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The Last of Us |OT| It Can’t Be For Nothing (Spoilers)

Pretty much. I found that most RPGs in the end had really grand stories that didn't make for very intimate and realistic drama, not to mention that they're not very personal. The end is usually bombastic and for the greater good/against a definite evil/destiny fulfilling. TLOU sort of scratched an itch I didn't know I had.

As far as games go, definitely. I put this in with good book / great movie ballpark. I'm usually just looking for good time with games. This was an intense immersive experience. With a decent surround sound, the gameplay becomes more intense and nerve wrecking. The only complaint I had was regarding the loud AI which is funny because that only ruins the game from immersion point of view. From a gameplay point of view I would be irritated if my AI was aggroing everything, but it found myself caring more about the immersive story aspects. I was that hooked.

With most games I just up them away and move on. Might pick them up again for shits and giggles. As you put it though, an itch I didn't know I had.
 

timnich

Member
I am terrible at this game! I can never pull off being stealthy, it feels like you have to get in confrontations with the way enemies are placed. I want to play so bad, I love the story and atmosphere of the game but my suckiness is preventing me from continuing any further. Currently stuck
at the school right after finding the military vehicle
, died about 15 times now...It's not even the halfway point.
 

kingocfs

Member
I found this one. Their reactions are hilarious. It's like 17 minutes, but they're funny as hell. 6 minutes in it when it goes nuts for them. ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDBY46K1FxM

This is exactly the part I got to when I called it a day. Such a "NOPE" moment.

Also, watching this video is the first time I've ever seen Listen Mode in action, I'm really glad I turned it off. I would have at least cut a few hours off of my play time if I were using it.
 

Superflat

Member
This is exactly the part I got to when I called it a day. Such a "NOPE" moment.

Also, watching this video is the first time I've ever seen Listen Mode in action, I'm really glad I turned it off. I would have at least cut a few hours off of my play time if I were using it.

Yea, that particular section can easily be ruined with Listening Mode, and it was kind of a bummer that they relied on it in that video, lol.

My first encounter with the Stalkers was fuckin nuts. Very fun to see how they try to mess with you with doorways.

At "that part" I was able to clear the whole area with two molotovs and melee. I don't even remember thinking it was THAT scary or hard. Seeing these vids puts it into perspective more, lol.
 
So I finished the game today on normal. Took me around 14 hours. I'll start by saying I wasn't interested in the game at all before playing it. But while browsing redbox on my computer; I realized it was at the redbox kiosk near my apartment. First time renting a game in almost 4 years I think. Funny part is that the last game I rented was Uncharted 1.

And now I feel bad that I just paid $6+ tax to finish the game. Naughty dog deserves the $60 price entry (I'm actually considering buying it to play it all over again). This might be the best action adventure game I've ever played.

While the game has a lot of flaws, like the pacing and technical glitches, in my opinion it is the best ps3 game that has been released.
 

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
Just started it. Wow does this feel like a Silent Hill game to anyone? Even the menu sounds remind me of SH. That's kind of a random/weird pleasant surprise.
 
Haven't tried MP yet, but this is what I think off the top of my head after just finishing the game:

Good
  • Story and voice acting are top notch.
  • The story is a lot better than other post apocalyptic games and media in general. I enjoyed it more than TWD and I'm a TWD fan
  • The setting is incredible. ND did an excellent job capturing the post apocalytic world. It's probably the best atmosphere in a game for me, surpassing Bioshock
  • That opening. Wow,
    having your daughter die in your arms as the apocalypse is breaking. ND did great in letting you control Sarah so you could get attached to her
  • Crafting. Even though it could be greatly expanded for further games, it is a welcome addition and great first try for ND on crafting mechanics
  • Healing. This is a game where regen health would break the gameplay. Very good call by ND
  • What an ending.
    It's subtle, yet fantastic. Gave me a "No Country for Old Men" ending vibe
Bad - warning, a lot of nitpicking
  • Lots of clipping issues, i.e. arms going over walls, Joel kicking through Ellie when he gets on the horse, etc
  • Pop up issues
  • Enemy AI is not as good as advertised. They still follow a set line and stay exactly where they were supposed to go. They are pretty dumb, just like in every other game. I thought each character would have 10-20 different lines they could follow at random, making it completely awesome and unpredictable
  • Friendly AI is also lacking. Sometimes the immersion broke for me because human enemies would walk right up to Ellie, Henry, Sam, Bill and wouldn't "notice" them. Or they would say let's be quiet, there are clickers and then would talk and walk fast. I understand why ND made friendly AI invisible until you are actually spotted - so as to avoid KIllzone's Rico effect of frustrating friendly AI - but it is still a let down
  • I haven't tried stealthing through the game without killing people, but more often than not you do have to kill folks, literally impossible to just sneak past them
  • Expected, but IQ between gameplay and cutscenes is noticeable
  • 2-3 shots to kill a person? Why? This is like Uncharted and while it's okay there, it's crap here, really disappointed in this. A person should not take a shot to the chest and walk unless they are wearing armor. Headshots with rifles should only be one shot and done, even if they are wearing a helmet. I would much prefer to have harder, smarter AI then cheapen it by having constant hordes of enemies and don't consider this nitpicking

