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[aronnov reborn]

38% into the game (5 hours).

Voice Acting Question

Spoiler

Is that fucking Dan Doherty's voice from Deadwood i hear from Bill's voice? My god those exchanges are so great with Ellie

 

[Doran902]

That's why I hate death in games. It ruins the pacing, and you can't absorb the world any better. Instead, your main concern is about surviving until the next encounter.

That's why Bioshock remains one of my favorite games up till this day. Vita chambers took the concept of death to the way side, allowing you to absorb and appreciate the atmosphere and the world of rapture as much as possible.

I share the opposite opinion, I hate the idea of failure having no consequence. The more you make failure matter the more I get involved in not wanting to fail and get absorbed into the world / mechanics. If you want to simply see the story then play on the easiest difficulty imo.

 

[More_Badass]

Well holy shit...Tomb Raider just got trounced

Winter spoilers...

Spoiler

Yeah between both hunting and being hunted, that whole Ellie section was more intense and desperate than anything in the entire Tomb Raider reboot

 

[Facism]

man why did the game have to end?

 

[Interfectum]

About 7 hours into this game and I have to say it's already a huge contender for one of my favorite games this gen. And I'm not even talking about "teh cinematic experiesh" that the game has (although it is quite good). The gameplay is what is really standing out for me.

The encounters and scenarios you are presented with along with the design of the levels and the weapons available seem to give you a lot of creative options. I love the idea that I'm doing 'stealth' not for some stupid achievement or just cause, but I'm actually doing it to conserve much needed items and ammo. And even when I finally get caught I'm not like "whoops, time to reset" I just roll with it and keep going... it feels very organic.

I guess I'll see if the game holds up in the long run, but so far I'm really enjoying it.

 

[anddo0]

Curious, retail release? My load times (Download version) are rather snappy. 15 seconds maybe.

Retail.

On average it takes 2-3 mins. The game booted at around 45 secs once yesterday. I'm wondering if deleting the system data will help.

 

[Gen X]

Had a couple of hours on it tonite and now at 56% after 14hrs 9mins. Glad I am taking my sweet time and love how some areas have multiple rooms branching off for the explorers.

 

[indigo-cyclops]

I might need to play more, but I'm not as excited about the mechanics of the game. The visual elements and audio is definitely fantastic. I feel it still feels a lot like uncharted. Bullet sponge enemies are fucking frustrating. I feel combat and exploration segments are too segregated. It's obvious when a combat heavy section is on the threshold. Mt favorite part so far was exiting the first area to the small town. Lots of low key explanation. I assume it's still early but far from perfect for me. Hopefully things might change but the stealth is no good, and relied upon heavily. As it should, but it needs to be more organic. Set pieces, very annoying. I end up having to resort to the average combat a lot.

I will probably stick with it though.

 

[batman2million]

I refuse to purchase this game b/c there's a female on the cover.

Spoiler

/sarcasm

 

[Arnie]

Yes certainly is. Planning a Survivalist New Game+ playthrough when I am done on hard.


There are a few sections that are a bit hard, but nothing too bad. (So far at 60somthing% completion.)

Playing on Hard here. Seems like a pretty good balance of challenging fights and resource management. Can't wait for Survivor though!

Thanks people. Will definitely go for hard, looking for a challenge and I'm not in a rush to finish it. Suppose for a survival game I'd rather feel on the edge with resources. Can't wait to start it.

 

[WJD]

Winter's pretty difficult.

 

[GulAtiCa]

Yes certainly is. Planning a Survivalist New Game+ playthrough when I am done on hard.

You will only be able to do it on Hard (or below). Game sadly won't allow you do a new game plus on higher difficulty.

 

[spandexmonkey]

Almost half way through the game and it's been pretty good. The gameplay has been hit or miss, it can be a bit frustrating at times, especially if Ellie decides to hide in plain sight. The overall plot is just kind of meh.
But it's the character moments that just blow me away. The writing on Joel, I know guys like this, he's probably the first male character I've ever played that I actually relate to. His relationship with Tess, how he treats Ellie, it just feels very natural. I wish there was more wandering, scavenging and talking than combat. The body count is getting a little rediculous.
I find myself walking through most environments because I don't see Joel as someone who's in a rush to get to the next fight.

