The Last of Us: Part II

[Kinsaras]

Just saying this site has a fit about she shit in their entertainment. See the Solo movie thread.

Ah yeah that was something.

 

[Hornet]

I'm impressed by the combat shown
Damn, I hope none of that was scripted

 

[Armenius]

Just saying this site has a fit about she shit in their entertainment. See the Solo movie thread.

Naughty Dog is sticking to their established canon. Disney is retconning established canon in Star Wars for the worse in many ways. There is no comparison to be had here.

 

[wrangler]

Horizon Zero Dawn says hi.

God of War winks.

Anyhoo.

Game looks fantastic although I don't think they can get the same attachment to the characters that they had with the first one. It wasn't the violence in the first one, and lets face it, who wouldn't wack a clicker no problem it was the threat of what could happen to Ellie and not losing her.

Grizzled old dude who lost daughter adopts girl to take place and saves her in the ending.

 

[bpizzle1]

Sigh *unzips wallet*

 

[TwistedMetalGear]

You must not have played the DLC Last of Us: Left Behind. It's been known for some time (2014) Ellie is gay. Even got high praise for its depiction of LGBT characters.

I wouldn't say it was 100% known. People experiment in their younger years, especially in Ellie's case... How often do you have a chance to emotionally connect with someone when the world is devoid of people?

 

[odditory]

I'm impressed by the combat shown
Damn, I hope none of that was scripted

That combat was phenomenal. With what I've seen of Death Stranding and Ghosts, seems like I made a good choice buying back into the PS4 ecosystem for GoW. Sony is not fucking around with their exclusives.

 

[T4rd]

Super stoked, but got-damnit.. where's Joel?!

I know ND said this was Ellie's story this time, but I really hope Joel still plays a major role in the game, at least as much as Ellie did in the first game.

Can't wait for PSX in December for more gameplay footage, then prolly almost a year from now until the game drops (I'm guessing April/May launch).

 

[Colonel Sanders]

I'm impressed by the combat shown
Damn, I hope none of that was scripted

I'll say this: back when I watched the very first showing of TLoU at E3 2012, I was actually pissed off at Naughty Dog because I was positive that the combat gameplay they showed was 100% scripted, and I felt like they were being a little shady by not stating that up front. I thought parts like the guy getting his head smashed into a table couldn't be done in normal gameplay, no matter how talented the developer was. Obviously I was 100% proven wrong when the game came out. To this day, TLoU still has the most impressive and natural combat animations in any game I've seen (not just melee, I'm talking about interactions with environment, reactions to AI 'friends' being killed or taken hostage, etc.)

So when it comes to this new TLoU 2 footage, I honestly had the exact same gut reaction. This doesn't look like gameplay. But they proved me wrong before, and I'm certain sure that it was all gameplay - which means holy FUCK this is next-level animation and AI work that won't be surpassed for a long time.

Super stoked, but got-damnit.. where's Joel?!

I know ND said this was Ellie's story this time, but I really hope Joel still plays a major role in the game, at least as much as Ellie did in the first game.

I'm sure he will be in it quite a bit, they just wanted to emphasize Ellie's importance in this game during this presentation.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Eidos Montreal's studio head tweeted that the TLoU 2 animations were fake, then later deleted his tweet and apologized, adding that it was "lost in translation." lol.

https://www.vg247.com/2018/06/12/tomb-raider-dev-takes-jab-last-us-2-preview-apologizes/

 

[bpizzle1]

Eidos Montreal's studio head tweeted that the TLoU 2 animations were fake, then later deleted his tweet and apologized, adding that it was "lost in translation." lol.

https://www.vg247.com/2018/06/12/tomb-raider-dev-takes-jab-last-us-2-preview-apologizes/

Someone's salty that their game isn't as good (not that the TR games are bad, I love them) lol.

