The Last of Us (PS3 & PS4)

[Badnik Mechanic]

So many easter eggs in this game.

 

 

 

 

In this next one.... and Uncharted movie... look at who is to play Drake...

 

 

[Lamor]

Guys... GUYS

 

 

I got all the way to 'The Outskirts'. Man, so far this game is everything I hoped for.

[Silencer226]

I fought a Bloater for the first time in the game... That motherfucker took me probably a 15-20 minutes to beat because I had no ammo, no molotovs, no bombs, nothing, just BILL. And by the grace of God, the game took pity on me, and decided to give me a medkit and 4 shotgun shells and a molotov after 12 minutes of me basically running away like a frightened schoolgirl. D:

[TheOcelot]

Yay, I completed TLOU. Great game. The story was beautifully told, quite moving at times. Kind of sad that the game ended. I wouldn't have minded it being three times as long!

 

Towards the end of the game you really get an I am legend kind of vibe, because you feel so isolated/lonely.

 

I am now going to play New Game Plus mode as I want to make my weapons as powerful as possible, and explore all those areas that I missed in my first playthrough.

 

I wouldn't give this game a perfect 10, but it's definitely worthy of a 9.5/10. One of the best games I have played on the PS3.

Edited June 18, 2013 by Metal Gear -Bender-

[Gabz Girl]

I think I'm close to beating the game now...it's fantastic, absolutely fantastic. The story is so damn tense but amazing at the same time! There were parts that I just didn't expect at all and made me feel really upset like

Ellie stabbing that psycho guy like crazy

at the end of Winter chapter. Because of this, I don't think I'll be doing a second playthrough until much, much later. <=P Anywho the story is great and I think it's ten times better than TWD game. Yah, I said it.

The graphics are incredible, the voice acting is great, some of the best facial mo cap I've ever seen (way better than LA Noire) and the gameplay is intense and pretty tough to boot! However, I don't think this game deserves a 10, for two reasons...

1. There are quite a number of glitches in this game. One of them actually killed me! I was punching an enemy when suddenly I fell through the floor...and fell, and fell, until I landed and died. o_O

2. It can be a bit fiddly sometimes to switch from one weapon to the other. I know this is a survival game but they could've had a circle of weapons to choose anything from really quick a la AC2. I just find switching from one to the other a bit of a chore.

Apart from that though, Naughty Dog have done an amazing job with this game. Once I finish the entire game I'll give my final verdict.

[Lamor]

I'm 10 hours into the game. Daaaamn, it's soooo freakin' good!

 

I just finished Summer part of the story. 

 

Poor Sam and Henry

I really wanted them to join us.

 

Also screw Bloaters. It took a molotov, bomb and two rounds from my shotgun to take that sucker down. And that death animation when he gets you... ouch.

 

'Kay. I'm off to play more of this masterpiece. 

 

PS.: El Diablo rocks. 

[Badnik Mechanic]

I managed to beat the multiplayer last night, so thats both the Hunters and Fireflies campaign done, back to the original story.

 

Be prepared to be REALLY frustrated if you're going for 100% completion, especially the multiplayer. Once you unlock silenced bolt action weapons and silenced 9mm, it becomes a breeze, especially if you use the ability to 'tag' enemies.

 

But be prepared to be frustrated and only every pick easy missions (like downs/executions/special executions) for 100% clan threat missions.

 

Also a 'trick' has been discovered which cuts down the multiplayer time by half (it's well over 20+ hours just to beat the multiplayer), but you need to make sure you're on the ball when you do complete missions since your clan will suffer by doing this trick. It's basically quitting games to the main multiplayer menu, it counts as a 'day' so in essence it speeds the game up.

[Lamor]

 

The ending was perfect. It really was. I can't even describe why I love this game so much. It left me speechless.

Just... man. Too many emotions. Game of the Year all the freaking way.

[Stacy]

Just finished it and well that was bloody good its hard to think that this was made by the same people who brought us games like Crash Bandicoot way back in 1996, the progress Naughty Dog have made over the years is impressive.

 

I have only one gripe. The Stealth got a bit tedious, quite a few times I just thought sod it, beat and shot my way through especially when I was hiding from human saviours. The amount of times I reset an encounter, but I didn't want to waste all my ammo so I would work out how to deal with enemies before attacking or sneaking past. That is the thing with this game you have to think about how you approach things you can't just go in and shoot everybody without wasting ammo that you might need later in the game.

