Citizen Kane Remastered™

[Eel O'Brian]

So, yeah, they prettied up The Last of Us. It runs better. There's nothing else out right now.  I had a coupon. That's my review.

[Steve Youngblood]

I had about $30 of PSN bucks, so I decided to pick this up too. I never played it on the PS3. Honestly, I'm afraid to start it. I've got so many other games I need to play already but I'm terrified that I might never want to play another game ever again after The Last of Us.

[Eel O'Brian]

I may give the MP a try this time. I never even bothered on the PS3 version.

[Joe Molotov]

GOTY

[Sho Nuff]

I dunno man I remember this game looking pretty boss on my PS3. Definitely the best $2 at Redbox I ever spent

[benjipwns]

Thought this was about Metroid Prime.

[El Babua]

Will buy this classic for my collection. Even if I don't have a PS4.

[Eel O'Brian]

i'm inviting my elderly parents over to watch my playthrough

[Great Rumbler]

Thought this was about Metroid Prime.

Metroid Prime Remastered for Wii U would make me buy a Wii U. 

[AdmiralViscen]

I might buy this primarily for the multiplayer

[Eel O'Brian]

I wish this game had a "cruise control" mode so I could just breeze through it, because I do enjoy the dialogue and storyline (even though it's a well-worn plot). I'd forgotten it's mainly a stealth game, and the stealth flat out fucking sucks.  It veers from "wouldn't hear you if you were wearing tap shoes and doing the riverdance right beside him" to "shift in place once and the motherfucker hears you from a football field away."

"Great game! If only you didn't have to play it." there's my quote for the PS5 remaster box.

[AdmiralViscen]

What about easy mode?

[Eel O'Brian]

I'm already playing on easy. The stealth mechanic just sucks. You don't get any indication or warnings of whether you're being too loud until they're already on top of  you, and the point at which you trip detection seems to be entirely arbitrary. The shooting's okay, though. Handles a bit better than the Uncharted games.

[Steve Youngblood]

Thought this was about Metroid Prime.

Metroid Prime Remastered for Wii U would make me buy a Wii U. 

They are surely working on this given the amazing sales of Prime Trilogy.

[Stoney Mason]

The stealth mechanic just sucks. You don't get any indication or warnings of whether you're being too loud until they're already on top of  you, and the point at which you trip detection seems to be entirely arbitrary..

I was watching the Giant Bomb Quicklook of this and two or three minutes into it one of the people (Some new guy I'm not familiar with) says its the best stealth system EVER in a game. I stopped the video right then and went about my business.

[pilonv1]

It must be good, look at all the awesome dated meme gifs it's producing.

[El Babua]

I wish this game had a "cruise control" mode so I could just breeze through it, because I do enjoy the dialogue and storyline (even though it's a well-worn plot). I'd forgotten it's mainly a stealth game, and the stealth flat out fucking sucks.  It veers from "wouldn't hear you if you were wearing tap shoes and doing the riverdance right beside him" to "shift in place once and the motherfucker hears you from a football field away."

"Great game! If only you didn't have to play it." there's my quote for the PS5 remaster box.

I wasn't gaga for the story like everyone else was the first time through. I thought it was good and well executed, but nothing revolutionary. I loved it for being a damn good videogame after the failed interactive cinema glued to a sub par third person shooter that was Uncharted 3. Left Behind is probably the best interactive movie glued to a stealth/tps though. :p

Game's actually very good on the higher difficulties, AI jankiness aside. Humans seem to have a 90 degree vision cone during stealth, once they're aggro'd they're fun as hell to engage with.

Been playing Grounded difficulty on and off for the past few months. You basically hope for the AI to fuck up half the time to get past certain scenarios.

[Cerveza mas fina]

I think the stealth is very good in this one.

Playing on easy though is kind of missing the whole point of the game imho as it can get so tense.