Just started it. Wow does this feel like a Silent Hill game to anyone? Even the menu sounds remind me of SH. That's kind of a random/weird pleasant surprise.

I got an old school RE vibe at times with this game.
 
Has anyone noticed that this game is practically Silent Hill more than any other re-iterations without the supernatural elements? Not only is the game blooming with incredible atmosphere, the story is told by from the character's point-of-view, along with the foreboding environments. Along with their attention to detail.. my god..

Heck, even the OST "The Path" could EASILY be mistaken from a soundtrack from Silent Hill. (Late OST spoilers, be warned!)

And to top it all off, the start menu screen uses very similar SH effects. I'm serious, these guys are the only western dev that can revive the series.
 

Superflat

Member
Haven't tried MP yet, but this is what I think off the top of my head after just finishing the game:

Good
  • Story and voice acting are top notch.
  • The story is a lot better than other post apocalyptic games and media in general. I enjoyed it more than TWD and I'm a TWD fan
  • The setting is incredible. ND did an excellent job capturing the post apocalytic world. It's probably the best atmosphere in a game for me, surpassing Bioshock
  • That opening. Wow,
    having your daughter die in your arms as the apocalypse is breaking. ND did great in letting you control Sarah so you could get attached to her
  • Crafting. Even though it could be greatly expanded for further games, it is a welcome addition and great first try for ND on crafting mechanics
  • Healing. This is a game where regen health would break the gameplay. Very good call by ND
  • What an ending.
    It's subtle, yet fantastic. Gave me a "No Country for Old Men" ending vibe
Bad - warning, a lot of nitpicking
  • Lots of clipping issues, i.e. arms going over walls, Joel kicking through Ellie when he gets on the horse, etc
  • Pop up issues
  • Enemy AI is not as good as advertised. They still follow a set line and stay exactly where they were supposed to go. They are pretty dumb, just like in every other game. I thought each character would have 10-20 different lines they could follow at random, making it completely awesome and unpredictable
  • Friendly AI is also lacking. Sometimes the immersion broke for me because human enemies would walk right up to Ellie, Henry, Sam, Bill and wouldn't "notice" them. Or they would say let's be quiet, there are clickers and then would talk and walk fast. I understand why ND made friendly AI invisible until you are actually spotted - so as to avoid KIllzone's Rico effect of frustrating friendly AI - but it is still a let down
  • I haven't tried stealthing through the game without killing people, but more often than not you do have to kill folks, literally impossible to just sneak past them
  • Expected, but IQ between gameplay and cutscenes is noticeable
  • 2-3 shots to kill a person? Why? This is like Uncharted and while it's okay there, it's crap here, really disappointed in this. A person should not take a shot to the chest and walk unless they are wearing armor. Headshots with rifles should only be one shot and done, even if they are wearing a helmet. I would much prefer to have harder, smarter AI then cheapen it by having constant hordes of enemies and don't consider this nitpicking

Agreed on all points, positive and negative.
Having less but much smarter enemies would have made this game cross over into some serious god territory.

Friendly AI was also a big compromise that I cited as the weakest link, mainly in that they have some strange pathing if you move around even a little erratically and often clip through you, not to mention the whole 'invisible to enemies' thing. Ellie and Bill actually helped me a lot combat-wise but other NPCs have had a hard time backing me up most of the time.
 
Has anyone noticed that this game is practically Silent Hill more than any other re-iterations without the supernatural elements? Not only is the game blooming with incredible atmosphere, the story is told by from the character's point-of-view, along with the foreboding environments. Along with their attention to detail.. my god..

Heck, even the OST "The Path" could EASILY be mistaken from a soundtrack from Silent Hill. (Late OST spoilers, be warned!)

And to top it all off, the start menu screen uses very similar SH effects. I'm serious, these guys are the only western dev that can revive the series.

It's the Citizen Kane of the Dark Souls in Silent Hill.
 

