JR#8
Norm Smith Medallist
Had a good chuckle at this one.
PS4 The Last of Us Part II - PS5 Remaster coming Jan 19
- Thread starter The Big Sauce
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Had a good chuckle at this one.
I didn't feel like they turned the fireflies into heroes, likewise I still didn't see Joel as a villain by the end. Main thing I took away from the game is that there usually aren't 'heroes' or 'villains' in the traditional sense.
Well yeah, the game/character would fall apart pretty quickly if he did 
At least here it fits with the theme and tone they were going for, as you've said its much more serious. I just think its a bit unfair to apply that standard to this game just because of its themes, you could pick apart literally 100s of video games for the same kinda disconnect between characters in cutscenes vs their actions required for gameplay reasons.
Hmm, dunno about that (the WLF having someone who could do it), no expert but I reckon it would need more than just extracting some brain tissue and putting it in the blender lol. Probably need a virologist for a start, reckon its pretty plausible the WLF didn't have the expertise. That's what the game essentially tells us anyway, that piece of audio re: it not being possible to create a cure is there for a reason.
At least here it fits with the theme and tone they were going for, as you've said its much more serious. I just think its a bit unfair to apply that standard to this game just because of its themes, you could pick apart literally 100s of video games for the same kinda disconnect between characters in cutscenes vs their actions required for gameplay reasons.
Hmm, dunno about that (the WLF having someone who could do it), no expert but I reckon it would need more than just extracting some brain tissue and putting it in the blender lol. Probably need a virologist for a start, reckon its pretty plausible the WLF didn't have the expertise. That's what the game essentially tells us anyway, that piece of audio re: it not being possible to create a cure is there for a reason.
- Jun 17, 2019
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The theme of the game was perception, people are people they're not villains or heroes, it's the old troupe "you're the hero of your story".
00Stinger
100 - 7
15 hours in and I assume I am at the halfway point?
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Day 1 of Abbie
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00Stinger
100 - 7
45% playthrough with Abbie, then 10% with stand off between Abby and Ellie and ending?
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Play and find out!
00Stinger
100 - 7
Nice.....now I am in suspense
Have my own idea of what might happen but we will see
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You're in for a great ride.
Haha to be fair you asked the same thing
Only when I thought I was near the end lol
Mister Carlton
Better than you.
How long did the platinum take aussiedude ?
aussiedude
Pac-12 After Dark 2014-2023
- Feb 7, 2010
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Prob about 45-50hrs. you need to play NG+ about 60-70% to get the remaining pills and parts for upgrades. and picking up some collectibles can take time when they are at the end of long chapters. but i guess you could rush through chapters faster on easy/assisted to pick them up.
Last edited:
I've heard you can change accessibility settings as well if you want all the collectables to glow/stand out. Also turn on auto pick-up.
aussiedude
Pac-12 After Dark 2014-2023
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Yeah. I never tired. but once you get the way items are placed in the game you tend to know where to look. only some collectibles are hidden.
I think you can also change how often or rare materials are to find. but dont think that effects pills or parts.
Dannnnnnnnnn
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- Aug 24, 2012
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I beat this last night (instead of watching the second half of the footy, thanks for asking) and took a bit of time to process everything and figure out how I felt about the game.
I have made this post spoiler-free apart from some cryptic allusions to features of the game, but I still recommend avoiding it if you want to go into the game blind.
Overall, it's a good game that is let down by the lofty standards that Naughty Dog have set for themselves. Is that fair? Maybe not - but I can't help but feel disappointed by the game despite broadly enjoying my time with it.
Moment-to-moment, this game is great. The gameplay is much improved from the first game. They did an excellent job with the settings and there are a number of memorable set pieces and moments (some buffoonery with a hat comes to mind amongst others that are less spoiler-free friendly). The uncertainty and at times fear that they manage to inspire in some scenes, and the intense atmosphere that they generate throughout is masterful. Their design of areas, use of artifacts/notes to convey inner human experience, and their appreciation for what works in video games are all exceptional. I also need to applaud the diversity of the casting. Overall, everything about most of the scenes by themselves is a great triumph for modern gaming, and the level of polish is outstanding.