[MoxManiac]

I'm playing it for the first time and it's pretty funny that Ellie and other NPCs pretty much never aggro enemies during stealth. I had one time where Ellie literally ran a circle around a clicker (AI for Ellie couldn't decide where to stay put, I guess) and nothing happened.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Based on me and my friends at my wedding it goes like this:

3 guys = love it
1 guy = its boring

[Yeti]

I really dislike stealth, but I didn't mind it too much in this game. As long as you are crouching and staying out of the line of sight of the enemies they shouldn't notice you. You just have to watch the patterns, wait for a guy to be in an area where he is away from the others, then kill him. That usually opens up an area/time where another can be killed. I don't think I ever had an instance where I ever alerted enemies that I thought was unfair, it was usually my mistake where I stealth killed someone in the wrong spot and another person happened to wander by at the wrong time. If you can take out enough where there are only 3 or 4 guys left, if you make a mistake it isn't a big deal because you can just bludgeon the rest to death.

[thisismyusername]

I may give the MP a try this time. I never even bothered on the PS3 version.

You still have the PS3 code for that, if you didn't register it?

I could use it.  :'( I have the PS3 version, though I'm pretty sure the community will be dead and filled with hackers now to where I won't be able to "platinum" the PS3 version.  :'(

I'm playing it for the first time and it's pretty funny that Ellie and other NPCs pretty much never aggro enemies during stealth. I had one time where Ellie literally ran a circle around a clicker (AI for Ellie couldn't decide where to stay put, I guess) and nothing happened.

Yeah, I noticed that in the opening pick-up-Ellie bits. The "Queen" and AI companion would just run around to the next cover as "OH JOEL YOU CAN TAKE THEM ALL OUT! LOLZ!" pathfinding. :/

[Eel O'Brian]

No, I traded the game in long ago with the unused code still in it, sorry

[demi]

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

[chronovore]

I had about $30 of PSN bucks, so I decided to pick this up too. I never played it on the PS3. Honestly, I'm afraid to start it. I've got so many other games I need to play already but I'm terrified that I might never want to play another game ever again after The Last of Us.

Eh. I liked what I played of The Last of Us, but I bailed halfway through it and keep forgetting that I own it. I keep thinking about restarting the game so I will remember the controls.

This is different than me not finishing Bioshock Infinite, where I recall playing it, never feeling any ammunition or supply pressure, lots of bloom fx on the buildings, and then listening to canned conversations and then being stared at uncomfortably by the NPCs. Then I remember that I should probably unload the disc, because I don't ever want to finish it.

[a slime appears]

The Last of Us, at least to me, is the ultimate representation of AAA glut. Presentation is through the roof, there's a serious attempt to make a cohesive cinematic experience, and it's incredibly polished in all aspects. Unfortunately the gameplay is boring, takes no chances, and it's basically hand-holding you the entire time.

9.75/10 GOTY

[Joe Molotov]

I like how you gave it a 9.75 to prove that you're a VERY SERIOUS REVIEWER who doesn't just hand out 10's like candy.

[a slime appears]

Joe, no game is perfect.

[Bebpo]

I dunno, I'm in the "stealth/gameplay is pretty good" group and I play a lot of stealth games.  It's not really that you have a million options like some games, but rather it's a very paired down and well executed gameplay experience.  Just like how the story overall has been done similarly before (although there is a subplot that is like A+++++ and is Silent Hill 2 caliber and felt really fresh) but it's just very, very well executed.  Reminds me of Breaking Bad which I've been watching.  Story's been done before, but it's just very well made and so everyone loves it (and it's a great watch).


The subplot (and the reason why the game is in my top 5 of last gen for sure) is

spoiler (click to show/hide)

That the game acknowledges the narrative dissonance that 99.9% of videogames do not (including Naughty Dog's own Uncharted series:  That in a videogame where you're killing hundreds of people...you're a fucking murderer.  The entire endgame subplot in the snow where David and his buddy are basically like "we're doing what we're doing because some sick socioopath has been murdering all our friends in town" is the endgame part of that hits the plot home.  YOU/Joel are the bad guy in everyone else's eyes.  It's only from your viewpoint that you see yourself as the good guy and all these badguys are sociopathic murderers.  Hell, the game going out of its way to give every enemy unique dialogue in the game to establish that they are human beings was something really groundbreaking that strengthened this aspect.  And then the final ending of the game, killing Marla fucking humanity over for your own selfishness and then even to the very last line where You/Joel lies straight to Ellie's face, ends this subplot with the most satisfying narrative bang this gen.  Just utterly fantastic writing.  It's like they saw all those "Nathan Drake is a murdering sociopath!" on gaf and decided to make again acknowledging that narrative dissonance.  Damn good stuff.

