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The Last of Us: Remastered |OT| Game of the Years

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Playing on Grounded is making me wonder how I ever died in this game on my Normal and Hard play-throughs. Having to get creative with enemy encounters due to low resources really highlights how easily the AI patterns can be exploited.

I'm not playing on Grounded, but yeah, replaying Remastered highlights my issue with the original release where there really is a lot of room for AI improvement, especially with the hunters. Many of the most seemingly difficult and intense encounters, where you need to make your way through a long environment full of opponents or one particularly difficult set piece, can be a easily cheesed and exploited. The hunter encounter in the hotel is a good example of this: lots of enemies, fairly large environment, yet a lot of places to utterly decimate the enemy due to dumb bottlenecking AI or a lack of awareness.
 

gunbo13

Member
My take on the LoU is a combination of Max Payne, Half Life, Condemned, and Uncharted. I like the Max Payne, HL, and Condemned; not liking the Uncharted. Also a little Bioshock flair.

I think Naughty Dog took some steps forward with this title. I am citing classic titles, well not really Bioshock, and NG really has captured some of that iconic feel that the classics still serve today. The Max Payne atmosphere to me is oozing, from the simple homage of grabbing pills to frantically checking corners of every room. The HL reference is mostly the sandbox feel, setting traps, the materials, and the zombies I guess. I keep thinking and seeing headcrabs. Condemend for the survival and the meat of melee. It just feels good.

I'm up to the part where you meet the
two brothers,
so I'm actually not sure how far I am. Overall I am liking this game more then UC2. Yet I wish there was less UC2 in this title. I bore of find the ladder and plank games. Keep it minimal or get more intuitive. It's like the HL2 box gravity gun games but less fun. I also find the stealth somewhat boring. It basically feels just like UC2, and that's how I played the game. I favored the stealth in UC2 but the LoU just feels all too familiar.

I'm playing my first go around on hard FYI. Losing to bites can be a drag. :(

Pros:
  1. Great Atmosphere
  2. Enjoyable foraging and crafting
  3. Good health system
  4. Sandbox options
  5. Satisfying Melee
  6. Solid gunplay

Cons:
  1. Brain-dead AI, about as observant as Mr. Magoo.
  2. Cheap deaths, bull-rush deaths are frustrating as they are a surprise. Plus I just get bitten or Game of Throne smooshed. Bioshock handles bull-rushes wayyyy better.
  3. Average platforming and traversal puzzle solving.
  4. Been there done that Uncharted stealth
  5. NPCs getting me spotted due to stupid AI
  6. Ellie, if you have shotgun shells and no shotgun, give them to me right away!!! /videogames

So far the game is leaning towards being great but definitely not amazing. I'm not seeing anything original here from NG just a damn good packing of what has worked out amazing in the industry's past. Hell if I would make a game, I'd look towards the classic game-changers to build a foundation. And along with the titles I cited, I see MGS in the cat & mouse, Tomb Raider with that swimming, and many more moments that click with my memory. NG should be applauded for compiling such great elements into a single package, but I would have liked to see more of their own footprint; beyond what Uncharted has already provided.

EDIT:
Oh and that Dead Space grab with the weapons table.
 

psychotron

Member
I'm not playing on Grounded, but yeah, replaying Remastered highlights my issue with the original release where there really is a lot of room for AI improvement, especially with the hunters. Many of the most seemingly difficult and intense encounters, where you need to make your way through a long environment full of opponents or one particularly difficult set piece, can be a easily cheesed and exploited. The hunter encounter in the hotel is a good example of this: lots of enemies, fairly large environment, yet a lot of places to utterly decimate the enemy due to dumb bottlenecking AI or a lack of awareness.

The companion A.I. can be very frustrating on Grounded. At some points you're trapped with no ammo at all hiding behind cover, while your A.I. companion stands there with their rifle getting shot to death and doing nothing about it.
 

Phototropic

Neo Member
I intended to write a post on the story of The Last of Us and how the ending should be seen in the context of the world it takes places in, but I kind of lost track and haven't gotten around to finishing it. I feel like this piece of what I had already written might be somewhat relevant to your spoiler [ Not originally written as reply to your post, so don't feel offended by the tone in some of the parts. ]
Thanks for this write up. I enjoyed the ending but this added some good detail around everything.
 