A problem arises, though, when you look at the game globally; at all of these pieces together and how they complement each other. Sadly, there is just nothing engaging connecting these moments together. Naughty Dog are masters at conveying narrative through this medium, and they have again done a spectacular job of this, but the narrative that they had to communicate was just not impactful or captivating. The main beats of the story were disjointed, not particularly engaging, mixed in their messaging, and inconsistent with established character traits and behaviour. The course of the story was not effective either. It is difficult to sum this up in a spoiler-free way, but the ordering of events made it difficult to follow and to remember how things aligned. The impact of seeing the way different people reacted to the same events was limited by the fact that we first saw that moment 15 hours of gameplay ago, which makes direct contrasting challenging. It's just not the most effective way to convey what you're trying to convey.
Further, I found my attachment to the characters fleeting at best, and it often felt like this fleeting attachment was experienced by the characters themselves. The best example of this, in making this as spoiler-free as possible, was with character deaths. In the first game, every lost character made me feel something. At times I felt like I'd lost a friend; I'd lost somebody who could help make sense of the dangerous and scary world around the characters. In some cases, it made me lament the innocent victims of the outbreak and feel for those affected. Every death served some purpose narratively and weren't just thrown in for shock value. The way they managed to establish this in the first game was a work of art. In the sequel, however, this was completely absent: I felt nothing when somebody was lost, with a couple of notable exceptions. This was not helped by the limited emotional response of the characters themselves, who seemed to dust themselves off, say, "Well, I'm glad I got through that," and then go and buy themselves a new coat. Okay, not quite to that extreme, but their reactions were blunted and at times nonexistent. Yes, of course, at this point these people are numb to death and loss and the impacts of these are not what they once were, but you can convey this without completely undermining the quality of the relationship that you have developed by making them move on so effortlessly. The game did not manage to make me connect with the story or its characters, and that is what made the first game so great.
These things together made the game overall a bit of a slog at times. I hit a wall where I just had to stop several times throughout. It's not that I wasn't having fun, but there was just this building burden of disconnection and amotivation. There was nothing pushing me through; I didn't feel invested in what happened next. I wasn't desperate to find out what the next story beat was. That said, I thought that the final chapters were masterfully done and I do wish that that quality had extended throughout the game. I felt overall pretty satisfied by the end of the game, but it wasn't enough to make up for what came before.
Overall, this is very much not a game where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The parts themselves are outstanding, but do not come together in such a way that they amplify the quality of each other. The first game was a success because the decision to make TLOU was driven by having a captivating story to tell. Unfortunately, this game falls comparatively flat as the story was obviously constructed after the decision to make a sequel was made, and I can't help but feel like it should have been a lot better. The pieces were there to make this a true masterpiece, a genuine contender for best game of all time, but instead we are left with a number of really exceptional moments that aren't made the most of.
I have made this post spoiler-free apart from some cryptic allusions to features of the game, but I still recommend avoiding it if you want to go into the game blind.
Overall, it's a good game that is let down by the lofty standards that Naughty Dog have set for themselves. Is that fair? Maybe not - but I can't help but feel disappointed by the game despite broadly enjoying my time with it.
Moment-to-moment, this game is great. The gameplay is much improved from the first game. They did an excellent job with the settings and there are a number of memorable set pieces and moments (some buffoonery with a hat comes to mind amongst others that are less spoiler-free friendly). The uncertainty and at times fear that they manage to inspire in some scenes, and the intense atmosphere that they generate throughout is masterful. Their design of areas, use of artifacts/notes to convey inner human experience, and their appreciation for what works in video games are all exceptional. I also need to applaud the diversity of the casting. Overall, everything about most of the scenes by themselves is a great triumph for modern gaming, and the level of polish is outstanding.
A problem arises, though, when you look at the game globally; at all of these pieces together and how they complement each other. Sadly, there is just nothing engaging connecting these moments together. Naughty Dog are masters at conveying narrative through this medium, and they have again done a spectacular job of this, but the narrative that they had to communicate was just not impactful or captivating. The main beats of the story were disjointed, not particularly engaging, mixed in their messaging, and inconsistent with established character traits and behaviour. The course of the story was not effective either. It is difficult to sum this up in a spoiler-free way, but the ordering of events made it difficult to follow and to remember how things aligned. The impact of seeing the way different people reacted to the same events was limited by the fact that we first saw that moment 15 hours of gameplay ago, which makes direct contrasting challenging. It's just not the most effective way to convey what you're trying to convey.
