http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in … 11248.html

Hailed as one of the best games. Currently a score of 96 on metacritic.

Of course, not everyone likes it, and just like everything else it will come down to personal taste. From what I've read, this is truly a survival game. Unlike say, Resident Evil (which I really enjoy by the way) there's no one coming to rescue you. Also, the world of man is more or less over in this game (about time ) and there's no rainbow to be found as far as I can tell. Brutal and harsh seem to be words people use a lot. Arguably also beautiful in many ways. Well, I'll be interested to hear people's opinions. Myself, I'll probably wait for the GoTY edition!

It's hard not to get excited with so many rave reviews, but then, Uncharted 3 also got rave reviews, and Uncharted 3 was kind of shit. People are too nice to Naughty Dog.

I wouldn't count on a GotY edition though. I don't think Naughty Dog is into that kind of stuff.

There's Uncharted 3 GoTY edition, so I'm willing to bet there will be a Last of US GoTY too. I haven't played Uncharted 3 (I only played Uncharted 1 and got quickly bored), but it did get rave reviews I know. It comes down to personal taste.

Whether or not there's a game of the year edition with DLC and what not packed in, no doubt there'll be a greatest hits release down the line if all you're looking for is a price drop.

I'm sure the game'll be great but I just don't get off on scares and blood and gore in either movies or games so I doubt I'll get it.  That said having just watched The Walking Dead (which the game reminds me of, along with I Am Legend) and enjoyed it more than I expected who knows.

People (mainstream gaming site reviewers) are too nice to established franchises and developers in general it seems.

One of the things I've read about in the reviews, is that they say there are no "scares" such as in Resident Evil, nor is there particularly any gore. The violence however is "deeper" and more realistic, which I think is what makes it more frightening.

I'm dirt poor right now so I'll probably have to rent it from Redbox. I can totally see myself polishing it off in a two-day marathon session. Uncharted 3 was a little disappointing but I'm still Naughty Dog's bitch.

I've never been a fan of either Naughty Dog as a developer or the zombie genre, but I will try the game at a friend's house in the near future and see if it offers anything for me.

All signs are pointing to a package more akin to the universally acclaimed Uncharted 2 than the moderately disappointing Uncharted 3.  Lengthier single-player campaign, in-game unlockables (SP skins, graphical filters, New Game+) -- hell, maybe we'll even get core gameplay that doesn't need refining via community feedback and a post-release patch this time around.

It's the concept of the gameplay that has me most intrigued: a more open-ended/less on-rails Naughty Dog style action adventure with an emphasis on stealth and stringent item management.  That, coupled with what they're claiming as whip smart enemy A.I. and flexible means of dealing with them, and I can see a lot of replay value.  Too often the survival-horror genre trades off good gameplay for immersive atmosphere -- The Last of Us looks to have both in spades.  I'm definitely hopeful for this one.

So I'm about fifteen hours into The Last of Us since Saturday -- an unheard of stretch of time for me, considering that I can barely go even an hour of straight gaming nowadays.  I'm a fan of the stealth genre as folks may know, and there came a moment when I thought this might be one of the greatest stealth games I've ever played.  And then came another moment.  And then another one.  And yet another.  And then I knew: this is one of the greatest stealth games I've ever played.

You know when the Metal Gear titles were at its most enjoyable?  When you were stripped down to all but the barest necessities to get through.  When you weren't bogged down by the eight zillion weapon choices like in MGS4, but instead having yourself equipped with only CQC, the MK22 tranq gun, and the survival knife like in MGS3.  Or in MGS2's Tanker chapter, where your main options in the early-goings were to perform chokeholds, fire M9 tranq darts, or lethally (but noisily) putting enemies down with the suppressor-less USP. (It became even more strategic when you had a soldier who wouldn't give up his dog tag unless you fired said USP.) The Last of Us takes this minimalist-methodical stance throughout much of its campaign, and while I can certainly appreciate Metal Gear's toy box approach to gameplay, there's something infinitely more satisfying when you're getting by with such limited resources - and by the skin of your teeth.

