Red dead redemption is a game that is unfortunately steeped in Rockstar ooey gooey gaming sauce. Everything that was bad and good in previous Rockstar games is here and present. The good aspects of this game are definitely the characters. A lot of them come off as genuine and their performances are really great, this helps to build the old west theme of the game. Speaking of the old West it has been beautifully re-created and really makes you feel like you're a cowboy seconds away from getting dysentery. John Marston himself is one of the better rockstar lead games, a good man done the wrong deal in life, forced to work for the government and hunt down his old gang members so he can save his family.
Unfortunately, red dead redemption goes down the hill in every other aspect of the game. The gunplay at best is tedious and at worst broken, I've had lots of times where I've accurately locked onto an enemy that is at best 2 cm away from me and yet still my bullets go through him or just don't fire at all. I get the guns are supposed to be in accurate due to the time. But there's really results in an unsatisfying gameplay loop of gunplay. The second biggest reason why this game doesn't work is the horse riding. Having a condition in my hands means that if I rapidly press a button, it's going to hurt, A LOT. So having to press button over and over again, just to keep the horse at an high speed is both annoying and tedious. That's not even going into how bad the steering is on a horse, I get the horses are big and bulky. They're not the cars like in grand theft auto, however, when you have to take a sharp turn or even just a small turn it results in the horse flying off and you having to stop re-correct and start over again. Imagine that for every time you have to ride off, EVERYTIME.
The AI in this game is absolutely dreadful, if they aren't breaking their pathfinding, they're dying instantly and having to restart the Checkpoint. I've had whole sequences break because the AI refuses to walk to their scripted location, meaning I had to restart the mission. Plus the AI does not ride at high-speed when you have to accompany them to a mission, it turns into this annoying pole position of going too fast, slowing down, then being too slow, and then speeding up again. It is very frustrating. And yes, you can hold the right button down to semi match their speed, but at times the AI will slow down no reason, so that means you go shooting past them.
Though the most annoying aspect of this game is Rockstar syndrome in-game character, vs cutscene character. In-game, John Marston can shoot down 100 men without a sweat breaking. But in the ending, he gets nerfed so hard. It's really immersion breaking having control taken away from you and you're told this character can't do anything but when you're in control he can do anything...
Of course, this isn't red dead's fault. This is a pattern that's been seen over a lot of rockstar games including that of San Andreas, where a characters problems can be solved in 10 seconds if the player was in control.
With all that together, red dead redemption is honestly one of the most disappointing games I've ever played. The hype people have for this game ever since it's release in 2010 has been palpable. Being praised as one of the best, single player experiences ever released. So I'm just super frustrated that is bogged down by glitches and glaring issues. There is a good game somewhere and it does shine through at times but unfortunately 95% at the time you're either having to deal with crappy combat, broken missions, or the game just breaking because it's a blue moon.
Also, why in God's name would you put the epilogue the final mission before the credits behind a side mission? You aren't told to go find this, you have to stumble upon it, it's marked on your map as a side mission, but this is the epilogue before the credits. A player could 100% miss this and just go about confused why they haven't seen the credits yet.
Sadly, Red Dead Redemption is a mediocre game at best, a slog at worst. If you adore Rockstar games, it's for you. But if you want a cowboy game that respects your time and offers a better experience, then go elsewhere.
Unfortunately, red dead redemption goes down the hill in every other aspect of the game. The gunplay at best is tedious and at worst broken, I've had lots of times where I've accurately locked onto an enemy that is at best 2 cm away from me and yet still my bullets go through him or just don't fire at all. I get the guns are supposed to be in accurate due to the time. But there's really results in an unsatisfying gameplay loop of gunplay. The second biggest reason why this game doesn't work is the horse riding. Having a condition in my hands means that if I rapidly press a button, it's going to hurt, A LOT. So having to press button over and over again, just to keep the horse at an high speed is both annoying and tedious. That's not even going into how bad the steering is on a horse, I get the horses are big and bulky. They're not the cars like in grand theft auto, however, when you have to take a sharp turn or even just a small turn it results in the horse flying off and you having to stop re-correct and start over again. Imagine that for every time you have to ride off, EVERYTIME.
The AI in this game is absolutely dreadful, if they aren't breaking their pathfinding, they're dying instantly and having to restart the Checkpoint. I've had whole sequences break because the AI refuses to walk to their scripted location, meaning I had to restart the mission. Plus the AI does not ride at high-speed when you have to accompany them to a mission, it turns into this annoying pole position of going too fast, slowing down, then being too slow, and then speeding up again. It is very frustrating. And yes, you can hold the right button down to semi match their speed, but at times the AI will slow down no reason, so that means you go shooting past them.
Though the most annoying aspect of this game is Rockstar syndrome in-game character, vs cutscene character. In-game, John Marston can shoot down 100 men without a sweat breaking. But in the ending, he gets nerfed so hard. It's really immersion breaking having control taken away from you and you're told this character can't do anything but when you're in control he can do anything...
Of course, this isn't red dead's fault. This is a pattern that's been seen over a lot of rockstar games including that of San Andreas, where a characters problems can be solved in 10 seconds if the player was in control.
With all that together, red dead redemption is honestly one of the most disappointing games I've ever played. The hype people have for this game ever since it's release in 2010 has been palpable. Being praised as one of the best, single player experiences ever released. So I'm just super frustrated that is bogged down by glitches and glaring issues. There is a good game somewhere and it does shine through at times but unfortunately 95% at the time you're either having to deal with crappy combat, broken missions, or the game just breaking because it's a blue moon.
Also, why in God's name would you put the epilogue the final mission before the credits behind a side mission? You aren't told to go find this, you have to stumble upon it, it's marked on your map as a side mission, but this is the epilogue before the credits. A player could 100% miss this and just go about confused why they haven't seen the credits yet.
Sadly, Red Dead Redemption is a mediocre game at best, a slog at worst. If you adore Rockstar games, it's for you. But if you want a cowboy game that respects your time and offers a better experience, then go elsewhere.