Sony The Last of Us Part II OT - Best Served Cold, update: the story behind the game's realistic facial animations (PlayStation Blog)

[Bloodporne]

39 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Seems like it, but it's contextual. Very basic but it "feels" great. Like this could be the base for a really good cinematic brawler game. Some of these fights remind me of something out of The Raid 

I actually really liked that about the first as well, the contextual stuff. Like okay, if I circle over to the wall a bit, I'll get to smash his head into it and the little timing games that went with it. Nice to hear either way though. Didn't they add a dodge button? That seems like it'd be a huge difference.

[skillzdadirecta]

2 minutes ago, Bloodporne said:

I actually really liked that about the first as well, the contextual stuff. Like okay, if I circle over to the wall a bit, I'll get to smash his head into it and the little timing games that went with it. Nice to hear either way though. Didn't they add a dodge button? That seems like it'd be a huge difference.

Yes the dodge button really opens up combat possibilities in a cinematic brawler. If some one were to make a melee based fighting game like this with a dodge button, a counter button and two attack buttons something really special could be done. I would LOVE for someone to do an updated version of the brawler like Double Dragon or Final Fight or STreets of Rage. That's my dream game.

[Amazatron]

43 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Seems like it, but it's contextual. Very basic but it "feels" great. Like this could be the base for a really good cinematic brawler game. Some of these fights remind me of something out of The Raid 

Yeah I got that same sense when I punched some infected up against the wall early on and smashed their head in. Felt extremely visceral.

[Bloodporne]

10 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Yes the dodge button really opens up combat possibilities in a cinematic brawler. If some one were to make a melee based fighting game like this with a dodge button, a counter button and two attack buttons something really special could be done. I would LOVE for someone to do an updated version of the brawler like Double Dragon or Final Fight or STreets of Rage. That's my dream game.

I've wanted this type of 'real evolution' take on a Final Fight/Streets of Rage game for years, it'd be amazing. SoR4 is a lot of fun and I've been playing it a lot but it makes me want a legit, big 3D version even more. 

[skillzdadirecta]

42 minutes ago, Bloodporne said:

I've wanted this type of 'real evolution' take on a Final Fight/Streets of Rage game for years, it'd be amazing. SoR4 is a lot of fun and I've been playing it a lot but it makes me want a legit, big 3D version even more. 

Yeah even the weapon work in Last of Us 2 is great. Someone should really look into doing something like this with a full game.

[johnny]

I think throwing a brick/bottle at somebody’s head works even better this game 

[best3444]

Have the game ready to play! I took off today (first day in a long time including weekends) and slept 11 hours. So ready for this game.

[johnny]

Her backpack looks so fucking good. I stared at it for like 5 minutes last night

[Bloodporne]

29 minutes ago, johnny said:

Her backpack looks so fucking good. I stared at it for like 5 minutes last night

I was close to developing a backpack fetish while playing Death Stranding, it was so detailed and visually clean and pleasing somehow in the customization viewer. 

[Firewithin]

i took a few minutes yesterday to look up the trophies and thankful none of them were really spoilery and it seems like most are tied to collecting/upgrading certain things which is fine.  best thing i saw though was there was no trophies tied to difficulty and its simply just finish the game for that.

[Greatoneshere]

About 5-6 hours in. Holy shit, so good, but harrowing.

 

The user review bombing on Metacritic just looks obnoxious now.

[TheLeon]

I couldn’t find anyone to take any of my shifts this weekend.  
I’ve been able to get a few hours in, but I won’t really be able dive in until Tuesday. 

[Firewithin]

8 minutes ago, TheLeon said:

I couldn’t find anyone to take any of my shifts this weekend.  
I’ve been able to get a few hours in, but I won’t really be able dive in until Tuesday. 

 

tell them you got the rona and boom two weeks free

[Kal-El814]

20 minutes in and I’m already pissed about how embargoes affect reviews. It’s a horrible practice. Also I’d be willing to bet $1000 I know how this game is going to end. Naughty Dog is not subtle.

 

EDIT - Also the animation is... bonkers good. Having just replayed TLoU Remix last week, it’s a remarkable jump. That said, I did see three infected get synchronized into the exact same animation loop and it looked like the Thriller video which was great.

[TheLeon]

8 minutes ago, Firewithin said:

 

tell them you got the rona and boom two weeks free

They require a positive test, but I’ve been asking strangers to cough directly into my face for the last week. I think I’m immune. 

