The Last of Us

mystic86 · 13-12-2011 8:13pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Not zombies me ballix.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

these guys have made a zombie game and are trying to cover up how unoriginal they are very unconvincingly.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

There's nothing so far to make me believe it's anything but left 4 dead except the zombies aren't rotting. Zombie by any other name is still a zombie.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Well at the moment I'm being filled with a forboding sense of meh.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Looks like yet another zombie game. Yawn.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Could be good, could be bad. All I know is that I'm sick to death of zombie games just like I'm sick to death of done to death genres like tower defence, twin stick shooters and linear FPS games. It will take more than adding in a young girl to shoehorn in some supposed emotional depth to get me interested.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

It's not the genre it's the whole zombie theme. It's like the World War 2 setting at the start of the last decade. Who knows, maybe it will do what Call of Duty did back then and surprise me but at the moment I can't get excited about another zombie game.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

My uneducated guess: it will be Lost Vikings with two characters. Little girl can get into small crawl spaces, older guy will to able to move heavy things. They'll manipulate you into liking the characters and then kill one of them off and call it masterful storytelling :P

Retr0gamer wrote: »

A zombie by any other name is still a zombie. They were 'infected' in Left 4 Dead. Most also traditionally zombie films also don't call them zombies. Doesn't matter what you call them they're still zombies and from the trailer and description it sounds like they are even if you want to call them 'fungally infected los ganados hybrids'.

You are sick of zombie games, that's why your not excited by this game etc etc

It's great fun reading someone make the same point in a thread over and over and over, especially when they are making assumptions and jumping to conclusions.

Retr0gamer · 13-12-2011 8:36pm

Yep and conveniently leave out the post where I made some honest opinions about the game and quote one where I'm clearly taking the piss.

I am sick to death of zombie games and having another one doesn't fill me with confidence that this one will be original. All the evidence points towards the enemies being zombie type creatures, a trope of the zombie genre is that they aren't called zombies so calling them something different to zombies doesn't make them not zombies. They also mention that the focus of the story isn't the monsters, meaning it will more than likely be the characters that are the focus. As a big horror fan I don't see how this is any different from any good zombie film or game where the main focus are the characters and not the monsters. The use of the zombie scenario that has been done to death in the last 2-3 years doesn' fill me with confidence however in a post you failed to quote I did layout where I had high hopes for the game.

If you've any disagreements with what I have said I'd like to discuss them in an intelligent manner. Singling out a poster and insulting them because you disagree with them is the lowest form of discussion.

mystic86 · 13-12-2011 8:40pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Singling out a poster and insulting them because you disagree with them is the lowest form of discussion.

Good job I'm not doing that then.

my problem is that every second post is by you saying the same thing.

johnny_ultimate · 13-12-2011 8:47pm

Can you really give out to people for thinking there's zombie oversaturation though? Of course there is - there have been countless subpar zombie games, films and other events over the last few years. The funny thing is a considerable percentage of those people who took to the streets dressed as zombies this summer were in fact mindless drones themselves - buying into a fad that has been manufactured by the media industry over the last decade or so. You can't forget this rabid mass consumerism is exactly what was satirised in Dawn of the Dead all those decades ago.

Zombies are clearly an appealing concept to lots of people, and there has been some great entertainment (and even great art) made out of the concept. But it's been a while. The last great zombie film was Shaun of the Dead (or maybe Rec), and the last great game Left 4 Dead II.

But there's so much ****ing crap, and so many people obsessed with the likes of zombie survival and other bizarre pursuits, that even the good stuff now seems overexposed.

So yes: this may well be a great game. Yet disappointment at seeing a talented developer tackle a tired subject on the basis of a vague teaser trailer is hardly a war crime. See how it plays out, sure, but as a trailer it does nothing new and nothing to encourage myself and others who are thoroughly fed up of this irritating zombie fad. Healthy cynicism is always to be promoted when it comes to marketing.

mystic86 · 13-12-2011 8:50pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Can you really give out to people for thinking there's zombie oversaturation though? Of course there is - there have been countless subpar zombie games, films and other events over the last few years. The funny thing is a considerable percentage of those people who took to the streets dressed as zombies this summer were in fact mindless drones themselves - buying into a fad that has been manufactured by the media industry over the last decade or so. You can't forget this rabid mass consumerism is exactly what was satirised in Dawn of the Dead all those decades ago.

