The Last of Us: Part II

[T4rd]

You are perfectly allowed to have an emotional reaction, but whoever calls themselves professional journalists should absolutely be objective when reviewing a game, that's their freaking job.

Well I guess that's where we're going to completely disagree. Being objective while reviewing a story-based game, movie, or book is impossible to do and that's not their job. Their job is to tell you how much of an impression it left on them, either with a score or whatever other criteria they want (like some do a "buy, wait-for-sale, pass" etc.). The scores are nothing more than a metric by which to compare to other games based on that impression it made on them, not an objective sum-of-its-parts that you want it to be.

Anyways, I just beat the game on my 2nd sitting by staying up all night and now I guess I'm gonna try to be up for 36 hours now, lol.

Can't even bring to put my thoughts on whole story and ending right now, other than to say holy balls that was exhausting to play and watch, esp for the last few hours after the game keeps going when you thought for sure it was over. But it is every bit as good as the first game and then some on top of that because of all the extra and new characters, most of which were pretty interesting and well-played. SJW stuff was nowhere to be found, no trans sex or any crazy shit I saw Pendragon trying to peddle in Genmay to pile on the game like those on Metacritic, hah.

Edit: Oh shit, now I can finally look up what was leaked before the game launched to see how bad all the whiners got it wrong!

 

[M76]

Well I guess that's where we're going to completely disagree. Being objective while reviewing a story-based game, movie, or book is impossible to do and that's not their job. Their job is to tell you how much of an impression it left on them, either with a score or whatever other criteria they want (like some do a "buy, wait-for-sale, pass" etc.). The scores are nothing more than a metric by which to compare to other games based on that impression it made on them, not an objective sum-of-its-parts that you want it to be.

The subjective opinion of a guy I don't know, never met, is completely meaningless to me. He judges a game based on his own background. He can like what I don't like and hate what I love, so his opinion is not useful to me. There must be a semblance of objectivity or a common ground on which we can come together and establish something that is actually valuable meaningful information. That would be a game reviewer's job. If they want to just rant about politics or how the story subjectively affected them, then they should be running a blog and not the gaming column at a magazine.

And you're preaching to the choir, I always judge games based on their overall impression, not as the sum of their parts. Don't belive me? I explained my scoring in the first post here.
That's not to say I don't offer my subjective opinion on some aspects of games, but if and when I do, I always offer context for it, explaining where I'm coming from.

SJW stuff was nowhere to be found, no trans sex or any crazy shit

I'm only 17 hours into the game, but so far I can attest to this.
You see we are already judging the game objectively on a common established metric. This is useful to others. Saying "HEck yea I loved that", is not.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

That's not what I said, are you not even listening? I appreciate it, but I doesn't make me disregard everything else when scoring the game. You can have the best storytelling but ultimately have an objectively bad game. Like say Alpha Protocol. I loved the hell out of that game, but not in good conscience give it a higher score than 7, because it has serious shortcomings.

You're straw manning me because I didn't say "gameplay literally doesn't matter at all as long as the story is good." I said it doesn't have to be "perfect" if the storytelling is very fucking good because a game is more than the sum of its parts. I don't know how else I can explain this but obviously we're just going to have to agree to disagree here I guess.

An appeal to numbers? If appeal to numbers was a valid point, then that would mean TLOU2 is the worst game ever with a 3.6 score currently by the numbers, LOL
But good news: I'm not most people, and I'm happy for that. Take it or leave it. I found Doom 2016 exceptionally well crafted but bland and boring, didn't even finish it. Played it like two hours before calling it quits. Not because it was hard, I played it on ultra-violence, just felt zero motivation to continue. Exactly because a lack of compelling narrative. I think both gameplay and narrative needs to be top notch for an action game to be perfect. The only games where 10/10 is a possible otherwise are very specialized cases like say a pinball game, or a puzzle game. But even a sports game can be elevated by a good narrative / campaign mode. That's why I loved Virtua Tennis 4 for example.

Ehhhh not really an appeal to numbers, otherwise you're just saying critical consensus means jack shit. I won't include review bombing as part of critical consensus. You seem to take pride in breaking from consensus in one way or another, which is totally fine, but don't act like you're shocked because your opinion is different or that it's bullshit that someone else rates a game differently than you.