Just beat survivor and holy crap! The hospital was a freaking cake walk if you go stealth. I killed 4 guys, but probably could have done 2 or 3. Other than the first half of winder with David, I think grounded will be pretty easy.

Now to do survivor +. Ill probably go 100% completion on easy+ afterwards just so I can go Rambo style on everything while I look for things.
 

thenexus6

Member
Just beat Left Behind. Felt pretty short actually must've been 3-4 hours in total but because I only played a little at a time it went by very quickly. It was good, but not as much as I expected.

After finishing the main game I didn't feel like I needed to revisit Ellie in any DLC really.. a Joel based DLC would've been much better, especially right after the out break and the early days hanging out with Tess and his Bro.
 

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
Fully beat this (DLC and all) for the first time.

One of the most amazing games ever created. Such an experience. WOW.
 

Hurley

Member
The companion A.I. can be very frustrating on Grounded. At some points you're trapped with no ammo at all hiding behind cover, while your A.I. companion stands there with their rifle getting shot to death and doing nothing about it.

The companion A.I was making me rage at certain spots, like they'd be facing a enemy, fire a shot point blank which misses and then they proceed to just casually turn around and walk away from it.
 

Applesauce

Boom! Bitch-slapped!
Got a question for those who catch all the tiny details from the game -
At the abandoned checkpoint right before the bookstore the group of hunters are talking about a woman who one of them eventually killed - any idea who he's talking about? I know it can't be Tess or Marlene
. Every time I come across this part I want to think they are referencing a person in the game.

It's the dialogue at the beginning here :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmGRSBMP5Do
 

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
Got a question for those who catch all the tiny details from the game -
At the abandoned checkpoint right before the bookstore the group of hunters are talking about a woman who one of them eventually killed - any idea who he's talking about? I know it can't be Tess or Marlene
. Every time I come across this part I want to think they are referencing a person in the game.

It's the dialogue at the beginning here :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmGRSBMP5Do
Not referencing anyone in particular. Just a conversation to establish that they kill anyone who passes through their territory.
 
a Joel based DLC would've been much better, especially right after the out break and the early days hanging out with Tess and his Bro.

I totally agree. As for Left Behind maybe I would like to see (left behind spoilers)
what happened after Rilley's got infected
, but I'm thinking it was better the way it ended and (the last of us and left behind spoilers)
the ending is true to the style of the story. I mean Druckmann implies things, like Joel's past after Sarah's death, he doesn't say everyting clearly.
 
I assume chapter select wont work for playthrouogh trophies..as in I can just go to new game plus last chapter and get it?

You can do easy + to build supplies then go in reverse through the game with chapter select 11-1 to get the chapter/sections marked off on a higher difficulty and finish on 12.

The only part you'll have any real difficulty with is the Ellie section but in the first encounter with the infected you can bait the first 3 waves into attacking david and get easy knife kills and use your 4 bullets on the last wave giving you 6 bullets back from David and maybe a few extra from the infected you shot.
 

Carbonox

Member
Finally got the Platinum trophy. Can't wait to get in to Left Behind now.

I've said it before in this thread but I'll say it again - I don't think even Naughty Dog could top the Winter chapter in future games. It's perfect. God damn perfect.
 

Pro

Member
"Dammit! Another one of Bill's traps. Over there, looks like the fridge is the counterweight."

How many times did you all have to listen to that on Grounded Mode? Screwed it up myself about 7-8 times.
 

Superflat

Member
"Dammit! Another one of Bill's traps. Over there, looks like the fridge is the counterweight."

How many times did you all have to listen to that on Grounded Mode? Screwed it up myself about 7-8 times.

Yeah, at least 4-5 times for me. Eventually just learned the order in which infected come out and from which direction so I hit most of em as soon as they appeared lol
 

JaseMath

Member
Would you feel that way if
Riley was a guy? People kiss folks they like. I don't see how it was "forced"
It sounds like you're implicitly implying
that it's the sexual orientation I have a problem with—it's absolutely not. By the time the scene happens, it's pretty obvious where the narrative of the story is taking the player (ie. theme of loss). When the kiss happened, I literally rolled my eyes. It simply wasn't needed; nervous glances, body language, and a bit of silence to fill the moment would have sufficed just fine.
 

