The Last of Us

[Dee]

Gonna jump on the

Joel isn't a bad guy wagon.  He's not a bad guy; not when you compare him to the world he's living in.  If anything, he's a fucking saint compared to some people *coughdavidcough* *coughmarlenecough* *coughtheremainingarmedforcescough* *coughalotofpeopleingeneralcough*.  He does what he knows, does what he needs to do to survive without being completely devoid of emotion, morals, and he does what he has to do to get Ellie to where she needs to be, or at least where he promised he'd take her.  He's a man of his word, and he doesn't kill for fun, it seems.  He doesn't even kill everyone he comes across because they might possibly have something he needs.  He's got a very fucked up life, and he's turned out to be pretty solid when you compare some of the other people in the game that you come across.  "It was either me or him," and that's the truth.  I would do the exact same thing Joel did in many of those situations, and I'm really impressed by the way Naughty Dog managed to evoke such emotions from me.  I was literally depressed after playing that game.  Not severely, but they weren't good feelings, hah.

 

[Waldorf and Statler]

Playing Animal Crossing after The Last of Us is like having ice cream after a major operation. It's sweet and it temporarily makes you forget. But when you stop. OH THE FEELS.

[Strangelove]

The part with 

the giraffe

always gets to me. 

Especially once you see it walk away with a few other giraffe. Its goddamn beautiful.

 

 

I will also jump on the bandwagon.

The ending is made specifically to not have a good side or a bad side, its a personal thing. In the last hour of the game there are a lot of things that keep nudging you forward and backwards on what the right thing to do is. For a conflicted individual obviously. Some people will naturally and immediately side with saving humanity or saving their loved one instead. But for people like me who has a lot of doubt and overthinks things, I would do what Joel did.

At times it feels like the game is trying to make you feel really bad for what Joel has done, but then the game immediately reminds you of everything he's been through. ND found a perfect balance in that respect. I personally dont think there will be a sequel, at least not from ND. If they make another installment, I expect a side thing on Vita, or a "Bioshock 2".

 

[Waldorf and Statler]

I'm not gonna lie, the ending would be so much better if there WASN'T a sequel. Just a life goes on way.

[Dee]

The part with 

the giraffe

always gets to me. 

Especially once you see it walk away with a few other giraffe. Its goddamn beautiful.

 

 

I will also jump on the bandwagon.

The ending is made specifically to not have a good side or a bad side, its a personal thing. In the last hour of the game there are a lot of things that keep nudging you forward and backwards on what the right thing to do is. For a conflicted individual obviously. Some people will naturally and immediately side with saving humanity or saving their loved one instead. But for people like me who has a lot of doubt and overthinks things, I would do what Joel did.

At times it feels like the game is trying to make you feel really bad for what Joel has done, but then the game immediately reminds you of everything he's been through. ND found a perfect balance in that respect. I personally dont think there will be a sequel, at least not from ND. If they make another installment, I expect a side thing on Vita, or a "Bioshock 2".

 

 

To be honest, I probably wouldn't have shot Marlene, but that doesn't mean I'd fight her if she tried to come after Ellie.  I just don't know for certain, though.  Because I have not been through what Joel has been through.  I have not had to experience the loss of a loved one at the hands of someone who was supposed to protect me.  I have not had to survive in any way akin to what was seen in the game, never had to run for my life or make the decision of whether to hurt or kill someone in order to keep on living.  I cannot claim to know how I would respond in such a situation, and I hope I never do, but I believe Naught Dog handled the choices Joel's character made very well.  It was one of the reasons why this game hit me so hard on an emotional level.  As opposed to the Uncharted series, for instance, which makes me smile and laugh when I think about it.  You don't do that with this game.  The emotions are the polar opposite.  Even if they aren't good feelings, they're strong feelings and I am very excited about the concept of more material stemming from it.

 

Edited June 20, 2013 by Dee

[CorgiShinobi]

Do stats and stuff carry over when you start a new game? I'm looking at the trophies, and at around 60% completion, I don't rightly see how I could gather enough pills to upgrade every ability/stat. I mean, I've been scavenging very well up until maybe around the last half hour when it made more sense to run than dork around with enemies.

[Mister Jack]

Yes. Everything carries over so long as you play the same difficulty or lower.