I'm fine with using old recipes just don't expect me to give a perfect score for being unoriginal. I hate this mentality. When people think a 6/10 game can't still be enjoyable. And want to lynch you for not giving a 10/10 for their current favorite game. This is what caused the access media to vastly overvalue games, well this, and wanting to remain the access media. I'm not the access media, and I don't care about pleasing fanboys, so you can expect brutally honest opinions from me, and trying to be as objective as humanly possible. If that bothers you, too bad, so sad.

If my review will piss off both the haters and the fanboys I'm fine with that. I won't change my opinion to suit anyone.

I find this hilarious that you keep bringing up "people want to lynch you for not giving a game 10/10" when you are literally making a big stink about people GIVING a game 10/10. And again I have to say I'm not just "rabidly defending a game" I'm defending my ability to give it a 10/10. Jesus Christ I'm not even sure I'd give it a 10/10 myself yet, I'm only about 2/3 done so far.

 

[Domingo]

I'm loving this game so far. I'm only just starting to explore the open world portions of Seattle, but I think it's pretty fantastic thus far. Great dialogue, solid emotional moments, and even some pure adrenaline. I dunno about a 10/10, but I'd say the game is definitely a solid 9 thus far. A 10 might be feasible depending on where things go. Gunplay feels better this time around and in-general the game plays closer to Uncharted, which is welcome to me. The open world stuff feels a lot like Lost Legacy, where you get to explore small pockets of a larger area. Is that game controversial since there are two "ethnic" women, or is it okay because they aren't lesbians? I still need to figure out what things I'm supposed to be be pissed off at as a white male.

 

[M76]

I'm defending my ability to give it a 10/10. Jesus Christ I'm not even sure I'd give it a 10/10 myself yet, I'm only about 2/3 done so far.

Are you a professional reviewer at a magazine? Then nobody is questioning any of your rights. Damn this is like talking to a wall. I said those who do game reviews as a profession should be objective and consistent in their reviews, otherwise they are not doing justice to their profession.

Edit, and no I don't question the rights of professional reviewers to be shit at their job either. They can give 10/10 but allow me my right to consider them shills and biased for it.

 

[T4rd]

I still need to figure out what things I'm supposed to be be pissed off at as a white male.

I just went back and looked at the leaks to see what all the fuss was about, since I just beat the game and don't have to worry about spoilers anymore.

So it seems everyone had it wrong that Abbi is Transgender, when she's actually a straight white woman, lol. Though she is pretty built and ripped and thus barely has any tits, I guess I can see how people thought that, though I wouldn't have assumed that about as she mostly looks female to me still. There is another "trans" character later on in the game...

Spoiler: Minor Spoiler

though their basically just a Mulan-looking kid that didn't want to be a girl and wedlocked to some old man in their cult.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

I just went back and looked at the leaks to see what all the fuss was about, since I just beat the game and don't have to worry about spoilers anymore.

So it seems everyone had it wrong that Abbi is Transgender, when she's actually a straight white woman, lol. Though she is pretty built and ripped and thus barely has any tits, I guess I can see how people thought that, though I wouldn't have assumed that about as she mostly looks female to me still. There is another "trans" character later on in the game...

Spoiler: Minor Spoiler

though their basically just a Mulan-looking kid that didn't want to be a girl and wedlocked to some old man in their cult.

lol, people literally thought Abbi was the trans character because she's ripped? God people are so fucking dumb.

 

[M76]

I feel like I have been off the grid for the past 48 hours, I did almost nothing but eat sleep and play this game. And it's not just because I want to review it quickly, it's because it's that freaking good. I'm invested in the characters and the story. But now I'm trying to take a small break, we'll see how long that lasts.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

I feel like I have been off the grid for the past 48 hours, I did almost nothing but eat sleep and play this game. And it's not just because I want to review it quickly, it's because it's that freaking good. I'm invested in the characters and the story. But now I'm trying to take a small break, we'll see how long that lasts.

