The Last of Us Part II

Soldato
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He's not dead, come on... Well, unless Ellie lost her mind and is seeing him in her head;p There could be a lot of things that might have happened in those five years.

I think it's possible that Ellie found out Joel had lied to her and that was one of the things that influenced her behaviour. She does look a little unstable in the trailer;p
 
Soldato
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Nope, I don't think they'll be able to offer a better closure to the story than the first game did, sorry. They will easily make a better game with better graphics and better gameplay. I might be wrong but that's how I feel about the story.

Agreed - I was chatting with a group of mates about a possible sequel a year or two back and we agreed a game in the same setting, possibly with some overlap of characters (preferably not), would work, but a direct sequel would be risky. The thing that elevates TLoU above being an excellent game is the story. A rare thing - it might be the only video game I can think of that has a genuinely affecting, grown-up story. And arguably the best thing about it is how it's left open-ended. Maybe Ellie finds out, maybe she doesn't. Maybe they both die the next day. Maybe they find a safe haven and Ellie lives out her life in blissful ignorance, has kids, all while the guilt grows and twists inside Joel to his dying day. I don't want to know. It won't improve the story. Quite the opposite. Imagine if the sequel is all about the Fireflies hunting them down. No matter how well it's done, it would cheapen things. Or perhaps it will have nothing to do with any of the first game. A new adventure. If that's the case it would be better served with a new cast and would smack of cashing in by shoehorning Ellie and Joel into it. Oh btw everyone - this other crazy story happened to the same guys. What are the chances?! And normally I wouldn't care - it's a video game and unlikely sequels and events happen all the time. But this is the only video game, for me at least, that has elevated itself above this, and this time I actually care about the story and want it to feel real in the same way I do with a great book or movie.
 
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The problem is, will it cheapen the first game? Very possibly. Was the first game still selling in significant numbers? Unlikely, everyone who was going to play it already had. These studios need to make money, it would be actual madness not to explore a sequel from a financial stand point. Look how many people on here alone jumped in and said I must now play and complete the first game.

You might not like it, but you have lived in bliss for what will likely be 4yrs without knowing :p

It was always going to happen at some point imo.
 
Soldato
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The problem is, will it cheapen the first game? Very possibly.

That's the thing. From a non mercenary standpoint it's only a good idea making a sequel if it can improve on the original. Gameplay/gfx wise there's no doubt Naughty Dog can do this. Story wise it's unlikely. You're quite right tho - it was always going to happen and will sell by the truck load.

Still, an all new story and set of characters with a nod to/cameo from the original could have been the best at all worlds.
 
Soldato
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Agreed - I was chatting with a group of mates about a possible sequel a year or two back and we agreed a game in the same setting, possibly with some overlap of characters (preferably not), would work, but a direct sequel would be risky. The thing that elevates TLoU above being an excellent game is the story. A rare thing - it might be the only video game I can think of that has a genuinely affecting, grown-up story. And arguably the best thing about it is how it's left open-ended. Maybe Ellie finds out, maybe she doesn't. Maybe they both die the next day. Maybe they find a safe haven and Ellie lives out her life in blissful ignorance, has kids, all while the guilt grows and twists inside Joel to his dying day. I don't want to know. It won't improve the story. Quite the opposite. Imagine if the sequel is all about the Fireflies hunting them down. No matter how well it's done, it would cheapen things. Or perhaps it will have nothing to do with any of the first game. A new adventure. If that's the case it would be better served with a new cast and would smack of cashing in by shoehorning Ellie and Joel into it. Oh btw everyone - this other crazy story happened to the same guys. What are the chances?! And normally I wouldn't care - it's a video game and unlikely sequels and events happen all the time. But this is the only video game, for me at least, that has elevated itself above this, and this time I actually care about the story and want it to feel real in the same way I do with a great book or movie.

Yeah, that's very close to what I had in mind when I wrote my previous posts.

However, it seems that lots of people want it to happen and I trust ND know what they're doing so I'm fairly optimistic.

Having said that, my previous point still stands.
 
Soldato
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Still, an all new story and set of characters with a nod to/cameo from the original could have been the best at all worlds.

