Personal Gaming Thread

[Jason]

I'm currently about 40% through The Last of Us and Tomb Raider. I had always wanted to play through Tomb Raider a second time back on the Xbox 360, but now I get to play a better-looking version of the game which feels new again since it was so long ago that I last played it.

The Last of Us is a pretty creepy game...no sunshine and rainbows in this one. I'm enjoying it, but what I don't understand is why this game was "Game of the Year" while The Order got ripped since their game styles are very similar. There are plenty of cutscenes, walking-and-following and QTE's in Last of Us too...if not the same amount. Even the guns fights and stealth killings play very similarly. Either way, it's fine with me bacause I really enjoyed The Order and I'm enjoying this too.

[BDSooner72]

The Last of Us is a pretty creepy game...no sunshine and rainbows in this one. I'm enjoying it, but what I don't understand is why this game was "Game of the Year" while The Order got ripped since their game styles are very similar. There are plenty of cutscenes, walking-and-following and QTE's in Last of Us too...if not the same amount. Even the guns fights and stealth killings play very similarly. Either way, it's fine with me bacause I really enjoyed The Order and I'm enjoying this too.

The key is you are not halfway through the game. Length and challenge were never an issue with this game. Plenty to do, even with a world that is pretty closed off. You really need to play the whole thing first, to understand why it won all those "game of the year awards."  Not to mention how amazing the game looks and looked on a PS3. You still have quite a few emotional moments ahead of you. Plus you have the DLC to run through which was pretty good and explains a few things not fully covered in the game.

[Jason]

Have you met the clickers yet?   

Met and killed plenty of them so far. I'm up to the part where Joel meets up with his crazy friend and they're going to build a car.

I didn't know you played LoU.I was actually shocked by what happened at the very beginning....

SPOILER ALERT
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I knew the game was about some guy and a young girl so I assumed it was Joel's daughter when I first started playing. As you know, you find out pretty quickly that it's not.

[BDSooner72]

Heh, I removed the clicker reference, just in case you had not been that far.  The car guy, I loved Ellie's interactions with him.   

Played through it twice, once on the PS3 and again on the PS4, though I only played the DLC on the PS4.

[Jason]

My daughter is officially hooked on watching me play The Last of Us. I let her stay up 2 hours past her bedtime last night to watch me play and she was completely caught up the story of the game. She kept saying "play a little more" last night in the hopes that we were close to the end, which I found out today we're not. For those who have played, we're up to the part where Joel meets up with his brother Tommy a the dam.

[BDSooner72]

Yes, some of us know that better than others.  Between you and Brad, I am not sending out a party invites anymore. 

Make sure that your daughter and anyone else who has been following the story line be in the room when you arrive in Salt Lake City, up to the point where no explanation will be needed as to why I emphasize this.  Still a good ways from that point.  Right now you are about at 50%.  This will be after you go through fall and winter.  Winter should be interesting too, in regards to your daughter watching. Don't forget to post impressions after playing these two areas. 

[Jason]

Finished the game today and started on the included DLC. I'll post my full impressions tomorrow but I did limit what my daughter watched today based on your comments above and it was a good call on your part.

[BDSooner72]

Just a heads up on the DLC  (Spoiler but something you may or may not want you kids to see).


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There is a little smooch between Ellie and Riley at the end. Just a short kiss but something a youngster might have questions about after watching it.

[BDSooner72]

More spoilers - not for Jason but anyone who has not played the games.
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I am sure you figured out the scene I was referring to were the Giraffes in Salt Lake. If you can watch that and not get even a bit emotional, you are a rock. Gives you a short break from the fighting and is one of the big bonding moments, just ahead of when he let's her shoot for the first time and right behind Ellie taking care of Joel (which as you are seeing is part of what the DLC is about).

Winter, the first of it, I thought would be neat to watch because of the big plot twist and then getting to see Ellie take charge. The hunt scene, while scripted was one of my favorite in the game. One, because I love snow and they did an amazing job of capturing winter in the mountains and secondly, the twist of taking over as Ellie with bow in hand. Of course it gets really dark once she is captured and not exactly something for younger viewers. 

Sure seems like you could not stop playing it? The second half of the game is just so good. Not that the first half is bad but there are so many twists and emotional moments toward the end.

[Jason]

Spoilers galore in entire post...

You're right...I couldn't stop playing it because I was so caught up in the story rather than the game. To be honest, the constant gunfights starting becoming a little repetitive by time I made my way to hospital but I had to see how the ending unfolded. I will say this though, the entire thing felt more like an experience and I say that as a compliment. For whatever reason, I really felt like I was there. Maybe it was the incredible graphics or maybe it was the story. It was most likely a combination of both.

The winter was a nice twist in both gameplay and story. The game almost makes you think Joel is dead because the previous scene shows Joel fall off the horse and lay lifeless on the ground. It then moves to you controlling Ellie in the middle of the snowy woods. I doubted Joel was dead but it did put the thought in my head. Once Ellie asked for the antibiotics you knew he was still alive though.

Joel and Ellie were definitely a big part of why the game was so good. Not only were they both well thought out and interesting, but their chemistry together was very good. There was no doubt that they were going to bond during their journey but the way it happened was still very good. My only issue with both characters was that I kept picturing them as Billy Ray Cyrus and Ellen Page.

In regards to the DLC, the gameplay is sort of cheesy (breaking car windows and playing imaginary fighting games), but I didn't know Ellie was going to be the main character in it. I actually thought it was going to be about a completely different pair of people (not seen in the game) and their battle against the infected, so seeing that it fills in a pretty important gap in the game came as a nice surprise.

[BDSooner72]

Even Ellen Page thought it was Ellen Page and she was not too happy about it.

http://kotaku.com/famous-actor-sounds-upset-about-the-last-of-us-ellie-551365129


So can you see why it got so many GOTY awards now?

[Jason]

Wow, the side-by-side picture in that article really shows you how similar they are. I guess I wasn't the only one who saw the resemblance.

I think the amazing story is what really helped it earn all those awards. I was far more impressed with the story than the gameplay, not that the gameplay was bad. They could make a movie based on the exact events of the game and it would be great if done correctly.

I had mentioned how I felt like I was there but I forgot to mention how many times I was afraid to cough or shushed my daughter when she would talk because I was afraid of the clickers hearing the noise. That's the first time anything like that has happened to my while playing a game. If anyone was on the fence about this game, do yourself a favor and go get it.

[Jason]

Finished the DLC last night. Glad they included it for free with the Remastered version since it definitely added to the main story.

[BDSooner72]

Purchased Bloodborne tonight. Had to see what the hype is all about.  I remember enjoying Dark Souls, crushing death after crushing death. Did not finish it but enjoyed my time. Never played DS2 but if I enjoy Bloodborne I might pick up the PS4 version that is out now.   

[Jason]

I'm sure it's a great game but the length and difficulty have stopped me from buying it.