 

[BigTnaples]

You will only be able to do it on Hard (or below). Game sadly won't allow you do a new game plus on higher difficulty.

Ouch. That sucks. Wonder why?


What all does the new game + entail anyways? You get to keep your upgrades?

 

[Toma]

Ouch. That sucks. Wonder why?


What all does the new game + entail anyways? You get to keep your upgrades?

Yep, which probably would make "Survival" a bit pointless if you can just keep your stuff from Hard.

 

[Violater]

Well holy shit...Tomb Raider just got trounced

Winter spoilers...

Spoiler

Yeah between both hunting and being hunted, that whole Ellie section was more intense and desperate than anything in the entire Tomb Raider reboot

I enjoyed that whole section completely.

 

[StuBurns]

Yep, which probably would make "Survival" a bit pointless if you can just keep your stuff from Hard.

You could always choose not to though, there are separate achievements for new game versus + anyway.

 

[GulAtiCa]

Ouch. That sucks. Wonder why?


What all does the new game + entail anyways? You get to keep your upgrades?

Upgrades, skills, collectables, etc. Only thing you don't keep is your weapons.

Yep, which probably would make "Survival" a bit pointless if you can just keep your stuff from Hard.

Not just that. If you do Easy, you can't choose Normal. etc. Regardless, should be left up to the user. I was hoping to take my Normal playthrough and go to Hard in NG+.

 

[BeeDog]

Calling it quits for now, just arrived at the University (68%, have been playing for almost 12 hours).

Gah, what a game.

 

[Toma]

You could always choose not to though, there are separate achievements for new game versus + anyway.

True.

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

I absolutely love how if you stand still and shoot the crosshair is smaller and it’s much easier to aim....

Strafing while aiming makes shooting deliciously hectic. Reminds me of RE4 when I stand still and aim.

 

[AcceptableGhost]

I think some of my annoyances just come with these scenarios.
'
Low supplies, low ammo. You have to stealth, right? I'm not much of a stealth guy, really not my thing.

An certain scenarios in the Spring Chapter were just so damn frustrating. Especially the one's with the clickers and the 2 big one's, and the last scenario at the end.

Just so much dying. I died over 200 times in this game. I never felt safe, thus I never felt like I got to appreciate the world I was in.

That's why I hate death in games. It ruins the pacing, and you can't absorb the world any better. Instead, your main concern is about surviving until the next encounter.

That's why Bioshock remains one of my favorite games up till this day. Vita chambers took the concept of death to the way side, allowing you to absorb and appreciate the atmosphere and the world of rapture as much as possible.

you should probably just watch youtube playthroughs of games

 

[BigTnaples]

Damn. Well just given the TIME that I have, vs life vs my backlog I was hoping to do 2 playthroughs of TLoU.


But considering you have to beat the game to unlock NG+ and Survivalist, that necessitates 3 playthroughs.


I would have rather had Survivalist be unlocked from the beginning, or that you could use NG+ in higher difficulties. That way you could do it all in 2 playthroughs.


Oh well. So far this game is in my top 10 of all time (Unless it dips drastically in quality when you hit Winter). Not going to be bothered by playing through it a few times.

 

[ys45]

Im at

Spoiler

the hotel where you fall with the elevator in water

This part is so scary i was genuinely nervous and on edge and when you

Spoiler

turn the generator on .... omg i totally panicked i ran from all the runners and i found myself before a bloater so i was riped to shreds

gotta have to try again tonight .


Seriously this game is awesome it has been while since i was scared like that in a game .

 

[Vally]

Probably has been said a hundred times already, but fuck the hotel basement

Spoiler

I think I'll have to craft some molotovs or something, there's no way I can run to the door without coming across a Stalker... as much as I try to avoid them one of them always grab me and then the fucking Bloater appears out of nowhere and rips me apart. I don't know, maybe I should try a different path but that shit is so terrifying I'd rather stand aside the generator and have them come at me lol.

I can't wait to get past this section, the sense of relief is going to be immense.

 

[Shinta]

I might need to play more, but I'm not as excited about the mechanics of the game. The visual elements and audio is definitely fantastic. I feel it still feels a lot like uncharted. Bullet sponge enemies are fucking frustrating. I feel combat and exploration segments are too segregated. It's obvious when a combat heavy section is on the threshold. Mt favorite part so far was exiting the first area to the small town. Lots of low key explanation. I assume it's still early but far from perfect for me. Hopefully things might change but the stealth is no good, and relied upon heavily. As it should, but it needs to be more organic. Set pieces, very annoying. I end up having to resort to the average combat a lot.

