The Last of Us Part II – June 19, 2020

[EcoShifter]

7 hours ago, Dreakon13 said:

If I were a disappointed fan that the game won't have multiplayer, I'd be pretty confident that a standalone version of factions/multiplayer was coming after the games launch.  Just my gut on it based on everything I've heard/read.

 

EDIT: Side note, the graphics aren't impressing me terribly for a developer with such pedigree for a "wow" factor in their games.  Granted TLOU's setting lends itself to appearing more drab than the likes of Uncharted, but still.

 

The online multiplayer in TLOU—with all its problems, especially post launch—is fun (especially when you don't have cheap Tactical shotgun using and/or bomb expert 3+shiv spamming assholes and the terribly balanced random team formations in especially solo-play), but making even an improved sequel's online mp mode its own standalone release won't be all that entertaining, especially if the price, if not free to play, doesn't reflect its quality, gameplay and content. I don't doubt fun can't be had, but it's going to be relatively small in comparison to that of online multiplayer tactical and not-as-tactical shooters such as Socom, Rainbow, Overwatch, (Splatoon?,) Apex Legends, Call of Duty, Fortnite, etc, even if released on a secondary platform such as PC, w/ or w/o cross-play. I think I'd rather them focus on their next game (hopefully the overdue new IP they've yet to make due to the milking of Uncharted this gen) than wasting their time trying to cater to us minority with a partially fleshed out, isolated MP mode that we  enjoy. Plus, you have to factor in that they're generally not very competent MP designers as time has shown in literally each of their shooter-related releases. Only hope for a well designed and balanced MP is their hiring of much better MP designers.

Reason why i'm fine with the idea of the online mp being included in the TLOU:PII is because it utterly gives the very game itself far more longevity and value (especially when it remains the linear-style game it is), one that I can defend, with enough gameplay content, is worth paying full retail price on.. even with the normally inevitable incompetent online mp design choices.

 

 

The majority of the press from all the videos that's been posted on the topic and not posted on this topic are in agreement that the game both looks and plays extremely similar to The Last of Us. TLOU:PII is just primarily a bigger version of TLOU with a longer story and some new gameplay concepts. Although, rather than have the game run at 60fps (which is partially baffling given the less innovative nature of the gameplay and entire lack of online mp as a whole), contain omp, and have significant gameplay changes and graphic improvements, the story and attention to detail were given higher priority from the looks of it. Naughty Dog are way too obsessed with realism, attention to detail, and story (among other things). With this game lacking omp and an open-world design, 60fps should have been pursued in compensation for those two absent big things, especially when the game's levels won't actually match or surpass the relatively large yet still non-open-world spaces found in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, as been confirmed.

Horizon Zero Dawn is excused for its lack of 60fps because of not only its open-world but great gameplay and high graphic fidelity in such an open-world (which Neil himself has been impressed by and commended the devs for); Read Dead Redemption II for similar reasons; then you have Metal Gear Solid V which might not be as precisely as high quality in graphics as the aforementioned but still managed to achieve 60fps and open-world.

Edited October 1, 2019 by EcoShifter

[ziggypossum]

 

[The Alchemist]

On 01/10/2019 at 5:49 PM, EcoShifter said:

 

The online multiplayer in TLOU—with all its problems, especially post launch—is fun (especially when you don't have cheap Tactical shotgun using and/or bomb expert 3+shiv spamming assholes and the terribly balanced random team formations in especially solo-play), but making even an improved sequel's online mp mode its own standalone release won't be all that entertaining, especially if the price, if not free to play, doesn't reflect its quality, gameplay and content. I don't doubt fun can't be had, but it's going to be relatively small in comparison to that of online multiplayer tactical and not-as-tactical shooters such as Socom, Rainbow, Overwatch, (Splatoon?,) Apex Legends, Call of Duty, Fortnite, etc, even if released on a secondary platform such as PC, w/ or w/o cross-play. I think I'd rather them focus on their next game (hopefully the overdue new IP they've yet to make due to the milking of Uncharted this gen) than wasting their time trying to cater to us minority with a partially fleshed out, isolated MP mode that we  enjoy. Plus, you have to factor in that they're generally not very competent MP designers as time has shown in literally each of their shooter-related releases. Only hope for a well designed and balanced MP is their hiring of much better MP designers.