Creamium

shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup
"Dammit! Another one of Bill's traps. Over there, looks like the fridge is the counterweight."

How many times did you all have to listen to that on Grounded Mode? Screwed it up myself about 7-8 times.

Not that many since I had my share of it on Survivor. Once I got to Grounded, I knew all the positions and got easy headshots. Part is still a bitch though.
 
"Dammit! Another one of Bill's traps. Over there, looks like the fridge is the counterweight."

How many times did you all have to listen to that on Grounded Mode? Screwed it up myself about 7-8 times.

Sooo annoying. I love grounded mode, but some of the checkpoints make no fucking sense.
 

Bunta

Fujiwara Tofu Shop
"Dammit! Another one of Bill's traps. Over there, looks like the fridge is the counterweight."

How many times did you all have to listen to that on Grounded Mode? Screwed it up myself about 7-8 times.

I got it in 2-3, thankfully.
 

Carcetti

Member
"Dammit! Another one of Bill's traps. Over there, looks like the fridge is the counterweight."

How many times did you all have to listen to that on Grounded Mode? Screwed it up myself about 7-8 times.

Four times. Then I remembered that part has infinite ammo :s
 
I'm currently in Grounded Mode Plus (reverse), after two playthroughs in Easy and Easy+.
I have 14 real subchapters to do and that's done! (
20 Years Later
to
Hotel Lobby
)
 

Pro

Member
Sooo annoying. I love grounded mode, but some of the checkpoints make no fucking sense.

So the lack of a checkpoint in the Capitol Building on Grounded mode was driving me nuts. It's right after you get the rifle. You take out the first 4 guys and there is supposed to be a checkpoint before the next 6. Not on Grounded mode. That part took me a while having to constantly redo the first 4 man encounter.

Four times. Then I remembered that part has infinite ammo :s

You know I always wondered about that and figured it was infinite. But every time I played it I was conscious of my ammo. Fire away! But reload otherwise those clickers will get on you when you run out.
 

Garibaldi

Member
Got a question for those who catch all the tiny details from the game -
At the abandoned checkpoint right before the bookstore the group of hunters are talking about a woman who one of them eventually killed - any idea who he's talking about? I know it can't be Tess or Marlene
. Every time I come across this part I want to think they are referencing a person in the game.

It's the dialogue at the beginning here :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmGRSBMP5Do

I always took it as foreshadowing of how to play as Ellie. She is less confrontational than Joel, but excels at sneak attacks. The girl in question does the same, but when she adopts a more aggressive stance, she is defeated.
 

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
Four times. Then I remembered that part has infinite ammo :s
I always thought that part was really clever about how it handled the ammo. It's infinite but right before you enter you pick up a ton of physical ammo then a percentage if it is reduced after the fight. It maintains the illusion of scarcity quite well.
 

Allonym

There should be more tampons in gaming
My take on the LoU is a combination of Max Payne, Half Life, Condemned, and Uncharted. I like the Max Payne, HL, and Condemned; not liking the Uncharted. Also a little Bioshock flair.

I think Naughty Dog took some steps forward with this title. I am citing classic titles, well not really Bioshock, and NG really has captured some of that iconic feel that the classics still serve today. The Max Payne atmosphere to me is oozing, from the simple homage of grabbing pills to frantically checking corners of every room. The HL reference is mostly the sandbox feel, setting traps, the materials, and the zombies I guess. I keep thinking and seeing headcrabs. Condemend for the survival and the meat of melee. It just feels good.

I'm up to the part where you meet the
two brothers,
so I'm actually not sure how far I am. Overall I am liking this game more then UC2. Yet I wish there was less UC2 in this title. I bore of find the ladder and plank games. Keep it minimal or get more intuitive. It's like the HL2 box gravity gun games but less fun. I also find the stealth somewhat boring. It basically feels just like UC2, and that's how I played the game. I favored the stealth in UC2 but the LoU just feels all too familiar.

