After a 3-year delay, The Rageaholic's 'Lost' review of Red Dead Redemption at last arrives. This episode was written at launch in 2010, but never edited and finished, due to the sheer volume of new releases at the time.
You're misunderstanding the conclusion, my friend. Yes, John could have easily dropped that firing squad no bother but he chose to be killed so his family wouldn't be hounded by government forces every waking second of their lives. That attack on his farm killed Uncle by collateralization, and could have killed his wife and son as well. John, realizing he cannot escape the all seeing eye of the Bureau, sacrificed himself for true redemption. While it is a bit preachy, it males complete sense when you consider John's unwavering love for his family.
And not to mention, John wanted to stay away from his past. He even got mad most of the time because after he captured (or killed) Escuella and killed Williamson, he wanted to leave but the Bureau forced him to catch Dutch as well. Sure John wanted revenge most of the time but he didn't wanted to do this, he wanted to live with his family and forget all of his mistakes what he has done.
James Patterson very well put Marston was looking to die so his family would be safe. Also reflected in the prequel you can’t escape the bed you have made for yourself but you can try to save your family.
Am I the only person who thought that at the end of Red Dead Redemption John didn't fight back on purpose? I thought that he was getting himself killed because if didn't die they would chase him and his family to the ends of the Earth, and the only way to make his wife and son not go through that was to die.
As someone who was born on a ranch, and grew up saturated in western culture, I have to disagree that the licensed music was out of place. It was spot fucking on both for the tone of the game's plot, and the ideal of what a real cowboy is. That said Ace of Spades is a more than satisfactory a soundtrack for the rest of the game
John gave himself up at the end because they would never give up pursuing his family. They used him the entire time to do their dirty work and killed him at the end to tie up loose ends.
If they played this ending like how Halo Reach did where it was just you vs this legion of enemies till you were gunned down, it probably would've been far more believeable.
The point of the ending was not survival, it was John Marston protecting his family and knowing that death was the only way to do so. John Marston could've taken cover and killed them all, only to have more enforcement and probably very dangerous ones that wont take mercy on Marston's family and kill them. That's the point,he gave his life so that his loved ones could live theirs. Which makes the epilogue, while awesome and satisfying, somewhat depressing.
The ending was Marston sacrificing himself but I do agree it would have been significantly more impactful him going out like that. Having an interactive death where they are dying at your hands after spending so long with the character.
@@BalrogUdun I feel like people would replay the mission over and over and over thinking they can beat it. It would've been frustrating and once word got out that you don't win, all would be pointless. They did right by making John face his consequences, he sends his family away from inside the safety of the barn, the solitude he was seeking.. and then steps back outside where he can't escape the world coming to collect his debt. It was masterfully done.
Most of those glitches were fixed in subsequent patches and I've yet to encounter any of them since getting the GOTY edition with Undead Nightmare years back.
The Game Doctor it wasn’t bad but it would have felt so much better with Spaghetti Western scores and the occasional Johnny Cash or any country legend playing in the background.
I still love this game. Even after all these years, I play this game and enjoy it. Thank you for the review Razörfist. I just hope that RDR2 will not suck.
@@hurinthesteadfast It didn’t suck. I got the game at release date. I still love the game. I play it from time to time. I even have the collector’s edition. Everything inside that box is awesome. I take out the picture cards and I’m amazed that Rockstar didn’t make the entire 144 cards.
@@hurinthesteadfast Update. I found all the 144 cards on the Red Dead wiki website. I fired up my printer and made them all, with the information ok the back.
You've mentioned Euphoria in both of these videos but I tink you're mistaken as to what ir actually is. Euphoria is all body physics, and I suppose animals if you do the riggings. Physics of vehicles, objects or whatever else isn't handled by Euphoria, it's handled by Rockstar. So at least some of these issues you mention aren't Euphoria's fault, such as the swing glitch, etc. I actually like Euphoria's body physics, specifically, when people get smashed by something going fast or when they're shot or falling. It's a nice touch.
GTA V on Gen 8? Ehhh thanks Rockstar, but I already have one copy and I'd rather throw a fat wad of cash for a RDR prequel centered around Landon Motherfucking Ricketts.
This game has me by the short and curly hairs, and I'm playing the PS3 version. Sure, the story itself isn't exactly spectacular, but what I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this is one game that absolutely cannot be overlooked.
