Naughty Dog's The Last of Us

[Jotacon]

The BBC clip from Planet Earth inspired the game...or so the legends say.

I thought it was based on Matango what with the fungus monsters and humans and our inability to trust eachother are the real baddies.
I still haven't reached the end since I'm playing it at a friends house, but the story is completely predictable so bad science seems reasonable. I'll check out the spoiler tags in a couple of days and throw down then. Generally it is best to acknowledge when something in sci-fi doesn't make sense (especially if it is in a field you know about), but try to work past it. Normally it isn't a plot hole just logical annoyances.

[Yggdrasil]

One of the inspirations for TLOU is that BBC clip from "Planet Earth". You can even hear Neil Druckmann (Creative Director) saying that in the first episode of the "Development Series" videos.

[Akanbe-]

^No. And why should they?

I never suggested they should, I just asked if they did.  I was under the assumption there were choices in the game so I didn't know if it gave you the option to

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"save the world" or save Ellie.  Especially after the reading various reviews where
reviewers said they were surprised they "had the balls to go there" with the ending.

[Yggdrasil]

@Akanbe-: Gonna put this in spoiler tags just in case.

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The ending in itself is not mind blowing, is all that you went through to get there and reach that climax in the narrative that makes the impact of that scene in particular more meaningful to the player.

Naughty Dog knew what they wanted to do and pull it off.

[Agent D.]

@Akanbe-: Gonna put this in spoiler tags just in case.

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The ending in itself is not mind blowing, is all that you went through to get there and reach that climax in the narrative that makes the impact of that scene in particular more meaningful to the player.

Naughty Dog knew what they wanted to do and pull it off.

There's a certain line of text one gets right after beating the star dragon in Lunar 2's epilogue that sort of fits the feeling I had for the ending...

[Dice]

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I thought it was kind of weird at he very end there when you burst into the room with the doctors.  I didn't actually want to kill them but one of them is just standing in your way.  I eventually dew my gun and tried to scare him off but then he picked up a scalpel and tried to threaten Joel.  Couldn't force my way past so eventually I was just like, fine, I kill him.  If you do a melee attack Joel actually stabs the guy in the throat with his own scalpel.  Fun.

Then I killed the other two doctors because I thought I was supposed to, but apparently you don't actually have to.  Oh well...

haha I like how much dialogue you have about that one moment.  Wish I melee'd it now though... used the good ol' Diablo.

Alright, ending time.

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First off, brilliantly done, congrats Naughty Dog.  You perfectly managed modern-day Indiana Jones with Uncharted, and perfectly nailed moral ambiguity and post-apocalyptic USA in Last of Us.

Dice's Thoughts:

= Alright, so Joel outright lying *that*badly* was definitely wrong.  But yeah, I'm gonna have to go with the argument that "any dad would have done the exact same", they would.

= Elie is a bit harder to read, she definitely knows something was up; but is she perfectly ready to drop it after Joel assured her it was the truth?   Anyways, I doubt we'll see DLC on it, nor should we.
((Also, anyone know why she was so down on herself at the start of the Spring chapter?))

= Marlene was torn.  But it does definitely sound like they had a cure in store IF the operation went through. 
...But what would that mean?  If any of you have seen the flick 'Children of Men', I'd imagine it going down the same way.  The FIREFLIES would be the saviours of mankind, the creators of the "new penicillin" during mankind's DARKEST HOUR.  Imagine the clout they'd have in this new world!!  Would it corrupt them and lead to a new cycle of world power?  I'd very much think so, whether it's the intention or not.  They make a point how the military is doing pretty good in the post-apocalypse, imagine the Fireflies if they brought forth a cure! 
...But also can you imagine getting all those asshole thugs, cannibals, thieves, and hunters to calm themselves over a cure?  I can't.

= Given the amount of flack they go through, most of it with people, since the Infected merely act according to their own...um, nature, I guess.  I think the ending was about giving the finger to humanity.  Well, okay, maybe not so brashly.  But remember the scene with the giraffes??  All of the settings too; we saw nature was taking over what was a sick, over-populated planet filled with self-serving interests and corrupted individuals.  Many have trouble adapting to what little is left, but there was still hope in communities like Tom's (a chapter in the game that felt more lax and peaceful than others). Literally, the game was about the journey, and the game was about /who/ you'd save if you could -- and it wasn't the world -- because it seems most of them don't deserve it.  Yes it IS sad what's happened to the world (one document said more than half of the world's population has been affected, but there's no date on it), but maybe there's a chance for change?  I think Tommy's community was supposed to signify that, signify that the Fireflies' way isn't the only way.

= More than the FATE of mankind (I'd like to think, though sparse, they'd manage), I'm more curious about a solution to the Infected.  Can the spores be eradicated eventually or are they as bad as radiation?

= I'm an optimist too, maybe if another chance came around to get Elie tested without hacking her head in two, then it will present itself.  Or her kids can pass immunities.... hm, unless Cordyceps infection is an STD too (biting seems to be enough to pass it on after all).

=  A little aside, but I was kinda blue yet relieved the last onslaught of Clickers, Runners, and Bloaters can be taken care of by only killing like 25% of them.  There was only like....2-3 mandatory Bloaters you had to kill too... I thought that was interesting design.

= The wave of infected in Elie's chapter was probably my least favorite thing to do.  And the hotel elevator basement thing....scared the pants off me.  And hanging upside down waiting for Bill, I died a LOT in that because of shit pistol.