Reason why i'm fine with the idea of the online mp being included in the TLOU:PII is because it utterly gives the very game itself far more longevity and value (especially when it remains the linear-style game it is), one that I can defend, with enough gameplay content, is worth paying full retail price on.. even with the normally inevitable incompetent online mp design choices.

 

 

The majority of the press from all the videos that's been posted on the topic and not posted on this topic are in agreement that the game both looks and plays extremely similar to The Last of Us. TLOU:PII is just primarily a bigger version of TLOU with a longer story and some new gameplay concepts. Although, rather than have the game run at 60fps (which is partially baffling given the less innovative nature of the gameplay and entire lack of online mp as a whole), contain omp, and have significant gameplay changes and graphic improvements, the story and attention to detail were given higher priority from the looks of it. Naughty Dog are way too obsessed with realism, attention to detail, and story (among other things). With this game lacking omp and an open-world design, 60fps should have been pursued in compensation for those two absent big things, especially when the game's levels won't actually match or surpass the relatively large yet still non-open-world spaces found in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, as been confirmed.

Horizon Zero Dawn is excused for its lack of 60fps because of not only its open-world but great gameplay and high graphic fidelity in such an open-world (which Neil himself has been impressed by and commended the devs for); Read Dead Redemption II for similar reasons; then you have Metal Gear Solid V which might not be as precisely as high quality in graphics as the aforementioned but still managed to achieve 60fps and open-world.

 

It's clear that you want to hate this game from the off. It's 5 months from launching but you're talking as though you've played it in full. It may change drastically in that time. Of course you are fully entitled to your opinions and I'll never try to deny someone of that but from every essay you post in this thread it just seems like waffle to me and trying to find things to hate on. "Naughty Dog are way too obsessed with realism, attention to detail, and story" C'mon dude, how is any of that a bad thing? At least wait until the game is out before you start hating on it. BTW, the graphics are phenomenal and I suggest people get their eyes tested if they think otherwise. They're much improved over the already fantastic graphics of the first game. Nitpicking at it's finest.

[EcoShifter]

1 hour ago, The Alchemist said:

 

It's clear that you want to hate this game from the off.

 

It's 5 months from launching but you're talking as though you've played it in full.

 

It may change drastically in that time.

 

from every essay you post in this thread it just seems like waffle to me and trying to find things to hate on.

 

"Naughty Dog are way too obsessed with realism, attention to detail, and story" C'mon dude, how is any of that a bad thing?

 

At least wait until the game is out before you start hating on it.

 

BTW, the graphics are phenomenal and I suggest people get their eyes tested if they think otherwise. They're much improved over the already fantastic graphics of the first game. 

 

There's a lot to say here, but it's late as hell, so i'm not going to say much... That's not clear. You're misinformed. Just being straight-forward and honest, as well as cautious considering how TLOU and U4 turned out, among other things in relation to Naughty Dog.

 

Not quite. A lot of the things I've said come directly from what's been shown and said, by both people who've played the demo(s) and Naughty Dog themselves. It's silly that I apparently can't criticize the lack of MP because the game didn't release yet. Also, "as if I played it in full" is a bad exaggeration. My posts don't even compare to the Youtubers who make nearly hour long/hour long+ videos on topics that don't warrant that amount of time. One last thing about your complaint, a funny one at that, is how it's apparently ok for other people to narrowly praise the game, call it their 2020 GOTY, claim it'll be the best game of 2020 and especially both "the generation" or more stupidly "of all time", and any other similar comments/beliefs, all before it's even out. Such a double standard. Of course only the people who aren't possessed by pure hype for this game are targeted.

