Decker

I haven't played a minute of this game, but 50 out of the 97 sores on Metacritic currently are perfect 100 scores. If that's bullshit, it's a heck of a lot of bullshit.

I agree 80 is a good score, but it's a pretty big outlier here. And scoring an 80 because you have problems with the gameplay or the story is one thing. Scoring it an 80 because you think it's too gruesome and violent in a Zombie game is another. It's supposed to be intense and upsetting.

Dan

This shows that you don't seem to care to understand why it's a legitimate point. It was the same thing with the murder porn scene in that one episode of that one season of The Walking Dead (we all know the one). Just because it's a zombie show/game, and it's "supposed to be upsetting" that doesn't mean zombie genre games can't or shouldn't be judged on those grounds, and such comments miss the point.

And no, I couldn't care less about the metacritic aggregate scores and all that nonsense. It's like when people are obsessed with Rotten Tomatoes scores and pile on to the one or two reviewers who dared to give their darling Wall-E or The Dark Knight or other favorite film/game anything less than a perfect endorsement.

Put another way, if other reviewers had similar criticisms about theviolence, they're the ones who maybe should be called out for calling it "perfect" instead of attacking the woman who gave an appropriate high but not perfect score (all of which are subjective anyway) for the game based on her point of view. This obsession with scores/points online is incredibly lame, and is perpetuated by people like the one Questyen was quoting who felt the need to attack the woman's looks instead of the substance of her review.

​​​​​
To be clear... I thought TLOU 1 was great, and I found some parts to be very intense and maybe even upsetting. Same for Metro 2033 and Last Light which I just played this week. I'm excited to play TLOU 2 soon. I just think there can still be legitimate concerns about depicted violence or torture and these can and should be reflected in reviews and subsequent scores.

RichC2

Kotaku and Polygon pissed all over the game for the same reason everybody is different

ddrknghtrtns

Does this game bring something new and revolutionary to the table that warrants a perfect 10 from the majority of game reviewers? After Metal Gear Sons Of Liberty, I am always very suspicious of a nearly unanimous perfect score.

This is also not be the first time a Gamespot reviewer took flak for an honest game review. Googled the Jeff Gerstmann "Kane and Lynch" fiasco. Just hate to see someone lose their job down the road because they have an opinion that differs from the rest. It is not like she was being a troll and rated the game an F-.


​

K&AJones

Well, I get more an feeling that Gamespot and others don't nor can't review any game without letting their 'Feelings & Emotions" of what they see in the real world play a part in reviews. Sadly...I'm not nor won't go into detail or start yelling...many of these sites have in the past year started to influx, weave in, make statements of a Political Nature....

As some of these reviews are doing and showing...they simply don't like....Realistic & Emotional Violence that is Horror, Gruesome, Traumatized...they look at this thru the prism of the Real World, not 'it's Just A Game"...Gamepsot gave The last of Us, The last of Us Remastered, The Last of Us Pt 2 Preview Review and Final Review...alll 8 of 10...and going back all the negative/cons were the same....and only the first two...and not TLoU Part 2...got just a tad on visual and audio....didn't even mention it in the final. how can any real reviewer not mention Visual and audio in any game review?

I went back to Gamespot's COD: Modern Warfare November 2019...gave it a 7 of 10...and in it they didn't like the use of Chemical Weapons, Sgt. Price not having to explain his actions and unnecessary killing, some torture involved and reliving Farah's past that produces trauma.
https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/cal.../1900-6417347/

Now read their review of Rainbow Six Siege (2020)...a 10 of 10...it's a fun video game, the weapons are cool, the gadgets are cool..."Excellent shooting mechanics makes the guns feel more lethal".....https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/rai.../1900-6417459/

Decker

From CNN :

A blind video gamer got emotional after seeing The Last of Us Part II's extensive accessibility options for players with disabilities

