For me it really helps when most of the exposition scenes happen in game as it really helps connect you on another level. What the game does very effectively is make you yearn for those moments you can take it slow, as the tension constantly cranked up can exhaust you..
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The Last of Us |OT| It Cant Be For Nothing (Spoilers)
- Thread starter Pranay
- Start date
For me it really helps when most of the exposition scenes happen in game as it really helps connect you on another level. What the game does very effectively is make you yearn for those moments you can take it slow, as the tension constantly cranked up can exhaust you..
dragonbane
Member
If you feel that way about Heavy Rain, then I can safely say The Last of Us is pretty similar. It picks up fast in a similar way.
For me as well. I was 14 hours in when I was done with Bill. As I said, I play very slow lol. 24 hours in now and just reached Fall haha.
Fine Ham Abounds
Member
(Second half spoilers) Anyone else really not wild about
? When it starts it's like "ohhh, damn, this is a cool idea", and honestly
Honestly, even admittedly playing the game way too conservatively to start, I felt the pacing has been really uneven overall and
Winter
it does service to Ellie as a character, but as soon as the infected wave encounter with the bloater at the end hits... Well, I hate to say it but the next few hours have felt too much like Uncharted.
Honestly, even admittedly playing the game way too conservatively to start, I felt the pacing has been really uneven overall and
Summer just dragged. I understand Boston shows the new world from the standpoint of the infected, Pittsburgh shows the new world from the standpoint of the survivors. But the thing is, I think Fall and Winter overall make that same point, and mostly get that point across better. As good as parts of Pittsburgh were, I feel practically everything after you get out of the Hotel basement could have been edited enormously. The thing goes totally off the rails once you hit the Suburbs and the dudes in the Hummer somehow just happen to know you survived jumping into the river and end up on the exact street you arrived at 10 minutes after the sniper bit (which I didn't really think was all that bad at first) starts, but I'm not gonna sweat the believability of some plot points too much.
Fall I thought was a great break after the bloat of the latter end of Summer, and the college campus I thought was a bit of a return to form for the game, but I'm just really tired of these human encounters at this point. It's still better overall than any Uncharted for my money, but I'm kinda bummed with the game right now after being hopeful things picked up again in the second half.
Fall I thought was a great break after the bloat of the latter end of Summer, and the college campus I thought was a bit of a return to form for the game, but I'm just really tired of these human encounters at this point. It's still better overall than any Uncharted for my money, but I'm kinda bummed with the game right now after being hopeful things picked up again in the second half.
I let a friend play the first 15 minutes of TLoU and it was pure torture.
Stopping and staring at random things for several minutes, confused about the guy stuck under the filing cabinet in the tunnel, confused about how/why the first zombies you encounter saw him while he was sprinting across the room.
Oh boy...
EDIT: He also died in the intro, just before the the last cinematic of the intro. He couldn't see the path leading off the road that the developers lit up nice and bright with lights. So he went and got killed lol...
1.21Gigawatts
Banned
I actually didn't enjoy the first two and half hours that much. I liked it, but I didn't love it.
But after the first encounter with clickers I was blown away and it became the best game I've ever played.
The_Hitcher89
Member
I like to assume that one of the Hunters with the sniper called for backup when they realised Joel was there. It makes sense as you get spotted in the cutscene preceding it.
For people who've finished it:
Also, you need a leap of faith to accept the way that the leader of the Fireflies just happens to be tasked with raising a girl who's immune. What happened to Ellie's mother btw? Was she bitten, and she gave Ellie to Marlene before being killed/turning?
dragonbane
Member
There are 4 seasons, but Summer is 60% of the game. Way too long I agree.
Also Pittsburgh had way too many human encounters at the end, felt unbelievable. And the truck somehow leaving the city just to hunt two survivors down for some reason and then finding them immediately in the Suburbs came across as pretty forced as well to me. Fortunately I didn't really mind it, but it felt pretty gamey in a bad way. When I first saw the truck it already screamed "boss fight" to me, so I was glad ND didn't go that route initially. But it turned out I was wrong and the truck shows up much later lol. I was just like "oh come on", like they tried to avoid the trope, but for some reason couldn't resist it at the end.
