toblix

Red Dead Redemption

Recommended Posts

...awesome musical interludes like the proposition and road...

Speaking of this, what about

that bit where you enter Mexico, and that melancholic little folk-y ballad comes on? That had me totally won over - just you, your horse, the night, a coming storm, and this atmospheric tune. It certainly felt more like you were existing within a mythical, filmic landscape - not just a narrative propelled by guns and cut-scenes.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Speaking of this, what about

that bit where you enter Mexico, and that melancholic little folk-y ballad comes on? That had me totally won over - just you, your horse, the night, a coming storm, and this atmospheric tune. It certainly felt more like you were existing within a mythical, filmic landscape - not just a narrative propelled by guns and cut-scenes.

I keep hearing about this, but my experience wasn't that. Some very different music started then some shit went down and it was all cut short.

Guess bad luck.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

God, I've been thinking about this game constantly since I finished it. There are so many issues and annoyances, from the start and right to the end, but it still comes out so fantastically well.

I was totally expecting the game to end after Dutch died. Then, I was thrown off by the new stuff and trivial missions I had to do. The moment I realised why had me doing all this, spending time with my family, was chilling. The moment inside the barn, after Jack and Abigail have escaped, and the execution, is the high point of every game I've played. The way the story and gameplay come together was just beautiful.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You're talking of John dying? That was fantastic. The bits with Jack after that felt a little sloppy though, right up to the credits. Though it also had a rawness which I appreciated. All in all, John was much nicer to play with, I miss him!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You're talking of John dying? That was fantastic. The bits with Jack after that felt a little sloppy though, right up to the credits. Though it also had a rawness which I appreciated. All in all, John was much nicer to play with, I miss him!

Yeah. From the first or second mission where you teach Jack how to hunt and track, I came to realise I wouldn't be playing as John after the credits. It was very rough, and I actually had to consult a FAQ to find out I needed to get to the train station to finish it. Once I was back on track, though, it was very satisfying. I consider the non-John parts more of an epilogue than part of the ending.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Okay, I just finished RDR. :'(

Well, I thought I'd finished but you people talking about missions with Jack make me think otherwise... I couldn't see any mission markers on the map though. Maybe I have to wander around a bit more.

I love how it's playing with the tired structuring of game endings. Despite feeling pretty anti-climactic after taking down Dutch, I was surprised and intrigued that it continued on and quite enjoyed the bit with your family culminating in Johns death.

I assumed that when you took control of the older Jack, that was just a set up to continue the open world thing. My first port of call was to make Jack face a bear as a kind of rite of passage after his earlier escapade.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

After once again achieving disposable income, I have the game, still wrapped, since yesterday, and I still probably have to wait until tomorrow for me to get a chance to play it. The amount of praise for the ending has me really excited, and might even be enough to defeat my completionist impulse until after I beat the story. (Unheard of, usually)

Actually, I lied when I said it was still wrapped. I took it out once to look at the included map, and to read (and sniff) the game manual. <.<

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I really like how it went, it made me think almost like the player is meant to BE Jack after the end. The whole game is spent with this character, John, and you get to know him, he becomes your voice in the game, your interactions take place through him. He is not the player, he is merely how the player expresses himself in the game world. A relationship develops, almost like miffy495 and G Money, but more universal among players (not everyone develops such a relationship with their horse). Then in the last mission, your companion throughout the game dies, and you are given a new companion. You aren't really introduced in the same ways, you don't get to hear what he is thinking as much, and he doesn't have a past that you don't know about. You can effectively project yourself onto this character much more easily than you could with John. So it's almost as if the player BECOMES Jack. It really is one of the better endings I've seen. But I do still miss John...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

yea the little nickelodeons you can watch are hilarious. Oh, and one side note quest, do the flowers for a lady quest people, I don't want to spoil it, but you'll be glad you did heh.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I actually thought Flowers For a Lady was kinda predictable and that the payoff wasn't worth it. Maybe hearing other people talk about it had built it up too much, I don't know.