By Alaa Elassar, CNN



Updated 10:39 PM ET, Fri June 19, 2020
The Last of Us Part II is set for release Friday, June 19.(CNN)When blind gamer Steve Saylor received an early review copy of The Last of Us Part II, one of the most anticipated video games of the year, he wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

So he set up his camera, ready to record his reaction in a video for his gaming YouTube channel. But just seconds into the video, the Canadian streamer suddenly bursts into tears.
"I was expecting to record a really exciting, hype moment showing the first time I see all the accessibility settings, but basically the second I started up the game, I was hearing a text to speech read off every single accessibility option. To be honest, the floodgates just kind of opened," Saylor told CNN.
"I couldn't stop crying for a solid 10 minutes. It was like everything I had been working for in the past five years, my efforts with disability consulting and advocating for more accessibility in games, finally paid off. This is literally the first time we have ever seen a game have this many features."
Content by CNN Underscored
The comfiest pants for lounging around the house
With the anxiety and distress you may be feeling, wearing clothes that are in any way uncomfortable is simply not an option.
Steve Saylor@stevesaylorI've been reluctant to post this.

I recorded my reaction when I saw the #accessibility settings in #TheLastofUsPartII for the first time thinking it would be a fun video for posterity. I...did not expect this.

This is why we do what we do.

Thank you @Naughty_Dog.
22K
Twitter Ads info and privacy
The game, which launches June 19, is a sequel to The Last of Us, a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and released exclusively for Playstation. At the time of its release, it was labeled "the game of the decade, a cultural phenomenon within the video game industry," according to Saylor.
For years, fans have been anxiously waiting for the sequel, which continues the story of Ellie, the 14-year-old heroine of a post-pandemic world impacted by a fungal plague that turns people into zombies.
In the game, players must evade or kill both cannibalistic zombies and hostile humans to protect Ellie, who is immune to the infection and possibly holds its cure. The Last of Us Part II takes place five years after the events of the previous game and is played from Ellie's perspective.
Along with stunning visuals and breathtaking landscapes, the game comes with a diverse array of accessibility features that will provide disabled players with an especially unique gaming experience.
"This is a first time we have seen a game where every piece of text on screen had text to speech in it," Saylor said. "Anyone without visual impairment could actually close their eyes and be able to play this game with all the settings turned on. That's how powerful it is."

Working with disabled gamers on accessibility options

For gamers with disabilities, the fight for more accessibility options has been long and tedious, with extremely gradual improvements over the course of decades. But when it comes to accessibility, The Last of Us Part II is second to none.
The Last of Us Part II' looks like a slam dunk for Sony
Labeled by Saylor and other players as the "the most accessible game ever," the game features more than 60 accessibility settings, with expanded options focused on fine motor hearing and new options for low-vision and blind players.
Emilia Schatz, one of the lead gameplay designers of The Last of Us Part II, said she was inspired to expand accessibility options after receiving a letter from a gamer. The player was unable to finish another Naughty Dogs game when they got stuck at a point where they had to repeatedly press on a button to escape during a fight.
"It's heartbreaking for me as a game creator because that person is so passionate about playing our game but there was just this moment that all of a sudden blocked them. We found that it's often a relatively small thing that can unlock an entire game for some players," Schatz told CNN.
"I think there hasn't been a huge awareness of how games are inaccessible to a wide group of people. A lot of developers have -- no pun intended -- a blind spot for things that don't personally affect them. Hopefully our game brings attention to the fact that there (are) things that can be done to affect players in such a positive way. It's absolutely worth everyone's time to try to fit it into their development schedule."
High-contrast mode turns the main characters blue and enemies red to help visually impaired players.
The gaming studio worked alongside numerous accessibility consultants, including Saylor, who offered ideas on the types of features needed. While many of the changes were simple and fairly easy to implement, Schatz said their goal was to "raise the bar and figure out what are the extents to how much we can make a game accessible."
For players with motor or physical disabilities, there's the option to customize all of their controls. They can also turn on cues that will point them toward the way forward and toggle the option to hold buttons instead of having to repeatedly press them.
For the hearing impaired, there are subtitles that cover not only dialogue, but combat action, too. They can also adjust what events cause the controller to vibrate, toggle prompts to keep them aware of nearby enemies and receive prompts telling them when to dodge in combat.
For the visually impaired, there is a text-to-speech option. It narrates many aspects of the game, from which options they're selecting in the menu to what weapon they have just equipped and how much ammo remains. They can also swipe the touchpad to receive status info on Ellie and toggle high-contrast mode, which will highlight the geometry of the world and brightly color enemies, allies, interactable regions and more.
The game offers 60 accessibility settings, including text-to-speech and numerous audio and vibration cues.
There are special audio cues they can toggle to create unique sounds depending on a variety of in-game factors. The first type is called Traversal Audio Cues. These will trigger when there is an obstacle a player can vault, or when there are ammunition, bricks or bottles to pick up. Then there are Combat Audio Cues that indicate when an enemy is within takedown range, when they've taken one out or when their reticle is pointed at an enemy.
"We are excited to see these changes get out into the world and have other games adopt them to show that even in a game as seemingly inaccessible as our game, where you need to run, shoot at people, hide behind cover, evade people and jump across gaps, all those things that seem impossible for blind players are actually not impossible," Schatz said.
"There are ways we can make it work."