 

[M76]

Eidos Montreal's studio head tweeted that the TLoU 2 animations were fake, then later deleted his tweet and apologized, adding that it was "lost in translation." lol.

https://www.vg247.com/2018/06/12/tomb-raider-dev-takes-jab-last-us-2-preview-apologizes/

My first thoughts were also that it's fake. Not the animations, that is probably not what he meant either.(How can an animation be faked anyway?) But parts of the demo felt very scripted. It doesn't look like an uninterrupted spontaneous gameplay sequence. But if it is, that's even better.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

My first thoughts were also that it's fake. Not the animations, that is probably not what he meant either.(How can an animation be faked anyway?) But parts of the demo felt very scripted. It doesn't look like an uninterrupted spontaneous gameplay sequence. But if it is, that's even better.

I have been reading a lot of misunderstanding about what a 'scripted demo' means regarding E3 presentations and the like. There are really two different things people are talking about, but mixing up incorrectly. One is "rehearsed" gameplay, meaning the player is playing the actual game (or a limited snippet of the game built for presentation purposes, but still running the actual game engine and control systems.) They run through a level in a pre-decided direction and attack specific enemies, let AI do certain things, etc. But again, it's all 'live' in that it's running the actual game.

Now the other term is "scripted gameplay" meaning there is no player controller anything, all the animations are "canned" (where the Eidos Montreal guy used the word "fake" - he's saying they weren't gameplay animations but basically like what you'd see in a cutscene) and all the enemy encounters are not running AI but just simple animations. In other words it's like a Pixar animation, nothing is happening in real time except for the rendering done by the graphics engine.

Nobody goes up on an E3 stage at a major press event and plays completely "unscripted" gameplay. You're either seeing option a) real gameplay but very controlled and rehearsed or b) scripted non-gameplay being passed off as gameplay (see also: Star Wars Kinect)

 

[cybereality]

It was pretty clear to me that the demo was scripted. The camera was way too smooth and everything seemed too perfect in terms of the enemy encounters and AI, etc. Still really cool, though.

 

[T4rd]

I have been reading a lot of misunderstanding about what a 'scripted demo' means regarding E3 presentations and the like. There are really two different things people are talking about, but mixing up incorrectly. One is "rehearsed" gameplay, meaning the player is playing the actual game (or a limited snippet of the game built for presentation purposes, but still running the actual game engine and control systems.) They run through a level in a pre-decided direction and attack specific enemies, let AI do certain things, etc. But again, it's all 'live' in that it's running the actual game.

Now the other term is "scripted gameplay" meaning there is no player controller anything, all the animations are "canned" (where the Eidos Montreal guy used the word "fake" - he's saying they weren't gameplay animations but basically like what you'd see in a cutscene) and all the enemy encounters are not running AI but just simple animations. In other words it's like a Pixar animation, nothing is happening in real time except for the rendering done by the graphics engine.

Nobody goes up on an E3 stage at a major press event and plays completely "unscripted" gameplay. You're either seeing option a) real gameplay but very controlled and rehearsed or b) scripted non-gameplay being passed off as gameplay (see also: Star Wars Kinect)

Yup, it was obvious to me that the gameplay was definitely rehearsed and probably the best run chosen of several recorded play throughs in that segment.

I have no doubt that Naughty Dog can make the gameplay that smooth and cohesive. Just go look at the Uncharted 4 E3 gameplay demo and you could pretty much say those looked "scripted" as well, but of course we know now it's the real deal.

 

[M76]

I have been reading a lot of misunderstanding about what a 'scripted demo' means regarding E3 presentations and the like. There are really two different things people are talking about, but mixing up incorrectly. One is "rehearsed" gameplay, meaning the player is playing the actual game (or a limited snippet of the game built for presentation purposes, but still running the actual game engine and control systems.) They run through a level in a pre-decided direction and attack specific enemies, let AI do certain things, etc. But again, it's all 'live' in that it's running the actual game.

Now the other term is "scripted gameplay" meaning there is no player controller anything, all the animations are "canned" (where the Eidos Montreal guy used the word "fake" - he's saying they weren't gameplay animations but basically like what you'd see in a cutscene) and all the enemy encounters are not running AI but just simple animations. In other words it's like a Pixar animation, nothing is happening in real time except for the rendering done by the graphics engine.

