HBO: The Last of Us

[ironwez20]

Sonic adventure is Oscar worthy

 

[chrisstbh]

The last games I played was stuff like Afterburner, Altered Beast, Doom (the very first one), Street Fighter 2, Road Rash, Mortal Kombat 1 & 2 etc etc.
I have no opinion on whether a videogame can tell a good story or not these days. Apparently games have moved on a lot from Streets of Rage and Golden Axe.
The way people talk about TLOU game in this thread, I've pretty much just assumed it tells a very good story, very well.

Games have been able to tell good stories since the 90’s, they’re just even better and more convincing now due to the advancements in technology.

 

[a-dev]

The ending of that episode is the only thing that raised it above a by the numbers The Walking Dead.

We've pretty much seen all this before (and gotten tired of it with aforementioned show). So I'm not sure why The Last of Us has become a watercooler conversation piece like as though it's a brand new, original concept.

And yes, Kathleen wasn't terribly believable.

 

[ScoutingForToys]

Games have been able to tell good stories since the 90’s, they’re just even better and more convincing now due to the advancements in technology.

Yeah as I said, I fully believe games have progressed a great deal since I was a teenager playing Mortal Kombat at the arcade.

 

[Rayman]

Oh my this thread’s hilarious. So games are bad and they can’t have good stories, and since TLoU is an adaptation of a videogame, it is bad as such because… it’s succeeding at giving us a good story. That was it, wasn’t it? I think I’m getting the grasp of it now.

I cannot wait for the Mario movie to come out, that’s going to be fun.

Joking aside, last episode was gooood. It’s merging more and more with the game now. IMO it had enough violence, even if not gory as the game (viewpoint surely differs too). I’m happy it showed that crude moment at the end, was spectacular and for someone who hasn’t played the game must have been uneasy to watch to say the least. Wifey almost fell out of breath.

Joel going full berzerk, pro gamer mode on felt awesome gotta say. Kathleen… yeah, definitely not the high of the series for sure but also not that bad neither. Forgettable yet forgivable in the great scheme of things imo.

The ending changes dynamics now a lot, so we shall see how Bella and Joel keep on developing their characters. It’s their time to shine.

 

[Lejuan]

The ending of that episode is the only thing that raised it above a by the numbers The Walking Dead.

We've pretty much seen all this before (and gotten tired of it with aforementioned show). So I'm not sure why The Last of Us has become a watercooler conversation piece like as though it's a brand new, original concept.

And yes, Kathleen wasn't terribly believable.

TLoU has shown some strong character development tho. After a couple of episodes of TWD I wanted all of them to die.

 

[yasuo]

I can see Kathleen's role in the show as been unnecessary by gamers but I also can see why Neil and Craig wanted to add it in since they have repeatedly stated on the podcast that doing 1:1 is not necessarily what they want to achieve and wanted to see where they can give more story/background. Unfortunately it does feel like Kathleen's plot didn't stick well with most.

I also thought that Kathleen wasn't an effective leader but it's still early days of their 'revolution' so things are still rosy, I doubt the situation would remain cheery a year in (even lesser) given how she has used the people in pursuit of her own blind hatred for 'justice'. If anything, she is similar to Winston Churchill that she is an effective wartime leader and not an effective politician after.

Her death scene is ironic in the sense too given the context of the scene with her and Henry.

That said, I'm enjoying the series so far and I thought the game and show has its own set of things I like/dislike.

 

[glitch1044]

Something I've found a bit odd with the show so far, is how they keep saying they wanted to change the story so that it wouldn't be an exact clone copy of the game. And at the same time they also couldn't care less about gamers opinions on the tv series either.
So if it isn't for the gamers, but rather for people that haven't experienced the game before, then why does it need to be so different to where the show's writing and storytelling is actually inferior to the game's writing? It's just an odd choice of direction for the series.

 

[yasuo]

Something I've found a bit odd with the show so far, is how they keep saying they wanted to change the story so that it wouldn't be an exact clone copy of the game. And at the same time they also couldn't care less about gamers opinions on the tv series either.
So if it isn't for the gamers, but rather for people that haven't experienced the game before, then why does it need to be so different to where the show's writing and storytelling is actually inferior to the game's writing? It's just an odd choice of direction for the series.

I see it as different sideroads on the same journey that don't affect the end goal, which works for some.

Is it very different from the game? It's still Joel and Ellie's journey at the end of the day.

 

[R_R_X]

The spirit of the game for me is the relationship between Joel and Ellie, and the repercussions of the event that relationship leads to.

