The Last of Us and Beyond A Rare Breed: Extinction of Originality

"E3 has come and gone and many Facebook walls, Tweets, and texts were given and received between gamers all across the country. They discussed the good, the bad, and the ugly. While there was a plethora of gamers expecting great news and new, original devices and games from the E3 press conferences, there were many others that did not. Expecting the same, recycled material that was fed to us in the previous E3 conferences, I along with many others can easily say that the ‘wow’ factor has worn off and we want more originality. Originality is becoming extinct in the gaming industry and we need to preserve it."

-TheGamerAccess.com

[Venomousfatman]

The demo during E3 this year for The Last of Us was pretty cool. Finally got to see more actual game play.

[jsslifelike]

I'm hoping that The Last of Us is the first title to begin proving that the terms "hardcore" and "mature" need to go the wayside in order for gaming to progress as a medium.

[black911]

People forget we still havent seen infected gameplay yet.

[TruthSeeker]

Why did someone disagree with you?

[Chuk5]

Tbh, Last of Us isn't that original. I mean I am alive and countless other survival games have existed before it. It's a fresh take, an impressive one at that, but it's not necessarily flipping a genre on it's head with originality.

Edit: Beyond is a different story, I feel that game is pretty damn original.

[THC CELL]

The last of us showed more than u think, ai beyond any game u have played is just one of them

[WrAiTh Sp3cTr3]

Lol

[xursz]

The AI certainly looks impressive. And not just in the enemies but Joel and Ellie as well. The way Joel reacts to wounds, how the thug recognizes Joel's empty clip and moves in, and how Ellie picks up a rock in one room and holds onto it for later use, those are good examples.

[Biggest]

"I mean I am alive and countless other survival games have existed before it."

Just like there have been games before. Pretty much every game since games were invented has had zero originality because. . . Well. . . They're games! Makes no sense, Chuk5. I Am Alive doesn't look or feel like The Last of Us. Resident Evil doesn't look or feel like The Last of Us. Quit yer trollin'!

[Trebius51]

The Last of Us is a product of a company who really enjoys their work, which showed from their work with the Uncharted series and their countless interviews with gaming journalists.

Uncharted was their "baby", and they wanted nothing more than to make a great game that they themselves would be proud of, and the fact that it garnered so much support and was beloved wasnt even their intention, but a byproduct of their love for their craft and their 'baby'.

A company like this is more valuable than any other, because many other companies stray from their original vision to be like other games and make whatever they think will sell, as opposed to just making something so good and innovative that itll sell on its own, if not with careful marketing by word of mouth.

Last of Us looks incredible, the AI is unlike any other game as stated above, the snippet we saw of the game was not even a fraction of the many situations in which we'll drop our jaws in awe and say to ourselves "HOLY crap did that jsuthappen???" Then replay the game and see the situation unfold in completely different ways.

This is a gem of a game. Haters will hate though.

[Moncole]

Beyonds gameplay will probably be similar to Heavy Rain.

[ABizzel1]

Actually it's very similar to Heavy Rain you can check out videos of it on Youtube. It's suppose to give you more control than Heavy Rain did, but it has the same QTE type gameplay which is fine by me, although a tad bit disappointing.

[Trebius51]

Their ability to tell a story is amazing, I dont even care if it plays like Heavy Rain did, the game is so unique and i loved it.

Not every game needs to be played the same as others. Heavy Rain and Persona have proven that games can be successful on their own merits.

QTE ftw. I want to feel like im playing a game, and watching a movie at the same time. I dont mind it at all, this developer has already shown us they can deliver a masterpiece of storytelling and visuals, and this game is to have much more action than Heavy Rain so we can expect to be amazed once again.

[TruthSeeker]

Just because it plays like Heavy Rain in no way means it is disappointing! The game was exhilarating!

[live2play]

cant tell the difference between uncharted and last of us
they look the same

point and click interactive movies

[Machioto]

@cacl You be tripping.

[Trebius51]

Obvious butt hurt troll...keyboard warrior for his console of choice (not ps3 i take it).

You must live a sad life buddy, i pity you most days, but other days i just laugh at ppeople so pathetic that they cant enjoy good games because of some delusional sense of belonging that they have for system that they wont play anything else... :)

I play games from every system...i dont bend my knee to just 1 console ... lol, terrible way to live, not playing all the best games. Just seeing one world instead of 3.