That said, my revenge quest is now going to be suspended so that I can finish the story and see what the hell everyone is writing about in spoilers. Damn the game having an apparently great ending!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I actually thought Flowers For a Lady was kinda predictable and that the payoff wasn't worth it. Maybe hearing other people talk about it had built it up too much, I don't know.

I hadn't heard anyone talk about the mission before, but it still seemed predictable and stupid. Also, what's with all the

cannibalism

? I hope that I at least don't have to fight the

super mutants

by the end of this game.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
yea the little nickelodeons you can watch are hilarious.

How many of those are there? Just the 1 in Armadillo and another in Blackwater? Or do the shows change?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't think they do, no.

I fired up the game again today, to finish up all the challenges and stranger quests, etc. I headed out looking for beavers, but after an hour of riding up and down the rivers finding nothing but raccoons and bears rivers I gave up. I don't understand what design decision lead to a mission requiring you to hunt down animals that sometimes never spawn, and for other players spawn hundreds at a time for crazy reasons. It was fun to do the various stuff in between the main missions, but now that they're the main thing to do it's just tedious. I learned this lesson with GTA IV, and now I've learned it twice.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I fired up the game again today, to finish up all the challenges and stranger quests, etc. I headed out looking for beavers, but after an hour of riding up and down the rivers finding nothing but raccoons and bears rivers I gave up.

They sometimes show up in the area near the boat that's under restoration (kinda south east(?) of Blackwater). Didn't even use bait, although I did use the camp to fast forward time because I wasn't sure what time of day they're supposed to show. Wildlife showing up is pegged to time of day in case you didn't know.

Anyone have tips for tracking down the American Standardbred?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I fired up the game again today, to finish up all the challenges and stranger quests, etc. I headed out looking for beavers, but after an hour of riding up and down the rivers finding nothing but raccoons and bears rivers I gave up. I don't understand what design decision lead to a mission requiring you to hunt down animals that sometimes never spawn, and for other players spawn hundreds at a time for crazy reasons. It was fun to do the various stuff in between the main missions, but now that they're the main thing to do it's just tedious. I learned this lesson with GTA IV, and now I've learned it twice.

Lol! Yes, I remember that same feeling with GTA. Everyone said 'don't rush the main quest, enjoy the side ones and take your time'... but I had to go for that achievement Liberty City Minute didn't I? Did Rockstar learn their lesson this time?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yea the beavers are tough to find. Basicly the best place to find bunches of them, is right in that open field between tall tree and the area just to the right of it on the map, and ride up and down the river until you see them. It's kind of a messed up quest because you have to have unlocked the third area, but it doesn't tell you that when you take the quest.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I hadn't heard anyone talk about the mission before, but it still seemed predictable and stupid. Also, what's with all the

cannibalism

? I hope that I at least don't have to fight the

super mutants

by the end of this game.

Yeah, it almost seemed like they were going for an offbeat Twin Peaks vibe with the weirder stranger missions and the Seth stuff, but they never really committed to that, it never goes very far and just sort of peters out after a while.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I kind of like that they dipped into the whole "weird west" thing a bit now and then, without making it a part of the main storyline. Typical Rockstar style, I guess.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I kind of like that they dipped into the whole "weird west" thing a bit now and then, without making it a part of the main storyline. Typical Rockstar style, I guess.

Really? that's typical Rockstar to get off-kilter like that? This is the only Rockstar game I've ever finished (feel free to scorn me for it)...can you give examples (or can other people give examples?). I don't care about spoilers, but please use spoiler tags in case other people do care.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It's a bad example (can't think of any specifics right now), but I'd put a lot of the radio ads in the GTA games in the same category. It was just to the side of reality in a hilarious way, particularly in contrast to the more serious main quest. Well, more serious aside from the character of Brucie, who was just all around ridiculous.

Oh yeah, and weren't there jetpacks in San Andreas? I never really played it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now