The Last of Us - Spoilercast

you people are clueless. How many of you are single fathers. You literally are guessing & assuming tons of things I never in a million years saw. What is wrong with you people? Played the game, liked the characters, they both followed arches you guy clearly couldn't pick up with a forklift. Bad for you, but I don't care. Great game

If Joel was broken at the end of the game, then he would have sacrificed Ellie to save humanity. The fact that he chose to save Ellie shows that he has now built feelings for her which means he has learned what it means to be human again and to care about someone you love. I like the selfish choice he made at the end, but it's the exact same choice I would make in order to save my wife, or son or daughter. I choose my family over a broken humanity that will most likely never be fixed again.

Survival is Joel's driving force throughout most of the game, but by the end, Ellie becomes his driving force to continue living. He lives in order to protect Ellie and to keep her alive...that becomes his goal to keep on living. He loves Ellie like a daughter. He will kill anyone and even sacrifice the cure for humanity in order to protect Ellie. He becomes a father again by the end of the game.

as i see it, ellie might be acting more mature or fit to the situation because she was born into the hardship of the world around her and the terrible things happening left and right are just normal things since her birth... on the other hand joel has lived in a normal world and had to adjust his feelings to extremes compared to his early life... that might be the deciding difference between them, although ellie is not an adult, she acts naturally...

i wouldn't just categorize joel's state of mind by only the loss of his daughter but he loses everything, whereas ellie has nothing to start with in comparison...

btw, people, chill, these people do not claim to be psychologists or sociologists, they are just dropping their two cents about the game...

Armchair psychologists. You all talk over the video so no one can come to their own conclusions. If you are going to spoil a game for everyone please get someone to comment on Joel's character who has experience in the field.

Or maybe even ask the game developer what his/her idea of the character is.

play the game and watch this ? I have already played the game and when I heard what this goof said I just turned these goofs off ! what the hey can they say that I don't already know ? I will tell you > NOTHING ! C'mon guys what is with this ?

Did´nt realize until now that ellen page starred on inception, great movie MR Nolan, anyhow, thanks to videogames ellen page is finally gonna be recognized, she should just be gratefull and quit being a bi...

Tom has no clue about what a working human being has to do to survive. In Construction a lost contract can be the difference between paying rent/house payment or many other bills that have to be paid. Not only that but he has a daughter he also has to feed and provide for. I'm never going to take Tom seriously as a game reviewer as he seems to make up his mind about games within the first few moments of playing.

I pretty much go to every other game site first then come here to see how badly a game gets scored when tome is behind the review. More honest people could have given this game a review and in this video Tom keeps proving that. Oh and IGN did a spoilercast also and I have to say they did a great job. I'm sure the other two people in the video are bright and intelligent human beings but I can't get past Tom sitting there trying to point out how the main character is a shady guy who's probably killed many times before..

honestly i shut off this dumb video, who really want to listen to what these 3 clowns thinks of a virtual game character and interpret it with their own dumb imagination? this is ridiculous .. and retarded ...

dumb morons if u want to do a trio clown voicing over the video atleast mute the video or adjust the volume , all i heard us 3 clowns screaming along the background video... garbage...

I trhink with tom, is like all of us once you have that mind fix on a character that you dislike you find everything wrong with them.

For me personally, i never had that about Joel i took into account that he has no wife but a daughter :S which means she is either dead, or ran away from her troubles, it doesn't seem like he had much family because his daughter was all alone and the only family was his brother, after sarah gets shot he must of broke down completely coming to terms of whats happened in the world the death of his daughter and the mother, the rest of his family dying, struggling for 20 years in a meaningless life. that has to have a toll on someone. By the end i felt it wasn't the right choice but it was the right choice for Joel. By them killing her doesn't mean that they would of found a cure, i'm pretty sure taking blood and running lots of tests would of found the cure and not just by cutting her brain out. Humanity in the end would regrow, just like how tommy and his troops found a city and restored it.

The whole tom saying he was doing something shady is a misconception i mean, he is a single dad :S maybe thats his only work he could find, it's a tough life bringing a child up single handily. they may of gave more of a back story to whats happened to sarahs mother. All in all it was a great game and a great story. But the ending could go either way.

Shady Things? are you f**king kidding me?.......

Tom, you hate Joel for being a selfish survivor, but towards the end he chooses Ellie's life over his own numerous times. I think you either tried to read too deeply into his opening scene (Dude he wasn't doing anything shady just drop it), or this game was just too loved and you have to be the guy with different tastes than everyone else. Either way i completely disagree with your assessment of Joel.

I don't find Tom's breakdown of Joel very accurate, but there are plenty of reasons this game isn't a 10/10.

Mostly the gameplay, like swimming, is terrible. The shooting is stiff as well. Cover system is a little awkward/touchy, too. But the story was masterful. Definitely a great experience.

