The Last of Us Part 2 - Now updated for PS5 for at 60fps

[Talk Show Host]

1 minute ago, Dave White said:

what do these reviewers want and expect? A totally different game with other non related mechanics and content? 

 

Finely tuning and refining their games is what they've always done with the sequels, stepping up the spectacle and wow factor to 11.

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, it's funny when Gamespot gives the "hugely refined mechanically and no violence for the sake of it" GTA V a 9 and this an 8.

[footle]

4 hours ago, Broker said:

The issue here is that there’s no incentive for developers to make the video game equivalent of Oscar bait.

how can you say this the day after the reveal of Bugsnax?

[Talk Show Host]

2 minutes ago, Benny said:

 

I'm being facetious, but honestly, if people had applied a little of that logic a bit to Red Dead Redemption 2 it probably wouldn't have received quite such fawning reviews as it did.

 

Same thing I've been saying about the FFVII Remake.

[Dave White]

Just now, footle said:

how can you say this the day after the reveal of Bugsnax?

 

that bugsnax tune should be played in Guantanamo bay, anyone would cave in after 30 seconds of that fucking tune.

[AI]

Edge 9 and a 96 metacritic score from 84 outlets...

 

But...a few people in here who definitely haven't played it are saying it's definitely shit and it's definitely a 4/10 game and all reviewers have definitely been paid off (apart from a select few who they agree with).

 

*Cancels pre-order*

 

Phew...saved £60, thanks guys! And I thought the first game was fantastic too. What a disappointment this is  

[Benny]

What relentlessly depresses me in game reviews is when there is little actually expansive discussion in the text beyond dur game good many fun or dur game make feel bad but best ever etc. The Easy Allies reviews are the absolute height of recycled, non committal, quasi advertorial pap. There is no discussion about anything meaningful in that, other than a glorified buyer's guide.

 

And this is where the production of something like TLoU2 bothers me: from what I read it sounds like it was focus tested to death to change things depending on how "users" reacted to parts of the game, and to me that signifies the death of auteur art. When your creation is influenced by manipulation of and by its audience in this way, it ceases to have any meaning as a singular construct.

[footle]

3 minutes ago, Benny said:

What relentlessly depresses me in game reviews is when there is little actually expansive discussion in the text beyond dur game good many fun or dur game make feel bad but best ever etc. The Easy Allies reviews are the absolute height of recycled, non committal, quasi advertorial pap. There is no discussion about anything meaningful in that, other than a glorified buyer's guide.

 

And this is where the production of something like TLoU2 bothers me: from what I read it sounds like it was focus tested to death to change things depending on how "users" reacted to parts of the game, and to me that signifies the death of auteur art. When your creation is influenced by manipulation of and by its audience in this way, it ceases to have any meaning as a singular construct.

it doesn’t help when the game reviews are severely restricted from actually discussing anything other than broad mechanics by NDAs.

[Benny]

I would say there is most likely more genuinely meaningful art to be found teeming within that itchio BLM bundle than you will find in the entirety of TLoU2. A Short Hike alone is more devastatingly real and personal than anything I found in The Last of us 1.

[AI]

3 minutes ago, Benny said:

And this is where the production of something like TLoU2 bothers me: from what I read it sounds like it was focus tested to death to change things depending on how "users" reacted to parts of the game, and to me that signifies the death of auteur art. When your creation is influenced by manipulation of and by its audience in this way, it ceases to have any meaning as a singular construct.

 

You've invented that in your head. From what I read each section of the game was played and rated out of 5 by new players for how entertaining it was to play and Naughty Dog would rework/tweak areas to get a higher rating out of 5. Possibly meaning things such as enemy placement, etc. Nothing was said that narrative/story was altered at all. 

[Talk Show Host]

2 minutes ago, footle said:

it doesn’t help when the game reviews are severely restricted from actually discussing anything other than broad mechanics by NDAs.

 

In this specific case that is very true. The most important things which make this game so good and ambitious you can only dance around them and write generalizations. I don't blame people for being pissed reading something which feels like fanboy drivel, as the writer tries to fill up the page with random praise.

[Stanley]

34 minutes ago, the_debaser said:

 

What is more important in a videogame than the actual gameplay?

You can’t really strip a game like The Last Of Us down to its component cores, it works as a whole - gameplay, story, atmosphere, graphics, music etc. 

