The Last of Us -- Quickly becoming my favorite game ever.

[Pinkie Baelish]

I loved the ending. It was ambiguous and daring, particularly for a video game.

Yeah, I take back what I said. It really makes you think about what you would have done in that situation. It also reiterated the idea that there were no heroes, only survivors. And survivors need something to keep them fighting.

[The Anti-Targ]

Amazing game with pretty much zero replay value.

There's always the multiplayer to give it more perceived value, for those who like that sort of thing.

I intend to replay it occasionally, a bit like how I occasionally re-watch movies I own. I would love to try to get the platinum trophy, but to do that requires far too much multiplayer, and I just don't like multiplayer enough to put in the time and effot (and I'm not all that good at multiplayer either). So I'll just try to get all the SP trophies, which will require at least one more full playthrough, and perhaps more.

I think Ben Croshaw (zero punctuation reviews) has it in for Naughty Dog. He seems to hate everything they do.

[Koi No Yokan]

Amazing game with pretty much zero replay value.

The multiplayer is supposed to be great fun, though it's not something I'm interested. The Last of Us isn't your conventional video game where you can go back and play the story and have an absolute blast (like Mass Effect, Far Cry, etc). It's more of an experience, on the thread of a dark movie. It's something you'll come back to in a few months or a year, to live the story again.

[Honey Badger]

Amazing game with pretty much zero replay value.

Sometimes that's a good thing. I was perfectly satisfied only playing Bioshock Infinite once for full price, same with Last of Us and Heavy Rain. Replayability and multiplayer and back of the box checklist stuff would have stifled certain experiences. Funny enough I now avoid games with replay value because they tend to be brainless stuff like COD and Battlefield, which are so fucked out for me.

[ab aeterno]

The multiplayer is supposed to be great fun, though it's not something I'm interested. The Last of Us isn't your conventional video game where you can go back and play the story and have an absolute blast (like Mass Effect, Far Cry, etc). It's more of an experience, on the thread of a dark movie. It's something you'll come back to in a few months or a year, to live the story again.

I think you're right, I definitely wouldn't want to play TLOU again right after I finished, (I already had to play half of it again due to that save bug,) but it's one of those games that's great to play through again once in a while for the experience. I feel somewhat similarly about Bioshock really; although there is somewhat more variance in it. I think as Honey Badger says it's a lot like Heavy Rain in that regard, a fantastic story and experience, but not one you're going to play through again as soon as you're finished, imo.

[Jabronius Maximus]

Yeah I agree about the replay value of the game. But sometimes I wish I could erase my memory of the story so I could play again, just because it's an awesome experience.

Now to go off topic a bit, I figure since everyone on this thread is a ps3 user, how is Heavy Rain? I've heard good things about it, is it worth a shot?

[ab aeterno]

Yeah I agree about the replay value of the game. But sometimes I wish I could erase my memory of the story so I could play again, just because it's an awesome experience.

Now to go off topic a bit, I figure since everyone on this thread is a ps3 user, how is Heavy Rain? I've heard good things about it, is it worth a shot?

I loved Heavy Rain personally. There's a mix of exploration/investigation; dialogue and psychological challenges but the vast majority of it is quick time events. I've never found a game that was more emotionally draining that Heavy Rain if you buy into it, and the knowledge that you absolutely can fail heightens that. I'd recommend giving it a go; it really is a unique game and a different experience.

[The Anti-Targ]

Yeah I agree about the replay value of the game. But sometimes I wish I could erase my memory of the story so I could play again, just because it's an awesome experience.

Now to go off topic a bit, I figure since everyone on this thread is a ps3 user, how is Heavy Rain? I've heard good things about it, is it worth a shot?

Heavy Rain definitely has more replay value, given there are various choices you can make at different points in the game which will change things to a greater or lesser extent. And there's the fact that every main character can die and the story moves on. So if you play on the harder settings, and you have one or two characters die then you've got an incentive to go back and see how thier survival affects how the ending plays out.

But there's still only one Origami Killer and once you know who that is the mystery and suspicion that permeates the first playthrough is gone, which means you're mostly going through the motions just to try out different paths to get to the end. I want to play through it a second time, but mostly for the trophies, and for the challenge of getting all the character through to the end of the game alive.

I started playing Heavy rain with the DS3, then switched to using PS Move. It's way way better, IMO, to play it using PS Move. If you don't have PS Move already it's almost worth getting it for Heavy Rain alone. And you have the added sureity that the Move and Navi controllers will work with PS4 so they are a reasonable long term investment.

I started a NG+ for TLOU on hard recently, and while I'm still only in the early stages of the game I feel like the 2nd time through is going to be almost as good as first time through.

[Francis Buck]

I played Heavy Rain once through. And beyond any issues I had with the actual gameplay or execution (which I will say were quite minimal), the actual story itself was kind of a joke. It was awkward, amateurish, and overall just...well, really average.

HOWEVER

That's me comparing HR to TLoU. Compared to your average off-the-shelf game, sure, HR had an okay story. But compared to storytelling at large, as in the art of telling a decent story, HR was a mess. TLoU not only managed to stand with the best, but actually carved out a niche of its own. There are a shitload of cliches in TLoU, but at the end of the day, the actual story it was trying to tell, was very different from anything I've seen before. It used a ton of tropes, but then shook them all off right at end, and turned into something special. Heavy Rain didn't even come close.