[Strangelove]

Apparently the focus testers hated the ending. They wanted a typical happy ending. I'm glad ND stuck to their guns in this. The ending is one of the best parts of the game. Also, the original ending extended to them getting to Tommy's instead of it ending abruptly ending after Ellie says "ok." Another good decision by ND.

[Dee]

Apparently the focus testers hated the ending. They wanted a typical happy ending. I'm glad ND stuck to their guns in this. The ending is one of the best parts of the game. Also, the original ending extended to them getting to Tommy's instead of it ending abruptly ending after Ellie says "ok." Another good decision by ND.

I've always been a fan of the

not-so-happy, rainbows and sunshine endings.  It's a nice breath of fresh air from the waves of, "Everything turned out alright," endings that are just so played out.  I mean, even if this kind of ending isn't a rare one, I did enjoy Naughty Dog's take on it.  I like that they didn't find a cure, and that someone actually prevented that from happening.  Keeps you guessing what will happen, if there are any other people like Ellie, because wtf why wouldn't there be?  If she is the only one immune, that would make me slightly irritated.  Who knows if what Joel told Ellie was actually a lie.  Maybe they just don't know it yet.

 

[Waldorf and Statler]

I see it more as a convenient lie that could end up being true.

 

Also I'm a fan of sappy endings if it's the end of a series.

[Dee]

I see it more as a convenient lie that could end up being true.

 

Also I'm a fan of sappy endings if it's the end of a series.

 

That's exactly what I feel it is.  We just don't know what they're going to do with it.  I hope, though, that they do definitely build off it.

[Mister Jack]

[CorgiShinobi]

Yes, I get to read all the spoilers now!

 

Ok, now my own spoilers!

 

First, ending:

 

 

I thought it was pretty dang perfect. Everyone has gone over it pretty well, though I'd like to point out there was some foreshadowing. I can't remember the specific scene, but I do remember Joel talking to Ellie about "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Ellie's response is simply that she finds that dumb. When we're faced with this at the ending conflict, Joel ignores the needs of the many. Who are the many anyway?

 

The looters, the hunters, the cannibals, the rapists, and the militants. After 20 years of living after mankind's reign, humanity isn't as deserving of sustaining itself. You will however find the diamonds in the rough: Tommy and [New] Jacksonville. They didn't need the Fireflies to obtain freedom and restore humanity. The world isn't as forgiving though as we saw how such communities can be brought down, i.e. the sewers.

 

I might have done exactly as Joel did, though I might attribute that to how I'm confident Ellie isn't the only one immune. The fungi (IRL) isn't meant to wipe out all of a species, but to provide a natural population control. If Naughty Dog ever wanted a sequel, it could reasonably be put that other humans would be born with an immunity. There would still be infected, and those would still provide danger to any human. I can't imagine many humans being immune in another 20 years, but it could be an eventual possibility.

 

 

As for how the title actually works into the content of the game, I always saw it like this: "The Last of Us" is presenting the various character types to the user. The "last of us" being dwindled down to all those survivors and what they'll do, and become, to make it in the new world.

[Mister Jack]

[Waldorf and Statler]

Oh god somebody make a game with Ellie and Clem alongside a father figure and all of my monies. Insert Simon and Marcy as well. Is this a new trend? Post-apocalyptic father-daughter figures?

[CorgiShinobi]

Make a game where Troy Baker portrays a single father caring for his 19 year-old, 14 year-old, and 9 year-old daughter in a futuristic dystopian society where the outside world has both mutant zombies and caravans of plaid shirt raiders/racists. One day the 19 year-old is kidnapped by the most notorious of raiders, the Argyle Alliance. They're so bad, they don't wear plaid!

 

Include violence, romance, suspense, trucks, guns, robots, and explosions.

 

AAA GOTY Winner of 53 E3 Awards and 10/10 IGN.

[Dee]

I'd say this captures Ellie's personality spot on.

[CorgiShinobi]

[Waldorf and Statler]

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA FUCKING BRILLIANT 10/10

[Hot Heart]

Hey, I get to join the conversation now!

 

Overall, really liked it. Can't say I enjoyed it as much as the large majority og people, but that's definitely more down to personal taste. It does a good job of really dynamic stealth and action, and the story is the real standout.

 

Sooo...