 

I agree with Gabz this game has some of the best motion capture graphics I have seen in a game. You can tell Naughty Dog took the PS3 to its limits, the game has long load times but looking at the visuals it is worth it.

 

I wouldn't say it is my Game Of The Year just yet. GTA V might trump it. But I definitely be in my top 5.  

Edited June 25, 2013 by BW199148

[Silencer226]

I feel like a turtle compared to everyone else currently playing this. I just made it to the Fall section of the game.

[Nintendoga]

Just beat the story earlier.

It was a pretty good game I guess. Better then Uncharted 3 & 1, but Naughty Dog's bar set with U2 still has yet to be beaten.

Admittedly the stealth did get a bit repetitive, but they change up the gameplay every now and then to make it feel a bit fresher.

Graphics were gorgeous, as was the incredible motion capture and cutscenes.

About the story though. I'm a sucker for this kind of writing style and structure, so I got very invested in Joel and Ellie. Overall the entire story was great imo. But there's the ending...

The ending left me unsatisfied. I am glad they avoided the annoying cliche of "one of the main characters die at the end" that every zombie game has, but it just...ended.  It felt like they were building up to something, especially after the hospital sequence, but the game just went like "nope. The end."

Not to say it wasn't a good ending, but I guess it's my fault for getting invested in these characters. I wouldn't mind a sequel, but honestly where can you go for a sequel? People find out Ellie is infected so Joel and her keep running away? I really can't see what they can do for a sequel.

It sucks cause I want to find out what happens next in that universe, but I don't want there to be a sequel unless they can find something that works.

Also, David was creepy as FUCK.
And the whole winter sequence was really cool too.

I came into this thinking it would be about some old man and a little girl trying to survive together in an apocalyptic world. While the game wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be, I'd say the overall game exceeded my expectations (though they weren't very high tbh)

Too many flaws keep this from being GOTY, but it's still a really good game. Great way for the PS3 to go out with a bang (ignoring GT6 and Puppeteer)

Edited June 22, 2013 by Nintendoga

[Lamor]

It was a pretty good game I guess. Better then Uncharted 3 & 1, but Naughty Dog's bar set with U2 still has yet to be beaten.

 

Honestly I found this game to be much more fun than Uncharted 2. U2 was kinda overwhelming for me. It wasn't until my second playthrough when I actually enjoyed the game. TLOU on the other hand was complete opposite. I loved the slow pace of the game and the combat was really entertaining for me because of all different ways you could approach your enemies.

 

About the ending...

 

 

I loved it but I have one complaint. I'd like Ellie's reaction to be a bit more fleshed out. She obviously saw through Joel's lie but hers 'okay' could be taken in so many different ways.

 

I like this guy's interpretation the most:

 

 

Humanity is not worth saving at this point, and it, along with everything else can't be magically reversed and fixed with a simple vaccine. Joel understands this. We understand this. It has also been confirmed that in the end, Ellie KNOWS Joel is lying to her, but her simple "Okay." says that she allows him too because she accepts this, and understands too that he needs her, and she needs him. This is the only person she has left who she knows wouldn't leave her, and for this reason she is willing to let him lie to her.

 

[Sami]

I don't know if this has been posted here yet, but people are speculating that Naughty Dog is teasing the PS4 launch date.

 

 

We know it releases in early November for Europe, so that date actually does seem very likely.

 

#BELIEVE

[Lamor]

I don't know if this has been posted here yet, but people are speculating that Naughty Dog is teasing the PS4 launch date.

 

Nah. It's just the date of the evacuation - a few days prior to the infection outbreak.

 

I guess we'll see

[Silencer226]

They will probably do something special on that day though.

[TheOcelot]

Honestly I found this game to be much more fun than Uncharted 2. U2 was kinda overwhelming for me. It wasn't until my second playthrough when I actually enjoyed the game. TLOU on the other hand was complete opposite. I loved the slow pace of the game and the combat was really entertaining for me because of all different ways you could approach your enemies.

 

About the ending...

 

 

I loved it but I have one complaint. I'd like Ellie's reaction to be a bit more fleshed out. She obviously saw through Joel's lie but hers 'okay' could be taken in so many different ways.