= I never used the flame thrower.... =[

[Kevadu]

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= I never used the flame thrower.... =[

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The flamethrower was [i]awesome[/i] against infected.  Felt that it was kind of overpowered if anything.

Why am I spoiler-tagging this...

[Akanbe-]

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=((Also, anyone know why she was so down on herself at the start of the Spring chapter?))

= Marlene was torn.  But it does definitely sound like they had a cure in store IF the operation went through. 
...But what would that mean?  If any of you have seen the flick 'Children of Men', I'd imagine it going down the same way.  The FIREFLIES would be the saviours of mankind, the creators of the "new penicillin" during mankind's DARKEST HOUR.  Imagine the clout they'd have in this new world!!  Would it corrupt them and lead to a new cycle of world power?  I'd very much think so, whether it's the intention or not.  They make a point how the military is doing pretty good in the post-apocalypse, imagine the Fireflies if they brought forth a cure! 
...But also can you imagine getting all those asshole thugs, cannibals, thieves, and hunters to calm themselves over a cure?  I can't.

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First part, because of the David incident, I assume.

As for the savior scenario, I could see the military doing some kind of zerg rush and taking it.
Or any group with enough firepower.

[Dice]

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=((Also, anyone know why she was so down on herself at the start of the Spring chapter?))

= Marlene was torn.  But it does definitely sound like they had a cure in store IF the operation went through. 
...But what would that mean?  If any of you have seen the flick 'Children of Men', I'd imagine it going down the same way.  The FIREFLIES would be the saviours of mankind, the creators of the "new penicillin" during mankind's DARKEST HOUR.  Imagine the clout they'd have in this new world!!  Would it corrupt them and lead to a new cycle of world power?  I'd very much think so, whether it's the intention or not.  They make a point how the military is doing pretty good in the post-apocalypse, imagine the Fireflies if they brought forth a cure! 
...But also can you imagine getting all those asshole thugs, cannibals, thieves, and hunters to calm themselves over a cure?  I can't.

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First part, because of the David incident, I assume.

As for the savior scenario, I could see the military doing some kind of zerg rush and taking it.
Or any group with enough firepower.

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  That would explain her long hard look at the deer carved into the stone I guess.  Hm, thanks! :D

And yeah, even with your later point, the whole thing would become so political between the factions or whatever, I'm sure it'd almost be just as bad before people could screw their heads back on.  So I thought the ending, while morally ambiguous and all that whatnot, was completely justified with Joel desire to get her away from Marlene and the lot.

MAN I can't wait for DLC. :D

[Klutz64]

I abused the hell out of the flamethrower, especially in the Tunnel where fuel was EVERYWHERE.

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Only part of the ending I truly had to stop and think about was when Joel finished off Marlene.

He says "You'll just come after her." And to that all I could think of was "And the rest of the Fireflies won't!?"

Only explanation I have is that ND was trying to show just how dissonant Joel's sense of compassion was at that point. If so, bravo, because it made the ending truly unique. So many character arcs in works like this end at all or nothing, good or bad, that's it's interesting to see one that ends somewhere in between.

[Agent D.]

The only weapons that mattered were the bow and arrow, the hunting rifle, and the molotov. As long as you had one of those available with some ammunition or extra mats for the cocktails, you could get past any encounter.

[Kevadu]

Stealth encounters, maybe.  Sometimes the game forces you to be a bit more run-and-gun and I found the shotgun pretty handy.

And the flamethrower is crazy powerful against clickers and bloaters.  You don't necessarily have to use it, but damn it sure is fun.

[Taelus]

Finally beat this. My game of the year, without even a second thought.

Ending

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I love it. It's oddly calm, it's unsettling because you can sit there and ask yourself "is there a right choice?" Would you be able to sacrifice a daughter-like figure (or anyone, for that matter)'s life to save humanity? Sure, on paper it seems like a no-brainer, but when it comes down to a person you know sitting right in front of you whose life ends, you end up with what I'm calling "Joel's choice." It's so gray and the game doesn't attempt to steer you in either direction and I love Naughty Dog for pulling it off.

I could gush about this game for ages. This is one of those examples of "I absolutely don't care about the flaws because the experience was flat-out fantastic." I'm sure people could (and have) pointed out flaws, but there was nothing to me that ever came up and hurt the overall product for me. Easily my GOTY. Naughty Dog continues to have never made a game I didn't like.

[PaleRobbie]

I liked the game quite a bit, but I wouldn't say it's my game of the year.  I doubt it will be in my top five.  Playing through the opening areas on hard again showed me just how scripted and frustrating the beginning areas can be.  Enemies that are already aggro when you enter the scene, boring chest-high wall shootouts, and awful level layout in the first few clicker areas shows just how great the game eventually gets. 

Also, I hate how they introduce the bow given how powerful and fun it is.  They give you a tutorial to use it on the first clicker you encounter, and it won't kill him in one shot.  I thought, "Well, this is a useless piece of shit," and didn't touch it for around three hours.  Then I used it out of desperation and without any upgrades it was one-shotting enemies at a decent range.  That first clicker is designed to take more than one shot, which threw me off of the mechanic.  That's the arbitrary stuff that really got to me while playing it. 

[Dice]

I really admired their use of non-CG cutscenes and actual CG cutscenes.  But especially the changes in gameplay mechanics to make things exciting or that help tell a more thrilling scene.  I thought the whole "end of fall" sequence, for example, was wonderfully executed.

But yeah, we need DLC announcements dammit