The Last of Us

[Brandon's Impotent Rage]

If you've been paying attention to the video game press recently, you'll have heard by now......The Last of Us is the pinnacle of this console generation.

Now, I've been a fan of Naughty Dog and there games ever since the first Crash Bandicoot game way back in the 90s. But I just finished this game last night and I can only say this: I have not been this impressed by a video game in a long, long time. The first Mass Effect game comes pretty close.....and the Uncharted trilogy (also from Naughty Dog) is also incredibly impressive.

But TLoU.....this game was just incredible. It had an incredibly compelling story, absolutely gorgeous graphics, and an awesome stealth/combat gameplay with a strong dose of realism and anxiety I've never experienced before. This game has probably the best firefights I've ever experienced in a video game, as few and far between as they are. Unlike Nathan Drake in Uncharted, your character Joel is not an Indiana Jones-like superhero with virtually perfect accuracy. Joel is just a regular guy whose skills have been learned through two decades of survival in a harsh post-pandemic America. His aim is shakey, and when he gets hit by a bullet he doesn't just casually shrug it off while blood spouts from his side.....he jerks backwards with the force of the bullet and grunts in pain.

Anyone else played it, or playing it right now?

Because goddammit....I wanna discuss this incredible game with someone!

[Ele'ill]

am out of touch with gaming intentionally since I got rid of my gaming pc but your review here made me want to watch gameplay from it and now I am considering getting back into gaming

it looks great and it looks interesting

[Pirate Utopian]

I've seen some Let's Plays. I'll probably get it once it goes down in price.

[Comrade Samuel]

I considered making this thread a couple of days ago but never got around to it. I cannot agree more, this game was absolutely perfect.


I'm still not certan how to interoperate the ending though. Was it happy, sad or somewhere in between? The best answer I can offer thus far is that Joel and Ellie came out fulfilled and happy as individuals but destroyed humanity in the process. At first I thought Joel was a horrible selfish person for dooming everybody for something that seems so minor in the grand scheme of things but upon getting half way through another playthrough I realize that most 'good' people are dead and therefor a cure would only benifit the undeserving i.e hunters or the authoritarian police/military in the quarenteen zones.

Also I'm fairly certain Ellie knew that Joel was lying at the end when he recounts what happened with the fireflies. The ending was satisfying enough but at the same time the whole experience was so wonderful that I almost want a sequel.




I am really interested to see some of the responses to the deep philosophical questions that this 'mindless murder simulator' raises.

[Ele'ill]

so I'm going to have to buy a ps3?

[Brandon's Impotent Rage]

so I'm going to have to buy a ps3?

Certainly looks that way. :laugh:


@Comrade Samuel:

I've been reading calls for a sequel all over the net. On the one hand, I do think that there is enough material for a sequel here. We have no idea what's happening outside of the U.S.....there could still be pockets of survivors in Europe and Asia, even Africa. And we don't know where the rest of the American government is, or the rest of the military, for that matter. You know who in Fallout 3 you still had remnants of the American government around even after war? I highly doubt they'd completely disappear.

However, I think that in some ways Joel and Ellie's story is more or less wrapped up. They could try another story with different characters....but it'd have to be as good if not better than Joel and Ellie's story, because those two characters are pretty hard to top.

Plus, Naughty Dog tends to only do one IP per console generation. Crash Bandicoot with the PS, Jak & Daxter with the PS2, and (until TLoU) Uncharted with the PS3.

So, I wouldn't be entirely too surprised if they ended up starting a whole new IP for the PS4......maybe it'll be something related to that Savage Starlight comic book you find in TLoU (now that would be AWESOME).

[Sperm-Doll Setsuna]

I've been watching my sister play it, and I quite fancy it. I don't actually like the stealth though... so frustrating and annoying. :mad:

[Ele'ill]

what are the ps3 controls like in general and what are this game's controls like, it looks like it could be rage inducing

[B5C]

I've been watching my sister play it, and I quite fancy it. I don't actually like the stealth though... so frustrating and annoying. :mad:


You don't HAVE to play in stealth, but you would survive more.

[Ceallach_the_Witch]

I've watched one of my mates play it, and whilst it looks interesting it's really not up my street.

[Madame Ennui]

I heard about this game. When I saw how story-heavy it was I guessed "it looks like Thompson was wrong— video games can be art!"

[VDS]

Fantastic game. Only way to put it. I've seldom ever played a video game that I thought of more as art, as a true story, than I did as just a video game. I saw all the hype about Bioshock Infinite, and it was great, but if you ask me, THIS game out classes it.

[Brandon's Impotent Rage]

Fantastic game. Only way to put it. I've seldom ever played a video game that I thought of more as art, as a true story, than I did as just a video game. I saw all the hype about Bioshock Infinite, and it was great, but if you ask me, THIS game out classes it.

I was the same way. BS:I is a very hard game to top. I thought for sure that it was going to be GOTY, but after I played TLoU I literally found myself just sitting in my chair, trying to absorb everything that had just happened.

And honestly? I probably would have done the exact same thing Joel did. Part of the game's genius is how you grow so attached to Ellie that you're willing to do just about anything for her....

[VDS]

I was the same way. BS:I is a very hard game to top. I thought for sure that it was going to be GOTY, but after I played TLoU I literally found myself just sitting in my chair, trying to absorb everything that had just happened.

And honestly? I probably would have done the exact same thing Joel did. Part of the game's genius is how you grow so attached to Ellie that you're willing to do just about anything for her....

After your first play through of BS:I, you're left in a daze, in a good way. Your mind is trying to comprehend things. You remember how good the game was.

Then a few days later you remember how short it was. You remember that the weapons or were of an OK selection, and that you only ever really used 3 to 4 vigors. 2 combos for most of the game. Then you think of the plot, and how the ending was fantastic, and then you think about how the rest of the plot wasn't nearly as good when you REALLY think about it. They had a perfect opportunity to do so much more than they did. (not to mention the cliche even the rebel good guys are bad crap.)

Last of Us on the other hand, for me at least, I found myself wanting to play an immediate second play through on a harder difficulty. It made me want to play the online mode. The plot was perfect for what it was. It was a true story. It invoked emotions. The gameplay days after STILL seems fun and great and if anything, you're wanting more.

Last of Us is definitely a game I have high praise for.

[Rugged Collectivist]

Damn, now I have to decide whether to buy this or the new Civ 5 expansion.

[Questionable]

I played through the introduction at a friend's house and I loved it. I really enjoy political dystopian settings too so that helps.