Nobody goes up on an E3 stage at a major press event and plays completely "unscripted" gameplay. You're either seeing option a) real gameplay but very controlled and rehearsed or b) scripted non-gameplay being passed off as gameplay (see also: Star Wars Kinect)

There is no confusion at all. This showed signs of being scripted. Especially the bit under the truck, it just didn't look like a regular gameplay sequence but a fully scripted part that plays out exactly like this whatever you do.
I'm not saying the entire 4 minutes is scripted gameplay and none of it is real, it seems to be a mixture of real gameplay and a few rigged or "fake" parts. But as I said if it is fully spontaneous gameplay and nothing is scripted then hooray.

 

[T4rd]

Want to bump this thread because I just watched this very thoughtful video that hit on exactly how I've been feeling about Naughty Dog in the last couple years since the release of Lost Legacy and what they've shown of TLOU Part 2.



To be clear, I'm with him in that I certainly don't care about having strong female characters, even gay/bisexual/transexual ones in a game, but added with all the other points they've made to include them (hiring that mostly clueless lesbian to host the live panel after E3, hand picking that trans person without any credentials/experience whatsoever and who apparently hates white people, creating Cloedine art, which I didn't know was a thing and would have never conceived of it from their game characters, etc.), it certainly has me a bit concerned that they're allowing this obvious agenda to compromise the whole story of the game, which really needs to stick with Joel and Ellie. I'm not saying these types of characters couldn't be as important or interesting as traditional straight/white characters either, but at some point the LGBQ stuff seems forced or out of place and detracts from the overall story and setting they're ultimately trying to convey here (IMO at least).

I'm curious to see it anyone here feels similarly or thinks this video is onto something at least. Most of the evidence he presented here has been in the back of my mind for a while now, but seeing how he consolidated it all really brought it to light for me.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Ugh.

 

[T4rd]

Ugh.

Care to elaborate? Lol

I hate talking about this shit as much as the next guy, but when it's affecting (pretty much) my favorite game studio and franchise in the last decade, I have to acknowledge it. But seriously, watch the video before responding again too.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

If you boil down all the outrage culture videos (like the one you linked, which I did watch a few days ago, by the way,) what is the solution? What is the only way that exists to right these so-called wrongs and make these games the way they "should" be made?

When you have that answer and you consider it, you should then realize how bullshit it all is.

 

[wrangler]

Hmmm....
I don't know.

The most salient point he made was when he said that none of the E3 reveals for any of the other games featured the heterosexual couples embracing or kissing. Why so important to show Elle and the other chick. I admit, without context, it does seem contrived and forced. I have to agree when he asks the question; is this what the game is about?

His contention is that there is an agenda. I think he made a valiant attempt to validate that contention and some of the decisions NG has made on who they are now associating with have raised my eyebrows. I wonder sometime if the big blowup during UC4 development was related to these kinds of issues.

But, like anything surrounding this subject, if you already detected or believed that Naughty Dog is descending into SJWness, then you think the video is spot on. If you don't then you don't and you believe the youtuber is a misogynistic gamerbro who hates fags.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Hmmm....
I don't know.

The most salient point he made was when he said that none of the E3 reveals for any of the other games featured the heterosexual couples embracing or kissing. Why so important to show Elle and the other chick. I admit, without context, it does seem contrived and forced. I have to agree when he asks the question; is this what the game is about?

His contention is that there is an agenda. I think he made a valiant attempt to validate that contention and some of the decisions NG has made on who they are now associating with have raised my eyebrows. I wonder sometime if the big blowup during UC4 development was related to these kinds of issues.

But, like anything surrounding this subject, if you already detected or believed that Naughty Dog is descending into SJWness, then you think the video is spot on. If you don't then you don't and you believe the youtuber is a misogynistic gamerbro who hates fags.

So I'll ask you what I said above, wrangler - what's the solution? Just in plain English.

 

[wrangler]

So you need a solution for a guy on YouTube making a contention and then trying to prove it? I kid, I kid...

I made no opinion other than to mention that the noncontextual cringy lesbian pda felt contrived and forced. Then I mentioned some raised eyebrows. Especially Sarkeesian. What are you fishing for?

