I know they are not being paid cash in hand, but they are being "paid" in exclusive hand shake deals. " tell everyone we did good, we give you follow up interviews, early press releases, jump in line preview press tours, early access etc. Worked in media for most of my years, there payment is in "kindness".
The Last of Us Part II
- Thread starter antijoke
- Start date
I know they are not being paid cash in hand, but they are being "paid" in exclusive hand shake deals. " tell everyone we did good, we give you follow up interviews, early press releases, jump in line preview press tours, early access etc. Worked in media for most of my years, there payment is in "kindness".
That's the way I am and did the same with the first game unlike most that love to binge it in one or two goes. I like to pace it to keep the magic going.
I'd buy this idea a lot more then actual monetary pay offs, but even then I don't really think it's anywhere near as prevalent as that. So many of the big sites consistently yoyo on any given publishers releases. I think the real answer most of the time in the case of these 'perfect' scores is simply that these games are made by people of a similar ilk to those who are reviewing them.
In other news, I see a lot of people saying that the combat is the weakest element but for me it's the absolute best, especially if you play on a harder difficulty. I think if you where just fighting infected I might agree, but the gunplay against human enemies is astonishingly good. Found the AI to be excellent as well, constantly trying to flank me in pairs and using the terrain to there advantage.
Finished it just now.
Great gameplay the graphics and effects are superb. Other than a couple of clipping issues it’s extremely polished and looks stunning. The sound is also really good.
But......
The story is horrendous and tbh cringeworthy. No idea what Druckmann was thinking it’s really bad with some outright parts I just wanted to switch off. The game is dark no problem with that but it really pushes you into situations you as a player would not want to be in especially if you loved the first game. It needed more player choice rather than forced by the game. At times it really shone (Flashbacks) but it’s then back to one mans dark very disturbed fantasy that pretty much destroys all the first built up. Don’t even get me started on the ending......
It’s a 6.5/10 from me seriously stunning gameplay and simply a visual and audio masterpiece ruined by a horrendous story.....
I think I will play through the first again to refresh my brain why I loved the game so much.
Great gameplay the graphics and effects are superb. Other than a couple of clipping issues it’s extremely polished and looks stunning. The sound is also really good.
But......
The story is horrendous and tbh cringeworthy. No idea what Druckmann was thinking it’s really bad with some outright parts I just wanted to switch off. The game is dark no problem with that but it really pushes you into situations you as a player would not want to be in especially if you loved the first game. It needed more player choice rather than forced by the game. At times it really shone (Flashbacks) but it’s then back to one mans dark very disturbed fantasy that pretty much destroys all the first built up. Don’t even get me started on the ending......
It’s a 6.5/10 from me seriously stunning gameplay and simply a visual and audio masterpiece ruined by a horrendous story.....
I think I will play through the first again to refresh my brain why I loved the game so much.
Just finished it myself. I am staggered how programmers and artists can put this much together in one game, it's amazing. I only saw 3 graphical glitches during the 24 hours I played it. I also thought the story was good and wanted to see what happened next. Loved it.
I love the prone and combat mechanics and as they try to flush you out looking below areas. Personally I thought the combat has been great since I'm on Survivor. There aint much you can get away with compared to Normal.
Scoping out the area as if it was real life before entering anything. Looking for every possible angle and a way to encounter an escape route.
I've watched some partial parts of some streams the parts I've played and people saying the combat wasn't good. They were on Normal jogging about as clickers etc rarely detected them. Breezing past things.
As I remember first playing the first game on Hard then straight to Grounded as the articles I read from way back, the developers said Grounded was how the game was meant to be played. No ammo to pickup and what you had you had to make do because things got real with lack of items. The game wouldn't hand you things.
You're supposed to be terrified as things can go south very easily. It's not supposed to be a breeze for the fight for survival.
I find that a bit of a strange criticism, given than one of the cornerstones of the first game is that you don't have a choice in what happens....the realisation that no matter what you do, Joel is ultimately a selfish, damaged, psychopath.