Zombies are clearly an appealing concept to lots of people, and there has been some great entertainment (and even great art) made out of the concept. But it's been a while. The last great zombie film was Shaun of the Dead, and the last great game Left 4 Dead II.

But there's so much ****ing crap, and so many people obsessed with the likes of zombie survival and other bizarre pursuits, that even the good stuff now seems overexposed.

So yes: this may well be a great game. Yet disappointment at seeing a talented developer tackle a tired subject on the basis of a vague teaser trailer is hardly a war crime. See how it plays out, sure, but as a trailer it does nothing new and nothing to encourage myself and others who are thoroughly fed up of this irritating zombie fad. Healthy cynicism is always to be promoted when it comes to marketing.

Good Post, I agree with you.

Mark Hamill · 13-12-2011 9:32pm

Otacon wrote: »

My point is we know next to nothing about this game yet. Why not wait until these creatures display ANY properties we associate with zombies before calling them that?

Watch the trailer again, starting from this point. The first you see of these monsters, they are sprinting around grunting and growling, and when they find a dead (unconscious?) body, one drops down to eat the damn thing (you can hear chewing and chomping noises). And then it attacks the protagonist, trying to bite his face, all the while getting stabbed in the back, only stopping when its head is blown off.

Now its not gameplay footage, and I think that the earlier fight in the trailer is with a normal human, but everything we see of the creature fits exactly with the label zombie.

WolfForager · 13-12-2011 9:35pm

Wasn't the original definition of a zombie a dead person come back to life?

Where did we go wrong...

Magill · 13-12-2011 9:59pm

I honestly don't get what all the whinging is about..

For those that are sick of zombie games... i'll ask this.. Have you seriously bought and played THAT many zombie games ? And if you have.. why !!

so bloody what if theres been a few zombie games !!! Its not like there isn't enough other games coming out that you can't avoid the them ffs. lol..

johnny_ultimate · 13-12-2011 10:10pm

Magill wrote: »

I honestly don't get what all the whinging is about..

For those that are sick of zombie games... i'll ask this.. Have you seriously bought and played THAT many zombie games ? And if you have.. why !!

so bloody what if theres been a few zombie games !!! Its not like there isn't enough other games coming out that you can't avoid the them ffs. lol..

It's because there's a lot of stupid people out there won't shut up about zombies, and it's hard to avoid them when they're walking around the city centre.

I have only bought a handful of zombie games (although have played a few terribly lazy and derivative ones like Dead Nation), but when even games like CoD and RDR feels the need to shoehorn the walking undead in, then yes, I am fed up of them.

I am happy to give Naughty Dog the benefit of the doubt. Doesn't mean I can't wish they'd picked, I dunno, magicians or something instead.

Retr0gamer · 13-12-2011 10:27pm

Magill wrote: »

Have you seriously bought and played THAT many zombie games ? And if you have.. why !!

I'm a big horror fan, that's why. I'm more fed up of lazy devs and people jumping on the bandwagon and missing the whole point of the sub genre. It's become a meme now, it's becoming like the pirates and ninja thing from a few years ago.

Anyway I'm filled with a little hope since they seem to be concentrating more on the characters than the monsters which is a big mistake of every cheap and tacky zombie game and film in recent years where they are thrown in for 'the lulz' because they are popular.

Again I'm just a little disappointed that the game is following the zombie bandwagon. As I said though I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that it might surprise me but I need to see more. Naughty Dog aren't know to make cheap and derivative ga.... Oh wait:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUNeKmHvVWM

Otacon · 13-12-2011 10:46pm

If ND deliver an experience on par or better than the Uncharted series, the game could be a cel-shaded, WW2-set, zombie-fighting, Italian plumber-controlling, FPS and I would not care.