I will probably stick with it though.

I'm struggling. About 4 hours in and I almost walked out the door to go sell this game.

Going to try one last time and see if it gets any better.

 

[Toma]

Probably has been said a hundred times already, but fuck the hotel basement

Spoiler

I think I'll have to craft some molotovs or something, there's no way I can run to the door without coming across a Stalker... as much as I try to avoid them one of them always grab me and then the fucking Bloater appears out of nowhere and rips me apart. I don't know, maybe I should try a different path but that shit is so terrifying I'd rather stand aside the generator and have them come at me lol.

I can't wait to get past this section, the sense of relief is going to be immense.

Yeah, what I did was RUN, have my shotgun in hand and blast that one that would stand in my way. That was fast enough to get through.

 

[Drek]

I might need to play more, but I'm not as excited about the mechanics of the game. The visual elements and audio is definitely fantastic. I feel it still feels a lot like uncharted. Bullet sponge enemies are fucking frustrating. I feel combat and exploration segments are too segregated. It's obvious when a combat heavy section is on the threshold. Mt favorite part so far was exiting the first area to the small town. Lots of low key explanation. I assume it's still early but far from perfect for me. Hopefully things might change but the stealth is no good, and relied upon heavily. As it should, but it needs to be more organic. Set pieces, very annoying. I end up having to resort to the average combat a lot.

I will probably stick with it though.

As you get further into the game areas are larger and the combat/exploration are much more mixed. They still give you the pacing of "here's some stuff, now a fight!" to hand hold people into at least basic supplies, but there gets to be a good amount of stuff to find in around combat areas, namely shiv pick-able locks.

Just how combat heavy it is large rests with how each person plays it though. Some savvy planning will let you get through most areas needing to only kill a handful of enemies. The enemies are bullet sponges, but they sure aren't arrow sponges, shiv sponges, or spiked bat sponges. You can kill enemies very quickly in open combat with the right gear.

 

[Oppo]

Finished it last night. What a satisfying game.

Question: anyone know if its possible to stealth the whole thing? I felt like it might be, but I just got impatient sometimes. Or had full ammo. I think I did about 65% of the scenarios by sneaking on my first play through.

 

[Shinta]

As you get further into the game areas are larger and the combat/exploration are much more mixed. They still give you the pacing of "here's some stuff, now a fight!" to hand hold people into at least basic supplies, but there gets to be a good amount of stuff to find in around combat areas, namely shiv pick-able locks.

Just how combat heavy it is large rests with how each person plays it though. Some savvy planning will let you get through most areas needing to only kill a handful of enemies. The enemies are bullet sponges, but they sure aren't arrow sponges, shiv sponges, or spiked bat sponges. You can kill enemies very quickly in open combat with the right gear.

I'm finding some of these clicker sections extremely tedious. I'm in a basement, in the dark, and have limited visibility. I have no map. I don't know where the exit is. And the whole place is filled with guys that make me walk at the slowest speed possible.

It's not scaring me. There is 0% chance of them discovering me as long as I go slow.

It's just reallllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy slow. I wish I knew where this exit was, because I'm walking the perimeter, and it's just taking forever.

 

[Drek]

Probably has been said a hundred times already, but fuck the hotel basement

Spoiler

I think I'll have to craft some molotovs or something, there's no way I can run to the door without coming across a Stalker... as much as I try to avoid them one of them always grab me and then the fucking Bloater appears out of nowhere and rips me apart. I don't know, maybe I should try a different path but that shit is so terrifying I'd rather stand aside the generator and have them come at me lol.

I can't wait to get past this section, the sense of relief is going to be immense.

Spoiler

Place some nail bombs around the major funnel points before you fire up the generator. I made it to the door without encountering a single infected thanks to the bombs taking them out before I got there.

