Naughty Dog ends the console generation with the GAME OF THE CENTURY

[Junpei the Tracer!]

Yeah I'm playing on easy and I find it somewhat difficult still. But I like a lot. The game is so good looking I wish I could zoom in/move around the camera during cutscenes like in MGS.  They clearly put a lot of effort in the game, so it would've been nice to see more.

[fistfulofmetal]

guess i am pretty bomb ass at video games. 

[Joe Molotov]

You wouldn't watch Citizen Kane on Easy, would you?

[Rahxephon91]

You know?

I don't think I care for this game. It's just not very fun. Like I don't get whats supposed to be interesting are good here. The stealth is baby mode stealth. What I mean is that the stealth just seems to be "wait around and then knife a dude". Not stealth where I can play with the ai or partake in messing around with it or the games mechanics to do something stealthy. The story so far is meh and while I don't want spoilers, it's not like it's hard to figure out where it's going. And the gun stuff is unexciting.

Maybe I'm missing something. I'm playing on no

[Himu]

You wouldn't watch Citizen Kane on Easy, would you?

 

[MyNameIsMethodis]

im up to bob the builder or w/e his name is the game is okay, i was expecting there to be alot less enemies, like as if enemies where actually harmful like in dark souls, not this unchartedbullshit.

[Eel O'Brian]

I play every game on easy and save my being a badass motherfucker for real life. 

[mjemirzian]

Games should have multiple difficulty levels to cater to different player skills and playstyles.

Also, there's no "one true way" a game is meant to be played.

[demi]

they wanted people to experience the game, period. you can't say exactly which way they would prefer people to play. nobody can say that obviously. the various difficulties are for people who just don't care and if you're one of them, whatevs.

If they wanted people to experience the game, they might as well have just made it Heavy Rain. Sounds like thats what they really wanted anyway.

[cool breeze]

Tried the multiplayer. It's weird in both some positive and really negative ways.

The controls still are bad. And made even worse by online lag. That alone will stop most people from playing it. It only has two modes of play and they are both version of team deathmatch. Nothing objective which is odd and kinda dumb imo.

There is some weird meta game on top of everything about having a faction and trying to get them supplies. It's mostly pointless and disappointing.


On the positive side its very tactical as you move slow, you shoot slow and inaccurately, and you can't really rambo it so much. You kinda have to stick together as a team and roll together and that aspect is so missing from most shooters nowadays that even though I don't like the mechanics of the game at all in multiplayer, I found it somewhat compelling just because of that aspect alone. It reminds me a little of a chunkier and slower gears of war on the mp side.

I came here to talk about the multiplayer but this sums up my feelings nicer than I could've.  Totally wasted potential.  And the decision to remove quick turn (back+X) is baffling; if anything you need it more in multiplayer.

[Stoney Mason]

You know?

I don't think I care for this game. It's just not very fun. Like I don't get whats supposed to be interesting are good here. The stealth is baby mode stealth. The story so far is meh and while I don't want spoilers, it's not like it's hard to figure out where it's going. And the gun stuff is unexciting.

Maybe I'm missing something. I'm playing on normal.

It's a game that relies almost solely on immersion, and characters. If those aren't doing it for you then I can guarantee it doesn't get any better on the gameplay side.

But yeah I understand your opinion. I tried to get my nephew to play it and he tuned out almost immediately. And he's almost all about "fun". He doesn't care about story or games as art so for him there was nothing to see.

Not saying his take is the only valid one. Just that I can see how if the characters and voice acting aren't hooking you, then I can see why the experience can turn into a grind.

I've stated my opinion multiple times so I'll leave it as that.

[Don Flamenco]

Games should have multiple difficulty levels to cater to different player skills and playstyles.

agreed.

Also, there's no "one true way" a game is meant to be played.

highly disagreed

[Stoney Mason]

As far as the difficulty stuff of course all that stuff is obviously highly subjective. I mean there are some games I immediately turn to hard like some shooters especially if I'm serious about the game. Halo is famously known as a series that is "intended" to be played at a higher difficulty level than default. But what that really means of course is that for the "hardcore" that is what they want them to experience. But for joe normal six pack which is the overwhelming majority of the audience they set the default difficulty lower because they don't want him overly frustrated and they want him to see as much of the game as possible before he quits. So there is an intended way to play the game for normal consumers and its default. They specifically tune the game that way and a lot of careful thought goes into those decision. It's not just random choices. Which is not to say that it isn't great that devs give all kinds of options on difficulty nowadays and the ability to tune some stuff.