 

I like this guy's interpretation the most:

 

Quote

 

 

 

From Joel's prospective, I like to think that he killed Marlene (not to mention half the Firefly's) and saved Ellie's life, because:

1) He realised that he loves Ellie as if she were his own daughter.

 2) It was the military - the system - that killed his daughter, Sarah. So this was Joel's revenge on society. I.e. that they don't deserve an easy fix. Ellie is immune after all. If she had children one day then they could be immune as well.

 

3) The Firefly's seemed desperate. By the sound of it (based on a document you find) they had already cut up brains of previous immune people (killed them maybe) to see why they were immune.

 

 

Overall I like the ending. It fits the mood of the game. It's not a victory or anything. It's just two people accepting they need each other.

 

I completed New Game Plus Mode. I have 90 of the 141 collectables. How could I have missed so many. I was exploring like crazy!

Edited June 22, 2013 by Metal Gear -Bender-

[Lamor]

 If she had children one day then they could be immune as well.

 

 

Isn't Ellie infected though? 'Cause that means she could infect others. During winter chapter she bites David and says that now he's infected which could actually be true. Going by that logic her partner would get infected as well...

 

[Tori Himemiya]

 

Isn't Ellie infected though? 'Cause that means she could infect others. During winter chapter she bites David and says that now he's infected which could actually be true. Going by that logic her partner would get infected as well...

 

Well theoretically if Ellie got it on with another immune infected then they would most likely immune. Also remember Ellie would be the mom too so even if she gets her partner gets infected due to the deed the baby should be fine since she's the one going to carry for it. So it could be possible that there can be more immunities down the generations. But I'm only guessing.

I feel kind of gross talking about this though.

[Lamor]

Well theoretically if Ellie got it on with another immune infected then they would most likely immune. Also remember Ellie would be the mom too so even if she gets her partner gets infected due to the deed the baby should be fine since she's the one going to carry for it. So it could be possible that there can be more immunities down the generations. But I'm only guessing.

 

You're completely right.

 

Too bad immune are rare. Guess some 'sacrifices' have to be made.

 

 

I feel kind of gross talking about this though.

 

Hey we're talking about it from scientifc standpoint. Not pervy at all.

Edited June 22, 2013 by Lamor

[Nintendoga]

 

Isn't Ellie infected though? 'Cause that means she could infect others. During winter chapter she bites David and says that now he's infected which could actually be true. Going by that logic her partner would get infected as well...

 

Actually,

After Ellie bites David if you watch him closely after that you notice that his body starts fidgeting alot more then usual, a sign of the early stages of infection

Ellie never bite Joel though. Joel has no reason to be infected unless Ellie's blood/saliva or whatever somehow gets inside his body.

 

From Joel's prospective, I like to think that he killed Marlene (not to mention half the Firefly's) and saved Ellie's life, because:

1) He realised that he loves Ellie as if she were his own daughter.

 2) It was the military - the system - that killed his daughter, Sarah. So this was Joel's revenge on society. I.e. that they don't deserve an easy fix. Ellie is immune after all. If she had children one day then they could be immune as well.

 

3) The Firefly's seemed desperate. By the sound of it (based on a document you find) they had already cut up brains of previous immune people (killed them maybe) to see why they were immune.

 

 

Overall I like the ending. It fits the mood of the game. It's not a victory or anything. It's just two people accepting they need each other.

 

I completed New Game Plus Mode. I have 90 of the 141 collectables. How could I have missed so many. I was exploring like crazy!

Agreed

Thinking back onto the ending, it really is the best way they could've gone.

I used to think Joel was selfish for dooming humanity just to save Ellie, but really if anybody else was put in that position, they would've done the same thing. That and the fact that there was only a slim chance that Ellie could've cured everyone, Joel didn't want to base that chance and lose the only person he truly cares for left in the world.

And during the ending when Joel lies and says "I swear" and Ellie just responds with "Okay." Brilliant way of using subtle movements to show how doubtful she is.

The fact that their relationship is now based on a lie must really hurt them. I mean they went through hell and back, had Sam & Henry, Tess, and Marcelene all die in vain, all because Joel chose Ellie over humanity and lied about it. And how Ellie must feel, thinking about all the people she's lost just for nothing.  

That one off line she says "It can't be for nothing" was a great way to foreshadow the ending.

TLDR: The Ending really does fit the game's mood.

