332 replies to this topic

[Axe99]

Great to hear you're enjoying it .  From memory, my playthrough was about 18 hours, but I'm a bit of a slowpoke, so 12-15 sounds about right.  I thought there was some kind of cover system, but my memory might be a bit shot, or perhaps tainted by too much MP?

[spectre51]

There is a cover system quite a natural feeling one at that.
I should've worded better what i meant at the beginning, I mean a cover based grab system. I'd like to be able to grab enemies from behind cover rather when they are next to it, compared to the hap hazard way of doing it now with popping out quickly and mashing triangle, it doesn't always come off or as safe as a cover based grab system like in the uncharted series would be. It woul jsut take the stealth gameplay to the next levle for me.

[Axe99]

Ahh, yes, totally agree on that, sorry for the confusion .

[spectre51]

Up to spring now.

Still enjoying it but it's definitely increased the amount of encounters now, not surprising but still a bit disappointing. Several battles have been obviously telegraphed as well. I had hoped it would've kept that empty feel more often and tease you with fights more to build tension, since that tension is all but gone now since you see an area and go oh there will be a fight there or there isn't anytime between fights to build that tension.

At the start it had a few unexpected small encounters which I liked, it built tension going into new areas to wondering if there were any enemies hiding, it created a world that made you feel alone and true to its post-apocalyptic setting but at the same time feel uneasy and give that feeling you might not be alone at the same time.

That feeling is mostly lost now, definitely feel the ratio it had at the start suited the games setting better for me.

[spectre51]

I finished the game. Took me 12 hours 41min on normal. So finished in that range I mentioned but do feel it could've gone on for a few more hours without overstaying it's welcome for me.

Spoiler

I won't lie as it ended I questioned myself is that it? I sat through the credits expecting there to be something more. That ending was so abrupt for me and unexpected.

They didn't throw any bullet sponge shoe horned in boss battles into the game which was good to see. Really could've put a negative on the game with a spongey boss battle, uncharted's final boss fights are negatives in each of the games.

Sound sounded really good.

Graphics definitely up there for PS3 apart from image quality and some pop in with vegetation it would have to go close to being the best looking game on consoles last gen.

Gameplay for me was almost nailed apart from that one issue I have with it.
The game used checkpoints well for me.

Very good attention to detail except a few parts for the entire world.

Apart from a few encounters the rest were all good, just wish they were more spread out in the second half of the game.  

So overall definitely up there for games I've played, overall quality is really noticeable really does feel like a carefully crafted game. Does very few things wrong for me, with the lack of a cover grab and pacing issues between combat encounters it doesn't really have anything else to have issue with unless I nitpicked.

[Axe99]

Glad you enjoyed it Spec .  Totally agree on the Uncharted boss battles as well - I think they're about the only part of the UC games I don't really enjoy, you just kind of persevere through them because it's silly to stop just before the end.

[I_live_4_fun]

Awesome Spec . What did you think of the story and character growths throughout the game? Particularly the Winter segment.

[spectre51]

Spoiler

The story was good, better then most games I've played but it reading through the reactions in this thread I almost feel like I have a negative view on it.  I feel like I have missed something not helped by my play time being several hours quicker then anyone else's even though I didn't feel I rushed or anything, just sort of plays into that thought that I some how skipped part of the game, thats given everyone else that wow while playing it.

I do think the story was good, it was all put together well, the cut-scenes, voice acting, direction all felt top tier, the story was interesting. It was good to see it all unfold even though the way it all unfolded apart from the abruptness of the ending went to script for me.

I feel that its story would be so easily transferable to a movie with how its told, the cutscenes and game-play have a real flow between them that other games generally don't have, the lack of load screens definitely helps with this feeling.

The character growth was good, you could feel and see that gradual change in relationship over time, they didn't rush it or shove it right in your face it felt natural.

The winter segment was odd I liked how it started all alone, sort of hearing clicker like noises but then it just turned into one prolonged combat sequence. I did think to myself how Ellie is playing just as mini Joel, dispatching a hoard of guys with general ease. I didn't feel much like I was playing a different character, just a smaller Joel, she was far too combat efficient for me when I guess like Ellie was I wanted to feel more vulnerable and afraid of combat compared to playing as Joel.
I knew David was a bad guy before playing the game but they made it quite obvious something was off about him from the first meeting, I did think he would have a greater roll in the game though beforehand though.