I'm playing on Hard based on the recommendation of others, and I'm glad I did.  The challenge is tough, but never unfairly so.  The game strives for experimentation and perfect runs, and I love how confrontations can turn from tense to frantic at the drop of a hat.  It's true that you'll have a tougher time if you don't manage your resources wisely, but there's always another option to get by any given situation.  Unlike Metal Gear, you'll NEED to use everything at your disposal.

The game's not all perfect.  While the enemy A.I. is awfully good, your CPU-controlled partners are a lot less so.  They'll confusingly wander out into the open, right in front of the opposition.  Foes won't take notice of them, so it's more of an immersion-breaking flaw rather than a gameplay one.  Nonetheless, it is irking when you're trying to be at your utmost silent, and they're stomping around all over the place.  Handling stealth grab takedowns is a hair wonky as well.  It's perfectly fine when you're sneaking up from behind, somewhat less so if you're trying for a bold grab as the enemy walks in front of you; the grapple prompt will only come up half of the time.  To be fair, it would be more logical to do a bottle/brick stun throw and then grab 'em if you're trying to be that brazen in the first place.

The game is also at its strongest when they place you into purely stealth situations, a bit less so when they throw you into an action-based skirmish with a constant stream of enemies that you have no choice but to take out.  It's an instant depletion of your hard-earned resources, but then again, maybe that's why they do it -- to keep you from having too much excess to blow through the game.

All in all, I'm enjoying the hell out of the game.  Worth all the hype?  Yeah, I think so.  I'd always thought that if they could even come close to replicating the style of gameplay and cinematic prowess showcased in that amazing E3 2012 debut trailer, then it'd be a success.  They have.

angela,, you just lost me at metal gear... never did another game piss me off so much,, until siren a few years later...

Heh, yeah, the series ain't for everyone.  I could easily think of several reasons why, but I'm curious as to what exactly about the game turned you off so? 

Which title in the series did you play?

I'm nervous about even trying this after seeing a thread on Neogaf about this game wreaking havoc on launch PS3s.  I'm not doing anything that will threaten the stability of my backwards-compatible console.  >_<

How about a link to said article?

He said thread, not article.

Good to have you back, Angela!

Thanks for finding it Angela! 

Okay really more of a because I don't think the issue has been addressed yet.  But still!

For my limited passion and time for gaming I've purchase zero, or at best, one game per year in recent years. However, as I became jobless this month (I still have a contract and get paid for nothing, strictly speaking) and I was so bored to think gaming wouldn't be not so bad compared to writing crappy codes in a crappy language called JavaScript, I decide to pick up a game that had been hyped worldwide. So, my impression of this game was overall, 10/10 or 95/100.

What, first time hearing that? What scene was cut in the end?

And daamn this game, so wanting to go all hyperbole with adjectives and praise, but I'll just say that if someone is unsure if they should play this, play it. Or if you feel like you don't enjoy the game mechanics, watch at least a Let's Play of this. Though, that won't bring the feeling of anxiety when you're trying to sneak around clickers and bloaters.

Really should start replaying this on Survivor-difficulty, especially when it turns off the 'wallhacky'-listening mode. Some places will be fun, and especially certain battle will be something. The 'boss battle' with David, especially third part of it, even on normal it made me try not to breathe much so I wouldn't make noises myself. Which did happen often in when playing, and when you had to make some noise ingame, it was always "oh fuckfuckfuck, noise noo, WHY YOU'RE NOT BEING SILENT DAMNIT".

I assume Angela has already finished the game and can give a proper 'review' of it for people to read?

Edit:

I didn't find it cliche myself, and there was stuff that I didn't see coming until things were really going into certain way, like Tess getting bitten, but then, the sacrifice was understandable. And no way I saw Sam getting bitten also and Henry killing him and then suiciding, which probably is one of the rare cases in game stories?. And the end did surprise me with it's bleakness.

I heard some brutal death scenes of both Joel and infected were removed. The story part I confirmed was the slaughtered human in the front of Ellie's prison was actually replaced by something pink (no dropped hand too), so players could initially think of the body as the deer or the horse killed a short time ago, and couldn't see why Ellie was so desperately asking about what meat it was. Their eating humans wasn't becoming apparent until Joel found in the butcher shop hanged bodies and that memo.