As much as I enjoy metal, I think if I play this again (which is possible since I haven't really cared much for replaying GTAV), I think I will upload the soundtrack from Hell on Wheels for it. Loved the setting for this game depicting the dying Old West in the face of modernization and WW1. God, I hope they make a sequel.
Just a note, euphoria is not a game engine. It's merely animation middleware for modifying human movement, has nothing to do with NPC positions or vehicle physics.
I love both Red Dead Redemption games, especially in terms of story and the characters. Have to respectfully disagree on the “Far Away” song that plays when you first enter Mexico though. I absolutely loved that moment and thought it was perfect.
In the end, John makes the choice to die in front of the Edgar Ross and his deputies. Gimmicky and Preachy? I don't know... Honestly, it's all about John redemption. He knows if he doesn't die, Edgar Ross (that fucking snake) will never leave his family alone.
Falconbox ...except, y'know... the review for the game you just witnessed. It's a shit ending because it made no logical sense. Standing in front of a barn while his family are trotting away at the speed of glaucoma isn't 'saving his family', and by rights, they would have been gunned down as well, as witnesses. But Rock Star couldn't consider logic or reason... because they had their gimmicky, stylish ending that ultimately communicates _nothing of value_ to put together. 'The hero dies' endings can work. The Elric series has one. Only, unlike Red Dead, it also has a philosophical and _logical_ reason to exist as well. Blow me, shitheel.
As another commenter put it: "The point of the ending was not survival, it was John Marston protecting his family and knowing that death was the only way to do so. John Marston could've taken cover and killed them all, only to have more enforcement and probably very dangerous ones that wont take mercy on Marston's family and kill them. That's the point,he gave his life so that his loved ones could live theirs. Which makes the epilogue, while awesome and satisfying, somewhat depressing." It was essentially Marston letting himself die so that the government would have no reason to pursue his son or his wife ever again.
A piece of media or art cannot be accurately reviewed or appreciated in its own time. That is why there is no such thing as an Instant Classic. These things take time to be digested and understood thoroughly. Stop letting modern media ruin your opinion of what an actual review is. Re-view. Viewing it again. Going back to view the object in retrospect.
What version of the game were you playing, Razorfist? The 360 version that I have (played the original and GOTY versions) didn't have any licensed songs. All the music was atmospheric.
Rdr is great but Rockstar needs to do more than GTA and RDR They used to make Manhunt, Max payne, gta, bully and LA Noire, but they stopped making games after GTA V, outside of bully, gta and rdr, i have no idea where there games can go, how about a game based on the Witch trials? Like the show Salem? I bet people would be as big into that as the first RDR and Bully... "GTA as a kid" "GTA in the western days" well maybe we can have a GTA with witches...
Good to see RazorFist do a review Red Dead Redemption, my father who hasn't played games since the PS2 era with the GTA games who likes westerns played this game and just fell in love with it. Now I can't get him to stop playing that game LOL :)
The after taste of this game is similar to watching a tragic historical film like Glory or the Mission. A masterpiece to behold the first time but difficult to enjoy again. Trying to replay Red Dead Redemption feels like playing with a dead pet. Morbid.
If you think licensing motorhead again would would have been more appropriate than the dynamic oscar worthy score R* put together, you need to go to metal rehab before the koolaide rot sets in. By metal rehab I mean listen to Otis Redding or Ice Cube or Hank Williams sr. Metal is awesome but you are going to OD.
I do have to argue that the ending wasn't that John couldn't beat them, it's that he was tired of being chased. Man would have rather died than see his family suffer the same fate.
If he fought and won the firing squad his family would live like fugitives. More gov. agents, more running. The whole point of the Redemption was not to run anymore. To settle down. In the end he knew that due to his past life he could not do it anymore (preachy yes). Makes sense he dies at the end.
Is this the first review Razorfist has ever done where he didn't conclude the review with him sitting in front of his camera in his bedroom? I will have to play this game later on.
I actually love motorhead. They are everything metal should be. With that said the craftsmanship and pacing of the RDR score was based on interaction. You can't just license that kind of class. The ambient music would let you know shit is about to go down and the music would progress with you. If you stealth around the music keeps it down for you. How can you not appreciate that? The only time they broke the tone was when they brought in a vocalist. Other than that they handled tone perfectly.