Seik

Banned
Bill: ''Ok, there's a bunch of them around here...we better be quiet.''
Joel: *crouch and walk really slowly*
*pat pat pat PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT*
Me: Oh shit! What the fuck is this?! Oh...it's only Bill walking as if he wants to make a fucking earthquake at each steps he takes.
 

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
Has anyone noticed that this game is practically Silent Hill more than any other re-iterations without the supernatural elements? Not only is the game blooming with incredible atmosphere, the story is told by from the character's point-of-view, along with the foreboding environments. Along with their attention to detail.. my god..

Heck, even the OST "The Path" could EASILY be mistaken from a soundtrack from Silent Hill. (Late OST spoilers, be warned!)

And to top it all off, the start menu screen uses very similar SH effects. I'm serious, these guys are the only western dev that can revive the series.

Look up three posts ;)
 

Superflat

Member
I'm serious, these guys are the only western dev that can revive the series.

My god, don't even tell me that. I would go fucking crazy if Bruce and Niel started a Silent Hill project. Even the notion of them deciding to go full horror. Fuck.

I'm seriously considering starting up SH2 again right now as it's the only game I found similar enough in tone to play.
 

aristotle

Member
Has anyone else had glitched trophies? Collectible trophy spoiler:
I've listened to all of Ellie's jokes but the trophy never popped for me.
It's not a big deal since I'll definitely be doing a NG+ run, but it's still annoying that I have to pay attention for something like that when I should've gotten it my first run through. Bleh.
 

Cloudy

Banned
I really hate horror games and my least favorite parts of this game are dark, spore-filled area with clickers and bloaters :(

No full horror plz lol
 

Tunic

Member
Just finished up my play through. I really enjoyed the game from beginning to end. The pacing of the story was excellent and I felt attached to all of the characters involved. I will now get around to trying the multiplayer out. Also looking forward to seeing what Naughty Dog does with the DLC. Worth the price of admission in my opinion!
 
Agreed on all points, positive and negative.
Having less but much smarter enemies would have made this game cross over into some serious god territory.

Friendly AI was also a big compromise that I cited as the weakest link, mainly in that they have some strange pathing if you move around even a little erratically and often clip through you, not to mention the whole 'invisible to enemies' thing. Ellie and Bill actually helped me a lot combat-wise but other NPCs have had a hard time backing me up most of the time.

Sam was worthless as was his older brother Henry. Tess was awesome, too bad they killed her. I actually felt kinda sad she died.

The good thing is they can fix the negatives as well as improve the positives in a possible sequel, or even on a GOTG version, on the PS4. I would double dip in a heartbeat, especially if they fix these issues and have some awesome DLC.

One thing I did miss and thought they would have, for sure, on the game was
Joel teaching Ellie how to survive, how to do things. Hell, he could have taught her how to swim, that's an important part of survival. Ellie alluded to him teaching her at one point, but I thought he was gonna teach her stuff, further strengthening the bond between the two. There was also a picture of Joel

A perfect part for me would have been if sometime in the Fall they found an abandoned ranch or something, free of clickers, and taught her how to shoot a gun, craft bombs, improve weapons, etc.

TWD game spoiler below

Lee teaching Clementine how to shoot was a very good, emotional bonding part of the game. And that's something TLOU missed out on IMO.

Bill: ''Ok, there's a bunch of them around here...we better be quiet.''
Joel: *crouch and walk really slowly*
*pat pat pat PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT*
Me: Oh shit! What the fuck is this?! Oh...it's only Bill walking as if he wants to make a fucking earthquake at each steps he takes.

LOL that's exactly what I'm talking about, immersion breaking, especially if you have the Pulse headset or a surround sound system.
 
D

Deleted member 30609

Unconfirmed Member
END GAME SPOILERS
Is there any way to *not* kill the doctor?
 

Shinjiru

Member
I'm loving this game so far. Taking my time admiring/exploring the environments. I'm 33% complete with 14 hours played. Currently on
The Graveyard
chapter.

For those of you who have finished the game or are further than I am:
There were no Stalkers up to this point, right? It seems like I've only been fighting Runners and Clickers as far as Infected go.

Also, any word yet on if/when they will make the documentary available outside of the Season Pass?
Just started it. Wow does this feel like a Silent Hill game to anyone? Even the menu sounds remind me of SH. That's kind of a random/weird pleasant surprise.
Definitely. Loving the Silent Hill vibe I'm getting from some parts of this game.
 

sharath_kumar

Neo Member
Bill: ''Ok, there's a bunch of them around here...we better be quiet.''
Joel: *crouch and walk really slowly*
*pat pat pat PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT*
Me: Oh shit! What the fuck is this?! Oh...it's only Bill walking as if he wants to make a fucking earthquake at each steps he takes.