I'm playing my first go around on hard FYI. Losing to bites can be a drag. :(

Pros:
  1. Great Atmosphere
  2. Enjoyable foraging and crafting
  3. Good health system
  4. Sandbox options
  5. Satisfying Melee
  6. Solid gunplay

Cons:
  1. Brain-dead AI, about as observant as Mr. Magoo.
  2. Cheap deaths, bull-rush deaths are frustrating as they are a surprise. Plus I just get bitten or Game of Throne smooshed. Bioshock handles bull-rushes wayyyy better.
  3. Average platforming and traversal puzzle solving.
  4. Been there done that Uncharted stealth
  5. NPCs getting me spotted due to stupid AI
  6. Ellie, if you have shotgun shells and no shotgun, give them to me right away!!! /videogames

So far the game is leaning towards being great but definitely not amazing. I'm not seeing anything original here from NG just a damn good packing of what has worked out amazing in the industry's past. Hell if I would make a game, I'd look towards the classic game-changers to build a foundation. And along with the titles I cited, I see MGS in the cat & mouse, Tomb Raider with that swimming, and many more moments that click with my memory. NG should be applauded for compiling such great elements into a single package, but I would have liked to see more of their own footprint; beyond what Uncharted has already provided.

EDIT:
Oh and that Dead Space grab with the weapons table.

Sorry to quote your entire post for 2 or 3 things I'd like to address but I'm pretty certain that Ellie does not collect ammunition nor does npcs being in view of enemies cause them to detect you. I think the only time the enemy ai will interact with ellie, bill or whomever is if they have spotted you, the player. I can agree with your last thought concerning TLoU drawing elements from various games however but I don't think that's a flaw. Sure the game doesn't do anything drastically new but it's polished in all areas so that's irrelevant to its quality...In my eyes at least
 

Pro

Member
I always thought that part was really clever about how it handled the ammo. It's infinite but right before you enter you pick up a ton of physical ammo then a percentage if it is reduced after the fight. It maintains the illusion of scarcity quite well.

Plus Ellie throws you some more midway through. Yeah clever girl Naughty Dog.
 

Pro

Member
[*]Brain-dead AI, about as observant as Mr. Magoo.

This has too be the way it is. If it were ultra realistic the game would be terrible and unplayable.

[*]Average platforming and traversal puzzle solving.

Not really a platforming or puzzle game at all.

[*]Been there done that Uncharted stealth

Uncharted stealth? Laugh. More like come out guns blazing. LoU stealth earned its own right.

[*]NPCs getting me spotted due to stupid AI

NPC's don't get you spotted, BUT if the NPC pushes an object into you and it then makes a sound for instance, the enemies will register it.

[*]Ellie, if you have shotgun shells and no shotgun, give them to me right away!!! /videogames

Don't remember Ellie picking up any ammo ever.
 

Hubb

Member
Don't remember Ellie picking up any ammo ever.

Depends on what difficulty you play on and how ham you go with shooting. I have played the game through 3 times (on my forth) and Ellie has never given me ammo aside from the one scripted event.
 

Neil_J_UK

Member
Coming up to the university now on my grounded playthrough. One thing I've noticed is the artificial sense of supply scarcity - for e.g, for the first half the game I hardly used any bullets or consumables 'just in case' I really needed them at some point. By doing this, I got next to no supplies/ammo for a very long time. I had between 1-4 bullets each in my weapons at any one time, never more.

As soon as I started using them, I was getting the supplies more frequently, but again never going over the seemingly pre-determined number of supplies/ammo the game 'wanted' me to have for the difficulty level I was playing at.

This doesn't bother me, it's just something I noticed. I've probably made things harder on myself than I needed to from constantly restarting the checkpoint if I didn't stealth my way through, or wasted too much ammo.
 

TheUsual

Gold Member
I just finished this for the first time on my PS3 this past weekend and I must know: were the cutscenes CGI or were they real time?

Great game and I did enjoy the ending.
A morbid memory: anyone get Sam, Henry, and Ellie killed by accident by the humvee guys throwing the molotovs at them when you were covering them with the sniper rifle? I did and seeing the short scene watching them burn and Joel saying something along the lines of "Sweet Jesus" stuck out to me
 

Ridley327

Member
I just finished this for the first time on my PS3 this past weekend and I must know: were the cutscenes CGI or were they real time?