No...after that, when

Spoiler

you enter the room with the dead guy in it and you craft nail bombs. David's like it's a dead end, we have to fight. That part

Spoiler

The game gives you a free nail bomb, materials to make more nail bombs, and will drop rifle ammo from the enemies as you kill them here. Nail bomb the entryway and if you want the stairs as soon as possible, use the bow early because you have a few "free" arrows on the table, but after two or three shots move over to the rifle. Body shots were one hit kills for me here so it was pretty quick work. Save a molotov for the bloater who drops from the ceiling, then rifle to the head makes quick work of him. Ammo for the rifle will also appear on the table when you start getting low, keep looping back and grabbing it.

 

[ironcreed]

Honestly, I never got hang of the bow. It was difficult to determine the trajectory arc. Does it get better after you upgrade it? I felt the one in Tomb Raider was more enjoyable to use.

Just upgrade weapon sway and only use it when enemies are still and out of sight. Then aim the arc until you get a green dot on their head and let it fly.

I love how the shooting in general is so deliberate and you have to take into account each shot. Then add the impact and force behind shooting and getting shot and it makes for the most raw shooting experience this gen. All shooters could learn a thing or two from this game, but thankfully it is so much more than that and does not even require you to shoot most of the time. A beautiful system.

 

[More_Badass]

83%, 13 hrs

Holy shit...this game is awesome
And holy shit...it's almost over.
Noooooo!!!

 

[daveo42]

Yeah, what I did was RUN, have my shotgun in hand and blast that one that would stand in my way. That was fast enough to get through.

Yeah, that's about the best strategy for this section. I tried fighting them off my first go until

Spoiler

that bloater showed up. I seriously hate them after the crazy amount of times I died during the gym fight. I'd say run to the right and up the ramp. I think it's the quickest route back to the door.

 

[Drek]

I'm finding some of these clicker sections extremely tedious. I'm in a basement, in the dark, and have limited visibility. I have no map. I don't know where the exit is. And the whole place is filled with guys that make me walk at the slowest speed possible.

It's not scaring me. There is 0% chance of them discovering me as long as I go slow.

It's just reallllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy slow. I wish I knew where this exit was, because I'm walking the perimeter, and it's just taking forever.

Why do you have limited visibility? Clickers can't see so you can turn your flashlight on, you just need to be quiet around them. The SOP for clicker rooms should be:
1. identify if there are any runners. If so no light, sneak kill them first.
2. any stationary slow turners? If so kill them next.
3. now flashlight on and determine if it's worth killing the clickers or not. Depends how many shivs you've got, what shiv manuals you got, what melee weapon you have, and how many bricks/bottles are around.

Brick + Bat = WIN.

 

[xenorevlis]

I've seen the first few hours about 3 times now, and personally am about 8 hours in.

Naughty Dog you crazy crazy people. I hope I get to meet you this week to shake your hands and perhaps get my game signed.

That whole intro sequence (tears), the first few hours in general are just a huge ramp of intense situations and things I've never seen before.

Troy and Ashley's chemistry literally grew on me. Or on them. Or whatever, you get my point

 

[Hawkian]

Didn't get to play last night. Can't wait to get home and get the fuck out of the hotel. Can't decide if I should just

Spoiler

find the keycard, hit the generator and make a run for it, or go HAM and kill the bloater "come at me bro" style. He's fucked me up so many times already, it would be pretty satisfying. I know I have a molotov ready to go at least...

Why do you have limited visibility? Clickers can't see so you can turn your flashlight on, you just need to be quiet around them. The SOP for clicker rooms should be:
1. identify if there are any runners. If so no light, sneak kill them first.
2. any stationary slow turners? If so kill them next.
3. now flashlight on and determine if it's worth killing the clickers or not. Depends how many shivs you've got, what shiv manuals you got, what melee weapon you have, and how many bricks/bottles are around.

Brick + Bat = WIN.

Runners actually can't see your flashlight either, they can just see you from quite a ways off. Not that your strategy isn't fine nonetheless.

 

[Az]

I think I'll start my 2nd playthrough sometime this week. What is the + for?

 

[ced]

1. identify if there are any runners. If so no light, sneak kill them first.

I'm almost positive the game told me at the reload screen that runners ignore the flashlight, right?

 

[Drek]

Finished it last night. What a satisfying game.

Question: anyone know if its possible to stealth the whole thing? I felt like it might be, but I just got impatient sometimes. Or had full ammo. I think I did about 65% of the scenarios by sneaking on my first play through.