Basically. A case study could probably be done on players who hate the intro and their need for constant and immediate gratification.
dragonbane
Member
While it sounds a little bit overblown, he is not completely wrong. I didn't love the first couple of hours after the intro either and was ready to put it down actually. Fortunately I played till the first clicker encounter and since then I'm having a blast.
But to be fair I thought the intro was excellent (not the best ever, but damn good). But people have different opinions and he is entitled to his. He doesn't have to like the game. Based on his comments how he felt about Heavy Rain I'm pretty sure he is going to get into it after he plays a little bit more.
Sorry, it just seemed like you weren't prepared to accept people's persuasions and were certain that this was a shit game.
Boogalogist
Member
Just go play the game. If you have enough patience and actually enjoy a game like heavy rain, then you should enjoy tlou because this is much more of a game than the other is. Complaining about the intro is weak sauce, but it is your opinion, just a very premature one. Seriously though, complaining that you can't run when the game is trying to establish itself is ridiculous.
FlutterPuffs
Member
Here's my advice to anyone playing the game at the moment.
Stop entering this thread, and finish the game. You are just going to make it worse by being overhyped by some from this thread, get into stupid arguments and souring your view of the game; or accidentally clicking on some of the spoilers.
Not the best way to enjoy something imo. Also yeah I agree. The first 2 hours of this game isn't its strongest point.
I really don't get what more you'd like from the beginning of a story-heavy game. The exposition clearly needs to be laid down. The arguement of "well, then I'll just watch it" is so lost on me. The Heavy Rain intro was a mind-bender to me, too. The mundane stuff, put forth in such a color-saturated, 'life is great' setting really just brings so much peace to mind. I really can't see how anyone would say "this is too boring to play". It's sort of like not being able to sit outside and enjoy the weather.
Heavy Rain with its way of forcing you to interact builds character-relation in such a crazy way. You're really understanding this guy's life, because you're playing it. The purposefully slow segment introduces you to the controls as well as the setting and character. The atmosphere later in the game is so well done, juxtaposed to the opening. Exactly so with the opening of The Last Of Us, too. I mean, just the first interaction with Sarah is so fantastically characterized it blew me away. It'll just go ahead and spoiler it up, even if it's literally only the first minute of the game:
I mean, that's literally the first few minutes. From there it's just an emotional rollercoaster. We soon don't know what's going on, or why things are going the way they are. Everything's hectic and I care because I just got to know these two so quickly. Everything from here drives characterization. The consideration of Sarah. The rationale of Joel. A soft landing into gameplay, with an impending danger and getting to know the controls.
the whole experience is such a way of setting the premiss, indicating so many things, it's fantastic.
If you need something that opens up into more demanding gameplay right away, you're refusing the marriage of tutorial and exposition. This is introducing the player to many new things, and importantly the controls. It's managing to tell a fantastic story without overwhelming the player with the right buttons to press or the right way to go. It's an experience driven gameplay, it's not the time to have a hard-to-pass segment.
I really don't know what could've set the tone so quickly as that intro, so please feel free to let us know what was wrong. Criticism is great.
And then we're onto the sort of second intro. Yes, I get that we're not just jumping in-medias-res and shooting everything left and right. The fighting mechanics of this game is hard, getting to know the system is a slow process. It's done so well, I really don't get what you feel is wrong. Did you notice how the game taught you to use a med-kit? Story-driven tutorial. How fantastic.
Again, where are you rushing of to? What do you need to get here right now? What's so horrible about experiencing the world the way it is, now, and how people are dealing with it? Do you want gun-play? Do you want puzzles? You say you think it should be a cut-scene rather than gameplay. Why? Why is it so tough to be steered in the right direction? To have to walk around and see what people have to say? Do you not talk to everyone in a town in a JRPG? What is possibly taken away from you from having the controls in a controlled environment? Walking around and seeing the way everything is is a miles better way to introduce the world instead of saying "here's the sad people. Here are the crazy. Here's you. SHOOT SOMETHING IN THE HEAD NOW. HIS AXE IS ON FIRE. SHOOT HIM IN THE HEAD!"
I'm very open to discuss this, so I'm hoping to hear some criticism for the opening that doesn't build under the need for instant gratification, and I hope you can help me understand why this game's opening came short with you.