In the game Joel is hardened by the loss of his daughter. He's largely closed off and unreceptive to Ellie, who's looking at Joel as a father figure. She gradually wins him over to such an extent that... [spoilers]. Well, you know the rest.

I think Pedro's playing the part well. Withdrawn so much that he barely seems to be acting sometimes, because he's reluctant to open up.

Bella also captures the essence of game Ellie for me. An external shield of bravado that gradually drops to reveal her true nature, and her very real fear of being alone.

Warning to others - this video is a series of spoilers...

Agreed with all of that of course but I feel the show is missing some of the essence of The Last of Us as a whole, for example the world looks so bland and lifeless compared to the lush environments of the game, all the vines, trees, tall grass taking over our world made for so many beautiful scenarios and that it all missing in the game, characters like Kathleen also make the show feel less grounded and more comparable to something like The Walking Dead which always had to have a face/leader for every villain.

He's doing a good job but in these latest episodes he just seems too aloof, Troy Baker's portrayal feels more layered because as a voice actor he puts emphasis on how he delivers his lines, the ranch scene for example Joel is saying some awful things to Ellie but underneath the lines you can feel the pain and the regret behind those words just like you can feel him warming up to Ellie earlier in the game despite his words speaking differently, it's the emotion behind the voice that shows Joel is trying to resist forming this bond with this little girl but failing miserably and that's why he so desperately wants Tommy to take her, in the show I still don't feel that because Pedro is playing him too much like a "grumpy fine fellow" as Ellie put it.

I have to agree, in the last 2 episodes she's won me over and the writting has gotten better showing her as a more vulnerable and innocent kid I really don't understand why they wrote her to be so unlikeable in the first episodes.

 

[R_R_X]

Oh my this thread’s hilarious. So games are bad and they can’t have good stories, and since TLoU is an adaptation of a videogame, it is bad as such because… it’s succeeding at giving us a good story. That was it, wasn’t it? I think I’m getting the grasp of it now.

I cannot wait for the Mario movie to come out, that’s going to be fun.

Joking aside, last episode was gooood. It’s merging more and more with the game now. IMO it had enough violence, even if not gory as the game (viewpoint surely differs too). I’m happy it showed that crude moment at the end, was spectacular and for someone who hasn’t played the game must have been uneasy to watch to say the least. Wifey almost fell out of breath.

Joel going full berzerk, pro gamer mode on felt awesome gotta say. Kathleen… yeah, definitely not the high of the series for sure but also not that bad neither. Forgettable yet forgivable in the great scheme of things imo.

The ending changes dynamics now a lot, so we shall see how Bella and Joel keep on developing their characters. It’s their time to shine.

Yeah it's kind of mind boggling that some people think the show is good inspite of the game and not because of it, especially when said game had a huge impact on how video games are perceived and made to this very day going as far as influencing popular franchises with movies like Logan and shows like The Mandalorian as well as many other movies who clearly have a bit of TLOU injected in their DNA.

 

[Rayman]

Something I've found a bit odd with the show so far, is how they keep saying they wanted to change the story so that it wouldn't be an exact clone copy of the game. And at the same time they also couldn't care less about gamers opinions on the tv series either.
So if it isn't for the gamers, but rather for people that haven't experienced the game before, then why does it need to be so different to where the show's writing and storytelling is actually inferior to the game's writing? It's just an odd choice of direction for the series.

As far as choices of direction… I’d say they have risen to the task way beyond my and most people’s expectations. Part of the story told and how the characters impacted you in the game is drive by gameplay. Game minus gameplay doesn’t make for a good series, changes need to be made.

It’s different media… I still don’t get why every difference is discussed as in was it better or worse. The changes made mostly make in the long run the same impact on newcomers. Those of us who played the game are not newcomers, thus are biased not only for the differences on the writing or story telling but on the badassery we deployed while gaming that helped us connect with Joel so much. And those 2 cannot be disconnected that easily. Btw, series is not over yet. Character development is one such thing that changes between media types.

There’s also different targets, time and money constraints… it’s such a difference, that the fact it’s being so successful is in itself nothing but extraordinary for a game adaptation. If it’s good enough for those who played the game (most say it is, some think it’s even brilliant as do I), if it’s really good for newcomers (again, they are succeeding there), they’ve chosen wisely I’d say. Not perfect for sure. But way better than any game adaption prior to it I shall say.

The remarkable impact this series has had will open the doors for more AAA high budget adaptations. And even for those who don’t like this series, that’s good news for what might come next imo.

 

[Rayman]

Yeah it's kind of mind boggling that some people think the show is good inspite of the game and not because of it, especially when said game had a huge impact on how video games are perceived and made to this very day going as far as influencing popular franchises with movies like Logan and shows like The Mandalorian as well as many other movies who clearly have a bit of TLOU injected in their DNA.