 

It won't. That's unrealistic and impractical, especially if the game isn't delayed, which Naughty Dog are convinced it won't be.

 

Not quite, and if you read them all you'd realize some pros have been listed. And I generally have this thing for typing a lot, whether from a good, bad, or neutral stance. Just how it is.

 

Not going to explain why that is, but it's a fair complaint considering how it's impacted Naughty Dog's mentality over the many years, and certain information from them on public interviews.

 

I don't need to wait until it's out to justify certain points, such as the disappointing lack of MP. Naughty Dog are predictable, and most real fans know what to expect from them: good narrative (even with the flaws, pacing issues, and plotholes that plague them), poorly designed MP post-launch, seamless gameplay that simultaneously lacks depth, heavy amount of cinematics/cutscenes, etc.

 

Of course the graphics are technically better; it's on superior hardware. The claim is that it looks largely the same.

Edited October 3, 2019 by EcoShifter

[AJ_Radio]

On 10/1/2019 at 9:49 AM, EcoShifter said:

The majority of the press from all the videos that's been posted on the topic and not posted on this topic are in agreement that the game both looks and plays extremely similar to The Last of Us. TLOU:PII is just primarily a bigger version of TLOU with a longer story and some new gameplay concepts. Although, rather than have the game run at 60fps (which is partially baffling given the less innovative nature of the gameplay and entire lack of online mp as a whole), contain omp, and have significant gameplay changes and graphic improvements, the story and attention to detail were given higher priority from the looks of it. Naughty Dog are way too obsessed with realism, attention to detail, and story (among other things). With this game lacking omp and an open-world design, 60fps should have been pursued in compensation for those two absent big things, especially when the game's levels won't actually match or surpass the relatively large yet still non-open-world spaces found in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, as been confirmed.

Horizon Zero Dawn is excused for its lack of 60fps because of not only its open-world but great gameplay and high graphic fidelity in such an open-world (which Neil himself has been impressed by and commended the devs for); Read Dead Redemption II for similar reasons; then you have Metal Gear Solid V which might not be as precisely as high quality in graphics as the aforementioned but still managed to achieve 60fps and open-world.

 

You need a PS4 Pro to run these multi million dollar AAA games in 60 FPS or better. The PS4 is technically several years old, obviously it's not going to run the newer games as smoothly as the older stuff did. The Pro has plenty of updates to take full advantage of it's 4K graphics capability, practically every Sony PS4 exclusive has updates now that are targeting Pro users. You can sacrifice the 4K graphics for 60 FPS, and vice versa.

 

I personally think The Last of Us is one of the most overrated video games of all time. The story itself did nothing for me that I haven't already seen in shows like The Walking Dead and a whole bunch of other drama shows. The best thing it does is give a sense of realism, and the acting certainly deserved it's praise. Gameplay didn't do much for me as I was unimpressed with it.

[ziggypossum]

 

[EcoShifter]

On 10/3/2019 at 6:14 AM, Spaz said:

 

You need a PS4 Pro to run these multi million dollar AAA games in 60 FPS or better. The PS4 is technically several years old, obviously it's not going to run the newer games as smoothly as the older stuff did. The Pro has plenty of updates to take full advantage of it's 4K graphics capability, practically every Sony PS4 exclusive has updates now that are targeting Pro users. You can sacrifice the 4K graphics for 60 FPS, and vice versa.

 

I personally think The Last of Us is one of the most overrated video games of all time. The story itself did nothing for me that I haven't already seen in shows like The Walking Dead and a whole bunch of other drama shows. The best thing it does is give a sense of realism, and the acting certainly deserved it's praise. Gameplay didn't do much for me as I was unimpressed with it.

 

May'be mostly, but definitely not fully. AAA games recently and still coming out (that sell millions) are running at 60fps (and some also target it) on base PS4. Like I said before, Naughty Dog prioritize some of the wrong things. I also didn't only singled out the base PS4... I don't really care what version of the system it is, 60fps would have been better completely, even if only on Pro. The hell with 4K; that feature is actually (exclusive to Pro owners and) tied to specific TVs, something every PS4 owner doesn't actually have, whereas every PS4 (or Pro if exclusive to) owner will experience a 60fps game.