Heavy Rain with its way of forcing you to interact builds character-relation in such a crazy way. You're really understanding this guy's life, because you're playing it. The purposefully slow segment introduces you to the controls as well as the setting and character. The atmosphere later in the game is so well done, juxtaposed to the opening. Exactly so with the opening of The Last Of Us, too. I mean, just the first interaction with Sarah is so fantastically characterized it blew me away. It'll just go ahead and spoiler it up, even if it's literally only the first minute of the game:
The way she's sleeping on the couch, immediately tells us she's waiting for someone. Kids sleep on the couch because they like the comfort of the TV when no one else is home. Dad comes home, busy on the phone about work, even though it's already extremely late. How good of a dad can this guy be? Work is obviously important. Sarah seems keen to share something with her dad. He immediately says "Honey, not now, I really don't have the energy" and the heart just sinks in my chest. Poop. Here's such a sweet girl that's just longing for dad's affection and doesn't really get anything even after being alone all day. Seemingly reluctantly he opens the present, and he's sort of negative towards it. I'm sure my interpretation of the situation is spot on at this point. It's so underlined by how important it is for her that the watch works, when he says it doesn't. But he's just kidding with her, and within the first 10 seconds, we've already been set up with an emotional relief, as we see that these two have a great relationship. "I sell hardcore drugs" "Good, you can help out with the mortgage then". I smiled and felt all warm and fuzzy. How cool wouldn't it be to have a daughter and have that sort of relationship?
And you see him carry her to bed. He's obviously a loving dad. Suddenly it's not a dad that's too busy, because work is most important. He's busy because his daughter is most important. I thought the shift there was fantastic, and it set the premise that he took care of her, even if he couldn't be there all the time, further underlined by the note on the fridge.
And you see him carry her to bed. He's obviously a loving dad. Suddenly it's not a dad that's too busy, because work is most important. He's busy because his daughter is most important. I thought the shift there was fantastic, and it set the premise that he took care of her, even if he couldn't be there all the time, further underlined by the note on the fridge.
I mean, that's literally the first few minutes. From there it's just an emotional rollercoaster. We soon don't know what's going on, or why things are going the way they are. Everything's hectic and I care because I just got to know these two so quickly. Everything from here drives characterization. The consideration of Sarah. The rationale of Joel. A soft landing into gameplay, with an impending danger and getting to know the controls.
Not even touching on what happens next
If you need something that opens up into more demanding gameplay right away, you're refusing the marriage of tutorial and exposition. This is introducing the player to many new things, and importantly the controls. It's managing to tell a fantastic story without overwhelming the player with the right buttons to press or the right way to go. It's an experience driven gameplay, it's not the time to have a hard-to-pass segment.
I really don't know what could've set the tone so quickly as that intro, so please feel free to let us know what was wrong. Criticism is great.
And then we're onto the sort of second intro. Yes, I get that we're not just jumping in-medias-res and shooting everything left and right. The fighting mechanics of this game is hard, getting to know the system is a slow process. It's done so well, I really don't get what you feel is wrong. Did you notice how the game taught you to use a med-kit? Story-driven tutorial. How fantastic.
Again, where are you rushing of to? What do you need to get here right now? What's so horrible about experiencing the world the way it is, now, and how people are dealing with it? Do you want gun-play? Do you want puzzles? You say you think it should be a cut-scene rather than gameplay. Why? Why is it so tough to be steered in the right direction? To have to walk around and see what people have to say? Do you not talk to everyone in a town in a JRPG? What is possibly taken away from you from having the controls in a controlled environment? Walking around and seeing the way everything is is a miles better way to introduce the world instead of saying "here's the sad people. Here are the crazy. Here's you. SHOOT SOMETHING IN THE HEAD NOW. HIS AXE IS ON FIRE. SHOOT HIM IN THE HEAD!"
I'm very open to discuss this, so I'm hoping to hear some criticism for the opening that doesn't build under the need for instant gratification, and I hope you can help me understand why this game's opening came short with you.
MP3 isn't really a flawed compression. What that means is that what you're referring to is most likely just any compression done at a high level. If you want to compress anything to 96 kbps, it's never going to sound stellar. Remember that mp3 encoders have come a long way, too. I know of some people that could actually identify the encoder based on the sound. Today, they can barely point out a FLAC from a 320 kbps mp3. Myself included. So there's nothing shameful about high quality V0 mp3.
RPGCrazied
Member
Skins don't show up in all cutscenes. 
