The Last of Us 2

[GazzaGarratt 11,051]

Gameplay and Date revealed 

 

 

February 21st 2020.

 

My god, if this story is half as good as the first it's worth playing. Never been a better story to make me want to get through levels. Halo was close but this edges it.

 

Let's not forget...this will have a MP side too! Now if that's upgraded we have to get some people on this.

 

Looking amazing so far. Any other thoughts on it? I think they'll have a big plot twist at the start...

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

It looks incredible and I'm so glad the release isn't too far away. Naughty Dog games are just astonishing experiences and I'm so glad the release isn't too far away. This should sign-off the PS4 gen in style. 

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

Gameplay

 

 

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

Delayed until May 2020 at the earliest. Big blow that. Not sure why they cemented February when less than a month later they add on an extra 3 months which puts it after Cyberpunk which a lot of people will still be playing. 

[GazzaGarratt 11,051]

On 10/24/2019 at 6:45 PM, J4MES OX4D said:

Delayed until May 2020 at the earliest. Big blow that. Not sure why they cemented February when less than a month later they add on an extra 3 months which puts it after Cyberpunk which a lot of people will still be playing. 

 

With a game like this I don't think the delayed release date will be much of a blow. People expect a monumental story and game so most would rather get that as its not a game you go back to after you've done the story (imo).

 

What would be more of a blow is that the MP for this game is delayed even further, which I believe it is but can't confirm, and maybe not even delivered at all.

 

The game for me loses some value without this, even if its an amazing story. I'll always compare it to the first one and content wise won't match the original.

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

Delayed again

[GazzaGarratt 11,051]

47 minutes ago, J4MES OX4D said:

Delayed again

 

I forgot I seen this - it was a bummer to read.

 

I think its more because there could well be bugs post launch and they can't react to the things they'd need to fix because now more than ever people are at home wanting to play games.

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

Some disgruntled employee at Naughty Dog has leaked a build of the game and disclosed the entire plot and it apparently sounds horrendous. The reaction from fans online from what I’ve seen is utter disbelief at how shockingly bad the story is. I haven’t read too much into the spoilers but I have to say this could be a major disappointment 

 

[GazzaGarratt 11,051]

On 4/28/2020 at 11:14 PM, J4MES OX4D said:

Some disgruntled employee at Naughty Dog has leaked a build of the game and disclosed the entire plot and it apparently sounds horrendous. The reaction from fans online from what I’ve seen is utter disbelief at how shockingly bad the story is. I haven’t read too much into the spoilers but I have to say this could be a major disappointment 

 

 

I heard spoilers were out but I've decided not to read anything into them because a game like this is worse if its spoiled.

 

It's a shame Naughty Dog havent had a good track record with their employees as spending years creating a game for the plot to be lost within a moment of madness is disappointing.

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

2 hours ago, GazzaGarratt said:

 

I heard spoilers were out but I've decided not to read anything into them because a game like this is worse if its spoiled.

 

It's a shame Naughty Dog havent had a good track record with their employees as spending years creating a game for the plot to be lost within a moment of madness is disappointing.

I always tend to avoid spoilers especially on games I am interested in picking up, but in this case I was just so overly-curious due to the recent brewing situation at Naughty Dog and after hearing about potential 'controversies' with the story. A couple of people associated with the project are also widely disliked and many feel their influences would also damage the brand. 

 

I am glad I did look into it further because from a narrative standpoint it is shockingly bad. The gameplay seems fine though but the story and characters could be a catastrophic issue so much so, I would actually endorse having a peek because it is the latter that could save people a lot of money. What initially stunned me was how many die-hard TLOU fans were so angry about it and now I see why. 

 

I definitely would consider having a deeper look because there doesn't seem to be any benefit going in blind and all you'll get is some very nasty surprises IMO. For me, there was nothing worthwhile to spoil. 

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

Some more news developing regarding this:-

 

- Naughty Dog have started copystriking videos that don't even show the game or talk about the plot. 

 

- The producer has insinuated that people that don't like the game are just homophobic or simply hate women.

 

- The internal uproar started when a Furloughed staff member asked for their bonus early based on projections - this was rejected and the person was threatened with termination. Senior staff however did pay themselves early under the table which tipped the staff member over the edge. 

 

Loving the memes that this is bringing though

 

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

Reviews are in and this is probably the only one that I trust and have mentioned negatives and how the embargo works. Every other one is sounds awfully scripted

 

[slamminbones 1,791]

i wasn't going to buy it early but i am fast changing my mind as i can put some games in my back log. 

[GazzaGarratt 11,051]

On 6/12/2020 at 5:31 PM, J4MES OX4D said:

Reviews are in and this is probably the only one that I trust and have mentioned negatives and how the embargo works. Every other one is sounds awfully scripted

 

 

 

I haven't watched this yet but something to bear in mind is what he tweeted after this. Fair play to him for saying the below as well:

 

 

I still think a game like this will hit the mark with most people. They won't lose a lot of the fundamental game mechanics that made the first one so good. The only i'll continue to be disappointed about is that it doesn't have a multiplayer side to it which is a huge opportunity missed imo.

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

43 minutes ago, GazzaGarratt said:

 

 

I haven't watched this yet but something to bear in mind is what he tweeted after this. Fair play to him for saying the below as well:

 

 

I still think a game like this will hit the mark with most people. They won't lose a lot of the fundamental game mechanics that made the first one so good. The only i'll continue to be disappointed about is that it doesn't have a multiplayer side to it which is a huge opportunity missed imo.