[close]

 

[a slime appears]

I'm stealth fan numero uno and I thought the first couple of hours was mediocre with forced stealth encounters designed around only one solution filled with brain dead enemies that offer no real challenge other than "don't get spotted!" Level design was incredibly limiting and just amounted to isolated encounters jammed into boxed areas broken up by linear hallways. It just reminded me of the worst of Splinter Cell, honestly. Also, I was never a big fan of the physics of Uncharted's gunplay and control nuances. While it did the job for those games (casual shootan') I think shoe-horning it into a stealth game highlighted the inherent sloppiness of the aiming and character controls. If I'm going to be sneaking around stabbing bitches and whipping out head shots then I need a game that can keep up.

It could probably improve later in the game. I should probably pick the PS4 version later on and give it another shot.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I'm in the camp that thinks the PS3 controller is complete shit so a few of my complaints can be derived from being forced to play with that (loose sticks, convex triggers, and a huge dead zone is a deal breaker for fps/tps). However I love the PS4 pad so I'm sure the game will automatically handle better for me.

[El Babua]

I'm stealth fan numero uno and I thought the first couple of hours was mediocre with forced stealth encounters designed around only one solution filled with brain dead enemies that offer no real challenge other than "don't get spotted!" Level design was incredibly limiting and just amounted to isolated encounters jammed into boxed areas broken up by linear hallways. It just reminded me of the worst of Splinter Cell, honestly. Also, I was never a big fan of the physics of Uncharted's gunplay and control nuances. While it did the job for those games (casual shootan') I think shoe-horning it into a stealth game highlighted the inherent sloppiness of the aiming and character controls. If I'm going to be sneaking around stabbing bitches and whipping out head shots then I need a game that can keep up.

It could probably improve later in the game. I should probably pick the PS4 version later on and give it another shot.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I'm in the camp that thinks the PS3 controller is complete shit so a few of my complaints can be derived from being forced to play with that (loose sticks, convex triggers, and a huge dead zone is a deal breaker for fps/tps). However I love the PS4 pad so I'm sure the game will automatically handle better for me.

I don't find the stealth itself incredibly deep since it isn't, it's presented as an option among the rest of the tools the game gives you.

Breh, what? The shooting's nothing like Uncharted. Especially during the beginning with an un-uprgaded Joel. It was never meant to have super precise shooting, you know to build tension and shit.

As to the other stuff:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

The game opens up tremendously at Bill's Town and Pittsburgh.  Most of Boston was basically tutorial stuff. If you're still not feeling it then, it's probably not gonna change. The strength of the gameplay for me was that it gave you multiple options to tackle an encounter (different ways to do stealth, combat or both). Fuck listen mode though, casul shit.

[close]

[Bebpo]

Yeah, the first couple of hours were kind of ehhhhh.  The part that Bobby Doucher talks about is where the gameplay opens up a bit and gets a lot better.  More interesting level layouts, enemy encounters, you have more crafting items (traps and stuff) along with combat & stealth options.

[a slime appears]

I don't find the stealth itself incredibly deep since it isn't, it's presented as an option among the rest of the tools the game gives you.

Breh, what? The shooting's nothing like Uncharted. Especially during the beginning with an un-uprgaded Joel. It was never meant to have super precise shooting, you know to build tension and shit.

It's not that I didn't think the stealth is deep, I think it's bad. I mean I could've harped on the bugs, the AI issues, and the lack of complete feedback when stealthing, but I thought the other issues were far more fundamental. You can throw a stealth meter on a game and call it a day, fix bugs through patching (which apparently they did), but terrible level design is a much harder issue to tackle.

As for my my complaint about the controls; it felt like a continuation of Uncharted to me and it was imprecise just like those games (insider tip: it's the same code base as well). Also in a game where the main world interaction is shooting, imprecise controls is bad game design. Ah but whatever, my opinions are only from a couple of hours. I should really play through the whole game before I start spouting off. I was just really surprised by how much praise the game was getting when the gameplay is serviceable at best. IMO of course.

