Apparently I picked just the wrong time to do that. A few weeks ago, after stumbling on some spoilers from the fabulous tvtropes pages for Red Dead Redemption, I decided that I had to jump back into the game. Whereas I am used to and more fond of games where you control the story (like my beloved Mass Effect series), Red Dead Redemption takes a different approach. Although you play as John Marsten, you only slowly get to see who he is and how his life has shaped him. Over time Marsten has gone from a bland, incomprehensible gunhand to one of the more interesting characters in gaming. I rounded out the second major storyline of the game last night and while caught up in the emotions of the scene chose to resolve a problem with gunplay where it may not have been needed. I immediately regretted the decision and wish that I had taken a more peaceful approach. A shooter that can make you wish you hadn’t taken a shot is a rare thing.
Over the next few weeks I will likely finish Red Dead Redemption and eventually will post a more thorough review. In the mean time, it turns out that this self described “semi-literate farmer and hired killer” is one heck of a character.
You probably did give up at the wrong time. This is a big, sprawling game and (my opinion} one of the best. Three younger members of the family have played the game - this has led to them reading and watching westerns. So the game has merit.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, I did give up at the wrong time. I actually finished the game two nights ago after starting it almost a year ago. I'll get around to completing my thoughts on in soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear the game redeemed itself for you (appropriately enough), since in going back to your early posts I was surprised to hear the vitriol of how much you didn't like it -- but on the other hand was curious to hear why, so was searching around for your promised follow-up.
ReplyDeleteI know for my own part I ended up really, really invested in John Marston and his troubles by the end. And oh, what an end. I think RDR also deserves props for sticking adamantly to the "mundane" world of the Old West (with one subtle exception that I actually never ran across in my playthrough) and still making it a relevant and fascinating story. Although I enjoyed the Undead Nightmare expansion in its own right--go figure--the core game has no need of demons and ghosts and such, just men and women and all their foibles on the frontier.
It may not be perfect, but it's a real love letter to the entire genre.
Is that exception the mysterious, unkillable man that sends you on morally challenging quests? I loved that part. I also recall that there is one area where you can encounter an X-Files style alien. Am I thinking of the right game?
ReplyDeleteI know aliens have been a traditional easter egg in the Fallout series (which by the way, the first part of New Vegas has a great Western vibe... even if the rest not so much), but I don't remember any mention of such in the RDR wikis. But yeah, the mystery man... one of these days I need to see about loading up an earlier RDR save and experiencing that sequence, since I completely missed out on it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you came back to the game and enjoyed it. I kind of had the same experience. I put the game down after a few hours, and a year two later I got a new T.V. so I decided to play it. I played it through and really enjoyed it, especially the end.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you came back to the game and enjoyed it. I kind of had the same experience. I put the game down after a few hours, and a year two later I got a new T.V. so I decided to play it. I played it through and really enjoyed it, especially the end.
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