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Red Dead Redemption (PS3)
by illusiveman
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When I bought this Product
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Shortly after the release of Red Dead Redemption in May 2010 I was looking for ideas for my birthday which was just over a week away, after viewing some game play footage on YouTube and hearing that it was made by ... Rockstar I knew I would buy this game no matter what.
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My Experience / Features
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I bought this from Argos on my birthday with some birthday money I got and played it as soon as I got home. I was instantly hooked within minutes of starting to play and was on it all day everyday for a few days.
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Story and setting
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The game is set in the year 1911 where John Marston, is taken away from his family by the Bureau of Investigation and forced into the uneasy task of bringing the members of his former gang to justice.
The map of the game is based on two fictional United States counties known as New Austin and West Elizabeth, the game also includes a fictional Mexican state known as Nuevo Paraiso. The United States and Mexico share a border and are separated by the San Luis river.
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Travel
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As the game is set at the time when modern technology such as automobiles, machine guns and oil drilling projects were beginning to appear the main form of travel was primarily by horse of which there where a few different breeds.
The Infested Ardennais and the Jaded Tersk are some of the slowest breeds of horse available within the game, they also had the lowest stamina and health than some of the other breeds available.
Breeds such as the Dutch Warmblood and the Highland Chestnut were slightly better in the speed and stamina categories but only have slightly better stamina than the breeds mentioned above.
The Hungarian-Half Breed and the Kentucky Saddler are considered the best horses available within the game with higher stamina, health and speed than the rest of the horses.
Horse pulled carts and wagons are also available to "borrow" when you don't feel like riding a horse, some of these wagons can also be used as a fast travel point to allow quicker access to other points of the map.
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Combat
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Due to the limited options available there are no highly explosive weapons such as Rocket Launchers, there are various Revolvers, Pistols, Shotguns, Scoped Rifles, Rifles and Repeaters that can be acquired.
Hunting Knifes and various throwing weapons such as dynamite and fire bottles can be used when they are needed, some of these weapons may also be useful when out Hunting in the wild.
There is also a feature known as dead eye which is a slow motion aiming system useful for targeting enemies and even animals while hunting, it is also used for duelling.
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Gambling
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In most saloons there are usually people playing activities such as Poker, Blackjack and Liar's Dice (I find this one and Blackjack very addictive) where you can enter yourself and try to beat the other players and win all the loot.
In some outdoor areas there will be a table set up where you can play five finger filet (more commonly known as the 'knife game') which involves placing the palm of your hand on a table with a space between each finger and attempting to stab the table repeatedly back and forth while avoiding your fingers.
There are also games such as Arm Wrestling and Horseshoes which involves throwing a horseshoes as close as possible to a stake in the ground, the close you get the more points you get.
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Hunting
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While out in the wild you are able to hunt various animals such as Coyotes, Bears, Beavers and Rabbits, once hunted and killed the animal can be skinned and sold at various locations throughout the game, sometimes an animal heart or horns can be acquired which are usually worth a little more than the skin and the meat.
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Summary
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Good Points:
*GTA set in the old west
*Horses
Bad Points:
*None
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Overall Rating
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I have highly enjoyed playing this game and as I mentioned at the beginning of the review I mentioned I was playing this game constantly for the first week or so, I would highly recommend this game to anyone whether a fan of Rockstar's games or not and give this a 5 star rating.
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L.A. Noire (PS3)
by Red-Fox
When LA Noire was first announced, with its use of facial capturing technology, I was extremely excited. When I finally got around to playing the game, I was not disappointed. Taking control of Cole Phelps, a former US Marine turned police officer, you get to see the darker side of LA. As you progress through the game you will work your ... way up from officer to detective, and then slowly up the ladder of the LA Police department.
The graphics look amazing, with the 1940's LA Landscape being completely explored for the most part. There are a wide variety of vehicles that can be used, some driving around the street, others hidden away in secret garages. Characters each have their own unique look, helped greatly by the facial recognition technology, meaning that each character shares the appearance of the actor portraying them, making LA Noire seem more like a film than a video game.
The game play is fun, but at times can get repetitive. Each mission consists of finding clues, interviewing witnesses and suspects, and then eventually solving the case. This can be as simple as arresting the suspect, or as action packed as a big firelight, resulting in the suspects death. While you do get a better rating at the end of the mission depending on how well you did (asking the right questions, finding all the clues), you will always end up solving the case, regardless of how you get to that point. Failing cases just means that the mission must be started again, rather than the story continuing, which is slightly disappointing.
Interviewing suspects and witnesses is very interesting. As you ask each question, you can judge how they react, both through their answers, the way they speak, and the look on their face. The options of Truth, Doubt and Lie are interesting, as each action will give you different responses, and some reactions will give you more answers, and thus more leads, meaning that you will be able to solve the case.
On top of the main storyline, you can also drive around the city, finding locations and cars, but you can also come across side missions. These side missions are usually very simple, often resulting in a chase or a shoot out, but they are a nice way to break up the story.
While more could have been done with the story, such as continuing even if you fail a mission, the game is extremely enjoyable, and you will find yourself lost within the world very easily, and will leave you wanting more at the end of it.
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Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3)
by Thebaker50
The grand theft auto is a series well known amongst gamers, as being the first real free roam game following the life of some gangster or mobster in a city trying to make his way to the top. Anyway, this is the newest incarnation of that series where you play as Tony, an italian who comes in on a boat with a mysterious past, to live with ... his cousin who he thought was really rich, but turns out lives in what can be described as a dump, and gets harased by loan sharks and the like.
Anyway, i am not going to focus so much on the story, as i stopped playing relatively new into the game, due to getting fed up with the poor game mechanics, which i will get on to in a second.
Firstly i should probably note that i was comparing this game to san andreas the whole time. I liked the free roam and RPG element of the game, but i wanted better graphics, and a better driving system. In this game yes they delivered better graphics, and added a weird go through the windscreen crash effect, as well as you character not being some sort of god, and being able to be killed in a single accident, both of which are good thing. However there are 3 main problems with this game. Firstly the way your guy walks is terrible. He doesn't seem the most intelligent of people, and is fairly slow and seems to not move the way you want him to... almost like he is drunk. This gets annoying once you try to get in vehicles, or fight etc, as you just feel like your commands are not being listened to.
The next biggest problem is that they got rid of some of the cool attacks you could do with some weapons, like you used to be able to do a stealth attack from behind with the knife, not anymore. Also the knife seems to do nothing to anybody?
But by far the biggest problem is the driving system. Seriously it is terrible. If you go at a corner at around 20 mph, you just skid straight off. I am not even exaggerating. And i am not sure whether this is because of a low driving level or something like that, but as far as i am aware you cannot even level up in driving skill like you could in san andreas. It just constantly feels like you are driving on ice in this game, as the cars are lazy, irresponsive, and look like boats when they try to turn. The result is that there is no fun to be gained driving, or getting from place to place. Add this to the lazy way you guy fights and shoots and so on, the whole experience is just not very fun, or at least i though so.
Anyway, this game was a real letdown for me. I really feel rockstar missed a trick. Even though to be fair it wasn't that bad a game, the fact that it could have been so much more if they just used a driving system from another game (why couldn't they use need for speeds, or project gotham racing, or forza, or GT, instead of some woeful system). I know i am not alone in this, as a friend from work said the same thing to me as well, he didn't like it either. Overall, 2/5, as the game feels lethargic, and badly finished.
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