The Last of Us was a game about Joel and Ellie, that's what people want more of. A game with an entirely new cast of characters is a far riskier premise than using the two who have already been created and brought to life by their actors. I imagine they'd have sooner created another IP altogether than do that.

The story of the first game is done and finished; this isn't a continuation of it and it doesn't detract from or "spoil" the ending. It's five years later, who knows what might have happened in that time to feed-in to the events that take place in Part II.

I'm not sure why you think the people who created the first game that you seemingly hold in such high regard can't do it any justice with a sequel.
 
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Soldato
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The Last of Us was a game about Joel and Ellie, that's what people want more of. A game with an entirely new cast of characters is a far riskier premise than using the two who have already been created and brought to life by their actors. I imagine they'd have sooner created another IP altogether than do that.

The story of the first game is done and finished; this isn't a continuation of it and it doesn't detract from or "spoil" the ending. It's five years later, who knows what might have happened in that time to feed-in to the events that take place in Part II.

I'm not sure why you think the people who created the first game that you seemingly hold in such high regard can't do it any justice with a sequel.

I agree that I wouldn't want a story without Ellie and Joel but I don't think anyone can argue that it doesn't detract from the first game's ending. People won't think about it as a separate story simply because it features those two and expands on their life after the events of the first game.

I'm absolutely positive we'll end up with an outstanding game in many regards but I really don't think they'll be able to deliver an equally compelling storyline. Think about it: after such a beautiful, balanced journey with a very powerful ending they can easily fall into clichés or go all melodramatic because they'll be trying to top it. The Last of Us was unique partially because people weren't expecting such a story and such and ending. Naughty Dog had more to work with.

Now people have sky-high expectations and are already forming theories about the story:

-Fireflies hunt them down
-Ellie finds out about Joel's lie
-they eventually part ways and become enemies
-Ellie kills Joel in the end
-Tommy finds out and sells them out to the Fireflies
-they both die
-Joel dies along the way
-Ellie finds out something bad about her mother
-ND go with yet another "gray ending" that simply won't have the same impact
-ND do a completely separate story not in any way connected to the first game which will seem odd and will undermine the ending even more;p

I can easily understand why ND said that Ellie and Joel's story was complete and that they were struggling with inventing a worthwile scenario for the sequel.

I'm still positive but very curious as to how they're going to avoid clichés like the above and deliver something equally impactul and not predictable with the bar set that high.
 
Soldato
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I'm not sure why you think the people who created the first game that you seemingly hold in such high regard can't do it any justice with a sequel.

Simply because I believe they're making the sequel with Joel and Ellie for financial reasons rather than believing they can improve on the story. Not knocking ND btw - we all need to make a living and this makes all the financial sense in the world. And I don't doubt it will be a great game. Although I disagree that TLoU is just a story about Joel and Ellie. Without getting too much into it - it's about loss. A guy loses his daughter and can't bear to part with his new one, despite it being the right thing to do. This is what makes the game. The human side to it - the setting just happens to be a good backdrop. And it was done and concluded so well that bolting more on feels overly contrived to me, especially when there's so many other stories that could be told here with new characters. Jealousy, hate, revenge, love. But that's a harder sell. However, despite all this this is now my most wanted game! Let's see if they can prove a bunch of ppl wrong and make something that adds to the original.
 
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Although I disagree that TLoU is just a story about Joel and Ellie. Without getting too much into it - it's about loss. A guy loses his daughter and can't bear to part with his new one, despite it being the right thing to do. This is what makes the game. The human side to it - the setting just happens to be a good backdrop.

The first game is a story about love, the second is a story about hate. I felt that Neil did a pretty good job of justifying the sequel's existence and allaying any fears or worries people might have in the panel discussion at PSX.

I don't disagree entirely with people asking these questions by the way, but I do think there's a rather unjust amount of negativity surrounding this announcement just because people feel personally slighted by it.
 
Soldato
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Sequel or not, it doesnt change that the first game was and is still great. No matter what this becomes, that game still exists.

I do understand the notion that this game could affect opinions of the first but lets just see what they do. It was obviously going to happen either way
 
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