Continuing the fight for accessibility options

When a player launches the game, the first thing to appear is a screen offering various accessibility options. For disabled players, this is both new and unexpected -- and for many gamers, this is the first time they actually feel seen.
Saylor was not the only gamer to have had such an emotional reaction when playing The Last of Us Part II. Courtney Craven, another gamer and member of the accessibility community, was also left in tears after playing the game.
Craven, who is hard of hearing, runs "Can I Play That?" -- a website dedicated to reviewing games and rating them based on how accessible they are. And according to her, nothing so far has beaten the Last of Us Part II.
"Accessibility is still pretty new, unfortunately," Craven told CNN. "A lot of times we'll turn on a game and just be disappointed. Either the subtitles are microscopic so you can't read them or there's no visual cues to go with sounds. For hard of hearing players like me, there's a lot of features I need in a game to make it an equitable experience for me. But this game left me feeling pure joy."
The tech empowering disabled people in cities
Craven said she was blown away by how much attention and effort was put into just the accessibility portion of the game. Playing the game made it "very obvious" that developers were committed to play testing with disabled players, she added.
With an unprecedented display of options and aids, the game is well suited to a diverse community of gamers, whether they are blind, hard of hearing. struggle with mobility issues, or a combination of them all.
For many gamers like Craven who aren't used to playing video games and actually "being good at it," The Last of Us Part II is life-changing."This definitely sets the bar extremely high for other developers to not only reach this standard but also overcome," Saylor said.
"It's had a huge impact on disabled players who will be able to pick this game and actually play it. No doubt this has made history. We will be looking back at this moment as accessibility before The Last of Us Part II and after The Last of Us Part II. And this is just the beginning."

ddrknghtrtns

The game's story leans really heavily to the left. Seriously doubt the reviewer is politically bias.

RichC2

If you want to bring political bias into it you can just look at the Metacritic User Scores / Reviews, a vast majority still pissed off about Abby and various, well, not violence related themes.



Otherwise it's like watching a movie, if you simply don't like it you don't like it, no matter how well shot and scored it is.

The Questyen

This is the typical rambling of someone who posts in the comments sections of video game sites. There are plenty of technical reviews of games for you to watch and read since that is all you seem to care about. You also don't seem to comprehend that websites have more than one person reviewing their games.

RichC2

Yeah, that's always made me laugh about game reviews. They are rarely divisive, and I don't find half of what's highly rated to be that much fun - they're very polished but tends to just be "more" of the same thing over, and over, and over.

