Red Dead-Let's Not Get Carried Away Now!
By vidiot 5 Comments
Yes. I will be picking up Red Dead Redemption.
Even with a development cycle that one can only describe as: disturbing, the sheer amount of high-quality previews for Red Dead Redemption has been staggering. The official mini-video previews pumped out by Rockstar are quite possibly the most effective advertisements I have ever seen for a game. No huge live-action spectacles, or a series of bizarre haphazard gameplay clips strung together trying to emulate a movie trailer.
Just a narrator talking about the game.
The best part about it: The game clearly speaks for itself.
You might have not noticed if you have been reading my blogs: But I love story in games. Perhaps equally vigilant about story, than dissecting the inner-workings of game mechanics and desperately trying to describe things I rarely see discussion on. A good story is a good story, and if there has been one thing that Rockstar has been consistently triumphant on, it has been telling a good story. I could go on in greater detail, but just watching some of the cinematic sequences in their most recent endeavors, and you will immediately see a palpable quality of writing that is simply not usual in most games these days.
While I am excited about free-roaming as a cowboy, (A setting and theme I have NEVER understood why it hasn't been properly embraced by game developers) I an perhaps more excited about how they talk in great detail about the grounded historical setting and the cast of characters.
So I am excited for what probably one of the biggest release so far of 2010, I am also trying desperately to be as grounded as possible. Already I have lost count on the numerous threads already proclaiming that RDR is game-of-the-year. Do not let your excitement drown out being critical. Time and time again, there are games that are released with a torrent of support from the launch, only to turn into a ill-forgotten memory in the manner of weeks. I am no imbecile, I understand that this immediate splurge of excitement is something integral to all things popular.
In an effort to not sound like some ill-mannered grandfather shouting incoherently at those "young kids with their rap music":
I am totally stoked for Red Dead Redemption.
But, could I also recommend having a lack of immediate objectification? There will be better games than Red Dead Redemption in the future, don't let hype throw away your opinion of other games for the rest of the year. While I know most of the people on this board praising this unreleased game as the second coming of christ, are not at all serious, I would like to once again point out that the hype-bandwagon is in full speed. We simply might, once again :P, gloss over perhaps....dare I say....actual problems with the game, only to "discover" them in conversation topics weeks later.
So yeah, be excited because the probability of it being a high-quality product is....high....But don't be afraid to bust out the critical eye every now and again.
Also the carpet bombing of ads for this game is driving me a little nuts :P