Naughty Dog can make whatever the hell they want. Ultimately, if the majority of gamers can't relate to the characters or feel that there are contrivances, then the game won't do very well.
But... I think the game is probably going to do just fine.

So I'll ask you what I said above, wrangler - what's the solution? Just in plain English.

 

[Kinsaras]

Ellie was confirmed gay in the Last of Us DLC "Left Behind" in 2014. Why is this a problem?

 

[scojer]

snip
I'm curious to see it anyone here feels similarly or thinks this video is onto something at least. Most of the evidence he presented here has been in the back of my mind for a while now, but seeing how he consolidated it all really brought it to light for me.

I didn't watch the E3 presentation and don't care if they're pushing some sort of agenda, as long as it's a really good game, which ND hasn't disappointed yet.

From what I deduced from the trailers though, is that Ellie's girlfriend is going to die... probably in a terrible way and she is going to avenge her murder.
They are probably playing it smart by having the lesbian on stage and the TG cast, to get their games to appeal to a broader audience.

 

[T4rd]

If you boil down all the outrage culture videos (like the one you linked, which I did watch a few days ago, by the way,) what is the solution? What is the only way that exists to right these so-called wrongs and make these games the way they "should" be made?

When you have that answer and you consider it, you should then realize how bullshit it all is.

Ellie was confirmed gay in the Last of Us DLC "Left Behind" in 2014. Why is this a problem?

I mean, it's not necessarily a "problem" yet for me since the game isn't out, so no answer is needed. It just seems that they're starting to focus too much on people's sexuality when in most cases that should be irrelevant (as with the case with the hand picked transgender character, clueless lesbian panel host, and Cloedine art they put out over the holidays). Where it is relevant is with the game characters and the story they're telling (gay characters such as Ellie and Bill). I don't think any rational person has a problem at all with gay characters in a game, such as Ellie and Bill, as they're key characters in the game and given the emphasis on their story it will invariably come up at some point. The only concern I have with it is that they're focusing too much on this single aspect of the characters (and staff or affiliates like that panel host) now and allowing it to be what mostly defines them rather than the culmination of events and relationships they've experienced up to that point. This concern could certainly be unfounded once we know more about the game around the time it launches, but just going of that last trailer that ends with Ellie kissing that other girl, along with all the other evidence gathered in that Youtube vid, it seems somewhat valid to me so far.

One thing that's annoying though is when this stuff is pointed out, people immediately get super defensive about it and assume whoever is pointing it out must hate LGBT people or this whole "movement", which there are people out there that that do. But I, along with the guy in that video, have no issues whatsoever about it as long as they don't allow this stuff to define them and their characters. I thought he conveyed that quite well in his video and he made it pretty apparent of how tolerant he is in general. Whenever I see too much focus put on the sexuality of a character though, it ultimately detracts from the rest of them as a whole IMO and it seems like the writers are trying too hard to push this agenda, thus detracting from the whole story they're really trying to tell here. Someone's sexuality, esp. in a story such as this, is such a small part of their story and character and it shouldn't be what defines them.

 

[T4rd]

New trailer with JOEL!

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Release date set at February 21, 2020. Nice

 

[T4rd]

Release date set at February 21, 2020. Nice

Yeah, was really hoping for a Christmas release this year.

Joel looks a bit too different for bring aged by only 4 years to me.. like his face is shaped a bit differently or something.

So it looks like Ellie starts out at the camp with Tommy (Joel's brother) where the first game ended, her new girlfriend or close friend gets killed on a mission, she goes out for revenge against the clan, then Joel tags along.

Sounds good to me, I guess. Just wonder if we'll get a chapter to play as Joel again like we got one too play as Ellie in the first game.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Yeah, was really hoping for a Christmas release this year.

Joel looks a bit too different for bring aged by only 4 years to me.. like his face is shaped a bit differently or something.

So it looks like Ellie starts out at the camp with Tommy (Joel's brother) where the first game ended, her new girlfriend or close friend gets killed on a mission, she goes out for revenge against the clan, then Joel tags along.