And I can say from first hand experience with some of the data in the past that its a very small subset of people who go into options and change difficulty or alter various options related to difficulty.     


There are also some niche games that are purposely tuned more difficult at default levels. But that's by design. They purposefully are designing their games that way for the niche and occasionally like in a case of From Software the title breaks bigger than they expected because of word of mouth and the game expanding beyond that initial targeted niche.

As a general rule there is probably a normal guy default and hardcore default at a bare minimum that most devs tune for.

[Mr. Gundam]

Stuck pretty early in the game. Suggestions?

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'm in the Goldstone building/skyscraper where I've jumped down into an area (leaving Tess and Ellie on the above floor) with some runners and one clicker. I get that it's all about stealth, but every time I think I've picked off a runner in seclusion, I get swarmed by everyone else in the area.

[close]

[fistfulofmetal]

Stuck pretty early in the game. Suggestions?

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'm in the Goldstone building/skyscraper where I've jumped down into an area (leaving Tess and Ellie on the above floor) with some runners and one clicker. I get that it's all about stealth, but every time I think I've picked off a runner in seclusion, I get swarmed by everyone else in the area.

[close]

Jump down and turn around. hide behind the cover on the right, a runner will stumble into the rooms to the left. go in and stealth kill. turn around and go back to where you were and look for the to the opening to the left. a runner in swat gear will move to the middle of the room. stealth kill him. to the left from there is a clicker which you can ignore. back where you came and down the hall to the right a runner stumbles around the big room with the step up to the second level. stealth kill him.

leaving the clicker and one final runner. you can deal with them anyway you want.

[Eel O'Brian]

Man, that part where you're

spoiler (click to show/hide)

hanging upside down

[close]

can go superfuck itself. As if the aiming isn't bad enough already.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

That fucking clicker wearing the body armor has killed me half a dozen times because I can't get a bead on his head.

[close]

[Shaka Khan]

This game is starting to piss me off. It's going way too slow, and any quick approach to encounters I take end up being suicidal. I'm /]this[\ close to switching to easy or something.

[PigSpeakers]

Stuck pretty early in the game. Suggestions?

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'm in the Goldstone building/skyscraper where I've jumped down into an area (leaving Tess and Ellie on the above floor) with some runners and one clicker. I get that it's all about stealth, but every time I think I've picked off a runner in seclusion, I get swarmed by everyone else in the area.

[close]

Jump down and turn around. hide behind the cover on the right, a runner will stumble into the rooms to the left. go in and stealth kill. turn around and go back to where you were and look for the to the opening to the left. a runner in swat gear will move to the middle of the room. stealth kill him. to the left from there is a clicker which you can ignore. back where you came and down the hall to the right a runner stumbles around the big room with the step up to the second level. stealth kill him.

leaving the clicker and one final runner. you can deal with them anyway you want.

That's almost the exact way I did it. I died so many times there. An obscene amount.

[Shaka Khan]

Switching to Easy. Had my fill of combat and the game is pretty much dragging at this point. Fuck this shit.

[mjemirzian]

If you're playing on easy you're playing the game wrong. There's only one true way this game is supposed to be played and it just so happens to coincide with my opinion.

[fistfulofmetal]

If you're playing on easy you're playing the game wrong. There's only one true way this game is supposed to be played and it just so happens to coincide with my opinion.

agreed.

[Huff]

There really are too many enemies some times and it does feel like the game is dragging. 

[Don Flamenco]

I see we are moving out of the "Game Of The Century" honeymoon period.

[PigSpeakers]

Naaaail booooombs.

[Don Flamenco]

update thread title to "Game of the Month" plz

[Shaka Khan]

I haven't switched yet, even though I've been talking about it for a few days. And just like Huff said-- It's not about being stumped by the challenge as much as wanting to pick the pace up. I'm playing Hard, 63% complete, Fall chapter, and played for 16h and 18min.

Right now, and unlike many others, I can't play play it for more than an hour or two at a time then taking an extended break. I feel like the game made its point about stealth, hand combat, and gunplay. I've experienced various enemy types and recognized their diversity. I'm done. I just want this game to be over with.

[Huff]

It lessens the point they were trying to make of every person is dangerous and combat is hard when you know you'll have to kill 20 people before getting to the next "safe" part. And it lessens my desire to play more than an hour or two at a time

[Don Flamenco]

It lessens the point they were trying to make of every person is dangerous and combat is hard when you know you'll have to kill 20 people before getting to the next "safe" part. And it lessens my desire to play more than an hour or two at a time

ugh, sounds like there's a bunch of violence in this game.  I wish they had something like Last Of Us, but the literary aspects of it only, and not as a video game and without all the violence and zombies and stuff. 