 

It most definitely is, along with the Uncharted series, with "of all time" actually seemingly valid to say considering the state of the gaming industry and gamers. But unlike that series, The Last of Us is strangely better. Story not doing anything for you technically makes sense, as it's not their story concept that's good, it's the telling of the story aka narrative. Yeah, the acting as well as character development is also good, but the latter is expected from any developers when the story revolves just about entirely around them while side characters appear occasionally for a brief amount of time. I'm very mixed on gameplay, one for obvious reasons in regards to the type of games ND have been making post-Jak and especially for some of its fundamental issues (some of which ND claimed to have highly improved in PII), but I digress. (Trust me, that'll be another, bigger paragraph.) It's at least better than Uncharted, which I appreciate. Do not need another third person story driven series with sub-par gameplay, outside the cover and (maybe) shooting mechanics which are actually fine.

Edited October 6, 2019 by EcoShifter

[EcoShifter]

Is there ANY footage of the game from the recent event that's not identical to the plethora of other identical gameplay videos? I want to actually see competent, strategic, varied, and unique gameplay footage, especially of the precise experiences hands-on people have described yet have shown no recorded footage of, such as those involving the dismembered infected and grappling hook. Otherwise, from what I've seen, the gameplay advertisement on Naughty Dog's part has been very disappointing overall. 

[sephiroth4424]

Gameplay looks great, but what was really amazing about the first game was the story. It will be really hard for part 2 to surpass it, even with a sad death.

[AJ_Radio]

On 9/27/2019 at 8:31 AM, STARLOVE said:

I think it's refreshing that there is no multiplayer, as I'm pretty sure in that interview they said that just the scale of the story and game alone is so vast that it just was their primary focus. I wish we could go back to just good story driven games with excellent gameplay that you are immersed in. You know, the kind of games that didn't have to suffer so some half assed multiplayer mode could be crammed in there. Not saying that TLoU multiplayer is bad, seems like quite a few people love it, but if they drop multiplayer to expand further on what was one of the most amazing stories I have ever played through in any video game, I can't say I'm upset by that. 

 

You're not playing enough games because that has been the focus this generation ever since Uncharted 4 hit the shelves. That's why Assassins Creed Origins and Assassins Creed Odyssey have been praised although I highly doubt Ubisoft will come up with anything that matches the story quality and pacing that the recent Sony exclusives have done.

 

The half assed multiplayer was much more of a focus last generation. This generation is focused more squarely on multiplayer only games like Overwatch and Destiny 2 for the most part. Plenty of big releases this generation that have been heavy on story telling.

 

You'll get the occasional multiplayer here and there but it's nothing at all like it was several years ago. Many of the remasters of older games have taken out multiplayer in place of a more full on single player experience.

 

I'm not sure how you can say we should go back to good story driven games because that's where we are right now.

Edited October 11, 2019 by Spaz

[TrophyChief]

Thoughts on separating SP and MP modes into their own stand-alone games? Resident Evil 2 Remake was only SP while Project Resistance will be a separate online game. Naughty Dog may do the same with The Last of Us Part 2 and another online Factions game. MP modes can have proper focus and dedicated resources rather than being treated as tacked on and/or seen as unrelated to the story.

 

It would be interesting once PS5 comes out where players can download only the modes they want from the game. I'm all for both modes, but us trophy hunters have angst when trophies are tied to certain modes.

[AJ_Radio]

5 minutes ago, MrTrofyHuntr said:

Thoughts on separating SP and MP modes into their own stand-alone games? Resident Evil 2 Remake was only SP while Project Resistance will be a separate online game. Naughty Dog may do the same with The Last of Us Part 2 and another online Factions game. MP modes can have proper focus and dedicated resources rather than being treated as tacked on and/or seen as unrelated to the story.

