NOISEREDUX PLAYS GAMES
  • Blog
  • Blog

red dead redemption ii

10/26/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
I have to be honest, I've never been a big fan of cowboy movies. Sure, I think the work that Morricone did some amazing work scoring the old Spaghetti Westerns. But I was never all that keen on watching the movies. I can't really explain why. Historically, the Wild West is certainly an interesting time period. But to sit down and watch a western? I was just never that into the genre. The closest I've gotten have been sort of genre-adjacent fare. I mean, Back To The Future III was fun. And I thought The Hateful Eight was fantastic as a sort of The Thing x Cowboy mashup run through the old Tarantino filter. And Westworld is awesome, sure. But I guess Westworld is a good example - I'm way more interested in something with a sci-fi spin than I am in something that's just a realistically grounded western.

I'm definitely rambling here. But listen, I am a fan of Rockstar. Vice City pretty much sold me on 3D open worlds. And Grand Theft Auto V was a total masterpiece in my book. One that I spent so many hours exploring aimlessly before finally plowing through the story. So a few years back I decided I'd actually play Red Dead Redemption, but the only way I could really make it interesting to me was to just pretend it was Westworld: The Game and just explore it with that in mind. I had fun, for a while. But I never really bothered with the story. I did play a lot of poker, though.

At any rate, Red Dead Redemption II came out a few years ago now, and has gone down as one of the highest rated games of the Xbox One generation. And while details are now leaking about Grand Theft Auto VI, I figured now was as good a time as any to delve into this one for myself. It was on sale for a decent price in the Xbox Summer Sale, so why not? 

Starting up the game was a positive experience. The opening chapter is very linear and high on story. And I must say it was fairly riveting. You play as a member of a gang that's been sort of forced to the fringes of society. Everything felt realistic. Everything looked fantastic (oh, that snow!), and the score and ambient sounds are engrossing. I actually felt like, y'know what? I might stick with this game.

There was definitely some cool beats throughout the story. That first cabin raid? It's gripping. Or when you first get into Valentine and see the impressiveness of the living town. I mean everything from getting into saloon brawls to watching old movies, it's good stuff. Even the way that decisions seem to matter to the story is cool. Like, I had the option to help a guy who was hanging off a cliff. If I let him die, I'm a bad guy. If I let him live, then I'm a good guy, but he could make things tough for me later, maybe. While I'm considering my options, he falls to his death. I took too long. It added realism. But again, I'm not really into old westerns. The setting - while interesting - is just not exactly the kind of game that's going to suck me in. So not long after I got into Chapter 2 I decided to just cut loose and start exploring the map for myself. It was time to make my own fun.

And I did. Except for when the game started fighting against me. 

Now it's no secret that one of my favorite activities in Grand Theft Auto V was hunting for UFO sightings. So once I found out that UFO's existed in Red Dead Redemption II, I was on my way. My first stop was an old shack that had a creepy scene inside. Apparently, it belonged to some kind of doomsday cult or something, and all their skeletons were still there. After reading a note the leader left behind that references visitors coming on the second hour, I knew I had to come back at 2AM. I did so, and found myself back in that creepy shack as it was surrounded by a green glow. I ran outside and caught only a glimpse of the craft exiting the sky. It was cool, though.

Apparently the second sighting took place on a mountain referenced in that same cultist note. So I made my trek out to that mountain, scaled it, and found the weird little rock formation that let me know I was in the right place. I tried numerous times to get the UFO to show up at 2AM again, but nothing. After my third attempt, I felt like I was wasting my time.

Beyond that, the balance of my time was spent just smelling the digital roses. There's no doubt that this is a beautiful open world. The whole nature aspect is gorgeous. The wildlife is believable. The sounds are so lulling - especially the chirping birds.

Also, I struggled with some actual technical and systemic points of the game. I suppose that things like having to retrieve your bag on your horse to change weapons is realistic, but is it necessary? For me it feels like an annoying waste of my (precious) time. Remembering to change clothes as weather changes throughout regions also just feels like it's an annoying mechanic borrowed from Breath Of The Wild. The sluggish pace at which you walk is also a personal pet peeve. But for me, something that felt like it was always teetering on game-breaking was the lighting. I cannot tell you how much time I spent in menus dicking around with HDR settings and googling pointers on how to lighten things up. But it just wasn't making things better, and over time I started to often dread nightfall. But this isn't Castlevania II. There was no curse... I just couldn't see what the hell was happening! 