 

 

I liked the ending. It's a real bittersweet thing. I'm guessing a few of us figured that the cure would necessitate Ellie dying and, therefore, Joel rebelling. I was expecting to play the last part as Ellie but when that happened I half-expected him to get fatally wounded while carrying her to safety. However, that may come from familiarity with certain stories and films that clearly influenced it.

 

What happened though. The lie. That's very poignant.

 

I think looking back over the game will yield some really nice layers to it. Not saying it's as dense as a good novel, but you can see effort has been put into it.

 

There are little things like the intro where you see the people asking for a ride and Joel says "Someone else'll come along."

The fact that Joel kept Tommy alive but still resented him for it, after the things he'd done (not forgetting that Tommy also balked at what the Fireflies were doing). Ellie seems more accepting ("Endure and survive") though not without survivor's guilt that has to be assuaged at the end.

And maybe it's plot convenience, but they draw attention to the fact that "Everything happens for a reason."

That it's a watch (a broken one at that) that Joel holds onto.

 

Also, that end of summer bit with Sam and Henry. Damn, that was really well-written, with that reveal at the end and the ensuing tragedy. (And I totally saw Ellie grab that gundam toy earlier on)

 

And, yeah, I wouldn't want a sequel. Reuse the game mechanics and such, but no proper sequel.

 

 

Oh, and I have to ask, are fireflies related to the American Civil War somehow? I never studied that period of history. After Firefly and this, I figure there must be some connection.

Edited July 1, 2013 by Hot Heart

[CorgiShinobi]

I honestly have no idea other than Firefly/Fireflies is a cool name with a ring to it in their motto; the "look for the light," or whatever.

 

As for the plot...

 

convenience, it's not really brought up until David where he shares the philosophy that eveything happens for a reason. It's not very apparent, but the men he refers to are the ones you take down at Eastern Colorado University. I thought at first it was something that happened offscreen, but then I realized that 1) Joel wasn't in any condition to kill anyone after ECU, and 2) Ellie couldn't have gone too far and I believe Whitefish Lakeside Resort is located in lower Montana. Ellie disagreed with David, but at the same time, it instilled a great sense of shock and fear once you learn the group you escaped from is right at your heels again.

 

Then Marlene begins thinking of destiny, a similar concept/view, but in the end we do get a sense of destined fate for the duo. Still, in the end Joel made his decisions and always thought of survival. He made his own fate and chose to fight to save Ellie than sacrifice her for a possible cure. He knew all too well humanity's current state, because he lived it from both sides.

 

I had to look up some names, and today I learned a new word: hebephile. I guess that's what David is/was; the sexual preference of young teens. Can't say he really had the preference when, in all these "end of the world" stories/movies, there's always creeps who lust after females of any age because they're female.

 

 

Which leads me to a point; we didn't have many female enemies. The military most cetainly had female soldiers, i.e. cutscenes, but I don't believe we ever fought any. In the multiplayer you can spawn as a female, so there's definitely violence to and from both sex. I can see the Hunters being exclusively male, but any soldier group could have had female members. Was Naughty Dog concerned about Old Man Joel stabbing and shooting women?

[Waldorf and Statler]

I wouldn't put it so much at that. I see it more as wanting to emphasize the enemies he fought for a large part were despicable/scum and men are easier to portray that way. There were female zombies/clickers.

[CorgiShinobi]

I wouldn't really count Infected as male/female considering it's the fungus taking hold over the body. I mean, yeah, there are women in that group, but when...

 

 

I'm fighting Fireflies, it's all a bunch of dudes. Their leader is a woman, but otherwise she's the only one aside from that one doctor/nurse.

 

Speaking of, I thought I was going to knock out the doctor. I didn't want to shoot him, so I hit Square thinking I'd punch him in the face. Instead, Joel just up and stabs the guy in the throat. I think of all the deaths in the game, that one got to me because Joel really could have not killed the guy.

 

[Mister Jack]

Well when you think about it, how many bandit groups in the apocalypse would you expect to be very concerned with equal treatment for women?

[Strangelove]

Wasnt it pointed out several times during the game that men were the only ones who went outside to scavenge, no women or children? At least thats the "good" people. The other survivors just killed kids and women. Less mouths to feed. And I can only assume women like Tess and Marlene were the extreme exception to that rule.