I guess some of them are prerecorded? Looks weird using a different shirt and backpack, only for the default outfit/backpack shown in most cutscenes.
Playing Normal + right now.
I guess some of them are prerecorded? Looks weird using a different shirt and backpack, only for the default outfit/backpack shown in most cutscenes.Playing Normal + right now.
I suspect the forced walk is at least partly to conceal loading.
That's what I meant! :^)
There doesn't seem to be a high level of compression used when encoding the audio, and this is made more apparent to me coming from titles with a relatively high level of compression. I noticed the same thing back when I made the jump from DVD to Blu-ray. That extra space makes a difference in the audio department.
Hey, would someone mind posting the survival+ glitch?
I wanna go for it in my third play through. I have all the weapons I use upgraded fully so it should be cake...i hope
1. Beat the game on any difficulty mode to unlock new game plus, and start a new game plus (on any difficulty).
2. Beat the first chapter, Hometown.
3. When the '20 years later' chapter starts, save the game and then quit to main menu.
4. Go to Chapter select and choose Hometown.
5. It will ask what difficulty mode you want to play it in, choose Survivor.
That did it for me.
The sound is encoded in PCM, so there's no compression.
Why doesThe_Hitcher89 said:
humanity doom/salvation have to be at stake in every one of these games?
I dunno - I thought the entiredragonbane said:
winter
KINGofCRA5H
Member
Yep.
Troll post?
That's the best part of the game and the major area of character development.
I thought winter was very important for Ellie's character development. She's had to learn how to survive on her own, and she has to take care of Joel.
KINGofCRA5H
Member
Um, yeah. Joel and Ellie
realizing they care immensely for each other?
I found the bow crucial when I was trying to be stealthy. The fact that I could often get back arrows was a huge plus. The rifle was only useful once or twice though.
But yea, agreed about the shotgun. It's almost a necessity.
Sure, but that didn't require toKINGofCRA5H said:
introduce a new tribe of man-eating hunters + do the whole fake-Aragorn death. Especially with the contrived way the Joel part of that chapter was handled
Again, no complaints about how gameplay was handled in that section, I enjoyed it, but I stand by my statement that it was plot-filler.
RustyNails
Member
Winter is meaningless filler.
It was all necessary for everything that goes on after Winter.
Ellie needed to be separated from Joel and see the extent of human depravity herself, and Joel needed to go after Ellie and establish that he sees her as a daughter at that point in the game, going as far as to brutally torture two men to do so. It was a significant progression/turning point of characters and it was reflected in the environment as well-- going from the calm snowy landscape to a full on blizzard. It's one of the most challenging segments in the game and I thought it was reflected in the story perfectly too. I dunno, it all felt very necessary. What follows afterward is a direct response to everything that happened in Winter. And last but not least, the perspective swap of the characters is paramount to the player; This video says it better than I can.
What felt like filler to me was
almost every hunter encounter in Fall, and a few encounters in Pittsburgh.
Evolved1
make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
If you watch the grounded documentary... some of the actors make interesting comments, and maybe I was reading too much into it, but makes you wonder.
For example,
iirc Ashley Johnson made a comment along the lines of TLoU being the birth/origin story of a female action heroine. Which might not mean anything beyond Ellie's growth in this one game, or could indicate maybe they revisit Ellie later down the line and she becomes the sole protagonist
That'd be an interesting development for a sequel. After seeing Ellie holding off on her own in Winter, it might even make sense.
That was the impression I got too.
Å
Åesop
Unconfirmed Member
Maybe this is how Joel & Ellie will look like in The Last of Us 2
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
Couldn't disagree more. Each section of the game makes you learn something new about what's left of the world, and people who inhabit it.
It also provides a canvas of events that culminate with changing your two characters in some significant way
but.............you have her as your avatar......
Loved the game, completed it twice on easy and survivor. Loved the story, characters, everything. But i think it's best to be experienced on easy, because gameplay isn't tight enough for high difficulty.
Also, the game would've been much cooler if Joel was the same age as Ellie.
Also, the game would've been much cooler if Joel was the same age as Ellie.
hm... I do wonder how that would've played out.
RustyNails
Member
I was actually being sarcastic to the previous poster that said winter is filler.
completely agree with ur post
Å
Åesop
Unconfirmed Member
I forgot something.. Heres the final version