Thus, I'm feeling a weird disconnect with this game. I'm not even really sure how to explain it. Imagine playing a game that you can recognize is great in most every way. The story seems great. Take for example the train hijacking mission that really kept me on my toes. But overall, I just don't feel all that compelled to stick with the missions because as I stated up above, the wild west just isn't a setting that sucks me in. The open world is beautiful and awe inspiring, but to spend time exploring aimlessly also means coming to terms with my complaints about the slow walking and the inventory management and overly dark nighttime exteriors. There are parts of this game that are genuinely great - lots of them in fact. But there's also enough annoyances that weren't present in Grand Theft Auto V that just stops Red Dead Redemption II from being the same kind of joyful virtual vacation that I had hoped for.
0 Comments

    Games

    All
    Aladdin
    Aliens: Fireteam Elite
    Animal Crossing: New Horizons
    Arena Of Valor
    Arise: A Simple Story
    Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon
    Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night
    Boxboy + Boxgirl
    Bravely Default II
    Bulletstorm
    Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
    Call Of Duty: Black Ops II
    Castlevania
    Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
    Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
    Chorvs
    Contra
    Crash Bandicoot Warped
    Crystal Crisis
    Crystalis
    Dead Cells
    Destiny
    Destiny 2
    Diablo III
    Dishonored 2
    Doom (2016)
    Double Dragon IV
    Dragon Quest
    Dragon Quest XI
    Dr. Mario
    Elden Ring
    FIFA 18
    Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
    Final Fantasy Type-0
    Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon And The Blade Of Light
    Fire Emblem: Three Houses
    Fortnite
    Forza Horizon 5
    Friday The 13th: The Game
    Ghouls N Ghosts
    Grand Theft Auto V
    Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
    Guardians Of The Galaxy: The Telltale Series
    Gunstar Heroes
    Halo Wars 2
    Hearthstone
    Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity
    Ice Hockey
    Islanders
    Layers Of Fear
    Life Force
    Life Is Strange
    Lightseekers
    Madden NFL 18
    Mega Man 5
    Mega Man X
    Mega Man X2
    Mendel Palace
    Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
    Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
    Metroid
    Mighty No 9
    Minecraft
    Monster Hunter Rise
    Monster Hunter World
    Monster World IV
    Overwatch
    Paladins
    Paper Mario: The Origami King
    Phantasy Star II
    Phoenix Point
    Plants Vs Zombies 2
    Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu
    Puyo Puyo Tetris
    Radiant Silvergun
    Railway Empire
    Red Dead Redemption
    Red Dead Redemption II
    Rocket League
    Rygar
    Shadowrun Returns
    Slay The Spire
    SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy
    Splatoon 2
    Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
    Super Castlevania IV
    Super Mario Bros
    Super Mario Bros 3
    Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels
    Super Mario Galaxy
    Super Mario Maker 2
    Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
    Super Metroid
    Super Smash Bros Ultimate
    Tales Of Vesperia
    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
    Tetris 99
    Tetris Effect
    The Legend Of Zelda
    The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
    The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening
    The Quarry
    The Walking Dead
    Toejam & Earl
    Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
    Triggerheart Exelica
    Tunic
    XCOM 2: War Of The Chosen
    Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link

    Archives

    June 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    September 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    March 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    May 2012
    February 2011
    May 2010
    August 2008
    November 2007
    May 2006
    February 2004
    October 2003
    September 1999
    October 1998
    May 1998
    October 1995
    January 1995
    April 1994
    January 1994
    November 1993
    September 1993
    August 1993
    December 1992
    December 1991
    October 1991
    October 1990
    September 1990
    July 1990
    May 1990
    April 1990
    March 1990
    February 1990
    August 1989
    December 1988
    March 1988
    February 1988
    August 1987
    May 1987
    October 1986
    June 1986
    October 1985

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.