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The Last of Us Part II Preview Thread
- Thread starter Equanimity
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It doesn't have to be amazing, but at least solid. The Witcher 3 was really bad during some parts (fights in a small house or bar and the prison fight).
Last time Rockstar and Naughty Dog released a game during the same year we got The Last of Us and GTAV. TLOU took most GOTY awards that year.
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Oh my god, this is amazing.
I'm not saying TLOU2 wouldn't win more awards, rather that it won't score as well, eg on metacritic.
Winning GOTY awards doesn't always correlate with metacritic scores, because the latter simply favours having fewer outlier negatives reviews as opposed to simply having more people prefer your game.
TLOU2 will likely get more outlier negatives than Rockstars last few titles, hence a lower meta average, but it may still be loved or preferred by more people nonetheless.
The AI interaction is one of my most anticipated aspects of the game.They did not dumb down the AI. The AI's perception and awareness is tuned to difficulty setting. A lot of reviewers are playing on normal, which gives a more generous window with the AI. One reviewer reported playing on survivor difficulty and that the AI will look behind them A LOT more frequently in an attempt to prevent the player from easily exploiting a back stab.
Also, many reviewers have praised the AI and said it is the most advanced they have ever seen in a game. Particular praise has been given to the way the AI communicate with each other to find Ellie, much like what was shown in the E3 2018 presentation:
From GQ article impressions: " Enemies respond in a way that's more realistic and convincing than anything I've seen in a video game before. It's the communication between the enemies that I think is most impressive."
The Last Of Us Part II is a gory, stealthy game-changer… so far
We played The Last Of Us Part II and are permitted to discuss a crucial portion of the game ahead of its release…www.gq-magazine.co.uk
I knew it was going to be a big deal after seeing this analysis of the September preview footage:
Ok, I just discovered something truly incredible just how good the AI is in this game. The gameplay we see is unscripted, but they're moments where it felt rehearsed.
- The moment Ellie goes into a house and gets spotted, she kills the first guy stabbing him in the neck. Then shoots the other guy who was with a dog. The dog goes around chasing Ellie and bites her on the arm.
- She breaks away then jumps out of the window only to get surprised by another dog near the fence.
- Notice how the dogs show up at the right moment. It felt like something out of a movie like it was rehearsed.
- We hear one of the NPC's yell out "HERE, BY THE FENCE." That's the moment were Ellie was spotted by the second dog in the previous picture. Ellie notices the call out of her position and says "Nooo... Fuck"
- It's pretty wild because this is all happening on the fly when she's running.
- It continues as Ellie enters another house trying to get away. The NPC yells "LOOK IN THERE" the moment she drops inside.
- Two NPC's then go downstairs to check. Once they see Ellie, the man says "SMOKE HER OUT." The woman then throws a smoke bomb and yells "GO. GO. GO." The woman actually throws a second smoke bomb before the video cuts away. So basically she smokes the place out while the man goes down the to get Ellie as you can see him running down there. Talk about teamwork from NPC's.
- Also, I noticed a pretty cool detail here. Both NPC's have gas masks on. This is something most people overlooked. So this means that the WLF will put on gas masks if they have smoke bombs available. That's a really cool detail.
The AI is so smart in this game, they managed to trap the player. The way they talk to each is incredible. Again this whole sequence felt like something out of a movie and this is unscripted gameplay.
I could definitely see a Dead Space-esque Naughty Dog game, but maybe we need something a bit more lighthearted after TLoU2 lol
Friday
This is your best bet. Survivor seems the way to go based on this impression that compares survivor with other difficulties. Even if you select survivor you can fine tune specifics like amount of resources available, enemy damage, etc.
The Last of Us Part II - Survivor Difficulty Impressions [Preview]
REVIEW IS UP: https://youtu.be/kI2LyO9PPzYA brief look into what it's like to crank Naughty Dog's latest up to the (current) highest difficulty setting. (Imp...
youtu.be
The same way I played Part 1 for the first time: Hard with Listen Mode turned Off.
At this time you can't turn listen mode off on any difficulty setting.
Might be patched in day-one patch?
Seriously? Even with all the accessibility options they talked about today? Weird. I didn't like listen mode at all in the first game, and did all my playthroughs with it turned off.
Since it can't be turned off currently, just don't press the listen mode button.
Granted, I find it convenient on harder difficulties now.
Granted, I find it convenient on harder difficulties now.
Damn. Didn't know that. That's a bummer. I've never used it in any playthrough of TLOU since the PS3.
Really struggling on whether I want to play on hard or survivor. On one hand, I want my first time playing to have a good flow where I'm not constantly dying or resetting. On the other, I want to experience some of the more advanced AI that survivor offers.
Hopefully reviews will help me decide.
Hopefully reviews will help me decide.
Has anyone confirmed that custom difficulty available from the start?
Or do we have to finish the game first?
Or do we have to finish the game first?