Is it just me or do Chris and Shaun just look uncomfortable trying to chat with Tom? The way that guy comes off really irks me. While I was watching the vid for them coming up with the vote brackets I truthfully didn't know the guy I was disliking so much was Tom until this video.

Tom's take on Joel is probably the most childish interpretation of a complex and richly sympathetic character I've ever heard. It doesn't help that it's being filtered through the mouth of the most pretentious human being I've ever had the displeasure of listening to. It's really sad that the other two guys have to sit there and bite their tongues when he is spouting his nonsense about Joel being involved in some sort of "shady" business or wanting him to die halfway through the game, which would essentially be a death sentence for Ellie. Also his motivations are pretty clear throughout the game, even to the point of being overstated (I didn't think they were, pretty good balance of laying them out there and letting us figure it out for ourselves)... I guess he didn't want to put in any critical thought beyond a juvenile, obviously-for-attention stereotyping of the Joel character masquerading as an intellectual interpretation.

One last thing - if the only way to save modern humanity is the murder of an innocent 14 year old girl... count me out.

Game is fantastic from start to finish. I loved it and Ellie is by far one of my favorite characters of all time.

Joel was a great character and I would have done the EXACT same thing if I were in his position. Ellie deserved the chance to live a somewhat normal life.

Tom... I end up disagreeing with everything he said. Not a great judge of character, imo.

Chris, Shaun and Tom whilst playing as Joel at the end appeared not to want to save Ellie from the fatal operation the fireflies were going to do on her. (correct me if I'm wrong on that)

By contrast I felt Joel was doing exactly what I would have done in that situation, saving the one person he loved from a group of people who were willing to kill a girl to get a cure. Also, lets remember that the Fireflies had antagonized almost everyone so they may well have only used the cure for themselves, doing little good for the whole of humanity.

However, Joel should have given her a choice whether to go back by telling the truth, even if she probably would have laid down her life.

For those wondering where Tom got the "trope" about women being killed for development of male characters, look up Anita Sarkeesian's Tropes vs. Women series on YouTube. Guy can't even bring his own douchiness to the table... Someone else came up with the idea of "women in refrigerators," but I forget and don't care.

flop

When my brother died I went through a really hard time. I am not a man who opens up his emotions to anyone, if I cried I did it alone. I went through a patch I was bottling up and masking my feelings to the point of it making me feel hollow and basically desensitizing myself without me even knowing it myself. I can relate to Joels character. On paper, Joel would have gone through far worse and this is the main thing Tom is oblivious to. Joel is a broken man because of what he has gone through but Tom doesn't seem to be able to pick that up and just hates Joel.

and another note, seriously Tom thought he was in a shady business

anyone who is a fan of the walking dead series can understand joels perspective

"He reminded me of Peter Fonda"...Ugh this guy needs his man card removed. Sorry that you can't relate to manly guys who have been through many rough experiences. Everybody in this game is rough around the edges. Tom makes sooo many assumptions to support his disgust for a non Nathan Drake lead character. Can't believe he brought up that women were sacrificial lambs for his character development. Let's not forget that Ellie is raised around death and so is every character in this story. Ugh, this spoiler cast made me grind my teeth. I wish the other two level headed guys just talked over Tom the whole time. Being smug and wrong is a bad mix.

Another thing, I doubt there was anything physical between Tess and Joel just because they're man and woman. I see their relationship being similar to the one between Naked Snake and The Boss from MGS. What was there between them was trust, loyalty, and respect. I believed it would have grown into something more in the future as Tess was talking about "talking it easy" after the mission was over, making it their last smuggling job. During Tess' final moments, there was no kiss, embrace, or any romantic words/feeling because though they were close, it was comrade sacrificing herself for another comrade.

There isn't supposed to be a good guy or a bad guy. The entire game is morally ambiguous. You can sympathize and hate just about everybody in this game. The military is thuggish, but they're trying to keep stability. The fireflies are seeking a cure, but they're also causing more chaos than what's necessary. Hunters are homicidal but they're just trying to survive.

And Joel is simply a human..................And Tom is a moron

Does anybody else kinda wish the guy on the left would just shut up?? His hatred for the main character is misguided and he seems not to understand what an understated strong male lead means. I think most men who've had to make some real life decisions can definitely relate to him. This guy thinks he is evil through and through for almost no reason. He gets home late at the beginning of the game, so he must be a murderer or drug dealer? Lol geez man.

Edit: Just realized that's Tom McShea, the idiot who gave a terrible review of the game in the first place. This guy is probably just hating on the characters just to defend his lack luster review. Now I KNOW this is the only guy on Gamespot that is annoying to me.

@Chris_Watters @TomMcShea @shaunmc

Guys, I think you poorly mention a crucial part of Joels personality. He is a father that lost a daugther. This is a devastating event to say the least in the brightest of worlds. It is a turning point in the life of anyone that has ever hold a son/daugther in their arms.