I'm probably going to pick it up Friday but I am very iffy about aspects of this game because I am fully aware of the leaks which were part of the review embargo so reviewers weren't allowed to talk about that portion of the game or even reflect it in the score. 

 

Every review is also quite misleading for this reason. Imagine being a food critic, going into a restaurant and then being told you can only review the starter and not the main course or desert and you are hamstrung because any complaints from the overall experience that can't be mentioned or then be reflected in the score.

 

I have never seen reviewers hamstrung so much in what they can say, score or show and pivotal parts of the game which were leaked that they have heavily censored with false DMCA's makes me a bit skeptical. The game looks totally amazing but there is a lot more to this product than meets the eye and people can only see that if they look into the leaks or purchase the game. A lot can also be said who they gave review copies too.

 

I'm definitely looking forward to trying this but I have a feeling user reviews might tell a different story. 

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

I've ordered a physical edition from Currys PC World for £44.99 using this voucher code FNDDGAMING making it the cheapest available price online. Should be here on delivery day too fingers crossed!

[phil bottle 9,761]

Easy for me, I haven't finished the first one, so no chance ;)

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

I've completed the first part of the game after about 3-4 hours and whilst it's staggeringly beautiful and a very well-produced game, I'm not all that impressed so far. This being one section that was heavily embargoed for reviews. 

 

The story is pretty cringe, the characters are flat and boring plus the narrative seems pretty forced. It feels like I'm playing a teen drama that is following some predictable checklist of stereotypical genre tropes.  The game has been painfully linear so far and although a decent of the first portion is more of a tutorial and scene setter, it feels dated and very limited. 

 

I do think it will pick up but the backlash this game has been getting is somewhat justified IMO. 

[Dr Diamond 407]

from what ive heard it sounds like a steaming pile of hot garbage

but it was kind of sweet seeing this blind dude crying with happiness when playing the game,  because this game has something like 60+ ways of modifying the screen, audio and controller options to allow people with as many disabilities/impairments to play as possible.

even if the game is total cringe, the accessibility customisation alone might hopefully set a new industry standard and every game and console moving forward have these options.

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

Put in a couple more hours and the game is now beginning more like The Last of Us and less like Life is Strange. I have a feeling this will only last until the next part of the story is rammed down my throat though. The world has also gone more semi-linear whereas the first few hours were very tunneled to the point they may as well have been on rails. 

 

 

 

 

[GazzaGarratt 11,051]

I'm purposefully not reading all your comments yet as i do want to experience this for myself. I've got away with seeing no spoilers so far so hopefully it'll be worth the wait. Regardless of the outcome i think the game will be still be worth the time sink alone.

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

I've put in a fair few hours so far and one thing I can say is this game is way too long - probably 10-15 hours too much. Even though I don't know how close I am to finishing, there is a significant amount of content in the game that drags the experience out and makes the story go all over the place. I think they've tried too hard on things they didn't need to do and it has actually diminished the quality of the game. The wow factor of new locations has gone and it's been replaced with repetitive tedium. 

 

The media reviews were totally misleading and this is mostly due to the crafty embargo in place where only good parts of the game could be talked about and where the scores could only reflect these. Any credible sites would have told Naughty Dog to shove it and that they'd review a retail copy the game in full without having their mouths taped. I do think this game is excellent at times but there are large parts which aren't great and are very relevant to the overall experience. It's a scandal how Naughty Dog have gotten away with doing this. 

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

*Some Spoilers*

 

I've finally finished it and in all my years of playing games, I don't think I have ever seen a one dragged out so much - it was an absolute chore to get to the end and most of the story in the final third was completely pointless, borderline painful and beyond ridiculous. I have never seen such utter pathetic writing in my life and I have to question what substances were being smoked by developers when they came up with this.  The premise is actually interesting - a simple revenge plot where you get to experience both sides. It should have been thought-provoking, emotional and a test of morals but in the end I just ended up hating every single character and the way the game tries to guilt you into killing a dog but doesn't give a shit about the other 150 people you've killed is just stupid. 

 

The visuals and overall production quality is extraordinary at times but the pacing and story is a convoluted mess and there is no character development. They all feel wasted and it's hard to remember each ones names. Some die and your character doesn't even seem to acknowledge or care. The overall pacing is horrendous with mostly long drawn-out looting sections and then the occasional combat scene. You then gather resources only to have to do it again. There is very few environmental puzzles or variety unlike the first and with the game being as linear and longer, it really gets predictable and tiresome. The second half of the game is plagued with QTE events and just bigger combat scenes. 15 hours of this game was not even required. 

 

There's mistakes, plot holes, ludicrous writing and parts of the game that go off in the most nonsensical of directions. The game was also trying to be persistently horrific with lots of shock value but the emotional side they also tried to include just fell flat because it was buried in all the horror and hypocrisy.  By the end, I was so exhausted with the whole experience and so were the characters as they'd killed hundreds of times and been beaten shitless just as many. I was almost expecting another 10 hours to be added on at one point and never thought it would end. This game began as one of the best games of the generation and fell apart like I have never seen a game before. There are a few very key reviews that have gone up which aren't fraudulent like the embargoed pre-release media ones - this includes Angry Joes and I highly suggest watching them whether you want the game or not. 

 

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

Further discussion which raises even more crucial points

 

[Dan94 913]

For anyone (such as me) who wants to play Last of Us 2 but hasn't played the first one yet, its £7.99 on PS store atm.