Nice. I'm gonna push through and finish today I think. Meanwhile on Youtube, I saw this video: "TLoU 2 is complete failure of story telling" lol. It annoys me that people fall for that shit because of their hunger to be mad at something.

 

[T4rd]

I feel like I have been off the grid for the past 48 hours, I did almost nothing but eat sleep and play this game. And it's not just because I want to review it quickly, it's because it's that freaking good. I'm invested in the characters and the story. But now I'm trying to take a small break, we'll see how long that lasts.

Pretty much same here all weekend. My first playthrough took just over 30 hours and I did that in two sittings; Friday all day until like 2 AM and then again from yesterday evening until like 1230 today, hah.

Can't wait to see what you all think of the ending, the last few hours are almost an Uncharted-like over the top end-game, just much more graphic and emotional on top of the action. I think you're in for a treat.

 

[scojer]

I only got to play about 6 hours, then my wife had car troubles. We decided to finally buy a new car rather than pay to get it fixed. (It's worth less than $1k.)
So that's what I did all day yesterday, rather than play.

 

[M76]

Can't wait to see what you all think of the ending, the last few hours are almost an Uncharted-like over the top end-game, just much more graphic and emotional on top of the action. I think you're in for a treat.

It's a roller coaster all-right, I Haven'T finished it yet, but so far one moment I think the ending will satisfy me, then in the next moment something unexpected happens and I think it will piss me off. And I had to leave things in the "piss me off" stage because its getting late here, and I have work tomorrow. I'm about 21 hours into it, I doubt it will last another 9 hours for me. I don't feel I was rushing things but who knows.

 

[polonyc2]

how do the graphics compare to titles like Uncharted 4, Horizon: Zero Dawn, God of War etc?

 

[T4rd]

how do the graphics compare to titles like Uncharted 4, Horizon: Zero Dawn, God of War etc?

It's the same Engine and developer as Uncharted 4, so graphically it seemed about the same as that to me, so it's still pretty stellar and probably the best looking game overall on PS4. It might have some slight effects upgrades and poly count increase. Ghosts of Tsushima looks like it could take that title though when it launches. Hard to compare those other games to these Naughty Dog games though since their more open world games and this is more linear with a couple large areas to explore between the closed in areas, so they can put more detail into those smaller areas. Detroit: Become Human has the best character models I've seen on the console, but this isn't far behind that and is probably ahead on facial and character animations still, while having much more detailed environments as well.

One thing that somewhat annoyed me though is the high film grain in the game and no setting to adjust/disable it. Also, I noticed what looks like is scan lines in various scenes with direct lighting. But I was playing only a few feet from my 65" C9 OLED TV too, w/HDR enabled of course.

I have to emphasize again to try to wear headphones while playing this game. With how great the sounds design and soundtrack is in this game, it goes a long way to add to the immersion for me.

 

[M76]

how do the graphics compare to titles like Uncharted 4, Horizon: Zero Dawn, God of War etc?

I haven't played Uncharted 4 or God of War, compared to HZD it is significantly better. Especially the characters, almost photoreal in some cutscenes. I only played The Lost Legacy from the Uncharted series, but it didn't leave much of a mark on me. Apart from that game seemed to have much more feminist influence.

The screenshots really doesn't do justice to the graphics, due to the checkerboard rendering and lack of HDR. In motion it looks much better.

 

[polonyc2]

The screenshots really doesn't do justice to the graphics, due to the checkerboard rendering and lack of HDR. In motion it looks much better.

I was thinking the same thing...those screenshots you posted earlier look pretty bad...everything looks washed out, poor textures, character models are awful, everything is blurry etc...are you saying the HDR is not implemented well in this game?

Screenshot #13 in your post looks like a game from 10 years ago

 

[scojer]

When I played the other day, I shot a human in the face with a revolver, and after I cleared the area, I examined the body. Her lower jaw was missing, her face was a bloody mess with just the upper row of teeth visible.
when I play next, I'll try to re-create it and take a screenshot.

 

[T4rd]

are you saying the HDR is not implemented well in this game?

