Bend_The_Knee
formerly gotholesinmysocks
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i copped today, u in ny?
Official "Red Dead Redemption" post...The GTA of the wild west
- Thread in 'General' Thread starter Started by moneymike88,
- Start date
i copped today, u in ny?
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There are no connections.
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Yo RFX, you gamin'?
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1up.com gave RDR an A.
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[h2]Reviews[/h2]Red Dead Redemption delivers the best videogame version of the Wild West yet with story, characters, and action you can seriously give a damn about.
By Scott Sharkey�05/17/2010
How badly do you want to play through a really great Western? I can think of some passable Western games, and if I try, I can even think of a couple good ones. As far as great ones go? I've been waiting for one of those since I slid out of the womb, and not in vain, as luck would have it.
I think I dig Westerns in the same way I dig the post-apocalypse: it's a chance to get away from all the stupid #%@@%+%@ that civilization has brought down upon us and spend a little time in a simpler, if more brutal, world. With the veneer of civilization stripped away we've got a pretty clear view of just how good or wicked people are, as well as a chance to be just as good or wicked as we ourselves want to be. I like me some moral ambiguity once in a while but a little bit goes a long way, and I could also use some black and white hats sometimes. Women in bonnets, honest ranchers, and jaded-but-noble lawmen are the good guys. Rustlers, rapists, and snake oil salesmen? Kind of pricks. Easy, peasy. Now you just have to pick one side for yourself and shoot the hell out of the other guys so you can either take their stuff or protect the innocent. Maybe on the way we could chock in some memorable characters and genuine human drama, just to keep everything standing up straight. If there's time, I mean.
Red Dead Redemption brings all of that: the black, white, and occasional gray hats, a story and cast of characters I can seriously give a damn about, some pretty spectacular gunfights, and the chance to define myself through my actions in the world. All of those bits except for the very last are the most necessary parts of a good cowboy flick, and I think this is the first time I've seen them all put together just right. Well, mostly... but I'll come to that. For now I'm going to continue flipping my !!%@ about this game I like.
It's probably not enough that a game express a love of spaghetti Western movies. Coupling both the action and character that make a Leone flick so much fun is tricky enough, but just as important is a love of the American West itself. If you've been lucky enough to live or travel around those parts, and managed to get away from the ever-growing rat's nests of exurbs and Wal-Mart Supercenters, you'll be familiar with its gorgeous variety of landscapes. If you've never been there, well, Red Dead is an excellent substitute. And if you have, it'll be easy to appreciate how well it's been realized. This is simply a beautiful game, and it's provided more than a few moments where I completely forgot where the hell I was supposed to be going while riding over golden hills at sunset or through the desert in the middle of a nighttime lightning storm. It doesn't quite convey the loneliness of the real empty spaces, but does compress the essence of all the varieties of land and weather native to those parts into a few hundred miles ride.
Meanwhile, there's a lot to do in all that big not-so-empty. Just riding through town you're sure to be challenged to a duel or ten, and if you're feeling particularly kind or cocky you can go ahead and shoot the gun out of your antagonist's hand. Or maybe you'll catch some $@*$!!! roughing up a *$%*$ outside the saloon. Fix it or ignore it. Your call.
In the wilds you'll spend plenty of time hunting the wildlife, or sometimes just watching it. The flicker of a deer's tail as it flees through the brush and the muscles rippling under the hide of a running horse are all spot-on. No, I've not often heard of coyotes ganging up to chase down an adult, and cougars don't usually attack mounted, armed men, but it makes things more exciting, and it'll probably help you feel like less of a jerk for killing so many of those critters. This is the movie west, not Wild America.
The random events you encounter throughout the game are each perfect little micro-dramas, and though I've seen them repeated they continue to entertain. "C'mon, mister! My buddy's getting hung and he ain't done nothing wrong!"
I had to try to help when I heard that the first time. Having seen a few movies about this kind of thing, I naturally attempted to shoot the rope holding the guy up. Sadly, no matter how many times you've seen it done, it's hard the first couple times you try it yourself. Probably not so much consolation to the guy sobbing in the dust beneath his swinging friend, but I got the hang of it eventually. This is a game, after all, and practice makes perfect.
Before I forget: yes, the game has a story; one full of betrayal, redemption, revenge, and a lot of other fun stuff. It's a good one, and I've enjoyed it. In fact, if you count all the Westerns I've watched, well, this is far from the best, but it's one of the better ones. Note, however, that I had to say "seen." I didn't really feel that I played that part of the game. The main plot is more like a really good movie that I occasionally take a break from the game to watch. It's also the place where Red Dead most reminds me of the fact that, while it isn't just GTA with horses, I can still smell that game's DNA all over this one.
My protagonist can be an angel of justice in a lawless land, or a man-shaped block of crystallized evil, but when I ride into one of those big letters on the minimap that advance the plot, well, anything I've done before has approximately $*$+-all to do with what's about to happen. The protagonist is always John Marston, mysterious man with a past trying to make right and redeem himself. This will be true regardless of the fact that just a few minutes ago I shot a girl in the leg, hogtied her, and left her on a railroad track. In fact, his charming conversations with sweet, unsuspecting Miss Bonnie come off as a little bit Dahmer-!!@ in that context.