The ending was abrupt but during the car ride I did say to myself what now? the goal of getting Ellie to the fireflies was completed, Joel killed Marlene instead of letting her live to stop them from coming after them, so while still unexpected for me I can see reasoning why to end it there.

[spectre51]

I finished Left Behind took a smidge over 2 hours at 2 hours 9 minutes on normal.

Apart from one encounter I enjoyed it a lot, I Eco what's been said that full price is a bit much though definitely something I would've waited until under $10 to consider picking up.

Story wise it's not must play you won't be missing out on anything pivotal bit of you enjoyed the main game I can't see why you would enjoy this.

Spoiler

i found the chatter between Riley and Ellie so brilliant the way they bounced off each other, they really felt like teenagers, really well written and acted throughout.

I found the flashbacks and present back and forth to work well, fitting both sides were in a mall, with one side being carefree and the other being tension and desperation filled.

The Ellie and Riley side was good as I mentioned above I enjoyed their interaction with each other and it was different from the main game, a more carefree and have fun section. Of course from the main story we know how it ends so as time went on you do start to wonder when that ending will finally show itself and the party come crashing down. When it does come crashing down I think it was done so well it really felt like a struggle to survive and protect each other so I really enjoyed all of that side of the DLC.

Ellie's present side started off good, I enjoyed the tension it built waiting for that first encounter. I really liked the introduction of being able to pit the hunters and the infected against each other, it did make me wonder why we didn't see any of that in the full game. It was fun to just sit back and watch and see who would come out on top and then clean up the survivors or sneak by in the confusion.
The encounter I didn't like was the final one, the one outside where you had left Joel. It just goes through too many phases, too many enemies to deal with, I think there was two waves of hunters then a combined hunter/infected wave.
Again much like the end game when I looked at my final kill count(470) it just broke my immersion of the world, that we were in some post-apocalyptic world were people have been struggling to survive after 20years, but let's throw a small army of guys after you.

Also something I forgot about the main game that I saw others mentioned

Spoiler

i only killed the doctor you had to, then just grabbed Ellie as quickly as possible since I was thinking just get the hell out of there before I get swarmed, didn't even attempt to see if you could kill the other 2.

[Axe99]

Aye, kill counts on most games (even war games like CoD) are pretty immersion breaking if you think about 'em.  The Uncharted games have a similar issue (Here's happy-go-lucky Nathan Drake, oh, and by the way, he's killed 200 people in the last week!)

[I_live_4_fun]

I felt the same about Left Behind.

Spoiler

Playing the Ellie and Riley side was very carefree as you said but I was always expecting the inevitable at basicaly every step of the way. All the noises they made breaking car windows, the carousel, the arcade, climbing into the costume store without knowing what was on the other side.... Then it came and I had to watch their ending cutscene a few times to get the full impact of what Riley was saying. I also thought the way it showed how close Ellie and Riley were before she left and that tension after seeing each other again was really well done.

The 'present' Ellie segments were extremely intense in comparison, yeah. Especially against the clickers and infected at the delivery bay and the gate after turning the power back on for me. I played it very gamey at the end luring the hunters around the same blocks of cover to stealth kill them and was very glad when the waves finished, hehe.

[spectre51]

For me it depends on the game and the setting. Like it's easier to ignore when you are fighting an army or an alien hoard. The last of us is set in a struggling post-apocalyptic world yet they still through a good amount of enemies at you, even though it's supposed to be hard to find food, and he infected also do decay over time.

One thing it did do right was not having waves of enemies "magically" appear like the uncharted series likes to do in its arenas. Always annoying when you didn't know where they come from and you are standing at the "wrong" end. Pet peeve from uncharted for me was the enemy always appearing after you went through a bunch of trials to unlock something, then enemy just appears straight after like they were always just behind you or they find an 'easy" way in. Only one encounter* in the last of us gave me a little déjà Vu with that.

*

Spoiler

it was the Uni that gave me the déjà Vu when as you get to the end, enemies just conveniently show up. Thankfully it was only time I really felt like that, so I have hope for uncharted 4 encounters to be improved over the first 3.

[I_live_4_fun]

About the *

Spoiler

Yeah, it was a pretty big coincidence that the hunters showed up when they did. In my grounded playthrough when i thought about it, I kept trying to make Joel close and unplug the power to the gate again after the scary basement part because even the Fireflies explicitly painted that reminder on the other side, hehe. Don't think the hunters would have made it in so easily if he'd done that.