Red Dead Redemption

[Loafmeister]

Bough it, tried it for 90 minutes last night.  Only got a chance to try the multiplayer free roaming option, single player is for another day/week, just too busy.

Graphics:  Outstanding, I was expecting frame rate issues because of the vastness of the graphics and the level of detail but no, it looks great and is smooth.  I’ve heard there can be bugs though but in a sandbox game, it seems to come with the territory but so far, nothing I've seen.  The vista’s are beautiful, at one point we explored the northern areas (and got mauled by Grizzly’s! LOL) and we walked towards a sunset and it was a mind blowing feeling, just beautiful.

What makes the graphic effects so fantastic is the animation though, with the horses animated extremely well, and with the game using what I think is called the "natural motion" animation system, which really adds to everything. Basically, it has a "location based" shooting mechanic, which has been done before but maybe not as well as in this game.  So if you shoot a man from a horse, pending where you shoot him, etc, it gives the impression the animation isn't canned, with him/her falling off a horse in multiple different ways (some providing LOL moments).  This excellent effect also works when shooting someone on foot (ie: shoot him in the leg, he'll be crawling).  Again, it's been done before, but there's something about this game that seems to elevate the animation to the next level and certainly makes it feel fresh.

So that’s about it. We messed around, there were AI people that attacked us, sort of Gears of War 2's Horde mode, was very cool.  I heard they had lots of multiplayer issues last night and I did have a connection issue at the beginning (and a problem trying to enter one of the bonus codes that came with the special edition of the game) but all worked ok.   I know that’s disappointing but the presales on this thing are off the charts so I’m not surprised they had issues and I’m guessing they’ll be resolved shortly, once they figure out how many servers to add, etc.

As mentioned, didn’t try the single player game, so can’t comment on it at all, but so far, huge thumbs up on the game, glad I picked it up.

[Ginsu Victim]

Yet another great title I won't play because they aren't releasing it for PC.

I love Red Dead Revolver (have it on PS2 and Xbox) and was looking forward to this one. Oh well....

[Loafmeister]

I think although it's not announced, the Rockstar games guys do tend to port their games to the PC so I'm sure it will show up eventually.  Just curious, you never played the original on the PC so why the anti-console stance?

[Ginsu Victim]

I think although it's not announced, the Rockstar games guys do tend to port their games to the PC so I'm sure it will show up eventually.

Like Red Dead Revolver? Oh wait, no, they screwed PC owners out of that one, too....

Just curious, you never played the original on the PC so why the anti-console stance?

I would have, given the chance. Mouse and keyboard control was sorely missing in that game.

It's not an anti-console stance. It's an "anti-consoles-I-don't-have" stance. I have a PC that's quite capable of running the game, but so far, there's no word of a PC version.

[ark_ader]

I bought my Xbox 360 as I was tired of upgrading my PC for games.  The fact I can just buy one game and it works flawlessly is a serious option for me.  I remember I bought GTA4 for the PC and was disappointed that my Core-Duo just could not keep up with the game, yet a 100 quid 360 played it way better, was a wake up call.  My only gripe is the controller vs mouse+keyboard - but as my friends say - it takes a little while to get used to using a controller.  It is true that K+M is better on C&C games, but the average shooter should suffice on a controller.

Bioshock was another title that ran like a pig on the PC but I recently bought a used copy for the 360 and was amazed at the playability factor.

Yes I used to think as most of you do with regards to PC vs console, but I cannot wait to play RDR as the console version of the game is definitely cheaper than a complete PC upgrade.

I saw the trailer for RDR and it looks spectacular. 

[Ginsu Victim]

Failure rate scared me away from buying one. Maybe I'll get one eventually, since there are a few exclusives I really want to play, but I made the choice to build a MAME cabinet in '08 and upgrade my computer in '09. I'll probably have a 360 when they move on to the next generation of consoles. I tend to stay a gen behind on consoles, which is fine because it's more affordable that way.

[Edwards80]

I tend to stay behind on consoles too. It's rare anything I really want to play doesn't come to PC eventually, the problem with Rockstar is the quality of their ports can be extremely shaky.

GTAIV was riddled with issues. I was lucky and it ran ok, but going of the specs, it should have run brilliantly. They get round to fixing them eventually but it is frustrating.

I do hope they port this well though, if at all!

[Ginsu Victim]

Yeah, I'm currently playing GTAIV on my PC and while still not great, the recent updates have made it run better.