Just a story about a man and a little girl's relationship

[Steve Contra]

It lessens the point they were trying to make of every person is dangerous and combat is hard when you know you'll have to kill 20 people before getting to the next "safe" part. And it lessens my desire to play more than an hour or two at a time

ugh, sounds like there's a bunch of violence in this game.  I wish they had something like Last Of Us, but the literary aspects of it only, and not as a video game and without all the violence and zombies and stuff. 

Just a story about a man and a little girl's relationship

[Don Flamenco]

yeah, something Japanese.   Like a Japanese remake of Lolita.   In anime form. 

[Eel O'Brian]

I actually wish they'd left the popcorn heads out of it altogether, and upped the amount of degenerates. Like, other people trying to catch you and eat you, or skin you for leather, and the whole time they're calmly talking to you as if they were rational human beings instead of the "dese and dose" comic book thugs you run into during the game. That would have been scary to me every time. Clickers stopped being scary after about the third encounter.

[cool breeze]

It lessens the point they were trying to make of every person is dangerous and combat is hard when you know you'll have to kill 20 people before getting to the next "safe" part. And it lessens my desire to play more than an hour or two at a time

The sections I didn't like were when you were forced to kill enemies, but for large chunks of the game you could outright avoid confrontation.  Early in the game a message pops up that reads "you can kill, silently kill, or avoid encounters."  I opted to avoid enemies when I could and I think that improved my experience with it.  Reckon you could go through and just shoot people if you wanted.

And clickers, yeah, I avoided them because they were annoying, not scary.  It's not like in stalker where resources are scarce and encountering a mutant is a moment where you consider what you're willing to lose to take it down.

[Stoney Mason]

I played the MP some more. I have a soft spot for it. If it actually had objective modes like Search and Destroy, etc I would actually play it for a minute. But just the TDM stuff isn't gonna last too long for me.

[ManaByte]

Does David Cage's asshole attitude rub off on the people who work with him?
http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/ellen-page-doesnt-appreciate-naughty-dog-ripping-off-her-likeness-in-the-last-of-us/

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Does David Cage's asshole attitude rub off on the people who work with him?
http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/ellen-page-doesnt-appreciate-naughty-dog-ripping-off-her-likeness-in-the-last-of-us/

how dare someone who literally MAKES HER LIVING appearing in things be upset when someone uses her likeness without her permission

[Howard Alan Treesong]

wait a minute, I'm arguing with ManaByte. maybe there's something to this whole "personality traits rub off on other people" thing after all

[ManaByte]

ND started work on Last of Us before HEAVY RAIN was even on shelves.

People are acting like ND went out and tried to sabotage Beyond or something.

[bork]

ND started work on Last of Us before HEAVY RAIN was even on shelves.

People are acting like ND went out and tried to sabotage Beyond or something.

What does that have to do with them using her likeness without permission?   

[Howard Alan Treesong]

ND started work on Last of Us before HEAVY RAIN was even on shelves.

People are acting like ND went out and tried to sabotage Beyond or something.

Ellen Page doesn't care about Naughty Dog, Quantic Dream, The Last of Us or Beyond: Two Souls.

Ellen Page cares about Ellen Page.

She's expressing an opinion in this matter because, as a professional actress, she has a strong financial and personal interest in preventing her likeness from being used without her permission. Not because she's in the tank for David Cage. Get a goddamned clue.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

ND started work on Last of Us before HEAVY RAIN was even on shelves.

People are acting like ND went out and tried to sabotage Beyond or something.

What does that have to do with them using her likeness without permission?   

Forget it, Bork ... it's ManaBytetown.

[fistfulofmetal]

They very clearly used her as a jumping off point initially. But Ellie doesn't look much like Ellen Page now. Not in so much as they are both white brunette females.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

this isn't the 80s, we have rules about this sort of thing now

[brob]

quit trying to stifle creativity Treesong

[Steve Contra]

this isn't the 80s, we have rules about this sort of thing now

(Image removed from quote.)

From that we've been reduced to ripping off Ellen Page. 

[fistfulofmetal]

The multiplayer in this game is actually pretty cool.

but it's missing some form of infected inclusion. like a horde mode or something.

[Eel O'Brian]

it'll be in the season pass fo sho

[Rahxephon91]

Game was pretty great in the end.