Edited June 22, 2013 by Nintendoga

[Badnik Mechanic]

So I just beat it today... yes I'm on vacation yet I brought my PS3 just so I could finish the game =p

 

Yes... I brought a PS3 on holiday despite the accomodation having a PS3 here just so I could play it... don't believe me? I'll post a photo later... =p

 

I'm gonna be honest, despite my hype with this... there were things I wasn't looking forward too, I didn't like the idea of crafting weapons/items. I hate it in RPGs so wasn't looking forward to it here... but this ended up being easy to understand and added a huge level of tactics/risk to encounters.

 

Also when the critics start handing out 10's... alarm bells start ringing.

 

However...

 

It is the best game I've played so far this year, certainly one of the best on the PS3... in fact it's the best survival horror game for the best part of a decade. No really, those looking for that 'resident evil sequel' which is scary... yeah, just buy the last of us and be done with your search.

 

Now for the spoilers...

 

I didn't like the fact that David turned out to be 'evil.'

 

Mainly because I liked the idea that much like Ellie and Joel there were groups of people who were good, but also knew that people couldn't be trusted on first sight. Even when they find 'Tommy,' his group is armed and will kill them unless they state their business and are not seen as a threat.

 

The problem was, with the exception of Tommy's group, every other group of people were considered evil.

 

The closest thing to a group who genually is trying to do the right thing, who are not killing or robbing people, who are trying to help, are the fireflies.

 

With the whole 'we have to kill ellie to make the vaccine thing' this is the moral dillema, it's not something they want to do, theres a recording in the last level which shows that they don't want to do this, but it's the only way to save them all and have any chance of rebuilding.

 

Now whilst we don't know for sure and Ellie gives us a hint that she would have been willing to go along with the fireflies plan when she talks about all the people she's lost, Joel is the one who decides her fate and ultimately... the worlds.

 

Heres my problem with this...

 

JOEL IS AN ARSE! Who is so selfish and bitter he is not in ANY mindset to make such a decision on his own!

 

I've read theories about how 'humanity isn't worth saving' or how anyone else would have made the same choice.

 

Now let me say right now... I do not, nor did I ever want Ellie to die. in fact, the story would have been worse had she died and the vaccine been made.

 

Heres where the problem comes into it.

 

Joel from the start is a smuggler who was at one point on the side of the hunters... He has always looked after himself. Just look at how many ration coupons he has with Tess as they bribe their way out of the security zone.

 

He goes on the quest for guns! Tess tells him it's lots of guns.

 

Now why does he continue the quest? Because Tess tells him to, after she gets infected she tells him "I won't become one of them!" and "That girl is too important!" She knows she's doomed, but she won't and doesn't want to become one of the infected. She realises that Ellie can save them all.

 

Yet Joel goes against her wish too, which is the only reason why he continued to take Ellie to the Fireflies.

 

Now on this quest we see how a lot of people have become desperate and will attack and kill people for food and clothing.

 

However... we also see signs that humanity IS worth saving. Several times in fact.

 

We meet Sam and his brother, they tell them that they were part of a larger group who were ambushed by hunters, we don't know their fate (though we can guess it), they say they're not fireflies, but want to join them, they cannot be the only ones who are like this. They can't be the only ones who don't want to kill or rob other people?

 

And they're not!

 

We find Tommy and his family, as well as a HUGE town that are living in harmony, they're not robbing people, they're not hunting people, they're defending themselves yes! But they also have horses, crops and have even managed to restore some form of services and have a government which is working as well as working routine for their population.

 

Even at the start of the game, the people living inside the quanteen zoone (not the military) seem to just be ordinary people trying to survive without killing each other or robbing people.

 

Whilst the military take no nonsense to 'outsiders' not once is there any indication they behave like the hunters do. 

 

And to some extent, even David, as creepy as he is, tells his friend to bring Ellie medicine despite knowing who she is and what she's done, he even offers her protection and it's only when Ellie breaks his arm does he show his true colours... though I still wouldn't have trusted his moral compass by a long way.

 

Even at the end, the woman who joel kills asks him to spare her... why? Maybe she wanted to continue looking for a cure? Joel jumps to assume that she'd try to find Ellie again, but he doesn't know that.

 

The problem with Joel is that he starts off the game as an arse, even when we meet Tommy, he still doesn't particually want to be around Ellie. it's only in the next chapter that we see his character change for the better... however... in the last chapter... he becomes the arse again, and it seems that Ellie sees through it.