Great game and I did enjoy the ending.
A morbid memory: anyone get Sam, Henry, and Ellie killed by accident by the humvee guys throwing the molotovs at them when you were covering them with the sniper rifle? I did and seeing the short scene watching them burn and Joel saying something along the lines of "Sweet Jesus" stuck out to me

They're FMVs that they were recorded from the game's engine, but with substantially higher quality lighting and motion blur.
 

theWB27

Member
So far....this game is everything everyone says it is. It's SNOWING!!! But life calls....work. Naughty Dog made something special.
 

Bunta

Fujiwara Tofu Shop
Currently getting my shit kicked in on grounded during
the final hold out in the factory with David.
 
Is it possible to do that shotgun execution move from the old trailers where an enemy is on the ground and you aim a shotgun at them and they scream out noooo!

?
 

Stoze

Member
Is it possible to do that shotgun execution move from the old trailers where an enemy is on the ground and you aim a shotgun at them and they scream out noooo!

?

Yeah, basically. You can beat enemies until they're on the ground pleading like that and then shoot them in the face. Not sure if they react contextually to a gun being aimed at them, I'd have to test it out.
 

Hubb

Member
Is it possible to do that shotgun execution move from the old trailers where an enemy is on the ground and you aim a shotgun at them and they scream out noooo!

?

99.99% sure you can't. There are certain ones where you melee them with a pipe and when they are on the ground with only 1 hit left they kind of grovel with their hand out. Nothing like the trailer though, least not that I saw.
 

Oublieux

Member
99.99% sure you can't. There are certain ones where you melee them with a pipe and when they are on the ground with only 1 hit left they kind of grovel with their hand out. Nothing like the trailer though, least not that I saw.

In my first playthrough after completing Bill's town and encountering the human enemies, I melee'd an enemy until they were on the ground and whipped out my pistol--the enemy pleaded for his life.

It's a contextual though: melee until down on ground, aim gun, the gun will lock onto the head automatically; the pleading might be randomized based on the situation.

Edit: I don't recall the enemy letting out a final shout though, specifically.
 

Hubb

Member
In my first playthrough after completing Bill's town and encountering the human enemies, I melee'd an enemy until they were on the ground and whipped out my pistol--the enemy pleaded for his life.

It's a contextual though: melee until down on ground, aim gun, the gun will lock onto the head automatically; the pleading might be randomized based on the situation.

Edit: I don't recall the enemy letting out a final shout though, specifically.

Yeah it is the ending I am unsure of. It is possible I just haven't seen it, but I think the trailer added a bit to it for extra effect.
 

Hubb

Member
Jesus Fucking christ i finished.

Game plus can be made on the once you finished and below?

Please someone explain.


Sorry for the double post I am on mobile. Yes new game plus is suppose to be the same difficulty or lower. You can glitch it to play on any difficulty though.
 

Raptor

Member
Sorry for the double post I am on mobile. Yes new game plus is suppose to be the same difficulty or lower. You can glitch it to play on any difficulty though.
Asking because the collectibles show 32 while I finished with 102, but the upgrades are there.
 

Hubb

Member
Asking because the collectibles show 32 while I finished with 102, but the upgrades are there.


That is only showing your collectibles for your new game. There is a separate save that has a total number of all collectibles you have. If you want to check go into the menu and I believe it is under stats. It should show you a total number of collectibles and that is across all playthroughs.

And it is probably so high for a new game because you keep all toolboxes across playthroughs and all upgrade books.
 
99.99% sure you can't. There are certain ones where you melee them with a pipe and when they are on the ground with only 1 hit left they kind of grovel with their hand out. Nothing like the trailer though, least not that I saw.


false.

did it with the ps3 version last year.

but no shout at the end.
 

Hubb

Member
false.

did it with the ps3 version last year.

but no shout at the end.


Lol it isn't that false then. The poster asks if they scream no. I basically explained what happens minus the scream. I worded my first post wrong though. I probably shouldn't have said nothing like.
 
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