Didn't their earlier behaviors imply they were infected? I think this game just progressed with the same way like numerous post-I Am Legend zombie movies.

That's odd, haven't heard anything about that, only stuff I did quickly found that some stuff has been censored in japanese release, like Bill cutting the head of the trapped infected. But here's the scene you're talking about how it's on EU version at least, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDG9K5Pu3VA

Nope, but could been that I just missed some subtle hints. But that's why replays are good, now I can easily more see stuff like that and go 'ah, that's why that line was said." and so on.

And this is how it's on my region version. I wonder how many people watching this scene realized he was slicing human flesh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZTLKmNxD2Q#t=660s

I just finished the game myself the other night.  On Hard mode, the timer clocked in at exactly 24 hours and 22 minutes.  I now welcome The Last of Us to join Resident Evil 4 and Metal Gear Solid 3 to the S.S.S.P.C.C. (Substantially Satisfactory Single Player Campaign Club)

In general terms, I don't think I have anything to say that I haven't already.  The game, for all its pros and cons, has been consistent from start to finish.  I will admit I warmed up to those action-based skirmishes toward the end, since you're quite a bit more powered up by then.  Sometimes it just feels good to release that pent-up tension from stealthing all the time and go totally gangsta on your enemies.

Which upgrades took priority for you guys?  I made sure to raise my Max Health, Listen Mode and Weapon Sway stats first and foremost.  Weapon Sway in particular made a world of difference; even one upgrade just about steadies your aim perfectly.  I found the shotgun to be my top weapon, so I gave plenty of upgrades to that.  I upped the Clip Capacity for every weapon, given how scarce ammo is; I didn't want to be in situations where there was precious excess ammo lying around that I wasn't able to pick up because I had a small clip that was already full.

Razakin, you do know you can turn Listen Mode off, even on difficulties other than Survivor, right?  Also, from what the NeoGAF guys are saying, there is an unofficial method to play New Game+ on any mode, regardless of which difficulty you played before.  Start up an initial New Game+, get through the prologue, and then switch to your desired difficulty in-game.  Not sure how that affects trophies, though.

I'm definitely looking forward to another playthrough, but I'm taking a break.  As satisfying as it is to play, it's an exercise in exhaustion.  Huge chunks of the game demand your full and lengthy attention, and you don't quite want to rely on the autosaving's slightly janky decisions on where you'll end up (and what resources you've used) when you load again.

------

So, let's talk spoilers.

Cedille, I'm glad that..... you edited out that bit about playing as Ellie.  That part of the game was a neat, unexpected shift in perspective, and I would have hated to have that spoiled for me.  Gameplay-wise, I liked that she had a decidedly nimbler feel than Joel -- yet at the cost of not being able to do silent takedowns as effectively as him.  I thought the length of time you got to play as her was perfect; we got a few terrific stealth sections, a RE4-esque holed-up-in-a-cabin shootout, a thrilling whiteout adventure, and our one real boss battle in the form of David.  (My heart was beating like a kettledrum during that part!)  And, you know, seeing a young girl depicted in such a gritty, realistic setting -- partaking in and actually taking such violence -- shocked me.  I thought they might pull a Resident Evil 4 where they neutered Ashley's deaths to not look as gruesome as Leon's.  Nope, Ellie can get her neck snapped, her jugular gnashed, and her face ripped off/bashed in just like the adults.  Damn.

------

As far as that censored scene, I can confirm that the NA version plays out exactly like the EU version that Razakin linked to does, with..... the dude slicing off what is very obviously a human arm.  Cedille, you sure it was the NA version you were playing?

------

Save for the occasional framerate hitch and jaggies (the jaggies really only took me out of the game when I was looking at cast shadows), the game's a graphical wonder.  I was positively floored when I reached..... the University of Eastern Colorado.  Oh man, was this area GORGEOUS.  The vast campus grounds, the dusky skies, the autumn leaves, that PERFECT wind effect blowing through the trees representing the crisp, Fall air.  The entire atmosphere is palpable.