The HDR looked great to me, but when taking screenshots with HDR enabled, it skews the colors in the picture so that it doesn't look the same as it did in the game. Not sure why, other than the console tells you this can be expected when sharing screenshots with HDR enabled.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

I was thinking the same thing...those screenshots you posted earlier look pretty bad...everything looks washed out, poor textures, character models are awful, everything is blurry etc...are you saying the HDR is not implemented well in this game?

Screenshot #13 in your post looks like a game from 10 years ago

Trust me when I say the game looks fucking spectacular in person. Best looking game I've played to date (as far as realism-focused ones anyway.) Everything from facial detail and animation to vegetation and lighting is Naughty Dog at the top of their game.

There are multiple times during the in-game cutscenes where I went, jesus this actually looks truly photo-realistic

RDR2 is close but the facial animations in TLoU2 are a cut above. Granted RDR2 is open world

 

[Domingo]

The further I get, the more I like this game. It's the more "real" Uncharted that I hoped the first TLoU would be.
The sound is great. Rain, wind, and ambient noise sounds real. Gunshots are loud, have impact, and recoil. Lots of graphical detail, too. Graphics are about as good as anything on the current gen, although (obviously) only at 30fps.
The 10/10 ratings aren't crazy. I'm only just now finished the first part of Seattle's downtown, but I'm enjoying this a LOT. More than Uncharted 4, to be pretty honest.

 

[Damos]

So I watched someone play it while I was working on a side project this weekend.
Not as bad as I feared, but 5/10 being generous.
First 5 hours are amazing; the next 10 or so are pretty rough while the ending is disappointing to say the least.
No idea how something like this scored so high with the critics.
Reminds me a lot of the last Star Wars movie though; makes sense in that way.
Everyone has a different opinion though.

 

[M76]

I was thinking the same thing...those screenshots you posted earlier look pretty bad...everything looks washed out, poor textures, character models are awful, everything is blurry etc...

Yeah that's exactly the result of checkerboard rendering. In each frame parts are blurry, but when the game is running it looks much clearer because your brain doesn't see the individual frames, it processes it as a whole and builds a composite image from 3-4 consecutive frames and the game appears much clearer. I'm not saying you cannot sometimes notice checkerboard rendering during play as well, but it's not that glaring.

are you saying the HDR is not implemented well in this game?

No, it's probably the best implementation I saw thus far. I'm saying when you play in HDR any screenshots you take will look washed out, because you are basically compressing the colors to non-HDR.

Screenshot #13 in your post looks like a game from 10 years ago

Trust me most of these looked awesome in person, maybe I'll post a video, mind you the colors will look off on that too.

 

[Domingo]

It's definitely a good looking game. If you've played Uncharted 4, it looks very similar. TLoU2 looks a little better, but not by leaps and bounds. HDR implementation is similar. The right colors pop, but the world is dreary most of the time. The subway tunnel encounter (from the TV commercial) is particularly neat looking.
Even with motion blur turned all the way down, there's still a little bit of motion blur going on. Maybe that's one way of optimizing the game? I dunno.
To me, the sound is the most impressive thing about the game. I've found myself wondering if it was raining outside or if someone was in my house several different times. Audio positioning is just plain amazing.
If I had to complain about anything, it's still those damn clickers. Instakill enemies that bob and weave like mad are kinda lame. Just like in the first game, nothing else ever kills me. In fact, I don't know if I've ever really even gotten close from anything else.

 

[scojer]

It's definitely a good looking game. If you've played Uncharted 4, it looks very similar. TLoU2 looks a little better, but not by leaps and bounds. HDR implementation is similar. The right colors pop, but the world is dreary most of the time. The subway tunnel encounter (from the TV commercial) is particularly neat looking.
Even with motion blur turned all the way down, there's still a little bit of motion blur going on. Maybe that's one way of optimizing the game? I dunno.
To me, the sound is the most impressive thing about the game. I've found myself wondering if it was raining outside or if someone was in my house several different times. Audio positioning is just plain amazing.
If I had to complain about anything, it's still those damn clickers. Instakill enemies that bob and weave like mad are kinda lame. Just like in the first game, nothing else ever kills me. In fact, I don't know if I've ever really even gotten close from anything else.

I let myself get killed, to see the death animations, they're neat to watch, just like the first game.