People are not sick of zombies IMO, just them being used poorly. With NDs back-catalogue, I'm prepared to trust them.

pixelburp · 13-12-2011 11:03pm

There may be a ludicrous overexposure of the zombie sub-genre, but to be honest, few games have captured the human tragedy and drama contained within it.

Too many games use 'zombies' as an excuse to indulge people's inner sociopath & so you have the plethora of crass games, full of carnage, without any of the humanity that could come with the subject matter. So perhaps Naughty Dog can do just that. It'd make a refreshing - and frankly mature - change of pace

Magill · 13-12-2011 11:04pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I'm a big horror fan, that's why. I'm more fed up of lazy devs and people jumping on the bandwagon and missing the whole point of the sub genre. It's become a meme now, it's becoming like the pirates and ninja thing from a few years ago.

Anyway I'm filled with a little hope since they seem to be concentrating more on the characters than the monsters which is a big mistake of every cheap and tacky zombie game and film in recent years where they are thrown in for 'the lulz' because they are popular.

Again I'm just a little disappointed that the game is following the zombie bandwagon. As I said though I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that it might surprise me but I need to see more. Naughty Dog aren't know to make cheap and derivative ga.... Oh wait:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUNeKmHvVWM

17 year old game lol.... cmon you can do better than that. Lemmi see how good you were at your job 17 years ago !

Seriously tho... zombie movies/games have always been this way... for every good zombie movie there was 10 horrible ones. You can usually tell before you even watch the damn things if they'll be bad, same goes for the games.

Im suprised that your disappointed that its a zombie game tho.. you being a "horror" fan, i would have thought you'd be joyed that a top rated developer like naughty dog is making a zombie game.... They typically make great games.. i'd be suprised if this was anything less that good, like valve with L4D.

Retr0gamer · 13-12-2011 11:19pm

Magill wrote: »

17 year old game lol.... cmon you can do better than that. Lemmi see how good you were at your job 17 years ago !

I was joking, I could have also put up the megadrive game they did where they snuck in an easter egg of a naked woman

Magill wrote: »

Im suprised that your disappointed that its a zombie game tho.. you being a "horror" fan, i would have thought you'd be joyed that a top rated developer like naughty dog is making a zombie game.... They typically make great games.. i'd be suprised if this was anything less that good, like valve with L4D.

I takes some very good writing to make a very good horror script that isn't just about scares but says something about social issues or is more a character drama. Naughty Dog have shown they are good at writing for videogames but writing a good horror story is another step up entirely and for me they haven't proven themselves at that yet so I'm apprehensive that it might just be schlocky horror. It might be an alright game but if it's going to be in the over saturated zombie genre it would want to be a very good game for me to be interested in it. In terms of writing they are up against games like System Shock 2 and Silent Hill 2, very literary works compared to what Naughty Dog have made previously. That's a high plateau to reach but if they do reach it then I'll be very happy indeed.

mystic86 · 13-12-2011 11:23pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

but writing a good horror story is another step up entirely and for me they haven't proven themselves at that yet so I'm apprehensive that it might just be schlocky horror.

"With this music we're trying to get emotion - we're not going for horror"

Neil Druckmann, creative director and writer

Retr0gamer · 13-12-2011 11:34pm

Who has written two games, Uncharted 1 and 2 which had some great dialogue and perfectly servicable plots. However as I said writing a great horror story is a big step up from writing an action plot, it's a lot more literary while an action plot just needs to be well paced. I'm not saying he isn't capable of it just that he isn't proven yet which is why I'm a bit apprehensive. I'd love if he put my worries at ease, but I'd want to see more.

gizmo · 13-12-2011 11:37pm

mystic86 wrote: »

Neil Druckmann, creative director and writer

Which has me wondering what Amy Hennig is now doing...

WolfForager · 13-12-2011 11:38pm

gizmo wrote: »

Which has me wondering what Amy Hennig is now doing...