[Maldread]

Yeah you`re sooo right CaCl.

I mean a pulp action, summer blockbuster game and the most brutal survival horror game i`ve seen, is totally the same.

And Uncharted 2 you only are in a buliding while a helicoper brings the whole thing down. IN REAL TIME. You`re only hanging from a beam while it destorys the beams you`re using for cover while you`re climbing for you`re life.

I think you`re confusing the therm with a videogame that looks and plays as good as it looks like a movie. If uncharted is a point and click interactive movie, than what is the rest of the 99% of games out there?

[solidjun5]

Funny how you complain about people talking negatively about the wii U and yet here you are talking negatively about a game not on the wii.

"point and click interactive movies"

I didn't know Uncharted was released on the PC.

[TheFirstClassic]

Didn't you notice how incredible the ai is? How you can use stealth, and flank your enemies by going different directions? How you have to scrounge for things to keep alive, and how the game still moves in real time while you open your pack? It may have the presentation quality of uncharted, but the gameplay looks pretty varied, dontcha think?

[XabiDaChosenOne]

Similarly how I can't tell the difference between you and the rest of the dumba** trolls on here. Thats why I just point and click the ignore button like I do all the rest.

[live2play]

haha xD
jeez you guys get so worked up

its funny to me how you all react xD
this guy TREBIUS is talking about living a sad life and all that, calm down man its a game and i just said it to have a laugh at peoples expense

yes i can tell the difference

and yes i will be playing the last of us
it looks to be revolutionary and i can see now other games trying to copy it in the future

[Jio]

As awesome as those games look, I don't really want any more dark and gritty stories. They're good, but the industry is over saturated with them (not saying Beyond and Last of Us won't be good, they'll be amazing) but I miss platformers and games like Ratchet and Clank. Those were really original.

[Hellsvacancy]

I understand what you mean, i cant think of many games lately that has made me smile and feel happy, Journey did but the game isnt very long

Theres too much seriousness in the world, everything has to grim to get peoples attention

Maybe i should i buy a Wii, there mostly kids games

Edit: TheKayle? wtf are you talking about, The Road has nothin in common with The Last Of Us, does it look like hes pushing a shopping cart in TLOU trailer? there not even on a "Road" there in a building, and instead of a whinney little boy theres a crazy little brick throwin, knife stabbin teenage girl

Yeah, The Road, go back and read the book IF you even have

[BitbyDeath]

Disney Universe isn't too bad if your lookin for a co-op one. Bit repetitive at times but still can be a bit of mindless fun.

[TheKayle]

the last of us..is just taken from The Road book....what originality....

or the movie..well that is

if someone had read that

[noctrnl13]

You obviously did not read the road or are not good at understanding text. Cormac McCarthy's story was nothing like the Last of Us. Maybe in post apocalyptic setting but other than that the similarities end.

[Bathyj]

Originality is great and all, but it doesnt come along very often so we shouldnt just shun games just because they arent original.

Theres nothing wrong with refinement. Thats what making videogames is about, its why every hit gets a sequel. You take a good concept and improve it.

Its not like these games arent taking a direction thats different to most of the games around nowdays. They are going to be titles that appeal to an adult gamer that who appreciates a bit more substance and emotion in their entertainment.

Plenty of games like CoD or yearly sports updates just tread a safe path and dont even improve their own formula.

[ItsMeAgain]

Maybe people expected us to create lava and not use fire as the cavemen did? Hmm, interesting.

There will always be trolls. If one thing is "alright" for their eyes, they will find something else to rant about. Sometimes it is annoying, seriously.

[brettyd]

I think its the execution that's the problem more than originality.

[gamingisnotacrime]

so refreshing

viva La Vita

[Spydiggity]

so a post zombie apocalypse game and a "choose your adventure" movie with some QTE's are original?

give me a break. do you people really believe the garbage you spew? this is the exact opposite of originality! and yes, that's the problem with games...everything is so overdone and cliche that people actually change the definition of originality. and if these 2 titles weren't exclusive to a certain console, nobody would be saying that. the same way every turned on ninja theory for enslaved because it went multiplat...even though it was a much better game than heavenly sword.