Soldato
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Since when? The whole point of the first game was that he grew to care for Ellie and see her as his daughter. He wasn’t prepared to let her die, yet the fireflies were prepared to murder her to save everyone else and were actively dismissing him from objecting to it. If anything they deserved what they got by trying to kill a child, that doesn’t make Joel the psychopath here.
The moral dilemma was that it was a question of what mattered more, him caring for his “daughter” or “potentially” saving the many at a great cost to him (again!)
That’s what made the story in the first game so good, that we saw Joel heal himself and find a purpose, with the kicker being the question of whether he went too far or not.
The sequel has none of this. All it has is an absolute hack trying far too hard to subvert expectations and force a political agenda upon the players.
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No wonder you don't appreciate the sequel if you misinterpreted the first game so badly.
Anyway, your last sentence reveals your real agenda, and I've no interest in engaging with it. On ignore you go.
My only complaint with the game now is it's going on too long. Every time I think I'm about to sit down for the last session and see the credits roll I end up several hours later packing it in. Too much to play in long periods and appreciate it.
I have to say the pacing has wavered at times, but overall it's still an immense achievement. Still waiting for this absolute clanger that Naughty Dog supposedly dropped...
I have to say the pacing has wavered at times, but overall it's still an immense achievement. Still waiting for this absolute clanger that Naughty Dog supposedly dropped...
Soldato
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lol, "how dare you validly criticise MY Naughty Dog game! I'm NOT talking to you anymore! (strops off in a huff to go to some "everyone is a special ********* parade").
Jeez, why on earth is "snow flake" a censored word?! How ironic.
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The bit about the fireflies dismissing the issue of killing a child is patently wrong and you would know that if you'd played the second game.
The irony of calling others a snow flake when you and a few others are foaming at the mouth about a games story not being up to your discerning standards is hilarious.
I will say the story is not as good as the first game. No question but its still better than most games and gameplay and everything else is defintiely a notch above the first game which was to be expected. Im not far off the end now so will see if it nosedives. The first game was a 9 out of 10 for me. This is an 8.
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To be honest a small flashback scene as a non playable character with little to no back story isn't exactly good writing. In a 20hr plus game, the was ample chance to really flesh this out to give the entire narrative from Abbeys side justification.
Think of how many ways it could have been handled. Abbey having to make a hard choice to save a member of her family, living with deep regret of her own before choices. Her dad was maybe close to a cure before knowing of Ellie but soemthing happens that loses his work, costing him that answer to the cure, having to weigh up the life of one for his own mistakes etc. I dont see any sign of any of this being explored in these crucial story characters. Him having more time trying to reconcile his choices about what he is doing with Abbey and how they both have to find a way to justify it.
Remember this game is mostly set up about the cinematic narrative, not some shot and gun hoe game. If you come into it with a hackney straight up revenge story that makes you play that makes you play as the person you want revenge on to make you feel soemthing for the other side of the story, you gotta do it in a really good explained way.
Think of how many ways it could have been handled. Abbey having to make a hard choice to save a member of her family, living with deep regret of her own before choices. Her dad was maybe close to a cure before knowing of Ellie but soemthing happens that loses his work, costing him that answer to the cure, having to weigh up the life of one for his own mistakes etc. I dont see any sign of any of this being explored in these crucial story characters. Him having more time trying to reconcile his choices about what he is doing with Abbey and how they both have to find a way to justify it.
Remember this game is mostly set up about the cinematic narrative, not some shot and gun hoe game. If you come into it with a hackney straight up revenge story that makes you play that makes you play as the person you want revenge on to make you feel soemthing for the other side of the story, you gotta do it in a really good explained way.
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Again this should be in spoiler tags as you're discussing some pretty significant plot points this isnt the story discussion thread and you're disclosing stuff people may not be aware of, have some courtesy for those guys. I'm not saying I disagree with your points but I'll save that discussion for the story thread when I've finished which isn't far off.
Lol! I could not believe what I read.
Is it so hard for some people to agree to disagree rather than throwing childish hissy fits "on ignore you go" over a discussion?