Quite a few times, it was Bill who got caught and started fighting. This section is a pain on Hard difficulty.
 

Zaki2407

Member
I think I can only play this game around 1 hour max in every session. More that that, my PS3 dies because overheating. 60GB launched phat PS3 here.... (T_T)
 

kurbaan

Banned
I am terrible at this game! I can never pull off being stealthy, it feels like you have to get in confrontations with the way enemies are placed. I want to play so bad, I love the story and atmosphere of the game but my suckiness is preventing me from continuing any further. Currently stuck
at the school right after finding the military vehicle
, died about 15 times now...It's not even the halfway point.

Are you playing on Hard or Normal? If you arent using listen mode use that and if you stealth runners clickers cant hear it. Also using a Bow makes no sound. If you are
inside the school I think you have to do some fighting in there just keep trying.
 
I actually never really had a problem with my allies getting caught by the A.I. on hard. They were mostly ignored by the enemies which I found hilarious. Talk about being stealthy.
 

SilverBaron

Neo Member
So I've run into a really annoying bug. I'm doing a collectibles run and I missed one, so when I loaded the chapter, the game wouldn't load part of the HUB, for example I can't see my health bar. I keep trying to reload the chapter and it keeps doing it. Anyone else run into this bug?
 

CREMSteve

Member
I'm not reading anything in this thread, but I just wanted to pop in and say that the first 30 minutes are the pinnacle of storytelling in videogames for me. Unbelievable intro.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Good
  • That opening. Wow,
    having your daughter die in your arms as the apocalypse is breaking. ND did great in letting you control Sarah so you could get attached to her

I loved the way the opening played out but
it was really obvious tragedy telegraphing to me. Handled well but it was so fucking obvious she was going to die. She wasn't Ellie, and the fact you did play as her as everything went to shit made it really obvious that Naughty Dog was trying to get you attached to her.

I don't really care, and was probably over thinking it, but I do have a tendency to do that. Soon as the intro started and they were doing the whole AWESOME DAUGHTER WHO LOVES HER OVERWORKED DAD PLUS ITS HIS BIRTHDAY I knew she'd bite it.

Really, as a whole, The Last of Us did use a lot of zombie apocalypse tropes. Infected person staying behind to let others get away. Infected sibling/lover/friend forced to be killed by their companion. Cannibals. Someone with an immunity. I don't mind, but yeah.
 

Superflat

Member
I loved the way the opening played out but
it was really obvious tragedy telegraphing to me. Handled well but it was so fucking obvious she was going to die. She wasn't Ellie, and the fact you did play as her as everything went to shit made it really obvious that Naughty Dog was trying to get you attached to her.

I don't really care, and was probably over thinking it, but I do have a tendency to do that. Soon as the intro started and they were doing the whole AWESOME DAUGHTER WHO LOVES HER OVERWORKED DAD PLUS ITS HIS BIRTHDAY I knew she'd bite it.

Really, as a whole, The Last of Us did use a lot of zombie apocalypse tropes. Infected person staying behind to let others get away. Infected sibling/lover/friend forced to be killed by their companion. Cannibals. Someone with an immunity. I don't mind, but yeah.

Pretty much.
What made it more worthwhile and significant for me was how none of the tropes felt used for the sake of it. Nothing felt like the creators were thinking: "It's a zombie-style apocalypse so we need a ______ scene."

I would have liked if they went about some things in more clever or interesting ways, but every story beat was integral and meaningful for the characters.

Not to mention the execution, which actually surprised me at how good it was, even with inflated ND expectations.
 

cLOUDo

Member
Bad - warning, a lot of nitpicking
  • 2-3 shots to kill a person? Why? This is like Uncharted and while it's okay there, it's crap here, really disappointed in this. A person should not take a shot to the chest and walk unless they are wearing armor. Headshots with rifles should only be one shot and done, even if they are wearing a helmet. I would much prefer to have harder, smarter AI then cheapen it by having constant hordes of enemies and don't consider this nitpicking



I got an old school RE vibe at times with this game.

oh man this!
2-3 shot even with a rifle or "el diablo"
 

Superflat

Member
oh man this!
2-3 shot even with a rifle or "el diablo"

Wait, really? I guess I could have been only head-shotting with diablo. And I think I upgraded both the diablo and rifle to one bar of armor-piercing, so I guess that could be why, lol.

I used snub-nose the most, and two good chest hits seemed to down a lot of dudes I went up against.

I know for fact that Ellie's rifle is basically a one-hit kill on practically anything besides a bloater.

Thank god there weren't any Uncharted-style heavily armored shotgun guys.
 
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