Red Dead Redemption

[Tessier Ashpool]

Ok, so, I'm very on the fence about this one. Prior to the reviews, I really had no more than a very minimally passing interest in this. This is primarily because I found GTA IV to be fucking astounding for the first 10 hours or so, a marvel of technological achievement, a smorgasbord of endless sandbox fun to be had, a monolithic achievement in the arena of open world game-

 

Then I found myself more let down and disappointed in the long term playability than I ever have been with a game - running around and causing havoc just wasn't that fun, Niko's "push me PUSH ME" got to be grating and repetitive, and just the overall "fun factor" was missing, both from the game itself and the side missions, and the overall feel of the game.

 

I think it might be the "uncanny valley" effect taken to the nth degree with everything in Liberty City - it's so close to being a "living breathing" world we hear so much about, but once you scratch the surface the believability crumbles. . . Euphoria looked great, but after a few minutes of havoc the cities seems to empty itself and the overall chaos that ensues just feels "off."

 

So, long question short:

 

Did anyone who felt the same way about GTA IV get RDR, and if so, how do you like it?

 

(yes, I know the game has only been out for a day - I expect this thread will go on for a while)

[Guest carthief]

I haven't owned or played a videogame in years. I'm 27 years old.

 

However, I played quite often when I was younger, from when I was a kid up to the beginning of high school. Once I hit high school I just lost interest...I even made an effort to get back into games, willfully, but couldn't.

 

However, I have to say, the games for Xbox, GTA and this one...they're what I used to fantasize about as a kid.

 

The fact that you can play multiplayer against people from all over the world...I literally used to envision this stuff in my head as a kid. And now it's here.

 

Is it worth buying a 360? I enjoy just watching the videos on youtube of GTA and Red Dead Redemption...my fear is that I would get it, then lose interest after a few hours...

 

I don't really have anyone I know whose system I could play or borrow. What do you think?

[Guest Gary C]

Sounds like a few of us have our reservations as to the longevity of this game.

 

I also agree that GTAIV became a let-down after the initial wow factor. It was in fact quite a boring game, and I think they realised this when they threw everything at the BoGT add-on.

It was pretty boring to try and live this guy's life between 5-10 social areas, and even going nuts became tiresome. Kill people for 5 minutes and then run away for 20 minutes. Rinse and repeat.

 

It's highly possible that the new Red Dead will have the same overall lacklustre feeling once you've completed it and walked around aimlessly with nothing to do.

But I think it's worth it for the initial wow of a Wild West world to become a part of, and some of the multiplayer games look really fun too.

 

I have faith that it'll be better than GTAIV.

[Tessier Ashpool]

Yeah Gary - you nailed it - The thing that makes me feel like this won't be a GTAIV with horses is the randomly generated events I've been hearing about, coupled with the Dead-Eye shooting mechanic. Plus, the emptiness of the setting actually gives me more faith that you'll feel like this is a real environment. Think it's probably just ridiculously difficult to try and make a full city of NPC's feel believably reactionary versus a smaller western town.

 

We'll see I suppose . . .

[Guest Mirezzi]

Going to pick it up for PS3 right now...I was averse to GTA IV mostly because (I'm racist) the Niko accent made me nauseous. I can't stand Russian accents.

[Guest theSun]

just gliding thru to say russian accents give me a strong bi

[Meadows and Labyrinths]

the animation for skinning animals is a bit repetitive and makes harvesting the meat a touch laborious.

[Guest Grizz]

Didn't have enough money to pre order both this and Mod Nation Racers and all my friends have rushed to purchase it but still I think I made the right choice with MDR. Fucking jealous still though.

[Guest GrandPopPoplock]

I literally just got it in the mail 10 minutes ago .

 

Judging by the reviews... it's be gonna epic ( thank God )

[goffer]

I played poker with the AI for about an hour, went and collected some wild horses then played horse shoes with some broad that took $5 from me. So far I have invested about 6 hours into this game (that's more time than I played with GTA4) and have to say it's very impressive. I have yet to check out the multiplayer, but from the reviews I have read, it is top notch.

[Chris Moss Acid]

who wants to form a posse and go fuck up shit?

[acid1]

You can't lasso a chicken.. FYI

[takeshi]

the animation for skinning animals is a bit repetitive and makes harvesting the meat a touch laborious.

 

I agree. I'd be nice to have the option of skipping it.

Anyone killed a cougar yet? I've lost two horses to them already.

[Boxing Day]

I love the way it looks , but i have doing the missions , I'm just gonna wait for my brother to finish the game so i can just roam around the wild west hunting deer and assault random campers without worrying about a fucking prostitute getting kill by some ugly cowboy outlaw.