[AbsolutSurgen]

Kotaku: Here’s The Deal With The Last Of Us Part 2

 

Content to be aware of if you're on the fence (talks in more general terms about the violence in the game). (I don't think it has any spoilers in it, but may be too spoilery for the "uber-sensitive")

Spoiler

If you haven’t guessed from the game’s marketing, or from what’s talked around in our review, The Last of Us 2 is a very violent game. While it feels a little odd to be explaining a game’s content before its widespread release, especially a game that has worn such violence on its sleeve since the beginning, there are some particular instances of violence you might want to be aware of.

Without spoiling things too much, a diverse cast means violence happens to a lot of different kinds of people. There is physical and emotional violence against women, [edit to remove spoiler]. There’s the suggestion of some sort of human trafficking; while you never witness sexual violence, it felt implied to both of us.

Queer characters Ellie and Dina both face physical violence. There’s one instance of a homophobic slur, as well as a scene I (Riley) found a little upsetting emotionally in which Ellie has to make nice with the person who used the slur. The latter could be considered a “good” kind of upsetting—it felt like a situation I’ve suffered through myself, and the scene casts the moment in a complex light—but if that experience is a bit raw for you, it happens in one of the earliest scenes in the game.

There’s physical violence against people of color. There’s also physical and emotional violence against young teens, including one violent execution. In a subplot, there’s some extended physical, emotional, and religious violence against a trans youth, including the use of the character’s birth name.

As you’re probably aware of by now, you can kill dogs in this game. Such needless animal cruelty is largely avoidable when you’re playing, but there’s a scripted instance in which you’re forced to kill a dog.

As I wrote in my review, little of the violence feels particularly targeted against people’s identities—while, for instance, specific bad things befall the trans character because he’s trans, The Last of Us 2’s world feels grim enough that it felt like something terrible would have happened to him regardless. There’s something sickly refreshing about this—I watched extended scenes of lesbians in physical and emotional distress, but it wasn’t because they were lesbians, which is a change from a lot of media featuring queer people. But it’s still a lot—as a trans man, I found that the trans character’s suffering hit hard. If these kinds of incidents are particularly difficult for you to witness, you might want to rethink playing the game.

 

On the leaks (of course, this one has spoliers):

Spoiler

One of the most maddening things about reviewing The Last of Us 2 was talking around April’s big leaks, which revealed some major plot points. If you’re here to know if they’re true or not: they are. Abby is in fact the daughter of the doctor Joel murdered at the end of The Last of Us. (You learn more about him and about his and Abby’s relationship in multiple flashbacks, which will probably make you feel way worse about The Last of Us’ ending.) When Abby is introduced in the beginning of the game, she’s searching for Joel to exact revenge. Early on, she finds him and kills him, in the scene that leaks showed. You later play as Abby; the second leaked scene occurs about midway through the game, when Abby and Ellie’s plotlines reconverge in Seattle.

Having played the game, and adhered to its stringent embargo, I could see how much Naughty Dog went out of their way to hide Joel’s death and how much of a blow the studio must have been dealt by the information leaking. Most notably, a section of the game Kotaku and other outlets previewed back in September ended with Joel and Ellie speaking. In the actual game, Ellie is talking to another character, Jessie, because Joel is long dead at that point. Other pre-release trailers and videos suggested that Joel would be more of a constant companion than he is in the actual game.

While I understand the purpose of this ruse, on a professional level I find it annoying—I don’t like the idea that I can’t trust a developer to show me their actual game, especially in a hands-on context. Now that I’ve played the game, the marketing felt misleading as a way to drum up hype. Sony and Naughty Dog are of course free to market their game however they like, but, looking back, the choice to rely on mystery rather than what’s actually in the game feels like a cheap trick.

Back in April, I took one for the team and dove into the leaks as soon as they surfaced. Knowing what was coming made my job as a reviewer a little easier. It also made me wonder if I would have been more on board for the choices Ellie makes in the game if I was as shocked by Joel’s murder as she was. I doubt it—I can’t imagine a player who’s still as driven for revenge as Ellie is by the end of the game.

Quote

For the average player, going in prepared might make the game feel a little less brutal. I found it a hard game to handle, and knowing at least one of the plethora of horrible things that happens in it let me ready myself for it. The leaks didn’t spoil everything, so if they made you feel like there was no point to playing the game, there are still plenty of twists for you to experience for yourself.