And yeah, TLoU is a lot more fun to play, at least for someone like me.

[Jabronius Maximus]

Oh ok the way you guys are describing HR, it sounds a lot like the Walking Dead game series, with dialogue options and choice based gameplay. I wasn't a fan of that game, but HR is probably cheap enough now to at least try, so I will.

[Stubby]

I've not played a lot of these type of games. This one came with the system when we bought the new PS3 to replace the old one a few weeks back.

Fantastic stuff. Story was great and I have two favourite things about it.

Firstly, the voice acting was superb. Whoever directed it did a great job. Also, learning later that Ellie was voiced by the cafe waitress from the Avengers who said "Captain America saved my life!" was just too much Nerd. And casting Dan Dority from Deadwood as Bill was inspired - they are very similar characters.

Secondly, the use of the fungus was creative. On that point:

I'd never seen a zombie/pandemic story where the disease progressed and the infected were still actually alive before. Having such defined stages made it more believeable IMO.

[The Anti-Targ]

For me, because this game has a very good story - for a video game - the replay value of the game is much like the re-watch value of a favourite movie, and is the reason I buy some movies.

Normally because I'm replaying a game to enjoy the retelling of a story and not for the challenge I set the difficulty to below what would be a challenge for me so I can get through the game fairly quickly and just enjoy a better pacing for the story.

I know I'll play TLOU again even after having played it twice already.

Also looking forward to the Ellie backstory DLC, even though we know how it ends, given she tells her back story in the game.

I understand that any sequel will not involve Joel and possibly not Ellie either. And I also understand that Naughty Dog has said the whole cure thing is done, they won't be rehashing the trying to get a cure plotline any time soon; or so they say.

[Koi No Yokan]

As much as I adore this game, I kinda hope Naughty Dog will just leave it alone. No sequels that ruin the mystery and characterisation of the original, or a parallel story that tries way too hard to connect to it... we already have enough series milking in video games now, and rarely for the better. I'd love for The Last of Us to be this stand-alone title that was for many people, including myself, the definitive game of the generation. Let it be an example of what happens when a developer takes a chance at a new IP instead of relying on sequel after sequel after sequel...

Anyway, I'm pretty wary of Ellie's DLC... but I'll still play it and hope for the best. ND confirmed this will be the only single-player DLC for TLOU.

[MercenaryChef]

it took me a year.

but i finished it. wow. what a game. the voice acting was superb. i really came to care for the characters. my wife was in the room during some big moments like the fight with david and the end and was instantly drawn into the story.

i will need some time to really think about joel and his decisions. i am not sure if he was right or not.

for now i will just pour a bit of scotch.

[l2 0 5 5]

Just started a replay on Survivor difficulty. Also gunning to snag some of the firefly pendants I missed on the first go. I'm curious if the gameplay from hard to survivor is substantial, or if ammo is just scarce.

[Jabronius Maximus]

I think it's a bit harder, enemies do more damage, no hints, and it has Listening mode disabled. It was doable for me, albeit very difficult.

Grounded mode is for masochists. HUD is disabled, and the difficulty is higher than Survivor. I have no intentions of playing that lol.

[l2 0 5 5]

I think it's a bit harder, enemies do more damage, no hints, and it has Listening mode disabled. It was doable for me, albeit very difficult.

Grounded mode is for masochists. HUD is disabled, and the difficulty is higher than Survivor. I have no intentions of playing that lol.

Yeah I'm good on grounded too lol. I respect the move to make a mode like that but I'd get too frustrated.

[l2 0 5 5]

Just beat Remastered on Survivor. It certainly had some difficulties with ammo scarcity, powerful enemies, and it seemed to me that enemies were more sensitive to your footsteps when crouched so sneaking was a bit harder.

The Hunter's lair shortly after reaching Pittsburgh was pretty challenging since there were close to 20 enemies, and I had roughly 7 bullets to my name. The hotel generator of death with the Bloater is still frightening the second time around. Surprisingly, the part that gave me more trouble than I thought I'd have was shortly after leaving the sewer with Henry and Sam, and the Sniper whom has infinite ammo, and a mouth full of obscenities. I didn't have much ammo towards the end when there were about four more enemies I needed to kill to get inside the house. I got lucky with improvising, and lured a numbskull inside one of the houses and took his shotgun which was enough for the rest of the jabroni squad.

I also followed a guide to pick up the collectibles I missed on the first playthrough. I recommend the guide on the second playthrough. I feel like that would've messed up the fluidity of the story on the first go. Since I knew what happened I didn't mind focusing my attention back and forth from computer to television. I will say that you should probably try to open all shiv doors on a lower difficulty since it's a bitch to find a blade on survivor.

This is without question one of the best games I've ever played. Joel and Ellie make you feel so invested.

[Guard of the Rainking]

I hope that they don't make a Last of Us sequel. The game was so perfect that I don't want it to be ruined by a sequel. I didn't even like the Left Behind DLC!

[l2 0 5 5]

I hope that they don't make a Last of Us sequel. The game was so perfect that I don't want it to be ruined by a sequel. I didn't even like the Left Behind DLC!

If they can make a new, unique story -- I'm for it. I don't think Naughty Dog would do anything that would shame the first game.

I enjoyed Left behind. Ellie's background was interesting, and nice to get a perspective of.