Probably writing for the next ND project.

WolfForager · 13-12-2011 11:49pm

Via Kotaku:

Well then.. The bar is set to max Mr. Straley. Let's see you try blow my mind.

marvsins · 14-12-2011 2:04am

WolfForager wrote: »

Well then.. The bar is set to max Mr. Straley. Let's see you try blow my mind.

What if they released a scratch 'n' sniff disk that released a fungal spore

Myrddin · 14-12-2011 12:41pm

Otacon wrote: »

People are not sick of zombies IMO, just them being used poorly. With NDs back-catalogue, I'm prepared to trust them.

Completely agree. Yes the genre is overdone, but its overdone badly. That in no way takes away the opportunity for a brilliantly done one. This developer can, & likely will, do just that.

Snakeblood · 14-12-2011 1:25pm

EnterNow wrote: »

Completely agree. Yes the genre is overdone, but its overdone badly. That in no way takes away the opportunity for a brilliantly done one. This developer can, & likely will, do just that.

Yeah, there's no such thing as overdone for me, just badly done. I'd play a million WW2 games if they were all amazing and different in their treatment.

F1ngers · 14-12-2011 3:17pm

Does anyone know how to get to this article, http://twitter.com/#!/Kojima_Hideo/status/146656541905391616/photo/1 online.

Had a look around USA Today with no luck.
Any help would be appreciated.

Otacon · 14-12-2011 3:42pm

F1ngers wrote: »

Does anyone know how to get to this article, http://twitter.com/#!/Kojima_Hideo/status/146656541905391616/photo/1 online.

Had a look around USA Today with no luck.
Any help would be appreciated.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/story/2011-12-12/last-of-us-naughty-dog/51851164/1

That the article you want?

F1ngers · 14-12-2011 4:54pm

Otacon wrote: »

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/story/2011-12-12/last-of-us-naughty-dog/51851164/1

That the article you want?

No.
Found that article during my search.
The headline I'm looking for is "You haven't seen the last of Naughty Dog Studio".
Thanks anyway.

Glico Man · 14-12-2011 5:07pm

F1ngers wrote: »

No.
Found that article during my search.
The headline I'm looking for is "You haven't seen the last of Naughty Dog Studio".
Thanks anyway.

It's the same article though. Words are like for like in both articles.

Retr0gamer · 14-12-2011 5:09pm

Hmm just thinking. It would be pretty cool if they made a game like Disaster Report or SOS final escape with zombies. Now that would intrigue me.

WolfForager · 15-12-2011 10:11pm

An article from http://www.vandal.net/avances/ps3/the-last-of-us/15367/1

Been translated and summarized by a guy on Neogaf:

From the interview of vandal.net:

- You'll control Joel throughout the game.

- One player adventure. (No news of online mode - coop mode)

- They're show a scene in which Joel is teaching Ellie how to shoot a gun (but the Dogs said that they're not sure if the scene will appear in the final version of the game or not).

- A game centered in the relation of the two main characters (Joel & Ellie) and not on the infected.

- Face animations and expressions will be done by hand.

- It is still not known which is the relation between the protagonists.

- To the infected & other survivors.. a third enemy'll appear: the mother nature.

- In order to add more tension, more realism and nerve to the cinematics, it is being tried to imitate a style of "camera in hand" , something that we already saw with spectaculars results in the film "Children of the Men".

-It'll be a game less linear than Uncharted, with exploration elements.

Otacon · 15-12-2011 11:56pm

WolfForager wrote: »

An article from http://www.vandal.net/avances/ps3/the-last-of-us/15367/1

Been translated and summarized by a guy on Neogaf:

Sounds more like Enslaved the more I read details on it, and that's no bad thing!

penev10 · 16-12-2011 2:09pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Hmm just thinking. It would be pretty cool if they made a game like Disaster Report or SOS final escape with zombies. Now that would intrigue me.

I was raging Disaster Report 4 was canned after the Japanese Tsunami, looked very interesting. Something similar would go down a treat

The Last of Us

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