when I say "BROKEN AI". Please watch at least a minute from this point to see the Molotov guy "throwing" the Molotov. This is what I mean when I say the AI is broken. Doesn't happen all the time, but it is frequent enough for me not to ignore it.
It doesn't really matter if I said that it was a bug or broken AI (but just to be clear, I consider the clicker not being affected by the Molotov cocktail A BUG). In the end you are trying to use semantics to refute something I said, based on you anecdotal evidence, even though I'm providing similar examples of buggy and/or broken AI.
I never said I changed to EASY because the game was TOO HARD.
I changed the game to easy because I wasn't enjoying the gameplay and I felt it was too repetitive, so I switched the difficulties and RAN from combat trying to trigger the next cutscene, which is very easy to do. The combat and stealth mechanics turned me off BEFORE I changed the difficulty setting. Actually they were the reason why I did it.
SaggyMonkey
Member
Actually never finished The Last of Us. Thought it really bogged down and I couldn't stand the boss encounters.
Also thought the world looked amazing, but it was disappointing you couldn't explore much outside of the main story tunnel.
Also thought the world looked amazing, but it was disappointing you couldn't explore much outside of the main story tunnel.
There's only one boss though?
7DollarHagane
Banned
Yes! I loved the horror/stealth/survival gameplay.
The gameplay had a very halo type feel to me with combat puzzles that required planning, quick thinking and adaptation, and enemies doing different tactics to adapt to you.
I played on hard, though and had several frantic situations that I barely scraped through. On normal or easy people were probably more bored and just played it like a cover shooter.
The gameplay had a very halo type feel to me with combat puzzles that required planning, quick thinking and adaptation, and enemies doing different tactics to adapt to you.
I played on hard, though and had several frantic situations that I barely scraped through. On normal or easy people were probably more bored and just played it like a cover shooter.
GribbleGrunger
Dreams in Digital
You're talking about bugs, and I never hit those bugs once in 7 playthroughs and neither did any of the let's players I watched. It was got the most awards of any game for a reason. You can try playing that down as much as you like, but it doesn't change the fact that millions of people understand why it got those awards.
7DollarHagane
Banned
I always figured it was like halo where the AI is actually more robust and has more options than on easy and normal.
demosthenes
Member
Op, I don't want to spoil anything, but based on what you think the story will be, get it.
I never ran into the bug where the clickers and runners become invincible, yet it exists, as proven by the video I posted on the top of the page. Your point?
SaggyMonkey
Member
Been awhile since I played it, but pretty sure there were multiple fat clickers throughout the game.
Jawmuncher
Member
While I liked the last of us it was definitely the story that kept me going.
The gameplay was fun when it was human enemies. But I felt that everything dealing with the infected was just a chore to get through. The only time where I had fun with the infected was in the hotel basement.
The gameplay was fun when it was human enemies. But I felt that everything dealing with the infected was just a chore to get through. The only time where I had fun with the infected was in the hotel basement.
GribbleGrunger
Dreams in Digital
I should be asking YOU that question. It's a brilliant game with brilliant gameplay. I watched a couple of TLOU bugs for a laugh, like the stretchy Ellie, so again, what's your point?
You are completely misrepresenting the game with that video above. He's talking as if that's how the game is all the time. You have an agenda.
People comparing the game with Splinter Cell or MGS are totally reasoning out of context. Joel isn't a soldier and he hasn't some crazy tech with him.
Ok. Still a stupid move, hope you realize this for yourself.
You can't judge the gameplay with these premises. Just say that you didn't appreciate it because that's really everything you can say considering your experience with the game.
I had one with a checkpoint. But I agree, bringing bugs as an argument is silly. I rarely see bugs in games but I know there are plenty everywhere.
Ok. Still a stupid move, hope you realize this for yourself.
You can't judge the gameplay with these premises. Just say that you didn't appreciate it because that's really everything you can say considering your experience with the game.
I had one with a checkpoint. But I agree, bringing bugs as an argument is silly. I rarely see bugs in games but I know there are plenty everywhere.
The gameplay and story of TLoU are inseparable. So much world building occurs just from looking around the scenery as you move through and Joel is characterized through the tense brutality of the combat. It demonstrates that he knows how to shoot, craft, improvise, and fight his way to survive in any situation necessary and how unhinged he's become over the years. That's why TLoU is so special. The story and gameplay don't feel like they were designed by two different groups. They're integral to one another.