[Chris Moss Acid]

the multi player started out being pretty awesome now its just really annoying, the cover system has a mind of its own and i have probally died this way more then any other.same game types at the same maps gets boring too. though had a good free roam mode with a posse, but while it was cool, it still felt a bit pointy

 

i plan on finishing the game and then selling it, i spent all day playing it and got to mexico.

 

at the end of the day no matter what you say it IS just GTA4 polished up and set in the wild west but with 500% more A button smashing to get your horse to go quicker.

[747Music]

Just picked up this game and I love it so far. Very solid.

[thehauntingsoul]

This is a very solid, clean game. The interface and controls, everything is just really clean and tidy. It works alot like GTA games but it doesn't really feel like GTA at all. When I first saw the previews/adverts I was pretty unsold as the whole Cowboy genre seems really lame, but after playing an hour or so into this game I've totally changed my mind. Quite a solid title for sure, and I barely scratched the surface when I played.

[Guest Gary C]

Only been playing for maybe 2-3 hours, but I'm definitely underwhelmed.

 

I'm finding it more boring than GTA already. Riding horses is certainly nowhere near as fluid or fun as driving cars (but that may be because I have the first horse) and I simply don't care about any of the plot/characters yet.

 

And why doesn't the controller vibrate when you're breaking horses? C'mon.

 

It may get better when I spend more time in the game, learn the controls and methods a little more, but as yet I'm wondering whether I should've bought Alan Wake instead.

[Guest Gary C]

Just discovered whiskey and poker on a stormy night.

 

Better.

[Ego]

About 4-5 hours in and loving this game. Getting constantly sidetracked by stuff that's happening on the road or little missions I pick up. I agree that the horseriding isn't all that fluid which can make riding around a tad boring and the character running animations are a bit off. But it feels like a really dense environment and the atmosphere and attention to detail is fantastic. A bit concerned about longevity once the novelty of it starts to wear out, but very impressed so far.

[goffer]

Just discovered whiskey and poker on a stormy night.

 

Better.

Poker is quite fun... Was put all in after flopping trips. I called and the sheriff guy got runner runner to get a flush. I shot him in the face.

[Chris Moss Acid]

why am i finding this game alot more playable then gta4? ive done a good bunch of shit and im like 33% through and ive had gta4 for 2 years and im like 10% through it..

[tec]

That Wilhelm scream can fuck right off. The rest is cool.

[Tessier Ashpool]

why am i finding this game alot more playable then gta4? ive done a good bunch of shit and im like 33% through and ive had gta4 for 2 years and im like 10% through it..

 

Ok, so, I caved in to the pressure and got this - too much hype to ignore, though I went in with lowered expectations due to the huge let down of GTAIV. I'm not too far in, maybe 30%? Having a BLAST so far, and I'm slowly being convinced that, although this is in many ways "GTA with horses," it's an overall more enjoyable game.

 

I think one of the reasons why this is more appealing and enjoyable is that the open wasteland/untamed west setting works much better for a "sandbox" game than Liberty City. On first blush GTA IV was an instant boner, but I feel like the more I started fucking around and trying to cause chaos, the less the game seemed to hold up to repeated playthrough. Niko Bellic became somewhat annoying as a character, and the constant cell phone calls is the sort of shit I want to avoid in my real life. If I hear "push me push me!" one more time I'm going to strangle someone.

 

Maybe it's that they don't need to try and shove so many NPC's into a huge environment, so the smaller town settings seem more "alive" than the massive uncanny valley that is Liberty City. Maybe it's because I like John Marston more as a character - they somehow make him a sympathetic and intelligent enough character that I can get behind him and, therefore, the storyline. It's also odd to feel somehow morally justified shooting someone in the face, but when someone's hogtying a hooker in front of the saloon, why not knock that hat off their head? I like being the hero, though bandanna means I can be a dick if I want.

 

The random shit is just great - again, the wide open nature of the plains helps this - coming across a random event doesn't feel quite so forced, and there seems to be enough variation to keep things interesting (so far).

 

Will see how it plays out - overall, a much more chill experience too. Been avoiding fast traveling as much as possible, as just roaming the countryside and getting distracted with something random is great fun in and of itself. Makes things seem less "urgent" and more relaxed, meaning when shit does go down, it's in counterpoint.

 

Frankly, makes me way more interested in the eventual RDR sequel than any new GTA games. Never thought I'd see the day.

[Guest illway]

I've been playing it a bunch myself. I'm about 13 hours in. Currently running around Mexico at the moment, doing missions for the government and some old-school cowboy named Landon Ricketts.