There are some forced encounters, but if I was to guess I'd say you could probably sneak 80-90% of the game.

I really do think the best strategy is to pick off targets as they impact your movements and not before. Planning a route to wipe out a map is time intensive and risky. The game almost always gives you a few different paths, pick one and work your way through only killing guys who make themselves impossible to avoid/get too close. You can get through a lot of 8-10 enemy areas with only one or two stealth kills and a whole lot more ammo, gear, and mats in the process.

 

[Shinta]

Why do you have limited visibility? Clickers can't see so you can turn your flashlight on, you just need to be quiet around them. The SOP for clicker rooms should be:
1. identify if there are any runners. If so no light, sneak kill them first.
2. any stationary slow turners? If so kill them next.
3. now flashlight on and determine if it's worth killing the clickers or not. Depends how many shivs you've got, what shiv manuals you got, what melee weapon you have, and how many bricks/bottles are around.

Brick + Bat = WIN.

I just tried that. I had a metal pipe, zero shivs. I took out one, and within a few seconds another one ran up from all the way across the basement and one hit killed me.

I have limited visibility even with the flashlight on. The exit is not very obvious, so I'm just slowwwwwwllllllyyyyyyyyyy walking the perimeter.

I get it, it's stealth and horror. But ... some of the gameplay mechanics are just tedious as fuck.

 

[dinosaur_hunter2]

My game arrived today, can't wait to get home to play it!

 

[Drek]

Didn't get to play last night. Can't wait to get home and get the fuck out of the hotel. Can't decide if I should just

Spoiler

find the keycard, hit the generator and make a run for it, or go HAM and kill the bloater "come at me bro" style. He's fucked me up so many times already, it would be pretty satisfying. I know I have a molotov ready to go at least...

Runners actually can't see your flashlight either, they can just see you from quite a ways off. Not that your strategy isn't fine nonetheless.

Seriously? Huh, I figured the fact that they respond to line of sight meant that they could, but if not all the better. I spent a lot of time working in the dark for fear of them seeing my light.

 

[Drek]

I just tried that. I had a metal pipe, zero shivs. I took out one, and within a few seconds another one ran up from all the way across the basement and one hit killed me.

I have limited visibility even with the flashlight on. The exit is not very obvious, so I'm just slowwwwwwllllllyyyyyyyyyy walking the perimeter.

I get it, it's stealth and horror. But ... some of the gameplay mechanics are just tedious as fuck.

Honestly, killing clickers is 90% of the time not worth it. You can move through any section with them without a fight, and no matter what a fight is going to cost you resources. What part are you at (in spoilers) maybe someone here can point you to the exit?

 

[Lima]

Not only the guns, every bit about the sound design is the best in the industry. People can argue about AI, bugs and whatever they want, but the sound design is the best in any videogame to date. Not even a competition there.

DICE would like to have a word with you.

 

[Hawkian]

I just tried that. I had a metal pipe, zero shivs. I took out one, and within a few seconds another one ran up from all the way across the basement and one hit killed me.

I have limited visibility even with the flashlight on. The exit is not very obvious, so I'm just slowwwwwwllllllyyyyyyyyyy walking the perimeter.

I get it, it's stealth and horror. But ... some of the gameplay mechanics are just tedious as fuck.

Actually the exits tend to be pretty obviously marked with in-world iconography that you learn to see. Can you describe more specifically where you are with spoiler tags and, rather than telling you where to go, I'll help point out what in the game world might be indicating it for you?

There are lots of high-tension sections but nothing insurmountable on the first try with good planning, accurate shooting or quick improvisation. "Tedious" is actually damn low of the list of words I'd use to describe the gameplay. They're really rather generous with the checkpoint.

 

[Toma]

DICE would like to have a word with you.

I played quite a bit of BF and its pretty good, but not this good. BF misses a lot of the nuances at work here.

 

[Ourobolus]

Quick question: If I beat the game on Hard, do I get the Tags for beating it on Normal/Easy, like in Uncharted? Or do I have to go back and do the easier difficulties?

 

[Lion Heart]

Easy on the spoilers. "I like this location". " I just got to location x and it's sick".

It's easy to black those words out.

 

[Effnine]

man why did the game have to end?

I felt the exact same way. First time I've had that experience in all my years of playing.