[chronovore]

[mjemirzian]

I've watched the whole game on twitch.tv, don't have a strong desire to play through it myself.

If they release a PS4 port that doesn't have 15fps framedrops I'm in.

[mjemirzian]

This game was a great movie.

[Shaka Khan]

I liked the narrative/story/character development more than the actual gameplay. I kept expecting it to go certain cliched ways, but it surprised by not doing so. If this was a TV show, I'd watch it. Oh wait...

[Shaka Khan]

I didn't play Infinite so maybe that's why I feel I'm more receptive to this than a lot of people.

[Stoney Mason]

I think a lot of modern games fall into the category of watching them being played is honestly very equivalent to actually playing them. Last of Us certainly falls into that category. The appeal is mostly story and voice acting. It's not like the game has puzzles or mind bending bits or divergent paths.

I think Bioshock Infinite also mainly falls into this category.

[Himu]

I'm surprised by the praise for the story given ND isn't really known for their storytelling. Sure, they're known for presentation, but storytelling and characters? I'm surprised because the reason I like ND games are their gameplay and not really their stories.

[fistfulofmetal]

Disagree'd on both accounts.

Moreso in regard to Bioshock. It's shooty gameplay is the best aspect of that game.

[Stoney Mason]

I'm surprised by the praise for the story given ND isn't really known for their storytelling. Sure, they're known for presentation, but storytelling and characters? I'm surprised because the reason I like ND games are their gameplay and not really their stories.

I'm honestly not that big a naughty dog fanboy like most people. Their PS 2 stuff wasn't my cup of tea but whatever that was a long time ago. I think Uncharted 2 is a fairly revolutionary game but mainly in how it seamlessly linked cinematic feel and voice acting with gameplay. It was like a further evolution of the COD model. The fact that it was a decent to good-ish shooter was nice but I don't think the shooter parts will go down as revolutionary.

I think Last of US is over-rated relative to the scores its received but I do think its significant once again for its voice acting and characters. I try not to reference "story" as I think story actually isn't important in videogames in the broadest sense. I think immersion and characterization is and in that respect Last of Us is good and I think that's the core strength of Naughty Dog.

The best thing about Naughty Dog for me certainly this gen wasn't gameplay. It was spectacle. It was characters. It was great graphics. I think Uncharted 2 was the one where they got the package and mix the most correct and that's why that game is really important and special. Uncharted 3 and Last of Us much less so.

[Himu]

I thought Uncharted 2 was revolutionary in that it weaved cinematic vignettes (such as the classic building falling apart while being destroyed by a helicopter part) with real time action with no cutscenes.

Jak 2 is my favorite platformer of the ps2 era.

Crash 2 is one of my favorite games of the psx.

ND do great work in the gameplay area, hence I'm utterly shocked people are disappointed in this games gameplay. People talk about characters, and I like Nathan Drake, but I don't remember shit about Uncharted 1 or 2's stories. I don't give a fuck about any of that, so I'm confused every time some person talks about ND's storytelling, and I'm someone who played Uncharted 2 like 5-6 times.

[Stoney Mason]

People talk about characters, and I like Nathan Drake, but I don't remember shit about Uncharted 1 or 2's stories. I don't give a fuck about any of that, so I'm confused every time some person talks about ND's storytelling, and I'm someone who played Uncharted 2 like 5-6 times.

People tend to conflate story and characters and immersion when they are talking about them especially in videogames. Which is why I rarely talk about story proper. Videogame stories almost always are generally bad because the story will always serve second place to the gameplay contrivances that someone will need to make to make a fun videogame. But characters and immersion are really important. Even in this day and age very few games get that right. And the ones that do tend to be talked about in terms of story even if the story isn't all that special.

[Himu]

Oh. I was never immersed in any of the Uncharted games. In fact, the games are designed around breaking immersion, especially 1, where you'll have gun shoot outs and explodable barrels in centuries old abandoned crypts.

[Stoney Mason]

I was highly immersed in Uncharted 2. I think a lot of people were especially during an original playthrough. In fact the marketing and the TV commercials were essentially selling the fact that you were watching a movie/game.



It felt like an Indiana Jones adventure movie set to videogame form even with all the shooting. The characters were great and wise cracking and I cared about them and the little love Triangle. It was great in that aspect. Of course it was also a fun playing game.  In fact its one of the reasons Uncharted 3 is so disappointing to me. It felt worse in that regard and the gameplay is actually worse.