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Old 02-11-2020, 09:59 AM   #1
chemgear
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Default The Last of Us - Part II

I don't think we had a thread for this game yet. Release date is now supposed to be May 29, 2020.

New announcements today:

- playable at PAX East
- more "Ellie" editions in 2 days, I'm sure they'll be gone in seconds again
- amazing art from Cook & Becker, seriously nice stuff, pricey though
- new FREE dynamic theme using code: 4FMP-BBNM-J5L3

https://www.naughtydog.com/blog/the_...ds_on_and_more



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Old 02-11-2020, 06:21 PM   #2
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Spoiler Alert: It's going to be really good.

Maybe the story won't be as good as the first one but it looks like the gameplay will be quite a bit better.
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Old 02-12-2020, 08:09 PM   #3
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Just a quick reminder for people interested in fancy editions:

We’re delighted to let you know the Ellie Edition will be back and available for pre-order in limited quantities (available at select retailers across US and Canada only) starting Thursday, February 13 at 6:00am PST at Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart.com, Target, and EB Games for $229.99 USD / $299.99 CAD MSRP.
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Old 06-12-2020, 11:03 PM   #4
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Reviews are coming in, looks like Metacritic is even higher now.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1271478353720160256
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Old 06-13-2020, 11:09 AM   #5
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LOU destroying the reviews right now... i am excited for it...

funny, there's a bit of a subset of people that seem concerned with the violence, even in the masterpiece reviews.

that said, it didn't bother me at all... its a game... i might be a grind at points, but the first game was a masterpiece; trust naughtydog to deliver another incredible experience

these reviews are coming in despite the leaks too, that lead to some back lash (i stayed away from the leaks due to spoilers, so not sure why)
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Old 06-16-2020, 08:19 AM   #6
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I'm not really into ultra violent games, and watching the reviews, some of the kills it shows does make me kinda squeamish. Imagine the backlash this game would get back in the 90's when there was such an outrage over Mortal Kombat. We've come quite a long way.
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Old 06-16-2020, 08:53 AM   #7
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I’m a little uncomfortable with the brutality of it, but I trust Naughty Dog to deliver a game that’s worth dealing with that kind of stuff for. I’ve got it preloaded ready to go for Thursday night!
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Old 06-16-2020, 10:53 AM   #8
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I find the brutality and violence to be integral in the story, part of what makes it all feel so damn real and authentic. It should be hard to see and make you squeamish, I think that's their goal.

I'm absolutely pumped to play this game, I only played the first one a few months ago as I just recently got a PS4. Lets do this!
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Old 06-16-2020, 01:37 PM   #9
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Agreed on the violence - it really captures how brutal the world would be if something like that happened. I think it was also critical to the story line in the first one to try and make the player understand how messed up Joel really is and why he made the decision he did at the end.
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Old 06-17-2020, 10:04 AM   #10
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LoU 1 was the only game I have ever finished playing and was legitimately mildly emotional and in awe of how awesome it was. It wasn't the most fun game, the gameplay is often annoying at parts, but damn if the story wasn't straight up perfect.

I am wildly excited for LoU 2.
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Old 06-18-2020, 02:04 AM   #11
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I was excited for TLOU2 and religiously trying to stay away from leaks, but the overwhelmingly high scores, oddly scripted looking/sounding reviews and some seemingly contradictory review comments made things seems suddenly suspicious. I stumbled on a review willing to be honest about not enjoying the game and I found it informative but even more odd. The individual disliked the game for personal reasons, but wasn't seemingly overly dramatic about it. Most of the comments made by this person was logical and if the opinion was correct, the average person wouldn't completely disagree. It just felt suspicious that there were so many, "Best game evar for PS4!", "Masterpiece", "I crai", "Blew away the first one" etc. I'm open to the idea that it's a damn good game, but the crazy amount reviews making it sound like the epitome of gaming are way too much.

I still haven't seen the the leaked footage and much of the info, but of what I saw in terms of spoilers, apparently there are plot holes and quite a few comments seemed to hint that the game just gets darker in a pointless fashion... it's feeling to me like an M Night Shamalayan meme. TLOU1 is like the 6th sense, good, but unsure if intentional or a fluke. TLOU2 is sounding like After Earth levels of bad.

If the chagrin is true, TLOU and TLOU2 might be a far worse gap between Mass Effect and Andromeda. Andromeda at least was seemingly a good stand alone game, but marred by unfair expectations from the predecessor. I've read enough commentary that essentially hints there are no redeeming factors in the story and TLOU2 is potentially a franchise killing level of bad.

I cancelled my pre-order. I'm going to keep an eye on the real layman reviews after it is released tomorrow to decide if I will nab a few days late... I really hope that the rumors of how bad it is are just badly over blown, but there's enough smoke for me to believe I might not bother with the game unless it's like $30-40, which makes me really sad.
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Old 06-18-2020, 05:48 AM   #12
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I mean, which is the more likely scenario:

TLOU2 is a really fantastic game that is almost universally praised, that a couple people seem to not like as much (similar to the first).