Never though of it influencing Logan, imo the best Marvel movie ever for so many other reasons. But yeah, the dynamics are clearly there. Good call.

About your other comment, it’s true that they’ve gone for an episodic scheme which feels kind of similar to TWD in some ways. They even commented on it in one of the podcasts as one such thing the series let them do, instead of the games linear narrative. But at the same time, it’s not the horrible “bad guy/gal of the week” style of series TWD ended up being. Things as episode 3, and this last episode 5 definitely show us that they want to talk more about the sorrounding world and people (good people too). I’ve got nothing against that.

I do hope Kathleen was a one-off thing… I mean if you are willing to give me a bad guy/gal give me something better. Kathleen was badly written. Too archetypical for such a character-driven series. Even seemed to want to sell us the archetype (talks about the brother: “he was good… I’m not” / ”We are with you” ). I hope it was a bit of a miss-step.

We know what’s about to come so… let’s see how they opt to develop that part.

 

[ZE_501]

TLoU has shown some strong character development tho. After a couple of episodes of TWD I wanted all of them to die.

CaaAAAAuuurrrrrrlllll!!!

 

[Asta]

All of My Nerd Friends​

10 h ·

 

[Cap'n Cook]

Rapidly losing interest in this.

 

[jye4ever]

2027 Oscars nominees for Best Picture:

Sonic The Tragic Years

Call of Duty Tragedy of War

Street Fighter Rage and Honor

The Lots of Us

Metal Gear Espionage

Grand Forza Turismo The Unity

 

[Johnny Utah]

I'm already over it and looking forward to Picard s3 way more.

 

[a-dev]

The last games I played was stuff like Afterburner, Altered Beast, Doom (the very first one), Street Fighter 2, Road Rash, Mortal Kombat 1 & 2 etc etc.
I have no opinion on whether a videogame can tell a good story or not these days. Apparently games have moved on a lot from Streets of Rage and Golden Axe.
The way people talk about TLOU game in this thread, I've pretty much just assumed it tells a very good story, very well.

I was playing them for a bit past that. Probably Grand Theft Auto San Andreas on the Playstation 2 is where I left videogaming behind, not that that wasn't a good game. I must have been losing interest generally with that one being an exception at the time.

 

[R_R_X]

As far as choices of direction… I’d say they have risen to the task way beyond my and most people’s expectations. Part of the story told and how the characters impacted you in the game is drive by gameplay. Game minus gameplay doesn’t make for a good series, changes need to be made.

It’s different media… I still don’t get why every difference is discussed as in was it better or worse. The changes made mostly make in the long run the same impact on newcomers. Those of us who played the game are not newcomers, thus are biased not only for the differences on the writing or story telling but on the badassery we deployed while gaming that helped us connect with Joel so much. And those 2 cannot be disconnected that easily. Btw, series is not over yet. Character development is one such thing that changes between media types.

There’s also different targets, time and money constraints… it’s such a difference, that the fact it’s being so successful is in itself nothing but extraordinary for a game adaptation. If it’s good enough for those who played the game (most say it is, some think it’s even brilliant as do I), if it’s really good for newcomers (again, they are succeeding there), they’ve chosen wisely I’d say. Not perfect for sure. But way better than any game adaption prior to it I shall say.

The remarkable impact this series has had will open the doors for more AAA high budget adaptations. And even for those who don’t like this series, that’s good news for what might come next imo.

From what I'm seeing it seems like the majority of people who played the game first and have been diehard fans since the beginning are going to prefer the game no matter what, then there's those who played the game once or twice and now they're watching the show and think it's better than what they can recall and finally there's those who've never played the game and think the show is amazing and believe it's better than the game, so all in all there's not many people who can look at both versions and see the strengths and flaws of each of them due to their personal bias.

And honestly trying to tell the original fans to stop comparing the two is silly cause if you go on Youtube and look up scenes from the game you'll see the recent comments are all riddled with "the show is better" from show fans so I believe when all it's said and done you're going to have two groups of people, those who believe the game is better and those who think otherwise and it's silly to think that these comparasions wouldn't happen when the game itself is already a movie with amazing performances and directing you should expect even more comparasions on both sides as the series nears it's end and and the main discourse when it's all said and done will be "game VS show".

Yeah it's tiresome and I myself am getting tired of comparasions and hearing how much better the show did A or B from people who never played it or barely remember it when I vehemently disagree but I don't tell those people to stop comparing both versions because it's useless and inevitable.