Further, I found my attachment to the characters fleeting at best, and it often felt like this fleeting attachment was experienced by the characters themselves. The best example of this, in making this as spoiler-free as possible, was with character deaths. In the first game, every lost character made me feel something. At times I felt like I'd lost a friend; I'd lost somebody who could help make sense of the dangerous and scary world around the characters. In some cases, it made me lament the innocent victims of the outbreak and feel for those affected. Every death served some purpose narratively and weren't just thrown in for shock value. The way they managed to establish this in the first game was a work of art. In the sequel, however, this was completely absent: I felt nothing when somebody was lost, with a couple of notable exceptions. This was not helped by the limited emotional response of the characters themselves, who seemed to dust themselves off, say, "Well, I'm glad I got through that," and then go and buy themselves a new coat. Okay, not quite to that extreme, but their reactions were blunted and at times nonexistent. Yes, of course, at this point these people are numb to death and loss and the impacts of these are not what they once were, but you can convey this without completely undermining the quality of the relationship that you have developed by making them move on so effortlessly. The game did not manage to make me connect with the story or its characters, and that is what made the first game so great.
These things together made the game overall a bit of a slog at times. I hit a wall where I just had to stop several times throughout. It's not that I wasn't having fun, but there was just this building burden of disconnection and amotivation. There was nothing pushing me through; I didn't feel invested in what happened next. I wasn't desperate to find out what the next story beat was. That said, I thought that the final chapters were masterfully done and I do wish that that quality had extended throughout the game. I felt overall pretty satisfied by the end of the game, but it wasn't enough to make up for what came before.
Overall, this is very much not a game where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The parts themselves are outstanding, but do not come together in such a way that they amplify the quality of each other. The first game was a success because the decision to make TLOU was driven by having a captivating story to tell. Unfortunately, this game falls comparatively flat as the story was obviously constructed after the decision to make a sequel was made, and I can't help but feel like it should have been a lot better. The pieces were there to make this a true masterpiece, a genuine contender for best game of all time, but instead we are left with a number of really exceptional moments that aren't made the most of.
Mister Carlton
Better than you.
Why did they make Ellie look like an anorexic ruby rose?
Sir_Ingram
Senior List
It took me almost 2 months but I finally got it finished recently (hard difficulty).
One of the best games I've ever played, and in my top 3 for PS4 along with God of War and The Witcher 3.
Incredible visuals and audio. I actually enjoyed playing as Abby and learning about her journey. Flashbacks of MGS2 playing as Raiden!
I knew nothing about the story, switched myself off from any related content that would pop up online to avoid spoilers.
Random thoughts - I found it super satisfying to smash car windows but never found anything in them. I always try stealth but don't mind a hard fought shootout with human enemies. There was probably about 10 times I thought the game was over, including as early as the end of Day 3 playing as Ellie!
One of the best games I've ever played, and in my top 3 for PS4 along with God of War and The Witcher 3.
Incredible visuals and audio. I actually enjoyed playing as Abby and learning about her journey. Flashbacks of MGS2 playing as Raiden!
I knew nothing about the story, switched myself off from any related content that would pop up online to avoid spoilers.
Random thoughts - I found it super satisfying to smash car windows but never found anything in them. I always try stealth but don't mind a hard fought shootout with human enemies. There was probably about 10 times I thought the game was over, including as early as the end of Day 3 playing as Ellie!
- Jul 13, 2012
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00Stinger
100 - 7
probably for the same reason that they made Abbie look like a female version of the Hulk
- Jun 14, 2012
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over-exaggerating much?
Yep, Abby is definitely not Green.
Mister Carlton
Better than you.
Permadeath! Might be good for a laugh to see how far I could get.
Looking forward to trying the unlimited crafting/one touch death stuff though. Imagine that would be pretty cathartic after how stressful the fighting is normally. Reminds me a little of the old Resident Evils would let you cut loose with cheaty weapons after you'd beaten the game. Good stuff.
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