I realize that's how cut-scenes almost always go in games, with the exception of those Mass Effects and Fallouts and whatnot that have been spoiling me lately. Still, when people are talking and stuff is happening, I personally want a say, whether through dialogue options or just the game evaluating my earlier behavior. That's especially true in a game that offers such absolute freedom everywhere else. I don't think the issue is so much that the familiar GTA mission structure feels old, as in every other way Red Dead has gotten so close to what I expect from Western-style RPGs (er, hemisphere western, not cowboy Western). I'm sincerely and pleasantly surprised that I can shoot my own horse in the back of the head while I'm riding him, and even skin him afterward. Or that I can blow away the piano player in the saloon if I don't like what he's playing. But I can't change the course of a conversation, and I can't ask that piano player to play a different tune.
All this is barely touching on multiplayer, which lets you run around in a shared version of the game with a bunch of buddies in the case of a private game, or a bunch of anonymous dbags in a public one. On the plus side, you'll probably end up drifting into a posse of co-dbags pretty quickly, and might even get something accomplished with them. None of the single-player missions carry over to this variation, but the random events do. And there are plenty of vs. and co-op options to pursue. Working together on something feels more rewarding, though any vs. game that begins with a Mexican standoff wins extra points for class. Engaging in any of this horseplay earns experience, levels, and unlockables, like new character models and mounts that fail to suck. You'll want those. The first few minutes spent as a toothless miner riding a balky mule can be pretty humiliating. I don't think that guy's going to see much play outside of private cowboy roleplay servers, and probably not much then.
Anyway, Red Dead is a great game to climb into and just live for a while, and that's everything I wanted. In fact, I'm actually feeling pretty annoyed that I'm not wandering around in there right now. Stupid videogame reviews. There are herds to save, outlaws to kneecap, frontier ladies to rescue, random strangers to tie up and drop off a cliff for no reason, and sunsets that need riding off into.
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lets get a Xbox list going then..its all love PSN guys
NT Posse List for Xbox 360 Red Dead Redemption
K1lla 5am
just add on to the list
NT Posse List for Xbox 360 Red Dead Redemption
K1lla 5am
just add on to the list
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Midnight release tonight right? Im gonna have to wait til after work tomorrow round 3:30 to go pick it up
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In Boston. Was it a chain spot?
Bend_The_Knee
formerly gotholesinmysocks
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na mom n pop
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NT Posse List for Xbox 360 Red Dead Redemption
- K1lla 5am
- donpoppa
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Appreciate the info GotHoles, will swing by a local spot on my way home from work to see if they're selling it.
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for those who preordered amazon which shipping method did u choose? i had to sign up for amazon prime and get free 2 day shipping but earliest they'll have it out to me is friday
. i want to cancel it and cop it from toys r us but it is too late to cancel the order.
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you can reject the package when its getting delivered to you and you should get a refund.Originally Posted by NYH425
for those who preordered amazon which shipping method did u choose? i had to sign up for amazon prime and get free 2 day shipping but earliest they'll have it out to me is friday. i want to cancel it and cop it from toys r us but it is too late to cancel the order.
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They didn't give you the option of release day shipping? I didn't pre-order this game from Amazon, but when I do pre-order from them, I select that option.Originally Posted by NYH425
for those who preordered amazon which shipping method did u choose? i had to sign up for amazon prime and get free 2 day shipping but earliest they'll have it out to me is friday. i want to cancel it and cop it from toys r us but it is too late to cancel the order.
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I wont be on till later in the week as well but I cant wait
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^ um what happen to me being on the list 2 pages ago..
T0INE
formerly toine2983
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Originally Posted by eddiehouse5
They didn't give you the option of release day shipping? I didn't pre-order this game from Amazon, but when I do pre-order from them, I select that option.Originally Posted by NYH425
for those who preordered amazon which shipping method did u choose? i had to sign up for amazon prime and get free 2 day shipping but earliest they'll have it out to me is friday. i want to cancel it and cop it from toys r us but it is too late to cancel the order.
Release day shipping isn't available for every game.
MVP
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Can't wait til tomorrow...great that I don't have lab eitherOriginally Posted by AgentArenas
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I have RD delivery on my amazon order..signed up for free trial of Prime & it was available. This was a week ago btw, might be a time limit..
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i updated the first page with the posse info
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Originally Posted by Mister916
Looking to get Red Dead Redemption this coming Tuesday? Of course you are! Want an even bigger incentive to buy the game? How about free money!?
Money as in a hefty $25 gift card that Geoffrey the Giraffe will happily hand to you as a gift for purchasing Red Dead Redemption from him. Now how's that for making a sweet purchase even better?
*Applies to ToysRus members only! And the deal is only from 10-2 on Tuesday. So, try to sign up before Tuesday and see if you can still cash in on the deal.
does this apply in-store, online, or both?
caponecartels
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Was just re-watching" A Fistful of Dollars".
Made me think, can we unlock Eastwood's wardrobe in the game? (the poncho and such)
Made me think, can we unlock Eastwood's wardrobe in the game? (the poncho and such)
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I think in store only