EDIT: 2 disagrees within 30 seconds...shocking. SDF never rests.

[Hicken]

How many other games out there are doing what The Last of Us is doing? In how many other "post apocalypse zombie" games are the main antagonists other humans? How many have such dynamically variable encounters?

What "choose your adventure" games follow YEARS of the main character's life? How many of them have you taking control of a girl and what's apparently a ghost that's tied to her?

What are you looking for in terms of originality, an idea that nobody in thousands of years has ever had? Does innovative storytelling, gameplay, or technical execution not count as original?

People disagree with you because your definition of "original"- whatever it is, since you didn't even bother to state it, while claiming that others have gotten it wrong- is too narrow.

[CommonSense]

Original means that it is the origin of something. The beginning. Since zombie games aren't original, resource management isn't original, cover based shooting isn't original, and the combination of all 3 isn't even original, how can Last of Us be original?

As far as Beyond goes, Spydiggity actually put it pretty well. "Choose your adventure" is something anyone over 25 has experienced countless times with the Hardy Boys books (turn to page 25 if blah blah or turn to page 33 if blah blah blah). The fact that it's now something you watch rather than read is just reflective of the times; but the concept isn't at all original either. Gaming is about actively participating, not passively watching. QTE is just about as passive as it gets and a cheap form of adding "gameplay" to something that barely qualifies as a game. Just like Heavy Rain.

Kinda sad that you needed someone to give you the definition of original. It's really just...common sense.

"How many other games out there are doing what The Last of Us is doing?"

I don't get it. We all have access to the same information. Did you even watch the E3/Fallon comparison? As far as I can tell, it's Uncharted with fewer bullets and more micro-scripted moments. But that's based on very limited information...which is all any of us have. So lets stop pretending it's original when all we have seen is anything but.

You want original, Naughty Dog is not the place to look. In fact, most mainstream developers are the last place you want to look these days. It would be nice if people stopped showering these overrated companies with unearned praise so we might actually get something ORIGINAL.

And don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against Naughty Dog. I think their games are fun enough and if I wanted to introduce a non-gamer to gaming, I would probably use an Uncharted game as a way of showcasing where gaming has come over the last decade. BUT! As a person who's been playing games for many many many many years, I have experienced every aspect of an Uncharted game in other games that have done it better. Naughty Dog obviously plays a lot of games too and they saw somewhat-original concepts that other developers had created or improved upon and they put them all together to create an average, 6-8 hour game that, like I said, is generally pretty fun to play.

@below: Portal. It's like you're all stuck in the Sony Matrix. It's time to wake up.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

@commonsense

Name games that you deem original please.

And that link you gave about UC can be said about pretty much any game made this gen yet UC is average? Get the hell out man.

[sjaakiejj]

CommonSense

Originality comes from combining a set of unoriginal concepts into something new. Three mutually exclusive unoriginal concepts can form an original concept if put together.

Name any game you deem "original", and I'll give you the preceding unoriginal concepts on which it was based.

Ps. Last of Us isn't scripted. You appear to be confusing "scripting" with "AI Behaviour".

[boyzilla]

^ portal

[Bathyj]

Blaming every opinion different from theirs on the SDF?

Thats not original either.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

**"if these 2 titles weren't exclusive to a certain console, nobody would be saying that. the same way every turned on ninja theory for enslaved because it went multiplat...even though it was a much better game than heavenly sword."***

WHY do I get the feeling that the only reason why you are bagging on these games is because they are exclusive to the PS3 and that the only reason why you think Enslaved is better than Heavenly Sword is because it went multiplat...

oooh the irony?

[Saito]

actually these games are original and people TLOU enemies will be the rest of the surviving humans and not ZOMBIES U DUMB IMBECILES there plant human hybrid creatures from a experiment that went awry but i have e vidence that i know they aee original instead of movies and books that prove different come at me to only be defeated.

[juggulator]

I think what they mean is the IPs are original. Alot of studios are doing sequels so it's good to see studios taking risks on something new.

[josephayal]

This Game is Going to be EPIC, For me, a "True Next Gen Experience

[Ramas]

i am sorry, but two souls is the only one original here. Last of us is good game, but there is many similar games about apocalypse, take a look at enslaved, almost same stuff, like ruined buildings, jungle. And there is many other games similar story.