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Can someone that already downloaded, please upload somewhere else like WeTransfer or something like this?
The download quota for the Google Drive file is exceeded.
Sony confirmed I'm getting a review code the day before release (as in, 6 days after the embargo lifts). I'm not trying to sound ungrateful, but that obviously limits what I can cover. Not really sure why our outlet is being held back when other smaller sites have had their codes for a few days already. Them's the breaks I guess.
Note that the fact you can't turn of Listen Mode isn't necessarily a bad thing. It simply means they deem Listen Mode to be crucial in this game, where it wasn't in the original.
I say this as someone who swears by Listen Mode Off in the original.
I say this as someone who swears by Listen Mode Off in the original.
No worries! You can modify individual settings such as damage Ellie gives, damage she receives, amount of resources in the world, etc. So you can have it on Survivor but still tweak to your preferred playstyle. ;-)
Hmm thats odd could have just being luck of the draw for others.
He's the game reviewer for the Washington Post, and he isn't a hype machine. His reviews are pretty harsh a lot of the time, but he has been shouting TLOU Part 2's merits to the roof.
He cancelled Memorial Day weekend plans to finish the game because he could not put it down. At conclusion he stated he had no idea how he could sit on the experience for three weeks without discussing anything. Oh, and he also immediately began a second play-through.
So....yeah.
We aren't ready.
Yeah I think the first game had balancing issue with optional listen mode. Wallhack is a game breaking perk so it should never be optional. You either don't have it at all, or have the game, levels, AI etc built completely from ground up assuming everyone will have listen mode. Having it optional is neither here nor there.
Oof, reading all of these excellent impressions is making the wait that much harder. I think we're in for an all-timer (again).
Thanks for this!This is your best bet. Survivor seems the way to go based on this impression that compares survivor with other difficulties. Even if you select survivor you can fine tune specifics like amount of resources available, enemy damage, etc.
The Last of Us Part II - Survivor Difficulty Impressions [Preview]
REVIEW IS UP: https://youtu.be/kI2LyO9PPzYA brief look into what it's like to crank Naughty Dog's latest up to the (current) highest difficulty setting. (Imp...
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Wow, watched the first two minutes and dude called it "a masterpiece" and said "games like this don't come around too often" 😳 and it's meant to be a preview
edit - didn't realise someone else had already translated.
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Same for me. Sony will send me a code probably on release day, If i'm lucky, one day earlier.
Yeah, I'm currently weighing up whether it's worth doing a review in progress or not on release day or some sort of preview piece, as I'm not gonna rush a 25-hour game just to get a review out within a few days of release.
I'm always struggling with the points you mentioned. Hate to rush through a game just to finish my review..
Yep, and page views are always crap if the game's already been out more than a few days. Wouldn't bother me so much if I knew *why* codes were staggered like this. I don't think I'd ever expect the 3-4 week lead that the bigger fish like IGN/Gamespot get on big games like this, but like, a week before embargo seems like a reasonable request for a 25-hour game? I'd love to know the process that goes into putting outlets into different buckets.
You joking? People have complained for years that AI has been stagnating. Like, since the '00s. (I don't necessarily agree but it's something you see a lot.)
My guess would be that he's not been this impressed with AI in years?
No I get that, but he says it like he saw better A.I in another game. And maybe he did, Idk, it's just confusing.
Probably reading too much into it.
Making me think I should play on survivor..
Keep in mind that while the AI might have improved, previews are reporting that your NPC partners still have that off-putting habit of stepping out in the open in front the enemy's view -- albeit less now so it seems.
It never really bothered me too much in the first game, but I can see how it can immersion breaking for some folks.
It never really bothered me too much in the first game, but I can see how it can immersion breaking for some folks.
2 things always slightly bothered me in TLOU1:
1. "Stealth" kills not making any noise. Like, a guy would be right beside the guy I'm strangling and wouldn't hear.
2. Flashlights not being seen by enemies. (I understand why they did this)
Does anybody know if in TLOU2:
1. Stealth kills can actually be heard at least on harder difficulties by close enemies? If not, is there an option to enable this? Or is every stealth kill essentially silent?
2. Can enemies see our flashlights on harder difficulties? Can we enable this?
Also, I'm planning on survivor first play through.
1. "Stealth" kills not making any noise. Like, a guy would be right beside the guy I'm strangling and wouldn't hear.
2. Flashlights not being seen by enemies. (I understand why they did this)
Does anybody know if in TLOU2:
1. Stealth kills can actually be heard at least on harder difficulties by close enemies? If not, is there an option to enable this? Or is every stealth kill essentially silent?
2. Can enemies see our flashlights on harder difficulties? Can we enable this?
Also, I'm planning on survivor first play through.
OP
OP
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It doesn't allow me to download or view it.
Maybe I'm not remembering right, but didn't this only apply to Clickers, as well as Runners who had their heads down and buried in their hands?