I didn't read the spoiler cause I REALLY DO HONESTLY want to give this game another chance. But I appreciate Bepbo chiming in and saying the game does get fundamentally better so that's good!

[El Babua]

Yeah, the only thing that gives you an idea on whether you're about to be detected or not is the "whoosh" noise, and only for human enemies. The shooting of TLOU felt different enough to me mechanically that I didn't consciously link it to any Uncharted.

Honestly, no game had as terrible shooting controls as UC3. The input lag + massive deadzone ruined the game for me, even post patch. I still have an easier time in TLOU without upgrading Joel's aiming.

[Stoney Mason]

At no point did I think the stealth was anything but average to sub-par. I just don't see it.

The shooting I felt was sort of heavy and clunky but I was okay with that because it suits the nature of the game. It works in the multiplayer pretty well for example and I was fine with it in the single player as a distinguishing characteristic.

My bigger issue was that by the later portion of the game I was so done with both the stealth and the action that I just wanted to get those parts over with to see the end of the story.


My biggest issue with the Last of Us is that for large portions of the game I don't actually think its a very fun videogame and the variety in enemy encounters isn't very good. I found myself playing to get the next cutscene or story beat. When that stuff gets mentioned people deflect by talking about the gravitas of the story. Which is fine. I thought the story was enjoyable too. I just wish I found the bits outside of the story equally as enjoyable.

[Joe Molotov]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=123900635

[demi]

I dont think the game gets fundamentally better.

[chronovore]

I don't find the stealth itself incredibly deep since it isn't, it's presented as an option among the rest of the tools the game gives you.

Breh, what? The shooting's nothing like Uncharted. Especially during the beginning with an un-uprgaded Joel. It was never meant to have super precise shooting, you know to build tension and shit.

It's not that I didn't think the stealth is deep, I think it's bad. I mean I could've harped on the bugs, the AI issues, and the lack of complete feedback when stealthing, but I thought the other issues were far more fundamental. You can throw a stealth meter on a game and call it a day, fix bugs through patching (which apparently they did), but terrible level design is a much harder issue to tackle.

As for my my complaint about the controls; it felt like a continuation of Uncharted to me and it was imprecise just like those games (insider tip: it's the same code base as well). Also in a game where the main world interaction is shooting, imprecise controls is bad game design. Ah but whatever, my opinions are only from a couple of hours. I should really play through the whole game before I start spouting off. I was just really surprised by how much praise the game was getting when the gameplay is serviceable at best. IMO of course.

I didn't read the spoiler cause I REALLY DO HONESTLY want to give this game another chance. But I appreciate Bepbo chiming in and saying the game does get fundamentally better so that's good!

What about it was bad? And what's an exemplary stealth game to you? I'm kinda making a stealth game right now, so I'm interested in opinions.

[bork]

Got this Tuesday.  Played it for a bit on Tuesday night.  It just hit me that I haven't touched the game since then.  It's almost like a repeat of when I got the PS3 version!   

There's just something about this game that I can't get into.  The multiplayer is not for me and the story just doesn't draw me in like it seems to for so many other people.  I still plan to play through this, but wish I hadn't been suckered into buying it -again- since I'm never going to play it more than once.

Eel, I don't get why you find this game hard.  I'm playing on normal and had no trouble stealth-killing everyone in the first big enemy-populated area that you get to.  Was even easier than when I played it on PS3.

[Eel O'Brian]

I don't find it hard. I find it bullshit.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Its really weird reading you guys don't like my fav game of all time.

Kind of like people not liking The Wire.

 

[bork]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=123900635

(Warning- )

imo cheria barnes is:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

 

[magus]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=123900635

i hate these sort of thread because the answer are always "a female character that acts like a male character" or "my waifu "

[Joe Molotov]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=123900635

i hate these sort of thread because the answer are always "a female character that acts like a male character" or "my waifu "

Or both.

[thisismyusername]

I'm not feeling the multiplayer at all.  Game does it's hardest to NOT explain the multiplayer at all.

[Yeti]

Did The Last of Us invent the daughteru? 

[Rufus]

Almost certainly not.