Yes, but we still need something to remind us we're not a juggernaut and can't just dive into battle. There may have been a way to do it better but I don't really see a better way than to make you stay in cover when it's you VS 10. You can always go and use deadeye and feel like a badass but don't be suprised when you end up forgetting one of them and he shoots your head off.
To this day, I don't fully understand how Ace of Spades applies to a Western theme. I imagine it's probably just a joke on Razör's part, but it's one I don't get.
IDK, maybe the ending wasn't about sacrifice so others could live on, maybe it was to show that after all the authority and criminals aren't that different although was kinda rushed , also, i didn't found any single bug other than what i call the sliding horse exploit on the ps3 version
The Music wasn't licensed. They were written for the game, at least as far as Far Away is concerned. Regardless, I disagree with the "out of place" bit. I think they fit perfectly with the tone and enhance the experience particularly once you go home for the first time near the end of the game. But that's just me.
I actually picked this game up because of Angry Joe's review 3 years ago, to be perfectly honest. I'm glad I took his advice that one time because I had a phenominal time playing it.
Yeah, I agree immensely about the ending. I mean, for the entirety of the 20 hours prior to the ending, Marston is able to pick off a gang of 50 fucking people, but when the cops show up with the main antagonist, he can't even to think to run out and face them with some dynamite or something. And the epilogue with Jack Marston was kind of bad.
(not like it matters 5 years onwards but) I wildly disagree about Euphoria. Not only are these glitches some of my fondest memories of the game, the Euphoria physics is what makes shooting people in this game feel like Clint Eastwood with the spaghetti limbs. The glitches just add to the fun of the game, it's not meant to be serious at all and that's why it's so fun (where they went massively wrong with 2 in my eyes)
Just beat the game (December 30, 2018). It was a great ride. I’ll be going into RDR2 hopeful of finding the same level of engagement via the narrative.
I'm a fellow "Jewish, British, Catholic, homosexual elite" that brought upon the plague in the old west once, as foretold by an elderly racist store clerk, and I approve of this review! ;)
I agree, I mean having a real life, job, two kids, and the fact that I'm only in the house for about four hours a day. So yeah, I pick and choose my gaming. Right now it's Saint's Row IV and Injustice. Right now I'm catching up on Breaking Bad.
I'd classify myself as a casual gamer. I play the titles I want and 100% completion/trophies mean fuck all to me. It might take me a month to get through a game. But I was completely immersed in RDR. 100% completion. Currently on my 3rd play though. There are few games today that I can spend hours doing absolutely nothing and enjoy every minute of it....
This really makes me wanna pop in RDR in my PS3 again... I've finished it once but started a 2nd save and stopped it halfway through. I think I'll just finish it before GTA V comes out. Anyway, loved the fucking review. You're amazing, Razorfist!
It's story is probably linear. Mafia II is a good example. It had a large city setting but didn't utilize it properly. You were simply led from one story event to another. There were virtually no side quests and there was very little incentive to explore; Save for a few Playboy centerfolds scattered about.
Great review and I'm glad as fuck you mention Gun, which also was a great game. I am hoping that maybe we get to see a prequel to Red Dead: Redemption.
+6dark6alex6 - Not really. The first three games all have extensive open-world segments, as well as side-missions. They're more non-linear than they're generally given credit for.
Multiplayer is pretty badass in RDR. Same open world map, co-op and pvp (though pvp is kind of dead now) missions, you can create and join posses to go hunt down other people all over the map. The CoD or BF type of multiplayer doesn't really happen in this one, if that is the type of multiplayer you are talking about.
Hell yeah, I want a Red Dead successor, doesn't have to be a direct sequel, just make a game where I can spend countless hours fucking up saloons and playing Five Finger Fillet. I have not even popped half a chubby over GTAV yet, everyone and their fucking mother walk around with raging hard-ons that would put Ron Jeremy to shame over this fucking game.
Nice. I was expecting that the entire last part of the game from when you do all of the Marston family missions. I kept thinking that they were going to get kidnapped or killed or something. Everything pointed that way too, because of the numerous missions trying to get the player to feel connected to the Marston family. That would've been a better ending indeed, and I wouldn't have to suffer trough getting 100% of the game with Jack instead of John.
I agree on the ending. Its like I finally get my family back and make amends with the dudes son and then out of the fucking blue I get blown into kingdom come!!! This is a game I would buy again. One of the best games ever made and hopefully whatever Rockstar is making now (GTA5) it reach its level