Or:

Naughty Dog, one of the most talented and respected devs in the world, spent five years making an absolute dud that Sony is trying to cover up by buying out reviewers.

You seem to be blowing a couple less glowing reviews out of proportion while ignoring the good ones because they sound too good.
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Old 06-18-2020, 05:59 AM   #13
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Quote:
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I was excited for TLOU2 and religiously trying to stay away from leaks, but the overwhelmingly high scores, oddly scripted looking/sounding reviews and some seemingly contradictory review comments made things seems suddenly suspicious.
I am kind of with you on this. It seems that so far, folks are only allowed to actually review the first 'half' of the game. The first 12 hours or so of the roughly 25 hours of gameplay. And there are limits to what footage they are allowed to use. Seems a bit odd. I hadn't planned on getting it as soon as it was out anyhow, so we'll see how reviews go, when the full game can be fully reviewed.
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Old 06-18-2020, 07:48 AM   #14
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I read the spoilers (couldn't help myself when there was all the drama around the leak) and the story is going to be polarizing.

Personally I thought the direction they went sounds awesome and for me it actually made me even more interested in the game.

But like everything that has a lot of hype and lots of fan theories things get very polarizing very quickly.

Below isn't a spoiler but ill tag it anyways (in regards to reviewers only talking about the first 12 hours of the game)

Spoiler!

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Old 06-18-2020, 07:51 AM   #15
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Just re-wrapped the first one in the last month and forgot all the little things that make playing a game like this so fun. Exploring an encampment or new area for the first time and seeing all the attention to detail just crammed into it to tell the story about what happened there is one of my favorite parts. The variety of styles that you can play in combat makes it so each encounter is more of a puzzle with the level design forcing you into certain situations so you have to really think about how to move forward. With Nellie's new mechanics (prone, jumping, dodging, etc.) mixed with some of the new enemies, you can see how this will just ramp up a level in combat. Finally the story in the first one really was masterfully done, how they develop the relationship between Ellie and Joel to where it builds and build until the final scenes decision is still such a powerful moment in video game storytelling. Just an amazing game to play through from top to bottom.

For the reviews on LOU2, I have stayed well away from anything beyond the original trailer and some non-spoiler reviews by a few different people in the industry who I generally seem to agree with. From what I have seen so far this one improves on just about every aspect I enjoyed in the first one; graphics, environments & environmental puzzles, level of detail, game-play mechanics & variety, mobility, sound design & music, enemy variety & AI, etc.

So this is definitely a day one purchase for me and I can't wait to get my hands on it tomorrow!
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Old 06-18-2020, 08:59 AM   #16
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I am kind of with you on this. It seems that so far, folks are only allowed to actually review the first 'half' of the game. The first 12 hours or so of the roughly 25 hours of gameplay. And there are limits to what footage they are allowed to use. Seems a bit odd. I hadn't planned on getting it as soon as it was out anyhow, so we'll see how reviews go, when the full game can be fully reviewed.
I don't think this is true. They review the whole game, they just can't show any footage or talk about the story after the first half. A lot of the reviewers, I trust their opinion on. So I don't think there's anything fishy going on with the reviews themselves. It feels like Sony just doesn't want the story spoiled for gamers in the reviews.
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Old 06-18-2020, 10:27 AM   #17
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If you have an extra 3 grand to blow you can get a replica of Ellie's guitar.

https://gear.playstation.com/Product...3DTLOU%26p%3D0
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Old 06-18-2020, 10:31 AM   #18
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I am not getting this game for a while so I took it upon myself to read the spoilers to see. I can confirm that they are doing you a solid by only talking about the first part.

Buy the game and be happy, it sounds like a good one.
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Old 06-18-2020, 10:44 AM   #19
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If you have an extra 3 grand to blow you can get a replica of Ellie's guitar.

https://gear.playstation.com/Product...3DTLOU%26p%3D0
That's a pretty cool tie in.

The regular Taylor 314ce is normally $2,700 CAD.
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Old 06-18-2020, 11:06 AM   #20
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Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube View Post
I mean, which is the more likely scenario:

TLOU2 is a really fantastic game that is almost universally praised, that a couple people seem to not like as much (similar to the first).

Or:

Naughty Dog, one of the most talented and respected devs in the world, spent five years making an absolute dud that Sony is trying to cover up by buying out reviewers.

You seem to be blowing a couple less glowing reviews out of proportion while ignoring the good ones because they sound too good.
Not quite the reason why I jumped off my TLOU2 pre-order. I actually found it suspicious that there were a ton of reviews that rated it 100%, but in their reviews spoke about all sorts of annoyances and issues they had with the game. Like I said, I am willing to consider the concept it's a really damn good game, but with concepts like, "Master piece" and "Best game ever for the PS4" etc. while still berating other aspects of the game in a 100% review is suspicious and weird. 90% ish, I don't think twice.

