Member Red Dead Redemption

And what do you know? There was actually something to find. Up on Mt. Shann, a little searching will reward you with a find big enough to make any archaeologist jealous. A massive skeleton lies solitary among the snowy mountains, begging the question: Is that really the end of the hunt? Or is the truth still lurking somewh

Both Red Harlow/John Marston fit the narrative perfectly; both were men born of the west and knew only a certain way of life. This solidified their stories even more. While Red Harlow sought to seek out the killers of his parents, John sought out closure for a life he had perpetuated on to himself. These stories have western tale written all over them and succeed by showcasing these separate tales in realistic ways, while still playing in to the western tropes people know and love. While there were some bigger set pieces show casing these tropes, i.e. certain shoot outs, they kept the west relatively tame. Especially Red Dead Redemption.

The year is 1911. John Marshton was once a dangerous outlaw but has left that life behind to pursue the simple pleasures of being a family man. John is enjoying his new life until the Bureau of Investigation visits him to work out a deal with him and take his wife and kid into custody for leverage. As a former outlaw, John is facing some serious penalties for his past but the FBI is willing to cut him a break if he brings his former gang members to justice. John agrees to these terms, not like he has much choice, and travels to Fort Mercer to confront his former rappy, Bill Williamson. Things go horribly wrong and instead of bringing anyone to justice, John is shot and left for dead, only to end up in the care of Bonnie MacFarlane.


There's a bit of a debate around this one. Just Northeast of Bacchus Bridge and Southeast of Donner Falls lies a hole in the ground. A somewhat familiar looking hole in the ground, for Tolkien fans. That being said, something about the whole house seems... off. Other than the obvious similarity of being a literal house in a hill, there isn't much about the house that seems like its Lord of the Rings counterpart. Style-wise, they're pretty disti

As for the main story, it’s entertaining but far from revolutionary. It has its highs and lows, the lows being the lack of development outside anyone who’s within the Van der Linde gang. You get to meet a plethora of characters through Arthur’s journey and yet most of them only appear in one or two missions, outside of a couple of exceptions. Red Dead Redemptions 2 moves at an incredible pace to the point that most people in the Open World game weapons are disposable and sometimes unnecessary, making me wish there was more of a focus on specific story beats as it’s spread too thin in spots. With that said, outside of the phenomenal core cast, what Rockstar does right is create exciting scenarios. This is something the company is known for, crafting well-designed and often comical heists that are sure to go awry. Whether it’s robbing a train or a stagecoach, or simply walking through town, each chapter has a handful of standout missions that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Granted, the other missions are mostly broken up into your standard affairs, but at least they’re kept lively thanks to Arthur generally being assisted by another member of the gang.

Seeing as Red Dead Redemption 2 has officially been announced to the masses, albeit with no idea what the Open world game missions is about (John Marston's name is not even mentioned), I thought I’d voice some thoughts. While I wholeheartedly enjoyed both Red Dead Revolver and Red Dead Redemption, I am worried by Red Dead Redemption 2. Aside from hype, which apparently can’t be stopped, seeing as the collective internet ethos freaked the hell out, let me explain why it’s important to be cautious with something like this.

This seems nearly impossible seeing as we’re almost at the 10-year anniversary of the game’s announcement, but I feel fairly positive Final Fantasy XV might at least launch in Japan by the time 2015 ends. The fact that we’re getting a gameplay demo in 2015, the large amount of gameplay trailers released in 2014, and the fact that the English voice-overs are already done is enough evidence to suggest we’ll be playing Final Fantasy XV sooner than later.

2014 got a pass because not a lot of original content for PS4 and Xbox One was being released until the final quarter of the year. 2015 is different, because now we’re starting to see development for these new platforms ramp up. There’s no need to see teams waste their time to bring games only a few years old to these new consoles. Already we have DmC: Devil May Cry Definitive Edition, Devil Mary Cry 4: Special Edition, Saints Row IV: Re-Elected, Dead or Alive 5: Last Round, and Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster among others. Now there are some exceptions for games that were only released on one platform (Resident Evil Remake HD), or games you can’t get anymore because they’re so old (Grim Fandago: Remastered). Other than these few exceptions, enough is enough!