K&AJones

More to the story and numbers on Metracritic….. As Expected, Angry trolls Are Review Bombing The Last of Us 2 and Harassing Its Cast and Devs https://www.playstationlifestyle.net...eview-bombing/

RichC2

Yep, a good number of people are very upset about a perceived pro-Social Justice Warrior stance in the title following some leaks a month ago, even the YouTube likes went from like 95% thumbs up to a 50/50 split after that happened.

A handful of the negative reviews are just pissed about a plot point and a few find the violence to be overbearing. Mostly though, a lot of sour grapes over something that doesn't even happen.

K&AJones

As stated...in the Gamespot review not one word on the visual and audio which some are saying is and should be at the top of the Best Looking Game on the PS4....and most if not majority of game reviews at least have visual, audio, playability, story, concept, design, characters...though Gamespot did delve into the characters themselves, I found it interesting as a "Plus/Pro" to the review they said...."The overall story is bleak and depressing but ultimately more impactful for it"

I looked and read the Gamespot Review a few times and see one person who reviewed and wrote the review.....not 2-4 people.

I tend to look at the whole picture and review....not just The EyeCandy or 7.1 3D Audio. But it's apparent in Gamespot's Review they didn't care or thought much of the Visuals & Audio because not one word about them is in the review which by most accounts a lot of gamers do care for a lot about and put emphasis on it. This is equivalent to someone doing a Blu-Ray Review on some serious emotional, gut-wrenching movie and leaving out the Audio and Visual Presentation

RichC2

they were talking different critics for different games. TLoU2 and COD:MW were reviewed by the same person, R6:Siege was by somebody else.

I feel like in general graphics get less emphasis these days, you're just expected to be at a certain level if youre a AAA title. No games really stand head and shoulders above the others, but it's super noticeable if you don't get to that level. Performance/framerate deserve most of the scrutiny.

Dan

Yep. Plus, when it comes to visual fidelity at least, there's Digital Foundry to go into insane detail for that, and then there's everyone else who does a fine job but nothing like DF.

I just don't understand why people need to complain about a review that literally says the game is great. I read the review in full (the non-spoiler version), and it's about the story and themes and struggle of the main character. That's the kind of stuff I, a filthy casual, want to read about. Good on Gamespot for for putting that out instead of boring-ass "objective" reviews about pixel quality.

I care about performance to an extent (clipping drives me nuts... I like when games are a solid fps -- 30 or 60... I like plentiful atmosphere... I hate game crashes which I'm getting a lot of in Metro Exodus) but these are all things ND never (?) gets wrong. There's just not much to say on that front.

SmackDaddy

So, not to derail what this thread has become, for those that are actually playing...

lopper

So I’m maybe two hours in and....fuckin yikes.

asianxcore

I am liking all of the changes so far. I've put about 9-hours into the game so far and still having a blast.

This game's atmosphere is absolutely fantastic.

Decker

I unpacked the statue and put it up in my office. It is NICE! Great detail work

OldBoy

That’s a pretty cool statue. Any 1 day sales figures yet?

Dan

Played through just over two hours.

That scene.
Wow.

slop101

I can't seem to tell if we're supposed to know who some of these characters and their motivations are, or if it's something that's supposed to be revealed later.

asianxcore

It'll be revealed later.

Dan

I'd fully expect the latter, but would be pleasantly surprised if the specific motivating event for one of the antagonists was left completely untold.

Anyway, I'm up to the very start of

and I'm very happy with the game so far. Took a lot of photos of the original town (it reminded me so much of a mountain town I've spent a lot of time in, in real life).

My PS4 Pro sounds like a jet engine, though.
​​​​​
The gameplay mechanics, when used, are solid, and the crafting doesn't seem overly complex. The melee/combat is so satisfying when you pull off a good dodge and attack.

I don't recall if other Naughty Dog games had any kind of
but this one...


Not a deal breaker obviously.

Anyway, this game is pretty great so far. Surprise!

SmackDaddy

I don't recall this from the first game, but the score during encounters...sheesh...it does it's job. It builds suspense then keeps driving you. If you haven't made it past the theater don't read. For those that have gotten past that point