I also turned the film blur down, but I wish that the film grain could be disabled, it can in photo mode, but not in the actual game. It looks soooo much better without it, or with it turned down below 20.

I definitely love the sound design, I can't imagine playing this game without headphones.

I JUST passed through the first half of subway section, then had to come to work.

 

[Domingo]

I definitely love the sound design, I can't imagine playing this game without headphones.

I'm playing via 7.1 surround speakers ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
In maybe 75% of games, positional audio is half-heartedly implemented, but in this game I can tell exactly where just about anything is instantly. Gunshots (of any sort) are thunderous and realistic. Before this game, I'd say Gears 4, RE7, and maybe RDR2 had the best in-game audio I've experienced. At least from this era. TLoU2 is better than any of those.

 

[M76]

I finished the game earlier than I thought less than 24 hours overall.

My spoiler free take

 

[T4rd]

I'm playing via 7.1 surround speakers ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
In maybe 75% of games, positional audio is half-heartedly implemented, but in this game I can tell exactly where just about anything is instantly. Gunshots (of any sort) are thunderous and realistic. Before this game, I'd say Gears 4, RE7, and maybe RDR2 had the best in-game audio I've experienced. At least from this era. TLoU2 is better than any of those.

I played on my Sony Gold headset, which has "virtual surround sound" and other effects and profiles specific to the PS4 and certain games on the console, and with that the environmental and positional audio was amazing throughout the game. Gunshots really hit too and ramp up the intensity if you have it loud enough. At one point my battery died since I was playing for nearly 15 hours straight, so I switched to my other Sony WH1000 XM3s (which are much higher quality headphones really), and the game sounded much more muddied and baffled because it didn't have that specific EQ/sound profile that my Golds had, so I only played like that for an hour or so before switching back to my Gold headset. I'm sure playing on a 7.1 system is about as good as long as there's no other sound leaking into the room to disturb it, but you're definitely doing a disservice to the game if you're only playing on some crappy TV speakers or soundbar.

 

[M76]

I'm playing via 7.1 surround speakers ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
In maybe 75% of games, positional audio is half-heartedly implemented, but in this game I can tell exactly where just about anything is instantly. Gunshots (of any sort) are thunderous and realistic. Before this game, I'd say Gears 4, RE7, and maybe RDR2 had the best in-game audio I've experienced. At least from this era. TLoU2 is better than any of those.

Yes, the audio is pretty good in the game. Gunshots particularly sound real. I don't like headphones at all. I use an 5.1 system, but if a game is implemented well it can do amazing positional audio even on a stereo setup like I have for my PC. I often find myself turning around, checking how the hell do sound seem to be coming from behind me when I only have a 2.1 setup.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

I finished the game earlier than I thought less than 24 hours overall.

My spoiler free take

I really enjoyed reading that.

 

[scojer]

I'm playing via 7.1 surround speakers ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
In maybe 75% of games, positional audio is half-heartedly implemented, but in this game I can tell exactly where just about anything is instantly. Gunshots (of any sort) are thunderous and realistic. Before this game, I'd say Gears 4, RE7, and maybe RDR2 had the best in-game audio I've experienced. At least from this era. TLoU2 is better than any of those.

I have a 5.1, but, still prefer using headphones for horror games. It's good to know that it works great with surround sound as well!

With the PS5's 3D Audio, maybe more games will take advantage of better sound moving forward.

I finished the game earlier than I thought less than 24 hours overall.

My spoiler free take

So you gave it a 7.75/10

That was a good write-up, though now I'm kinda not looking forward to what happens after Seattle now, but at the same time, I don't empathize with virtual humans, so I might not be impacted like you. I'll let you know after I finish it though!

 

[Domingo]

I only just completed Day 1 of Seattle, so there haven't really been any letdowns for me so far. I've inadvertently encountered a couple posts/reviews that mention that the later sections are disappointing. Seems like that's a common theme based on what I've seen.
The strangest comments I've seen are the people that claim to love the gameplay of the original but hate this one. It's the same. I get some people might not like Ellie's personality as much as Joel's. You might not also like the story, characters, environment, etc. Yet the gameplay is the same or improved. Unless the gameplay changes A LOT in later sections, I don't know if I can take anyone seriously who makes that claim.