 

Now theres really no other way the game could have ended. But the problem is that Joel starts as an arse and ends as an arse.

 

Even if you bring in 'he views humanity is not worth saving' then thats his failing for being so blinded by the death of his daughter. He meets several examples in the game that people are still good and worth protecting. But because he's so bitter and angry, he dooms everyone who was worth saving... and it's much higher than those who were just out to get him.

[The Kid]

Am I the only one who found this game underwhelming (at least what I've played of it so far)? For all the "survival gameplay" that was touted I never found myself running out of ammo even when I wasted shots. The enemy patterns are also so basic that I have no problem just strangling most of them or running past them. I remember when I started the game and I had to get past some enemies in a warehouse, and rather than patrolling the area a number of them just stood and stared off into specific directions so that I could strangle each one before going on to the next. It don't feel in danger like I have with other games. Heck, even Alan Wake made me feel more constricted by the enemies around me.

 

That being said, I've only played a couple hours and it could pick up, but I really don't get the 10/10 scores at all. I know this game isn't supposed to be a typical survival horror type of game, but I couldn't help feel disappointed.

[Silencer226]

Am I the only one who found this game underwhelming (at least what I've played of it so far)? For all the "survival gameplay" that was touted I never found myself running out of ammo even when I wasted shots. The enemy patterns are also so basic that I have no problem just strangling most of them or running past them. I remember when I started the game and I had to get past some enemies in a warehouse, and rather than patrolling the area a number of them just stood and stared off into specific directions so that I could strangle each one before going on to the next. It don't feel in danger like I have with other games. Heck, even Alan Wake made me feel more constricted by the enemies around me.

 

That being said, I've only played a couple hours and it could pick up, but I really don't get the 10/10 scores at all. I know this game isn't supposed to be a typical survival horror type of game, but I couldn't help feel disappointed.

Kid... yeah you go play, you play.

 

Edit: Well, I finally beat it. It's not the master piece people are making it out to be. What it is, is another damn good game from one of my favorite gaming studio's, Naughty(insert paw print)Dog. I decided to start the game out in hard mode, and well, maybe its just me but it truly wasn't all that difficult. Sections people told me would be hard, were kind of piss easy. The hardest time I had in the game was when I had to fight a bloater, but that was with no ammunition, or any weaponry at all.  Don't get me wrong, I did have my moments where I was wanting to know, what the fucking game wanted from me. Particularly that last hospital section, which was fucking annoying.

Edited June 25, 2013 by Noel

[Lamor]

The Last of Us: American Dreams Issue #3 is out

http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/22-394/The-Last-of-Us-American-Dreams-3

 

And it's pretty good - as always.

 

I played quite a lot of multiplayer recently (week 3) and I'm really liking it. Unfortunately I kinda suck at it too :/

Hunting Rifle and 9mm gun is my favourite combo now.

 

I also started my second playthrough of the single player. This time I'm playing on Survivor difficulty and I must say that this is the way you should play this game. Constant desperation and little to no supplies and ammo. When Ellie gave me a health kit it didn't feel like cheap way of making the game easier - it was a real godsend. Also I swear that human enemies communicate better than on lower difficulties. They are really aggressive too.

 

So yeah it sucks that survivor isn't available from the start. It really is the way this game is meant to play.

Edited June 26, 2013 by Lamor

[TheOcelot]

The Last of Us: American Dreams Issue #3 is out

http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/22-394/The-Last-of-Us-American-Dreams-3

 

And it's pretty good - as always.

 

I played quite a lot of multiplayer recently (week 3) and I'm really liking it. Unfortunately I kinda suck at it too :/

Hunting Rifle and 9mm gun is my favourite combo now.

 

I also started my second playthrough of the single player. This time I'm playing on Survivor difficulty and I must say that this is the way you should play this game. Constant desperation and little to no supplies and ammo. When Ellie gave me a health kit it didn't feel like cheap way of making the game easier - it was a real godsend. Also I swear that human enemies communicate better than on lower difficulties. They are really aggressive too.

 

So yeah it sucks that survivor isn't available from the start. It really is the way this game is meant to play.

 

You're braver than me. I just finished my third playthrough (second new game plus) on Easy mode. I finally maxed out all the weapons on my third playthrough. 

 

I'm now starting Normal mode.