The gameplay is also incredibly dynamic. I've played it through four times on different difficulties and no matter how many or how few supplies you have, you're always able to find a strategy to get through and the AI will react in a way that makes sense for your approach. The encounters only play out the same way if you do the same thing.
The gameplay is also incredibly dynamic. I've played it through four times on different difficulties and no matter how many or how few supplies you have, you're always able to find a strategy to get through and the AI will react in a way that makes sense for your approach. The encounters only play out the same way if you do the same thing.
Some people are crazy
imo
The MP is a bit different than the SP mainly because it is more team oriented, and surprisingly even randoms tend to stay grouped (though this isn't always the case). Crafting system is nice, and I generally like the layouts/size of the maps.
I imagine anything other complaint about the SP gameplay being bad is either:
A) they played at too low a difficulty.
B) at the end of the day it is just nice marriage of TPS and stealth (more stealth than TPS depending on where you are playing) it doesn't do anything truly "groundbreaking"
It does some nice things like crafting doesn't pause the game so you have to be careful. And some people just didn't like the game or don't like this type of game, buy into the hype or watch a video and then give you their opinion on it.
EDIT: it is too early, fixed a few things.
WTF? In this quote you pratically said who found tons of flaw in this game was right but who think it's a masterpiece after all it's just a desperate defender without argument. How you can pretend to have a good conversation? Good Lord.
That doesn't make them bosses.
Fancy Clown
Member
Maybe they weren't the best examples as they relate to the Last of Us, but they do serve to prove my point that stories, or at least the good ones, are never actually about the plot. Jaws isn't really about trying to kill a shark, Alien isn't really about trying to kill an alien, and Apocalypse Now isn't really about trying to kill a man. And, like those films, The Last of Us isn't really about a guy trying deliver a girl to the fireflies. You're absolutely right that the plot is a vehicle for the characters, but that's true of many other great stories as well. I will concede that much of the groundwork of the plot in this case is heavily inspired by Children of Men, but I don't think the game or makers try to hide their influences, and thematically and in terms of character (in other words, the actual story) of The Last of Us stands apart from its influences as its own unique creation.
Bobby_Sullivan
Neo Member
Personally, I'd consider TLOU's contributions to span beyond its narrative.
It's been a while since I've played it but I clearly remember the gravity of the combat. It is a much more grittier experience than any other game I've played.
The crafting system is simple but effective in making sure you scrounge around for every piece of loot considering how limited supply is.
Enemy types are varied and level design makes almost every encounter a unique one.
As I'm sure you're aware, the design is just impeccable all around.
With all that said, if you're not in the mood to play it don't play it. It'll still be there if you ever decide to give it a go...
It's been a while since I've played it but I clearly remember the gravity of the combat. It is a much more grittier experience than any other game I've played.
The crafting system is simple but effective in making sure you scrounge around for every piece of loot considering how limited supply is.
Enemy types are varied and level design makes almost every encounter a unique one.
As I'm sure you're aware, the design is just impeccable all around.
With all that said, if you're not in the mood to play it don't play it. It'll still be there if you ever decide to give it a go...
Why don't you actually play it instead of whining and trying to get others to convince you to play it?
Last of Us is one of the best games ever. It will make you think most other games are lazy or uninspired by comparison.
The amount of care and detail that went into it is astonishing, just like in Uncharted 2.
Human enemies fights are more interesting than the infested and it is balanced out so that you aren't always running into infested or human enemies.
Last of Us is one of the best games ever. It will make you think most other games are lazy or uninspired by comparison.
The amount of care and detail that went into it is astonishing, just like in Uncharted 2.
Human enemies fights are more interesting than the infested and it is balanced out so that you aren't always running into infested or human enemies.
I played 3/4 of the game in the Normal difficulty. Wasn't it enough for me to judge the gameplay and find it satisfying or not? I didn't appreciate it that much, yes. But it also didn't change by the end of the game to make my opinion about it invalid. And to be quite honest, I doubt that keeping it in Normal or pushing it to Hard would change my opinion about it. The points that I made about not really enjoying the shooting would still stand. And I also said the melee combat felt good. Does changing the difficulty setting to easy, even though I felt it was good when I was playing on Normal, invalidates that as well?
And the reason I brought bugs into the equation was because I ran into a few, and it DOES detract from the experience.
But that won't stop some from pretending like it's some kind of fancy Dragon's Lair.
Sakura
Member
I know you've already gotten a thousand replies, but I figured I'd post my opinion as well.
