Page 2 of 8

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 16th, 2020, 7:14 pm
by rob25X
Sounds very odd, especially with TLOU being one of the highest rated games of the entire the PS3 library. It's not like they need to worry about sales figures.

I haven't played TLOU 1 yet, it's another one of those games I need to get to one day.

Regarding ND's releases, I thought the Jak & Daxter games were excellent but felt Uncharted was hugely overrated. I only played the first 2 though.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 17th, 2020, 9:29 am
by Angry_Kurt
FWIW, last year I shared my flat with a former editor of the official Xbox magazine and he also said that paid reviews is a complete fallacy and that despite being an official mag, Microsoft never dictated what should go in the mag, in fact he said there was hardly any contact with MS.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 17th, 2020, 12:00 pm
by Alex79
I got in to an argument with someone on Facebook recently over this. He claimed he used to work for IGN and paid reviews were common. I asked him to provide links to any of his work on IGN and he just stopped replying. He was so smug though, as if I was the stupid one for not believing it happened. The Internet is full of absolute cretins.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 17th, 2020, 12:12 pm
by ratsoalbion
There are all sorts of genuine problems with the way games are reviewed, especially now that the version that's released on day one often falls way short of the finished product. Although that's arguably an industry problem more than a journalistic one. The main issue I think is the lack of time you normally get as a writer to play a game before you have to commit to an opinion.

However, the single biggest problems with game reviews in my opinion are the prevailing perceptions that remain around 1) the myth that a review can be 'objective', and 2) the other common fallacy that reviewers all collude and decide as a group how to rate certain games. Again, conspiracy theory level bullshit.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 17th, 2020, 12:21 pm
by JaySevenZero
So bringing it back on track, The Last of Us part II is out this week and I'm currently waiting patiently for the email from SimplyGames to tell me that my copy is on its way.

I've been curious to how ND were gonna follow this up since 2013 and hopefully in a day or two I'm finally gonna get to sample the fruits of their labours.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 17th, 2020, 12:23 pm
by ratsoalbion
I am also tempted to 'day one' this. I've managed to avoid key spoilers so far but that won't necessarily continue.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 18th, 2020, 6:27 am
by Stanshall
Yeah, day one for me, too. I'm pleased to have avoided spoilers as I did with FF7R but my luck will no doubt run out if I leave it too long after release. Unlikely to be there for midnight because I'll be up at 5 tomorrow but Friday night, I'm shutting myself off and enjoying some gratuitous 'self defence'.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 18th, 2020, 1:45 pm
by DomsBeard
Staying up till midnight tonight for this. I had planned to cane this Friday night then I remember Tottenham are back ruining my life.

Really looking forward to it, I have skim read some reviews talking about the grim over the top violence etc and made me wonder if they played the original?!?.

Just watched this which is a good recap of the original, dlc and comics.


Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 18th, 2020, 3:39 pm
by Electric Crocosaurus
Cannot wait; I’ve managed to avoid most pre-release media so that I can just soak it in. I’m not expecting a revelation from the gameplay, but Naughty Dog are up there with Valve in world-building and story telling. I’ve got the day booked off work and I’m looking forward to seeing what Ellie and co have been up to for the past 8 years.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 18th, 2020, 4:42 pm
by Alex79
Anyone got their copy early? I've seen a few people on Twitter with them.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 18th, 2020, 8:01 pm
by Flabyo
I’m expecting it’ll be good, but all these ‘gaming finally grows up’ headlines on the bbc are getting me dangerously close to eye rolling. Heh.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 19th, 2020, 9:28 am
by Angry_Kurt
I rolled my eyes at that too, it was actually a quote from the actress who played Ellie which surprised me.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 19th, 2020, 5:18 pm
by Stanshall
Jesus H. Christ, this is a looker. The facial animation and skin textures make RDR2 look behind the times. An incredible leap forward from Uncharted 4, insane that they're on the same hardware.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 19th, 2020, 10:06 pm
by Stanshall
Again, a non-spoilery comment, the audio on this is also sensational. I don't know what trickery they're employing but it feels like a much more naturalistic sound stage than the original game. That has fantastic sound effects and iconic noises and stuff, but this feels on another level in terms of 3D imaging via stereo. I'm not using any simulated surround, just regular stereo output, and it's stunning.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 20th, 2020, 6:44 am
by DomsBeard
I'll second that, I'm playing with headphones and clickers are bloody horrendous :lol:

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 21st, 2020, 9:48 pm
by Stanshall
If anyone is on the fence about this game, please please don't be tempted to watch anything or look up any spoilers. In so many ways, it feels a generation ahead. The combat encounters are more dynamic than anything I've played since MGSV, but they're also much more tense and physical. There's rarely any opportunity to just retreat and wait for enemies to de-aggro, it's all about adapting on the fly and making use of the environment and whatever you can scavenge. You really feel like every bullet or brick counts. It's also possibly the most brutal game I've ever played. Everything from the animations to the sound design to the voice acting maximise the impact of wrench beatings, stabbed throats and rifle headshots. It's really really not for the faint of heart. It's total carnage.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 22nd, 2020, 9:36 am
by chase210
I highly recommend, almost instruct people, to play This with headphones. It is incredible, and terrifying. The whole game is like that, honestly. Can’t remember the last time a game blew me away like that.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 22nd, 2020, 10:55 am
by Stanshall
I couldn't agree more. The audio is absolutely incredible, not just with the horrifying vocalisations and amazing rural 'foley', but I really love the ambient synth drones blended with the acoustic guitar. The soundtrack feels much more expansive and varied than the first game. The bass throb during some of the combat scenes is amazing.

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 22nd, 2020, 11:00 am
by KSubzero1000
Hm... Shall I? :|

Re: The Last of Us Part II

Posted: June 22nd, 2020, 1:34 pm
by rob25X
So the Metacritic scores are very strange. 95% average from critics, 3.9/10 from 50,000+ user ratings.