 

[M76]

So you gave it a 7.75/10

No, I gave it a 9/10, the game is bigger than the average of its parts.
I was ping ponging between 8 and 9, first I actually gave it an 8, I Edited it later to a 9, because after calming the fuck down I remembered that 20 hours was better than the first game, which was only 15 hours to begin with.

 

[scojer]

No, I gave it a 9/10, the game is bigger than the average of its parts.
I was ping ponging between 8 and 9, first I actually gave it an 8, I Edited it later to a 9, because after calming the fuck down I remembered that 20 hours was better than the first game, which was only 15 hours to begin with.

Ah, I just averaged your numbers.

 

[M76]

I also finished my take on the story, FULL OF SPOILERS, click at your own peril!

It turned out especially spicy, I don't think many will agree with me, even those who actually like the game. And I'll probably be public enemy no. 1. for the haters.

 

[polonyc2]

Yes, the audio is pretty good in the game. Gunshots particularly sound real. I don't like headphones at all. I use an 5.1 system, but if a game is implemented well it can do amazing positional audio even on a stereo setup like I have for my PC. I often find myself turning around, checking how the hell do sound seem to be coming from behind me when I only have a 2.1 setup.

good to know another gamer prefers 5.1 speakers over headphones...what happened to the good ole days of computer audio?...now everyone is recommending headphones...I'm still using 5.1 speakers and would never go with headphones- mainly because I want to be able to hear other sounds like a doorbell or important phone call...some people will argue that isolation is the entire point of headphones but I disagree...

 

[Colonel Sanders]

good to know another gamer prefers 5.1 speakers over headphones...what happened to the good ole days of computer audio?...now everyone is recommending headphones...I'm still using 5.1 speakers and would never go with headphones- mainly because I want to be able to hear other sounds like a doorbell or important phone call...some people will argue that isolation is the entire point of headphones but I disagree...

I have a 5.1 system as well, however I don't use it most of the time in gaming because the fact is you have to crank the volume pretty high to get the same effect of headphones. If you're single and far enough from neighbors or have a super sound-isolated room for gaming then sure. When I'm not going to annoy anyone though, sure I'll crank it up and enjoy it.

I actually have a home theater room in the basement with a projector and 150" screen with a full Klipsch audio system that is pretty fucking bad ass for a game like TLoU But for some reason I still usually prefer the intimate nature of headphones and sitting up close with a PC monitor

 

[T4rd]

I have a 5.1 system as well, however I don't use it most of the time in gaming because the fact is you have to crank the volume pretty high to get the same effect of headphones. If you're single and far enough from neighbors or have a super sound-isolated room for gaming then sure. When I'm not going to annoy anyone though, sure I'll crank it up and enjoy it.

I actually have a home theater room in the basement with a projector and 150" screen with a full Klipsch audio system that is pretty fucking bad ass for a game like TLoU But for some reason I still usually prefer the intimate nature of headphones and sitting up close with a PC monitor

Pretty much same here; have a small office just for my PC with my old Z-5500 5.1 system and also a 7.1 system in my living room, but prefer headphones for games. My headphones don't isolate so much that I can't hear my phone (which my watch vibrates anyways) or doorbell either, esp. on my WH1000 XM3s that have ambient sound that I can adjust to pipe in a variable amount of outside sound, but I preferred the sound profile on my Sony Gold headset for this game at least and can't imagine any speaker setup sounding better overall for picking up everything in the game and ensuring you hear everything.

I wouldn't say the game prefers either audio setup though, as it has specific settings in the game for any type of sound system you may have; 5.1 or 7.1 speakers, or stereo or surround headphones. Which I played on surround headphones since the Sony Gold headset has a VSS toggle and it worked perfectly.

I might had preferred to play on my PC monitor for this as well if I had a 4K or 16:9 monitor, but I have a 3440x1440 ultrawide and the PS4 doesn't support 1440p at all, it just picks up my monitor as a 1080p monitor and super samples down to 1080p, which doesn't look bad, but I hate that 1/3 of my monitor has borders and is unused, so I moved my office chair to my living room and sat like 4' from my 65" C9 OLED TV with headphones, lol.

