Red Dead Redemption

I just saw a preview video of this game and it's gone right to the top of my must have list. I love the whole huge open world, free roaming kind of thing.

But what is it you actually do? Do you do missions? Can you talk to people? What is out there in that country side to do? Judging by the video mostly all you do is strut about the place looking cool.

I wonder if it will end up being like Assassins Creed… huge towns teeming with people but very little to actually do there. You can't actually talk to people, and it's little more than a back drop.

Anyone know any more about it? It's still a couple of months away so it's too early to get excited… but I'm excited.

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/acti…e-west-trailer

Yeah, this is one sexy looking game. I have it on pre order right now.

It's probably going to be a lot like a GTA game, it uses the same engine as GTA4. And I've read that there should be plenty to do while wandering, like bird shooting challenges. They claim to have a food chain type eco-system with 40 animals that you can hunt and skin. Also, they said they have some random events spring up while you are traveling.

Originally Posted by Korplem
Yeah, this is one sexy looking game. I have it on pre order right now.

It's probably going to be a lot like a GTA game, it uses the same engine as GTA4. And I've read that there should be plenty to do while wandering, like bird shooting challenges. They claim to have a food chain type eco-system with 40 animals that you can hunt and skin. Also, they said they have some random events spring up while you are traveling.

Is that the one where you play Carl Johnson? I played that for a bit but gave up. Although it was impressive in a lot of ways, it was just so hard to get anything accomplished because you had to go all the way back to your house to save. Plus, I'm REALLY not big on the big floating icons, like cash drops or the big floating floppy disk where you save.

No, it's the one where you play as Niko Bellic. It was made quite a bit more realistic than the one you are talking about, San Andreas. They did away with the floaty stuff. For example, you lay down on your bed to save the game.

Originally Posted by Korplem
No, it's the one where you play as Niko Bellic. It was made quite a bit more realistic than the one you are talking about, San Andreas. They did away with the floaty stuff. For example, you lay down on your bed to save the game.

Well that's good at least. Few things put me off a game than a giant floating exclamation point over someone's head or something like that.

Why is it you can't just save where you want though? Is it a technical reason or do the typical players of these sorts of games prefer it?

I'm intrigued by the hunting idea. I don't really want to kill animals (yeah I know, silly) but I've really been interested in a game that lets you actually live in the game world. Where you have to do things (like hunt and eat) to stay alive. And garner relationships with people, and so forth.

Plus I really like games where you can bond with your gun (or sword) and car (or horse)!

I don't think it was anything technical, just a design choice. Maybe to make your home feel more like home.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/re…and-unpleasant

I just like these particular quotes, as the duality of their design-philosophy is fascinating.

"…there was a certain amount of blood and gore and gruesomeness [that] was vital for the game to have the weight that we wanted it to have. It's not generally something where we didn't think it was being gratuitous at all. We thought it was vital for it to properly depict these kind of characters and this kind of world, the violence had to feel slightly raw and unpleasant."

…and…

"We didn't fully represent era-appropriate racial attitudes because it's too unpleasant to deal with…"

Politically correct cop-out if ever I heard one. Frankly, I'd have been fascinated by a game that dared adopt the thoroughly racist attitude of the time, given that the "Wild West" is noted for allowing those of color to break free from the period-strictures, even if they (largely) remained members of a distinctly lower-class. Furthermore, the interplay would have made for some legitimately mature situations.

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That much aside, my only qualm (apart from the game not being a full-on RPG) is this:

Originally Posted by Korplem
…it uses the same engine as GTA4.

By which, I take it, if the PC ever sees a port (which I'm not alone in hoping for) of such, it will likely be a DRM-ridden, unoptimized piece of junk, whose bloated system requirements will prohibit me from playing it without a few hundred dollar investment into my computer.

This game looks fun but… no PC version?

No confirmed version, though if you can accept that this…
http://img692.yfrog.com/i/reddeadredemptionpcvers.jpg/
…is not 'shopped and, thus, accurate, it seems we may eventually see a port.

EDIT:
That, supposedly, is taken from the forthcoming April edition of GameInformer magazine.

Yeah, it'll probably not be worth grabbing on the pc if GTA4 was any indication. Hopefully they learned a few lessons and don't screw this one up but in this industry lessons usually go unlearned.

The game has very interesting setting and hopefully it would ported to PC. The success of the game would probably inspired a developer to create more RPG-like games in similar setting.

For anyone interested in the game, here's a trailer, and a link to a post I made on the game's forum at gamespot. I thought people here might be intereseted in the answers to the particular questions I asked, coming from an RPG background like me.

Personally, I'm more excited the more I hear about it. It's coming out the same time as Alpha Protocol. I'll be buying both but playing this one first.

http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/xbox/gam…est-trailer-2/

http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/r…#m-1-598242906

Looks nice, but the setting is not on my first choice list. But not targeted for the PC?…. interest lost…

I must admit that the whole title is well done in terms of language.

It has a clear message : "You are redeemed only when you are red and dead …"
With "red" obviously meaning blood … The whole title is very smooth to speak, easy to remind, and has quite a few alliterations in it. I must bow before the language artist who did it.

And that apart from the fact that I wouldn't buy a game with *such* a title and the - through the title - implied gameplay at all …

Originally Posted by themadhatter
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/re…and-unpleasant

I just like these particular quotes, as the duality of their design-philosophy is fascinating.

Cognitive dissonance doubleplusgood. Rockstar obviously wants to remain in their warm, wholesome comfort zone of wanton criminality and casual brutality.

Anyone play Gun? An open(ish) world 1800s Western-themed shooter from about five years back. Flawed but fun. Much better than the on-rails Call of Juraze.

I played Gun for a few hours. Reasonably fun, I don't know why I didn't play it through.

Übereil

no PC, no love from me. We have a PS3 at my office so hopefully somebody will buy the game and I can play it during lunches but my feeling with Gamestar is that they are giving up on the PC as a gaming platform.

Originally Posted by Cassius
Anyone play Gun? An open(ish) world 1800s Western-themed shooter from about five years back. Flawed but fun. Much better than the on-rails Call of Juraze.

I've had a copy of Gun for over a year, but have never played it. Got it cheap during one of those GoGamer.com 48 hour madness sales. I had no idea that it was "openish", I might try to actually play it soon if I can find the time.

The main area maps are free-roaming. Not that's there's a lot to find apart from gold deposits and some side mission unlocks. There's also some (extremely) minor RPG elements in that the player character's stats can be improved by completing side quests, and money can be used to buy weapons upgrades.

The game isn't a classic by any means, but it's worth a playthrough: interesting storyline, nice scenery, serviceable shooting action, and the horse-riding is well implemented.

Originally Posted by Lemonhead
no PC, no love from me. We have a PS3 at my office so hopefully somebody will buy the game and I can play it during lunches but my feeling with Gamestar is that they are giving up on the PC as a gaming platform.

I feel the same way about The Witcher and The Witcher 2 not having a 360 version. Why would a developer of a major game not make it for all platforms?