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Topic: The Last Of Us Part II - OT (No Spoilers)

Posts 401 to 420 of 505

Voltan

@Octane They also seem to be the reason some people complained about "pacing being all over the place". Personally I thought they made the pacing better (like you said), not took away from it.

Voltan

Octane

@Voltan It's no different than any other game with good pacing, the only difference is that they mostly use flashbacks for the slower paced sections. And it ensures that the one beloved character is still present throughout the game.

Octane

psmr

@Voltan @Octane I've always been a fan of a well placed flashback in film and TV... about time they started using them in games (obviously they have been used prior to this example... but they are rare in comparison).

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Zeldafan79

As much as i honestly loved most of the game i can't help thinking about how dissapointing my first playthrough was. At that certain point when you're forced to play as you know who and suddenly Ellie is just shoved under the bus for what feels like forever i just kept saying where the hell is Ellie? Why can't i play as Ellie? Is it Ellies turn yet? I swear i almost quit the game and just about lost interest.

That pissed me off more than the intro frankly. I was having serious Deja Vu from my first time playing MGS 2.

[Edited by Zeldafan79]

"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings" Optimus Prime

Thrillho

@colonelkilgore @Octane @Voltan Yeah, I really liked those sections and obviously it tugs on the old heartstrings given what happens early on in the game! It also adds to the overall progression of Ellie's character through the game seeing what life was like for her, even post-"apocalypse"".

Thrillho

JohnnyShoulder

@Zeldafan79 You might wanna put spoiler tags over that, seeing as someone is currently playing through the game.

Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

PSN: JohnnyShoulder

psmr

@Zeldafan79 @JohnnyShoulder it's all good guys, I had the game spoiled by a 'friend' (right after telling him I hadn't played it yet) last year.

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Octane

@Thrillho Yeah, I guess that if you really want to hate a game, you'll come up with plenty of reasons, and pacing is obviously an easy target in that case. Of course, even pacing is subjective, there's no objectively good way. What works for one, doesn't work for another. But I liked it.

Octane

NedStarksGhost

@Octane I'm surprised to read there were complaints about the pacing. Thought it was really well done.

@colonelkilgore the museum flashback is such a good one, glad to hear you really liked it. Such a nice moment between the two of them.

[Edited by NedStarksGhost]

NedStarksGhost

Voltan

@NedStarksGhost I've seen complaints about pacing and I've seen people suggesting that it would be much better if the events (including both main parts of the game and the flashbacks) were arranged chronologically... which sounds like a surefire way to absolutely ruin the game's narrative to me

[Edited by Voltan]

Voltan

psmr

@Voltan some people just don't understand that out-of-chronology flash backs are inserted where they are for a precise point... be it a reveal, an emphasis or whatever. We are all entitled to our opinion of course but comments like that do annoy me

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psmr

@NedStarksGhost @velio84 @render @Jimmer-jammer @JohnnyShoulder @Thrillho @Voltan @Col_McCafferty @Keith_Zissou

I finished the story on TLoU2 yesterday morning and have been powering through to get all the collectibles and upgrades since then… so I’m finally free to discuss it.

I don’t think that I can put it into words how impressed I am by the game. To make a sequel to many peoples game-of-the-generation (PS3), many peoples game-of-the-decade, just an absolute seminal game… there is so much potential downside to the process. I think under the circumstances, the most any realistic person could expect would be something that is very good… but that doesn’t necessarily have the same boundary-breaking effect on narrative (as the boundaries have already been broken) as the original. As surprised as I was to discover, the sequel is actually better in every regard… and just as (what I imagine will go on to be) seminal an experience. I am naturally quite hyperbolic when chatting over things I like… but in my mind, it’s the perfect sequel. The best narrative in gaming ever (as I’m sure that you are all aware… but not everyone is. The quality of a particular narrative is far, FAR more than merely how interesting the plot is)… and I’m not ashamed to admit, actually made me cry at one point.

And while the gameplay is the ‘weakest’ facet of the overall package, it is still head and shoulders over the original in this regard and actually plays really well. The eventual Factions 2 should be mind-blowing with how well this plays.

[Edited by psmr]

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Col_McCafferty

@Voltan Ha really? I wonder if these same people have ever watched Memento.

😉

@colonelkilgore It sounds like it impressed you as much it did me. I think it almost elevates gaming narrative to a different level, the equal of most premium TV shows on Netflix or BBC or HBO. It's probably too bleak for some people and other choices were too much for them but I loved it

It does what a great sequel should do,bit expands upon the world and lore and story of the first and takes established characters in new directions, as well as introducing new ones.

I think it's a masterpiece.

Col_McCafferty

psmr

Col_McCafferty wrote:

I think it's a masterpiece.

Yep, a stone-cold masterpiece! Although totally different subject-matter and themes etc. it just reminds me of how The Godfather part 2 improved and expanded on (imho anyway) The Godfather. It was a much darker movie… and one that played a lot with out-of-chronology story-telling for extended periods of time. It also annoyed some of the fan base (although fan bases were a very different ‘thing’ back then) to see Michael (the original’s protagonist and beating heart) descend into absolute darkness.

[Edited by psmr]

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render

@colonelkilgore I felt the same. It was a perfect story for the bleak world they’ve created. Even though I went in without any expectations I still found the end result unexpected. It was a brutal story from start to finish and I’ll admit that it moved me way more than I thought it would. I found my mind wondering back to the place where the game ends and thinking through how it led to that point. The decisions the characters make are decisions that we all might make given that set of circumstances and that for me makes it more poignant as it almost seems unavoidable.

For such a brutal story it is also beautiful in how it’s told, how it does what it does to invoke these emotions in you. How it makes you actually feel anger, sadness, loss, hope even is a tribute to how well the characters and world have been built. The only downside to the game is that you only get that first play through once.

render

Voltan

@velio84 I honestly hope I never have to find out

Voltan

render

@Voltan If you ended up in that world I can imagine Take On Me might have a bit more edge to it 😂

render

psmr

@render regarding the end… I’m so glad that Ellie didn’t actually kill Abby… I know to some it may seem like such a waste after she left her home and happy-family-unit but I think it took that last journey and what eventually happened for her to psychologically ‘put-the-ordeal-to-bed’. And as with many works of great narrative and character-development, it mirrored the fact that Abby had indeed let her go on two separate occasions.

@velio84 yeah I actually really liked Abby… and totally empathised with her motivations. And that is coming from someone who has a proper man-crush on Joel!

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JohnnyShoulder

@colonelkilgore Yeah I agree with ya, defo one of the best stories I've experienced in a video game. Sure there have been good ones like in BioShock, Mass Effect, the first Wolfenstein game last gen, but tlou2 is on a whole other level.

Some of the story decisions ND made were risky as they knew it would upset a part of the fan base. But i thought the game was all the better because of it. They could have played it safe but I'm just as many people would have moaned about that too.

Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

PSN: JohnnyShoulder

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