 

It would be interesting once PS5 comes out where players can download only the modes they want from the game. I'm all for both modes, but us trophy hunters have angst when trophies are tied to certain modes.

 

They'll get turned off if there's a big grind in online multiplayer.

 

But I basically dropped the notion of just playing games for the trophies and aiming for games I actually want to play and look forward to. Rather than some virtual bling that ends up being a very easy platinum.

[EcoShifter]

On 10/9/2019 at 1:34 PM, sephiroth4424 said:

Gameplay looks great.

 

It looks ok. It's much too similar to the standard or sub-par gameplay from TLOU to be considered great from the recent video, especially in a sequel 5 years later and on next generation. In comparison the gameplay is much better in the Resident Evil series, Dying Light series, and Days' Gone. It doesn't help that outside how scripted they make their gameplay, I've already experienced and still am experiencing gameplay they've shown (and talked about) in other games in the same genres, as well as across other genres.

 

 

 

Edited October 12, 2019 by EcoShifter

[panikooooos]

On 10/11/2019 at 8:48 AM, MrTrofyHuntr said:

Thoughts on separating SP and MP modes into their own stand-alone games? Resident Evil 2 Remake was only SP while Project Resistance will be a separate online game. Naughty Dog may do the same with The Last of Us Part 2 and another online Factions game. MP modes can have proper focus and dedicated resources rather than being treated as tacked on and/or seen as unrelated to the story.

 

It would be interesting once PS5 comes out where players can download only the modes they want from the game. I'm all for both modes, but us trophy hunters have angst when trophies are tied to certain modes.

Seems like yet another way for companies to make us pay more for the same shit and on top of that it will make the already easy as fuck ps4 plats even easier. It also allows them to pump more dlcs since they can just put out 10 dlcs for single and 10 for multi because technically they're different games, this whole thing is just fucked.

[Venocide]

Looks like it might be delayed :/ Nothing confirmed yet but Jason is usually very reliable. 

 

https://kotaku.com/sources-the-last-of-us-2-delayed-to-spring-1839322915

 

Well, a delay is always a good thing. 

Edited October 24, 2019 by Venocide

[BlackSquirrell1]

Debating on getting TLOU: Part 2 or Dead Stranding......tough to make a decision before the game is released.  Especially when the disclaimer: "Not actual game play" is on the bottom of the screen.

[DEI2EK]

i wonder how many times Sony is going to let them delay this 

[ShadowReplicant]

I'm actually glad it's being pushed to May. The original release date was dangerously close to FF7 Remake

[EcoShifter]

2 hours ago, Venocide said:

Well, a delay is always a good thing. 

 

It is not.

[Venocide]

5 minutes ago, EcoShifter said:

 

It is not.

 

Why is it not? Please explain. 

 

It being delayed means they can iron out any remaining bugs.  To quote Shigeru Miyamoto, "A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever.”

 

Yeah, it sucks that it got delayed, but you'll end up with a better game at the end of May. 

Edited October 24, 2019 by Venocide

[ziggypossum]

16 minutes ago, DEI2EK said:

i wonder how many times Sony is going to let them delay this 

 

FUCK

[djb5f]

They should delay further yet until they can get the multiplayer back in.

[EcoShifter]

1 minute ago, Venocide said:

 

Why is it not? Please explain. 

 

It being delayed means they can iron out any remaining bugs.  To quote Shigeru Miyamoto, "A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever.”

 

Because not all delays do much to improve a game, if anything at all.

 

It being delayed means they can *potentially iron out *more bugs. No game is bug free. That quote doesn't apply to every single delayed game, so using it in that way is silly.

[MidnightDragon]

Not surprised it was delayed. 

[Carol]

This is very disappointing and frustrating news, for me. They were silent for years, because they didn’t want to screw up, like they did with U4, that got multiple delays. Then, they finally announce the release date, in a way that was clearly to make hype and enthusiasm grow between the fans. A month goes by and the game gets a considerable delay. Are you kidding me?