[Spacehost]

8 minutes ago, Benny said:

And this is where the production of something like TLoU2 bothers me: from what I read it sounds like it was focus tested to death to change things depending on how "users" reacted to parts of the game, and to me that signifies the death of auteur art. When your creation is influenced by manipulation of and by its audience in this way, it ceases to have any meaning as a singular construct.

That's every piece of industrial media released since the 1980s, though.

 

Saying that, user feedback can be incredibly powerful, if you're asking the right questions. It needn't be a complete abdication to the user either if you have confidence in your decision making.

[Benny]

1 hour ago, Down by Law said:

I copped some shit earlier for saying that games should be reviewed on the quality of the gameplay foremost rather than the story. Then I think about this gen's most beloved game - Bloodborne - and you swing an axe larger than a typical london flat around for 90 hours destroying every man, beast and ceramic pot in sight with a story that would trouble a postage stamp. And that's fine because it's awesome.

 

Let's not begin to suggest that Bloodborne is gameplay heavy and story light. The "story" behind the events in the game is one of the richest ever conceived, and gets the Lovecraftian elements like basically nothing else has, even in film.

[Steven]

21 minutes ago, AI1 said:

Edge 9 and a 96 metacritic score from 84 outlets...

 

But...a few people in here who definitely haven't played it are saying it's definitely shit and it's definitely a 4/10 game and all reviewers have definitely been paid off (apart from a select few who they agree with).

 

*Cancels pre-order*

 

Phew...saved £60, thanks guys! And I thought the first game was fantastic too. What a disappointment this is  

 

Haven't read Edge for years, so is it genuinely still different from a lot of other established sites and magazines or is it largely similar these days?  

[Flanders]

I see this thread has gone exactly like the Red Dead 2 one went on here - hyped game gets high scores and a few people with a fanatical dislike of said game’s predecessor and developer proceed to feverishly amplify any reviews that conform to their pre-formed dislike.
 

At the same time the bulk of positive reviews are dismissed as shills either paid by the Man or blinded by their slavish devotion to corporations. This includes reviewers who post on this very forum, who explain why they liked the game and are promptly ignored. 
 

The small group of dismissive posters take over the entire thread to make sure that people know one of the most highly rated games of the generation is shit. 
 

Isn’t this behaviour just a little bit...weird? I mean, I get not liking a game or a style or a genre or whatever. Like, the appeal of Animal Crossing and that whole type of game doesn’t make any sense to me at all, but I don’t go marching into threads about it shouting how it has no real gameplay and is a triumph of lifestyle marketing. It’s clearly got something more going on that doesn’t connect with me.

 

I could also kind of understand this kind of ideological anger if we were back in 2012 and everything was Uncharted and brown and neck stabs and press X to pay respects and is game an art but only if it’s a AAA game and hooting American dudes - I know there was a very strong feeling that anything outside that paradigm was under genuine threat of continuing to exist at all.

 

But things aren’t like that anymore? You’ve got colourful Indie games by the legion. Nintendo snapped out of their funk and are back on top. The biggest game in the world is a systems-driven virtual lego simulator. Dark Souls is a multi-million seller. There was barely a bro in sight at the showcase for the new PlayStation. The war is won!  So what’s the fighting for? What’s the cause?

 

 

[Spacehost]

Just now, Benny said:

The "story" behind the events in the game is one of the richest ever conceived

You may want to pump the brakes a bit there, because it sounds like you're saying Bloodborne outdoes everything in the past 8000 years of oral and written storytelling.

[the_debaser]

4 minutes ago, Stanley said:

You can’t really strip a game like The Last Of Us down to its component cores, it works as a whole - gameplay, story, atmosphere, graphics, music etc. 

 

Of course you can. Start at a 10, -5 for the gun controls, -3 for stealth, +1 for above average graphics and music and +7 for a bung/threat from Sony. Bingo, you've got your score.

[PaB]

1 minute ago, Spacehost said:

You may want to pump the brakes a bit there, because it sounds like you're saying Bloodborne outdoes everything in the past 8000 years of oral and written storytelling.

Yeah it’s not like it’s the last of us or anything . 

[Benny]

6 minutes ago, AI1 said:

 

You've invented that in your head. From what I read each section of the game was played and rated out of 5 by new players for how entertaining it was to play and Naughty Dog would rework/tweak areas to get a higher rating out of 5. Possibly meaning things such as enemy placement, etc. Nothing was said that narrative/story was altered at all. 