Yes, he starts with Tess and it's just another job but after Tess dies and he is alone with Ellie, at least for me, this conflict gets clear and takes center stage is his actions. He is trying, at the same time, to fullfil his promise to Tess, to protect a substitute daughter he does not want and is trying hard to not get attached to while juggling bandits, infected, fireflies and supplies at the same time.

He feels ultimately guilty throughout the game as he battles the feeling that he is replacing her by Ellie while simultaneously trying to protect himself from having to experiment the same mind numbing loss again.

Chris and Shaun quite clearly gushing over what is an exceptional game which deserves the very highest of recognition while Tom slouches there trying to pick fault.

Just admit it Tom. You played the game for an hour or so, wrote a shambolic review then pulled the score out of you ass to get some hits.

Listen to your fellow Gamespot employees (and 95% of the gaming fraternity) who quite clearly love this game so much and realise how much you f**ked up.

I hope the comments in this thread help everyone realize that Gamespot is latching on to Tom McShea as an employee solely because controversial buzz always follows him. The site is trying to capitalize on negative press because the only way they can ensure views on their content is by featuring a "journalist" that everyone loves to hate. Tom is proof that Gamespot needs to seriously consider taking a step back, reformatting their site and try to figure out what people actually want to see. Sure, it's easy to troll your viewing audience, but in the long run it loses you alot of repect. Get your $hit together Gamespot.

Tom is defending his ridiculous 8.0 here with ridiculous arguments.

Totally disagree with Tom's misguided point of view of Joel. Then to find out that Tom wanted Joel to die just brought me to a shock of laughter. Overall, this game was good and the story even better.

I started not to buy this game after playing the demo but man would that have been a mistake. It is a great game and I loved it. Still got a few questions though.

Why does everyone assume that it is ok to sacrifice someone else's life "for the good of the group"? Of course it's ok for that person to willingly and knowingly sacrifice themselves but not for other people to make that choice for you.

Why does Ellie have to die? She doesn't. The simple fact that a mutation has occurred that makes her immune means that other mutations will occur having similar effects on other people.

Don't the Fireflies just want the political capital of being able to say "we brought you the cure so maybe we should be in charge now" ?

It seems to me that everyone in the game has forgotten what it means to be human except the children and we don't see too many of them. Other than Tommy's little beleaguered paradise at the dam what place was really worth saving? At least there we saw commitment, focus and caring for the group, community and self.

Yes everyone has their own opinions, but a person with such eccentric taste like Tom would only result to be a terrible reviewer, because most players would disagree with him. People may find the games he likes suck ,or games he hates rock. Therefore his opinion is of little value to those who base their purchase on reviews.

I've played through this game three times already. Seriously, it deserves a 9.5 if not a 10. This is a masterpiece, Tom. Not only the game of the year but possibly the game of this generation.

Just finished The Last of Us and hour ago and totally read the story differently than Tom. I think you're supposed to like Joel in the beginning, his partner Tess seems to be the heartless one. That's why the ending is so difficult - Joel arguably becomes the villain. Ellie might be safe, but it's far from a happy ending.

Kudos to Naughty Dog for one of the most mature and complex plotlines I've ever seen in a video game. Reminded me of some combination of The Walking Dead, The Road and Children of Men (I know this has been said many times already).

Loved it.

This is the same man who gave "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword" a 7.5, ladies and gentlemen.

I'm really starting to suspect that Tom doesn't like videogames. Perhaps he just really sucks at them. Who knows.

Tom is like the Skip Bayless of video games. NO ONE LIKES HIM or ever agrees with him because he's an idiot. I looked and saw The Last of Us got and 8 and thought "who the **** gave it an 8?". Everyone knows it's a masterpiece (or close to it). I swear he purposely says dumb things so he can argue with people. He probably gave it an 8 because if he went any lower he'd get fired.

I don't care that Tom reviewed the game and gave it a score that wasn't what most people, including myself, feel it deserves. But why would you put him in THIS video that seemed like you guys showing that some of you don't feel the same way as Tom. We already know what his opinion is on the game let's hear from someone else who doesn't have unreasonable views on the characters

Tom might be the most unlikable reviewer I can think of. He always plays the devil's advocate even if he needs to stretch his imagination to justify his comments.

I don't usually reply to most vids and I am not bashing here.. Tom seems to be a very negative person and it seems like he just throws gasoline on the fire for the sake of it. It was a bad decision to have him review the game. Tom did have a good end of game sequence point however, but it was 2 people with common sense trying to explain it to Tom. He has a right to his opinion but the game really deserved better.

I really felt like Joel's goal was redemption for letting his daughter down. In this spoilercast they describe Joel's goal as simply survival.

If you like this game read The Road and see the movie Children of Men. You will not be disappointed.

Is that a smoke alarm on Lara Croft's belt in the background.