The story, or the "experience" really is like 9/10ths of the game. If you aren't interested in the story, then don't buy this game, the gameplay as you say is pretty generic. Even if you want to replay the game on a harder difficulty to mix stuff up, you still have to spend half your time floating Ellie around on rafts or walking slowly talking to each other. It might make for a decent first time experience, but it really is a bore to replay IMO.
But at the same time, even as someone who thinks the game is grossly over rated, the story is still rather decent and worth giving a shot. If you can snag the PS4 version for a decent price I say go for it, give it a chance. Even if the story sounds pretty standard, the characters are well written and the voice acting is top notch.
SaggyMonkey
Member
The one you fight in the gym isn't a boss? He soaks a lot of damage and has different mechanics than the normal encounters. (My simple definition of a boss)
Saying they aren't bosses is just semantics at this point.
It didn't get all those awards and GOTY for no reason OP, try it out for yourself. You've got nothing to lose.
Too many posters playing on easy/normal with listen mode on, saying it's a boring stealth game and a standard 3rd person shooter (i'd love to play more "boring" 3rd person shooters of TLoU quality).
Play it on the proper difficulties before passing judgement. That's akin to playing through Dark Souls all in Co op and saying it's too easy or Guitar Hero on beginner and claiming you've mastered it. You're not really experiencing the proper game when it's throwing so much ammo and resources at you, whilst also being able to see enemies through walls. Might as well call it kiddie mode.
Too many posters playing on easy/normal with listen mode on, saying it's a boring stealth game and a standard 3rd person shooter (i'd love to play more "boring" 3rd person shooters of TLoU quality).
Play it on the proper difficulties before passing judgement. That's akin to playing through Dark Souls all in Co op and saying it's too easy or Guitar Hero on beginner and claiming you've mastered it. You're not really experiencing the proper game when it's throwing so much ammo and resources at you, whilst also being able to see enemies through walls. Might as well call it kiddie mode.
Well the story and the "experience" is the main draw of the game. It's pretty linear and is story-focused. If you aren't into that then the game probably wouldn't be that memorable for you.
The plot got boring halfway through and the gameplay wasn't interesting enough to save it for me, but it gets praised like no other around here so your mileage may very.
The plot got boring halfway through and the gameplay wasn't interesting enough to save it for me, but it gets praised like no other around here so your mileage may very.
Wickerbasket
Member
I really wanted to like it, because I dig the setting, but I just really didn't enjoy playing it.
I think I managed 3 or 4 hours before the tedium got too much.
I think maybe I just don't like that type of game play. I'm also not a fan of instant death mechanics.
I think I managed 3 or 4 hours before the tedium got too much.
I think maybe I just don't like that type of game play. I'm also not a fan of instant death mechanics.
I thought the halfway point was where it really picked up story wise.
blankempathy
Member
I really dislike the excuse of "well you didn't play it on the proper difficulty". I played it on the hardest difficulty available to me from the start. Could I play on grounded and possible find the game to be better? Maybe but at the same time there are other games out there I'd rather play then possibly taking a chance on maybe having a better experience with TLOU on survivor or grounded. Its like when Final Fantasy XIII came out and people's defense of the game was "it gets better 25 hours in". This isn't ghost n goblins. I shouldn't have to replay the game twice to "properly" experience the game.
Werewolf Jones
Member
First time I played through it I thought it was just overall "Okay" but the second time through when you're more familiar with the game I found I enjoyed it a lot more. It's the small things that matter, the small conversations of what the world used to be like and how genuine Elly's voice actor comes across with her enthusiasm for her lack of understanding of it all. I think Summer went on a little too long compared to the other seasons as in I'd prefer the others to be just as long but that would be asking a bit too much.
The writing overall is pretty standard when talking about the story, I find the character dialogue to carry the game a lot further. I need to play NG+ (First time I finished it I didn't play it on my PS3.) and the harder difficulties. Even with listening mode on it's still pretty intense, gives you a good thrill once in a while. The crafting was decent as was collecting stuff but the latter wasn't really needed past world building to a degree I guess, giving outlooks on other peoples lives and such.
I still think it should've been held back for a PS4 launch title though.
The writing overall is pretty standard when talking about the story, I find the character dialogue to carry the game a lot further. I need to play NG+ (First time I finished it I didn't play it on my PS3.) and the harder difficulties. Even with listening mode on it's still pretty intense, gives you a good thrill once in a while. The crafting was decent as was collecting stuff but the latter wasn't really needed past world building to a degree I guess, giving outlooks on other peoples lives and such.
I still think it should've been held back for a PS4 launch title though.
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