------

Regarding big story moments as well as the ending..... I did see Sam's death coming when it was revealed he was bitten, but I absolutely did NOT expect Henry to take his own life in that very instant.  As for the ending, I'm glad they didn't go with the initially-believed-Joel-getting-infected-and-Ellie-having-to-kill-him route.  I liked how morally ambiguous everything was left off: was Marlene in the right, or was Joel?  Was a cure truly guaranteed with Ellie, and would the risk of her death have been worth it?  Did Ellie know that Joel was lying to her?  Some answers are more obvious than others, but I like how these factors are open for debate.

Yeah, I know, but the game allows it on easier difficulties so it stays on on them. Really gotta start the survivor playthrough this weekend.

And for upgrades, first I did max out listening, then it was either healing speed and crafting, and around 60/70% part I started upgrading health and weapon sway. Didn't have much need for those upgrades, but normal is normal. And for weapons, I mostly upgraded what I could at the times I found the table. Used pretty much all the weapons I got.

Also, should have probably upgraded that clip capacity if it actually did let you carry more bullets.

I wonder if the game could have some regional censorship, like if your psn account is JP instead of US/EU, the game detects that, and thus censors the game?

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2 … y-likeness

Tell me if that's old news or not; I haven't had time to read through this whole thread yet.

I had thought that the girl in the game WAS voiced by Ellen Page, and they also decided to copy her likeness for the game, too.

I'd have to agree with Ellen Page, too; I think they copied her likeness, as well as tried imitating her voice, and her quirkiness and mannerisms.

P.S. Ellen Page is really cute. Have I said that already?

While I could be wrong, I think it's nonsense. Go to any university in the US and you'll find a few dozen students that look similar to Ellen Page. Ellen Page really does not look all that special in my opinion, not that she isn't cute. Seriously though, as far as we know the heroine of the game may have been modeled after one of the programmer's daughters, which frankly I think is far more likely.

Thankfully.

Also, "Ellie might have been inspired by Ellen Page, but she could really be any skinny white teenage girl with brown hair. And even if she was inspired by her…I fail to see the issue. Game characters and animated characters are often inspired by real people. Ever see Pixar’s Up?"

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/20 … ast-of-us/

'Cuz that's exactly what you want to tell a girl: "You look just like 12 other girls on campus! I can't tell any of you apart!"

I was going to mention before how I really like the song that plays when the credits start to roll, A New Beginning. It has an Akira Yamaoka feel to it. The whole soundtrack is very fitting to the game.

wow, what a cool game. i finished it a few days ago and still think about it from time to time. i prefer this style of gameplay compared to uncharted. limited items and ammo force you to me more careful when you play on hard+. not a fan of the zombie shit, but rest was ace.

I'm going through the PS4 Remastering right now. Enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. First 15 minutes were engineered specifically to reduce grown men to tears. I'm not sure that I would have been as affected by it if I didn't have children.

Good stealth, fantastic atmosphere. Pulls no punches. Loving it.

Just finished it. Had time to let it sink in. A true marvel. Perhaps one of the best games available on the PS3/4.

Just a really human story, as raw and honest as it gets.

I have yet to play, but I shall, once I get a PS4
You know, I can appreciate a "human story", but only if it's done right. For example, JJ Abrams (they guy who's directing the new Star Wars movie) considers himself a human story type of guy. I don't like his work. I really don't like his work. I watched LOST and enjoyed it until it became asinine, repetitive, boring, melodramatic, and a nonsensical junk-heap. I watched Fringe, because John Nobel and Leonard Nimoy are awesome. It was painful and stupid. I watched his Star Trek re-imagining, and the best thing I can say is that the pain is not more than 127 minutes. His work sucks. He claims he's all about human this and that, but ultimately all his BS can be summed up as: "Love is the answer." Oh, throw in time travel, lots of guns, special effects, more time travel, some old-looking hardware because retro is cool, some eye candy (actors and actresses) and you get a hit. Just don't think about his stupid the "story" is. Sure, it doesn't matter if you're being sucked into a black hole or a super advanced lifeform with super advanced weapons attacks you, because you have love!! Ugh! I pray The Last of Us is not like that...

I'm far from the biggest Last of Us fan in the world (I think it's hugely overrated) but you can rest assured the story is nothing like that at all.