Grave Gamer News & Views — post apocalypse

Fallout 4… LIVES!

No hoax this time, wastelanders. Thanks to leaked casting call documents, the next Fallout has been outed.

If you’re still mending the radiation burns that whole TheSurvivor2299 debacle gave you, your Skully-worthy wall of skepticism is understandable. Here’s the facts: Kotaku was sent the documents in question, which include dialogue scripts and character bios.

Unsurprisingly, the docs are not labeled “FALLOUT 4 BY BETHESDA” in neon red ink. The project is actually referred to as “The Institute.” But evidence stacks to the sky in favor of its true identity; there’s numerous references to locations either shown or named in previous Fallout’s, the casting director for “The Institute” happens to be the same person that cast for Dishonored and Skyrim, and in one monologue, the franchise infamous line “War… War never changes” is uttered.

A lot of info gathered in the documents also pieces together rumblings spanning the year since Fallout 4 rumors began to kick up. You might recall news of Bethesda’s dev team doing some location scouting at Boston’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology some time back. MIT – already having played a small part in Fallout 3, though called, wouldntchaknowit?, The Institute – features as a setting for a mission.

The Commonwealth, which is the name bequeathed to the remnants of Massachusetts in series lore, was also rumored way back as the mused over setting for the next Fallout. The Commonwealth, of course, is name checked along with other series specific settings.

It’s all a pretty goddamn convincing argument for the existence of Fallout 4 (or, rather, whatever it will eventually be called). Of course Bethesda denied to comment on the leak, and until then, I cannot in good journalistic conscience say Fallout 4 is official.

The fuck am I saying? Journalists have no consciences! Fallout 4 is happening, folks. Crack open a dusty Nuka-Cola and celebrate. (In the event this is another great yank on our chain, please place your blame solely on Kotaku. See what I mean about the no conscience bit?)

Naughty Dog: “There Are People in the Studio That Would Love to Come Back to These Characters”

So.  What does having one of the most widely beloved and critically acclaimed games of this generation get you?  “A sequel,” screamed every publisher on the face of the planet loud enough to sunder it.

That’d be the traditional school of thought.  Like Hollywood, the gaming industry no longer puts their chips behind one-off, difficult to market affairs.  Every time a new IP is born, publishers typically bank on it becoming an overnight franchise.  But The Last of Us isn’t your typical IP.  I saw something incredibly special and engrossing in the game and, more than apparently, I’m not alone.  It’s a unique title with an ephemeral quality I sincerely doubt a sequel could replicate.

But does developer Naughty Dog feel the same?  The game’s creative director and scribe, Neil Druckmann really doesn’t mind if a follow up never gets off the ground.  “We were very conscious that we didn’t want to leave this story dangling,” said Druckmann to PlayStation blog.  “If we never do a sequel, we’re okay with it because we told the story we needed to tell.”

Fair enough.  A masterpiece usually doesn’t finish with “To Be Continued…” (unless we’re talking about Back to the Future, but I shouldn’t even have to spout such universally known facts).  Speaking to Kotaku, however, The Last of Us sounds more like a misnomer than anything, with Druckmann stressing that this one journey – referring to the central plot set up in this game – is complete for Joel and Ellie, yet the rest of his team isn’t against further Cordyceps-tactular misadventures.

“…As far as whether we come back to Joel and Ellie or not, or whether we come back to the world or not, that’s all up in the air,” said the writer.  “I can tell you there are people in the studio that would love to come back to these characters, but the only way we would do it would be if we had something new, something meaningful to say.  Because the last thing we would want to do is repeat ourselves.”

I found the end of Joel and Ellie’s narrative deeply satisfying, but truth be told – and this is a lightweight spoiler – the finale does leave a wide enough door open for a continuation.  Does it need it?  Hell, no.  Would I be against revisiting two of the most roundly developed and engaging characters in video game history?  Hell, no.

Until The Next to Last of Us is a reality, fans of the instant classic are able to look forward to single-player DLC focusing on a side-story that Naughty Dog assures us will reveal more about the characters and the post-apocalyptic world they struggle to stay alive in.

There are games and then there are experiences.  With Naughty Dog’s recent step up in pedigree through its widely acclaimed Uncharted trilogy, I went into The Last of Us expecting quality, of course, but I came out the other side of its campaign unquestionably floored.