Sounds good to me, I guess. Just wonder if we'll get a chapter to play as Joel again like we got one too play as Ellie in the first game.

Oh you know we will be playing as Joel. I noticed his face was animated pretty crudely compared to what Naughty Dog's normal standard is, I'm guessing it was something rushed for the trailer.

As for the story, I'm sure that's just the bare bones outline of it, it won't be anything that simple in actuality. For example, we know there's some sort of flashback about Ellie's mom (from the original trailer) that has to play into this somehow.

 

[polonyc2]

strange that they're releasing this right before the new PS5...this would have been perfect as a PS5 launch title...just goes to show how many amazing exclusives that Sony has that it doesn't need this to launch a new gen of consoles

 

[T4rd]

Oh you know we will be playing as Joel. I noticed his face was animated pretty crudely compared to what Naughty Dog's normal standard is, I'm guessing it was something rushed for the trailer.

As for the story, I'm sure that's just the bare bones outline of it, it won't be anything that simple in actuality. For example, we know there's some sort of flashback about Ellie's mom (from the original trailer) that has to play into this somehow.

Oh yeah, I fully expect detours and a great supporting cast accompanying them just like the first one as well. I also noticed the animation of Joel's face to be a bit off there as well.. like he was overacting the part. But I'd that's the first time he's seen her in years, I guess that's not too out of character for him. That's a pretty similar expression on his face to how he looked and lied to Ellie's face at the end of the first game, I guess. Either way, I'm sure ND is busting ass on the game still adding as much polish as possible to it.

 

[T4rd]

strange that they're releasing this right before the new PS5...this would have been perfect as a PS5 launch title...just goes to show how many amazing exclusives that Sony has that it doesn't need this to launch a new gen of consoles

This is coming out about the same time before the PS5 launch at the first one did before the PS4 launched, which was around 5 months. I fully expect them to do another remaster for PS5 as well, which I will be buying again too, lol.

 

[scojer]

I hope they have a good balance of infected and humans like the last game.

It seems human enemy heavy, which so far is ok, I'm hoping they're keeping the infected under wraps for good surprises.

 

[T4rd]

I hope they have a good balance of infected and humans like the last game.

It seems human enemy heavy, which so far is ok, I'm hoping they're keeping the infected under wraps for good surprises.

Yeah, I thought it was a good balance in the first game too. But I hope they introduce a new enemy or two as well this time, as there were only like 3 different type of infected in the first one. Looks like they're adding dogs this time and you see Bloaters at the 2:07 mark in the new trailer there. I also hope they have areas where there's enemy humans and infected at the same time like they had in the Left Behind DLC since there wasn't any parts like that in the main game. It's always fun to play them against each other while you watch the chaos ensue and finish off what's left afterwards.

I'm guessing that Joel couldn't have stayed at that camp with Tommy and Ellie after the end of the first game because the Fireflys are after him now since he abducted Ellie from them and killed Marlene, so of course they know Tommy (who used to be a Firefly) and his camp and would look for Joel there. So he's pretty much been a lone wolf for the past 4-5 years while Ellie grew up at the camp.

 

[MavericK]

strange that they're releasing this right before the new PS5...this would have been perfect as a PS5 launch title...just goes to show how many amazing exclusives that Sony has that it doesn't need this to launch a new gen of consoles

Because then they can double dip, just like with the first game.

 

[polonyc2]

Because then they can double dip, just like with the first game.

PS5 Last of Us 2 with ray-tracing!

 

[polonyc2]

Neil Druckmann: LoU2 is Naughty Dog’s most ambitious and longest game in our 35 year history...

https://blog.us.playstation.com/2019/09/24/the-last-of-us-part-ii-arrives-on-february-21-2020/

 

[vegeta535]

strange that they're releasing this right before the new PS5...this would have been perfect as a PS5 launch title...just goes to show how many amazing exclusives that Sony has that it doesn't need this to launch a new gen of consoles

To double dip and the fact that there are what 80 million PS4 out there atm.

 

[scojer]

I've watched the trailer a few times now, and I'm stoked. I haven't pre-ordered in forever... I think I'm going to just bite the bullet and pre-order.