[Frigo]

I'm sticking with the 360. I may not know what I'm doing with the Wii and all of it's IOS and soft mods, but I do know computers, and after performing the x-clamp fix along with reseating the heat sink, and hacking the DVD drive, it makes more sense for me to keep a modded 360 for my games. Right now it's running the latest LT firmware, all my games are stealth patched, and I have played marathon sessions (usually when I was playing GTA IV), where my 360 has not once over heated on me.

Plus, you know, the games are dirt cheap once you hack it. 

[Mauzy]

Plus, you know, the games are dirt cheap once you hack it. 

Deep discounts on eBay are pretty nice, eh? 

Hopefully I will be receiving my "broken" J-TAG ready box within the next couple days...

Anyway, sorry to drag this thread back on topic, but I picked up RDR on launch. I've only been able to play about 3 hours, but I'm pretty impressed. The GTA-based gameplay is certainly there, but its not to ridiculously GTA-ish. TBH, GTAIV couldnt keep my attention at all, but this is different enough (whether it be setting, gameplay or just being new) that I can see myself playing it through.

[Frigo]

Deep discounts on eBay are pretty nice, eh? 

LOL, I hear what you're getting at, but what makes that statement even better is that I bought two "broken" elites with the E74 error for 100.00 EACH. This included the box, controller, cables, EVERYTHING. I fixed one up for myself and the other I sold for 250.00 with 5 DVD+R DL's that had something written onto them. Can't say I didn't get my money's worth. 

[Mauzy]

Nice! The one I bought is just an old Pro with pre-NXE dashboard with a "stuck" dvd try. The guy even had a youtube video showing it boot up fine, but he couldnt get the DVD tray to work. The kicker is that the box has been dismantled, and the plastic DVD eject button is missing. The button he was hitting to show that "it clicks but doesnt do anything" was the sync button

Im assuming there really is something wrong with the drive, but thats ok. I'll just put a bigass sata HD in it.  

[Dazz]

Any PS3 people want to add me to their friends list please feel free to do so.  Just make sure you note that you are from BYOAC.

PSN: broadif

[northerngames]

I bought my Xbox 360 as I was tired of upgrading my PC for games.  The fact I can just buy one game and it works flawlessly is a serious option for me.  I remember I bought GTA4 for the PC and was disappointed that my Core-Duo just could not keep up with the game, yet a 100 quid 360 played it way better, was a wake up call.  My only gripe is the controller vs mouse+keyboard - but as my friends say - it takes a little while to get used to using a controller.  It is true that K+M is better on C&C games, but the average shooter should suffice on a controller.

Bioshock was another title that ran like a pig on the PC but I recently bought a used copy for the 360 and was amazed at the playability factor.

Yes I used to think as most of you do with regards to PC vs console, but I cannot wait to play RDR as the console version of the game is definitely cheaper than a complete PC upgrade.

I saw the trailer for RDR and it looks spectacular. 

weird I am running a athlon 64 4000 at 2.7 with a X1950 pro 512MB AGP and bioshock ran flawless at 1920X1080 for me.

[Ginsu Victim]

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ (3.1Ghz) with 4 GB RAM and an ATI Radeon HD3650 1 GB PCI-e card and I run Bioshock with everything cranked to the max at 1440x900.

On the other hand, I have to run GTA IV at 800x600 if I want to run it with any kind of detail, but that's GTA IV's fault.

[Bender]

Yeah, I was pretty psyched about this game and I have to say it doesn't disappoint!
I'm about 6hrs in and I'm lovin' it

The scenery is just incredible for a video game

[Loafmeister]

Messed around with the multiplayer some more, the multiplayer rating has gone way up. They did a great job with their “challenges” (where with the hunting grounds, you’ll get one specific animal you have to shoot (AND ONLY THE GUY WITH THE CHALLENGE must shoot him).  The cougar attack in the mountains was insane fun, I thought I was going to poop my pants at one point because of the wave of cougars attacking (mixed in with the odd Grizzly, ouch!) LOL  Anyway, good job on the variety with their challenges later on.  Also did a few of the Gang hideouts challenges, a lot of fun with those too, the AI isn’t too bad at all, they were hiding behind boxes, etc. in trying to fight me and a friend.

Huge kudos to the game. The only thing right now on the coop front is I wish the hidden treasures that you can find in the single player game were available via multiplayer, so that as a group you would be motivated to find those and entice you to explore the entire map as a group.

What a game man!

[Malenko]

picked it up yesterday, only got about 40 min in. Its great so far.

[MriswitH]

Pre-ordered from Amazon (new member btw, "Hi everyone!") and have played probably 6 hours or so i'd guess.

Graphics are great, storyline is really fun so far. Very GTA-esque. Environment is absolutely huge! Would definitely recommend!

[Frigo]

Hi MriswitH! Like the name, skin brother.