 

[Domingo]

I've been a home theater gamer going back 15 years. In one of my old apartments I didn't have a good place too hook-up both a TV and a PC desk. I started hooking everything up to my monitor, but then went the opposite way when HDTV's came out. Hooking up a PC up to the TV worked, but was a pain in the ass at the time. Especially on the audio front. Now it's pretty easy with the HDMI-out on video cards and an amp. I bought my entire speaker array at a Circuit City closeout. $1500 worth of speakers out the door for $400.
These days I have all of my consoles, my PC, cable box, etc. all hooked up in my basement. My wife's office is 2 floors up, so I can crank it up without pissing her off.
I don't like wearing headphones for long periods of time. They definitely provide a hell of a punch in a smaller/easier package, but I don't like wearing 'em.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Finished the game last night... jeez what a ride. That's definitely gonna take me a long time to process and probably another playthrough pretty soon, too.

As far as gameplay itself goes, it was very much an evolution of the first game. The combat was more fluid, and the dodge function was a surprisingly fun and effective addition. Clickers are way WAY less of a threat when you can dodge their grabs. The ability to go prone and hide/move around in tall grass was awesome and I really felt like a badass doing some of the stuff I did. The one aspect I felt was a step back was the pacing of the exploration and scavenging sections. They were packed with detail and stuff to loot but sometimes it just felt like it went on too long (although I am a completionist so part of that is me just being OCD about missing a single drawer or cupboard.) Also the safes were way too common and too similar looking. In the first game there were only a small handful and they felt totally organic to the world, rather than something obviously plopped in to add a simple puzzle to break up the exploration and looting. Those are minor complaints, though. It was still a solid improvement over the first game.

Story thoughts:

Spoiler

As we discussed earlier in the thread, Joel's death wasn't unexpected. I liked how it was treated with suddenness and no melodrama with Joel telling Ellie to look away while getting beat to death etc. Just quick and brutal so you're left to deal with it yourself. The story then opens up slowly explaining the rift that formed between them after the first game while also showing their bond growing (albeit over the top of a festering wound.) The museum section was really sweet and with the knowledge of Joel's death laid over the top of everything... it was very emotional. Loved loved loved the space capsule part (a nice nod to the arcade machine part in Left Behind.)

The perspective switch to Abbie's side of the story was well done and I felt they did a good job making me warm up to her despite what happened. It was maybe a little hamfisted with how similar her side of the story was compared to Ellie's, with another love triangle where the other girl gets pregnant... There were also moments where I felt the side character dialogues during gameplay where they would say things like "are you sure this is right? Aren't they just doing what we would do in their situation?" were a little on the nose, but I'm nitpicking. The point was that the people Ellie and Abbie loved were trying to steer a hurricane of anger, vengeance and violence.

The final act in Seattle.. jesus christ I thought they were really going to make the player kill Ellie. I almost stopped playing right then and there, but I was relieved it didn't happen. The continuation of the story from that point was totally unexpected, in a good way, and I loved it straight through to the end. The entire thing is a tragedy but that's the point. The final scene with Ellie trying to play that tune Joel taught her... one of the saddest moments I've ever seen in a game. The moment I realized she'd never be able to play again (at least not the same) with two missing fingers my heart sank. I think a lot of the dissatisfaction I've read about the ending is the natural reaction to seeing a tragedy unfold and a lot of people weren't prepared for that in a game that is as focused on realistic characters as this. It's super easy to turn those feelings of sadness and regret into "wow that really sucked, not sure I liked that." Of course anyone can have legitimate criticisms also, but I just feel that a lot of gamers aren't used to seeing it and they're just going to have a negative emotional response and translate it to "I didn't like the way it was written."

I'm gonna play through the first game again because I think it's going to feel a lot different now.

 

[Domingo]

I wish I had more time to play...damned work and family
I'm finally getting pretty close to the hospital (after a couple detours) and I think I'm pretty comfortable saying this might be my favorite Naughty Dog game ever. I'm not sure about the 10/10 thing, but it's no worse than Uncharted 2 and it's already around twice as long.