 

That's fair enough. And to be honest I would expect nothing less when a studio is trying to make an enjoyable experience. But then, at what point does it need to be "enjoyable", if you want to explore a nihilistic story?

[AI]

Just now, Steven said:

 

Haven't read Edge for years, so is it genuinely still different from a lot of other established sites and magazines or is it largely similar these days? 

 

Dunno, but apparently you can only select review scores from established sites when finding out if the game is any good or not.

 

So let's say Joe Bloggs got a job at sitenooneseverheardof.com and gave it a 10 that score is void. But if that same Joe Bloggs got a job at er...Eurogamer and gave the game a 10 that counts, or something.

[Stanley]

1 minute ago, the_debaser said:

 

Of course you can. Start at a 10, -5 for the gun controls, -3 for stealth, +1 for above average graphics and music and +7 for a bung/threat from Sony. Bingo, you've got your score.

Why is it when a big game comes out people act like they’re 11? Honestly 

[Benny]

4 minutes ago, Spacehost said:

You may want to pump the brakes a bit there, because it sounds like you're saying Bloodborne outdoes everything in the past 8000 years of oral and written storytelling.

 

I was implying "in a game".

[Uncle Nasty]

Everyone in here can agree that this thread is infinitely more entertaining than the game will ever be. First time I’ve properly laughed in weeks. 

[AI]

10 minutes ago, Benny said:

 

That's fair enough. And to be honest I would expect nothing less when a studio is trying to make an enjoyable experience. But then, at what point does it need to be "enjoyable", if you want to explore a nihilistic story?

Don't care about the story, I just want to murder people in gruesome, gory detail and see their entrails splatter against the walls. 

 

After that, play the Last of Us 2.

[Benny]

Also I liked RDR2 so I'm one of the "enemy".

[Spacehost]

3 minutes ago, AI1 said:

 

Dunno, but apparently you can only select review scores from established sites when finding out if the game is any good or not.

 

So let's say Joe Bloggs got a job at sitenooneseverheardof.com and gave it a 10 that score is void. But if that same Joe Bloggs got a job at er...Eurogamer and gave the game a 10 that counts, or something.

That's usually because the job interview process filters out the worst cranks. Although Gamestyle let me post my pretentious doggerel for years so your mileage may vary.

[Stanley]

9 minutes ago, Flanders said:

I see this thread has gone exactly like the Red Dead 2 one went on here - hyped game gets high scores and a few people with a fanatical dislike of said game’s predecessor and developer proceed to feverishly amplify any reviews that conform to their pre-formed dislike.
 

At the same time the bulk of positive reviews are dismissed as shills either paid by the Man or blinded by their slavish devotion to corporations. This includes reviewers who post on this very forum, who explain why they liked the game and are promptly ignored. 
 

The small group of dismissive posters take over the entire thread to make sure that people know one of the most highly rated games of the generation is shit. 
 

Isn’t this behaviour just a little bit...weird? I mean, I get not liking a game or a style or a genre or whatever. Like, the appeal of Animal Crossing and that whole type of game doesn’t make any sense to me at all, but I don’t go marching into threads about it shouting how it has no real gameplay and is a triumph of lifestyle marketing. It’s clearly got something more going on that doesn’t connect with me.

 

I could also kind of understand this kind of ideological anger if we were back in 2012 and everything was Uncharted and brown and neck stabs and press X to pay respects and is game an art but only if it’s a AAA game and hooting American dudes - I know there was a very strong feeling that anything outside that paradigm was under genuine threat of continuing to exist at all.

 

But things aren’t like that anymore? You’ve got colourful Indie games by the legion. Nintendo snapped out of their funk and are back on top. The biggest game in the world is a systems-driven virtual lego simulator. Dark Souls is a multi-million seller. There was barely a bro in sight at the showcase for the new PlayStation. The war is won!  So what’s the fighting for? What’s the cause?

 

 

I think you should try it, saying that in the thread I mean. You see, people who like Animal Crossing don’t need their opinions validated by reviews - we’re above all that

 

(good post btw)

[JoeK]

3 minutes ago, Benny said:

Also I liked RDR2 so I'm one of the "enemy".

 

I did too. I think it's possibly the best thing I've ever played  

[Benny]

2 minutes ago, JoeK said:

 

I did too. I think it's possibly the best thing I've ever played  

 

I'm not that far gone yet.

[Talk Show Host]

 

1 minute ago, JoeK said:

 

I did too. I think it's possibly the best thing I've ever played  

 

 

Spoiler