It was for that reason why I sought out the alternate opinion to see what I could glean. If anything the alternate opinion made me feel like my assumptions weren't completely incorrect. It would be a significant game play improvement to the original and the story would be weaker than the first, but still pretty good and worth the full price pre-order....

But the leaks and spoilers and the DCMA stuff by Sony and Neil Druckmann talking about him crying through his play through... deflated the hell out of my excitement for this game, with the last part being the straw that broke the camel's back for me. When the latest installment of the GOW series was released, the studio heads were level headed and grounded. Even something like Death Stranding's release which I also pre-ordered, the self masturbatory levels weren't seemingly as high. There's so much political and negative crap surrounding this game (and not purely just due to the leaks) that I am hesitant on jumping on it for day 1.

Sure, you could say I am blowing the suspiciously good reviews out of proportion. Perhaps I am. But with the intense hype and hints at a polarizing story that with potential huge blow back/let down, then I am further convinced that stepping back and letting the hype and controversy cool off, is a good decision. That way, I can perhaps evaluate the game on its own metrics and not against the original TLOU and still enjoy the game in that manner.

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Originally Posted by WhiteTiger View Post
I am kind of with you on this. It seems that so far, folks are only allowed to actually review the first 'half' of the game. The first 12 hours or so of the roughly 25 hours of gameplay. And there are limits to what footage they are allowed to use. Seems a bit odd. I hadn't planned on getting it as soon as it was out anyhow, so we'll see how reviews go, when the full game can be fully reviewed.
No, the reviews are supposed to be based on the whole game. The embargo lift allowed the reviewers to reveal only stuff in the first 12 hours or whatever, but the review is definitely on the whole game and not just the first 12 hours.

This isn't even like something like Death Stranding which was straight up considered to potentially be a polarizing game. Much of what I have read in good/bad reviews that sticks out is basically, "Much of what you loved about TLOU1 did not carry over to TLOU2. I hated it at first, but understood at the end.". This is part of the reason why I pulled from my pre-order. I needed to distance myself from a TLOU1 expectation to attempt to allow the game to shine on its own merits.

That being said... it's definitely possible I might change my mind and digital purchase this at midnight on Friday.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhettzky View Post
Just re-wrapped the first one in the last month and forgot all the little things that make playing a game like this so fun. Exploring an encampment or new area for the first time and seeing all the attention to detail just crammed into it to tell the story about what happened there is one of my favorite parts. The variety of styles that you can play in combat makes it so each encounter is more of a puzzle with the level design forcing you into certain situations so you have to really think about how to move forward. With Nellie's new mechanics (prone, jumping, dodging, etc.) mixed with some of the new enemies, you can see how this will just ramp up a level in combat. Finally the story in the first one really was masterfully done, how they develop the relationship between Ellie and Joel to where it builds and build until the final scenes decision is still such a powerful moment in video game storytelling. Just an amazing game to play through from top to bottom.

For the reviews on LOU2, I have stayed well away from anything beyond the original trailer and some non-spoiler reviews by a few different people in the industry who I generally seem to agree with. From what I have seen so far this one improves on just about every aspect I enjoyed in the first one; graphics, environments & environmental puzzles, level of detail, game-play mechanics & variety, mobility, sound design & music, enemy variety & AI, etc.

So this is definitely a day one purchase for me and I can't wait to get my hands on it tomorrow!
If you enjoyed the game play of TLOU1, even the most negative reviews say you'll likely enjoy TLOU2. The game play felt a bit clunky though and for me I was far more engaged in the story of TLOU1. TLOU2's story is far too mired in controversy at this point that I feel like I'd be guaranteed disappointment in this game if I don't let it cool off from the controversy/hype train first. I don't want that to happen.

Another thing that had been bugging me was that the pre-order bonuses looked kinda pay to win which also rubbed me the wrong way and I had mentioned it previously. I get that I don't have to use the bonus, but the fact it feels there was a pay to win attribute to it really bothered me.

I played TLOU1 a month ago or so. It showed some age in the game mechanics, but it was damn enjoyable. Maybe something will bring me to change my mind about immediate purchase within the next 24 hours or so... but I really think that for me personally, I need to step back from my initial purchase decision for TLOU2 even though I really would love to jump on it on day 1.

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I don't think this is true. They review the whole game, they just can't show any footage or talk about the story after the first half. A lot of the reviewers, I trust their opinion on. So I don't think there's anything fishy going on with the reviews themselves. It feels like Sony just doesn't want the story spoiled for gamers in the reviews.
I watched the GOW and Death Stranding launches and TLOU2 is a totally different stratosphere weird and controversial and not in a good way at all. If I had been an internet hermit for a few more days, I would have happily started playing the game with an open mind. Unfortunately I've seen enough that I'll be playing the whole game on day 1 with, "You're going to be disappointed" echoing in my head and I don't want that to distract from enjoying the game, so I pulled the plug to wait till that little voice and echo disappears.
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