 

 

 

[Amazatron]

Around 1-2 hours in...

 

Spoiler

Pretty much avoided all leaks, rants, reviews, etc. for this game. Still expected Joel though, but man that was brutal.

 

[Brian]

GameFly shipped my copy. Look forward to playing this next week

[Moa]

1 hour ago, Greatoneshere said:

About 5-6 hours in. Holy shit, so good, but harrowing.

 

The user review bombing on Metacritic just looks obnoxious now.

 

It always looked obnoxious to me. It's just a bunch of clowns upset that there are lesbians in what's supposed to be their prepper fantasy.

[TwinIon]

I hadn't even checked on my order, but Amazon says it won't be here until Tuesday. It hasn't even shipped yet. Bummer.

[best3444]

So far so good. The details are amazing. About an hour and a half in.

[Greatoneshere]

2 hours ago, Moa said:

It always looked obnoxious to me. It's just a bunch of clowns upset that there are lesbians in what's supposed to be their prepper fantasy.

 

Very true. I mean the game is over 25 hours long and it hasn't even been a day yet it has over 10,000 user ratings and a score that couldn't possibly be true given the technical skill and quality production values on display alone just makes the whole thing feel baseless in a situation like this one.

[Brian]

Under accesabilty - motion sickness you can adjust camera distance and FOV.

[Brick]

4 hours ago, Kal-El814 said:

20 minutes in and I’m already pissed about how embargoes affect reviews. It’s a horrible practice.

 

What do you mean exactly? If you can say without spoiling anything of course. 

[Brian]

 

[Kal-El814]

1 hour ago, Brick said:

 

What do you mean exactly? If you can say without spoiling anything of course. 

Cant’t really say without spoilers.

[Brick]

3 minutes ago, Kal-El814 said:

Cant’t really say without spoilers.

 

Ah damn. Is it at the beginning of the game? If so you can just spoiler tag it and I can read it after. 

[Greatoneshere]

1 hour ago, ManUtdRedDevils said:

Under accesabilty - motion sickness you can adjust camera distance and FOV.

 

Yes thank you!

[Brick]

A console game with adjustable FOV?! What sorcery is this?! Does it impact performance heavily? 

[SaysWho?]

1 hour ago, Kal-El814 said:

Cant’t really say without spoilers.

 

Can you spoiler tag because I'm an hour in and have no idea what you're talking about.

[Kal-El814]

9 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

 

Can you spoiler tag because I'm an hour in and have no idea what you're talking about.

Spoiler

I didn’t read a lot of reviews but none of the ones I read suggested you’d be playing as anyone other than Ellie.

 

Given where I am in the game and how long it took me to get there, I’m wondering if outlets with review copies were prohibited from talking about what is most of the game  

 

ND and Sony can market their game however they want, of course, I just think it’s foolish to prohibit outlets from talking about the full breadth of a game in a review because of concerns about spoilers  

Also related to a BIG early spoiler. If you have to ask if you’re there, you’re not.

 

Spoiler

Some of the preview footage / videos are obvious bait and switches, in hindsight, given what ends up motivating Ellie to go to Seattle. 

 

[Brick]

Thank you. I shall read this after starting the game and getting a decent way through it so we can continue this discussion. 

[AbsolutSurgen]

1 minute ago, Kal-El814 said:

  Hide contents

I didn’t read a lot of reviews but none of the ones I read suggested you’d be playing as anyone other than Ellie.

 

Given where I am in the game and how long it took me to get there, I’m wondering if outlets with review copies were prohibited from talking about what is most of the game  

 

ND and Sony can market their game however they want, of course, I just think it’s foolish to prohibit outlets from talking about the full breadth of a game in a review because of concerns about spoilers  

Also related to a BIG early spoiler. If you have to ask if you’re there, you’re not.

 

  Hide contents

Some of the preview footage / videos are obvious bait and switches, in hindsight, given what ends up motivating Ellie to go to Seattle. 

 

Reviews were not allowed to talk about it. The Kotaku article I linked to earlier in this thread expressed some of the same frustrations in your post. 

[Firewithin]

hell yah time to dive in

 

 

[johnny]

Found out I have ONE cavity, picked up my dad from the hospital (he’s good) and sat in traffic for about 3 hours. I’m so fucking ready to play again tonight.