I really hadn’t anticipated to have my very emotions put through the ringer like this.  Over the course of about ten hours, I went on a grueling, thoughtful, gorgeous, and almost tough to swallow adventure that echoed the sentiments of countless apocalyptic literature and film so effectively that, often, it transcends the works it set out to pay respects to.

Let’s cut the pretense and get down to brass tacks.  The Last of Us is not just the best game to come out of Naughty Dog’s doors, and it’s not just the best exclusive title the PlayStation 3 has ever housed.  And it’s not just the best original IP of the year (which it is, even with more than half a year left of 2013).  No, no, that’s too small of scale to view this rarity of a game on.  Believe you me, my next words are not ones I loose unto the world lightly nor often:

The Last of Us is easily one of the best video games ever made.

Bethesda: “We Showed Three Games at E3” and None of Them Were Fallout 4

Skyrim had itself a long reign but the team behind the lauded, fantasy RPG time sink have officially ended DLC support for it and have moved on to their next project.

Given their great success in reintroducing the world to the post-apocalyptic wastelands of the Fallout universe (and reusing a Ron Pearlman soundbite that is just positively burned into gamers’ skulls), it’s no leap in logic for fans to expect Fallout 4 is next up off the bench…

However, Kotaku insists you’re stretching reason extremely thin if you believe Bethesda had a closed doors presentation for the game at last week’s E3.  The rumor began its life in the words of one journalist claiming he saw one surprise Bethesda failed to announce at the most publicized industry event of the year.  Microseconds later, Fallout 4 was name dropped hard enough to break the floor.

As they invariably do, the rumor grew bigger and bolder until certain sites were reporting specific details about the game including which consoles it was coming to (basically everything without a Nintendo logo on it), when it was coming out (October…of 2015), and a completion estimate of 55%.  A teaser trailer clocking in at nearly over half a minute was also purported to be shown; gravelly Pearlman voice-over and all.

If members of the press really got see a forty-five minute presentation on one of the biggest franchises in gaming…Where were all the headlines?  Well, whether Fallout 4 is in production or not, this “Easter egg” E3 presentation probably didn’t happen.  Skeptical?  Here’s what Bethesda shot Kotaku’s way:

“We showed three games at E3 - Wolfenstein: The New Order, The Elder Scrolls Online and The Evil Within. We did not show any of our games behind closed doors.”

I know what you’re thinking.  “We live in a world where they swore to us Steve Carrell wouldn’t be back for The Office finale."  I know.  I know.  But food for thought: for all intents and purposes, E3 serves as a monolithic, flashing billboard meant to advertise to gamers the world over and permeate in consumers’ heads until buyin’ season kicks off.  Why wouldn’t Bethesda want to take advantage of that platform to stir Fallout fans into a frenzy?

[If Fallout 4 is announced next week, the correct answer to that question is, "Because they’re goddamned liars.  When can I pre-order?”]

The Last of Us Becomes Naughty Dog’s First Delayed Game

Terrible news, everyone!  Those waiting in line come May 7th for a copy of Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic opus are doomed to reveal their damning faux pas to the one crushingly cynical, demoralizing GameStop employee they hate the most.  You know the one.  That shit-eating teenager who rolls his eyes damn near into the back of his head every time you disagree with his pompous opinions-masquerading-as-facts.

Oh, how he’ll laugh at you for getting a release date wrong and label you as a filthy troglodyte, all because – Right! That’s what the hell I’ve been trying to say.  The Last of Us has been delayed until June 14th.  Sorry, that one kinda got away from me.

That’s correct, calendar enthusiasts who don’t exist, Last of Us is dropping on a Friday, syncing us with the U.K.’s standardized video game release day (which, at the risk of my citizenship, is arguably more sensible).  Naughty Dog’s reasoning for the date shuffle?  Simple.  They want the game to be great.

“As we entered the final phase of development for The Last of Us, we came to realize just how massive Joel and Ellie’s journey is,” said ND in an official statement.  “But instead of cutting corners or compromising our vision, we came to the tough decision that the game deserved a few extra weeks to ensure every detail of The Last of Us was up to Naughty Dog’s internal high standards.”

I’ll say it again and again: I’m always for pushing a game’s date.  It’s either a polished gem on launch day or several weeks of intolerable bugs until a dev can jump through the tedious hurdles of certifying a patch (which has the potential of breaking the game even more).  Unlike that shit-munch teen – your end draws near, Anthony – you won’t see my eyes rolling during the wait.