Zero Punctuation: Red Dead Redemption

[SomEngangVar]

This game is great at making me hate animals I used to like.

"You like bears you say? How about teleporting ninja bears?"
"You like wolves you say? Well, we'll stuff about 240,000 into a square mile of the game!"
"You like mountain lions you say? HAHA! Sam Fisher mountain lion'd."
"You like bunnies? We'll just make you step on them all the time."
"You like dogs? Good we've trained them to naturally be drawn to the impending path of your horse sprinting at full speed."
"You like pigs you say? ...SHIT GET BACK ON THE CANOE!"

 

[zelda2fanboy]

Meh, not a huge fan of this review. I mean complaining about the bugs is somewhat relative, isn't it? I played for 40 hours or so without any major problems at all, save for one or two rocket skating pedestrians and a shimmery effect that exposed a graphical glitch or two in the Matrix. Then again, I didn't have any flying people in my version of the game either.

My main problem with the game was the awful tutorial system. They put it in teeny tiny print at the top left hand of the screen and it advances regardless of whether or not you've demonstrated that you know what you're doing. Plus the instruction manual only has detailed directions on how to save and sign up for the Rockstar Social Club. I had to go online to figure out how to duel. And if you don't do every ambient challenge as you go, you've fall behind and be in the middle of a foreign country that has none of that animal you're supposed to shoot. So you shoot a bunch of another animal, only to realize five hours later that none of that counted.

But yeah, as he said beautifully atmospheric, wrtitten, etc. The whole time I kept going, "Neat, I'm a cowboy! Neat, I'm riding a horse!" The novelty never wore off.

 

[soapyshooter]

he bitches about the travel time but does he realize that you can set up camp and instantly travel from anywhere to anywhere within 20 secs?

All of those were nitpicks and the glitches are expected from a game that is this big in size.
Don't agree with him on this one.

 

[HK_01]

Great review! Loved the beginning about the controls of the horse.

 

[Jonesy911]

I like to think Yahtzee read my letter asking him to tear the piss out of RDR

 

[DTWolfwood]

omg he likes a game everyone elses likes! GASP! XD

yeh i totally agree about the walking into doors thing so annoying!

p.s. absolutely think RDR is GOTY!!!

 

[duchaked]

lol well he definitely does not hate it
and his points def seem valid

altho I am surprised he encountered so many bugs
other reviews pointed out some, but not that many

time sink...haha well I was rushing to play RDR but I may have to wait since I'm way too busy right now =[

 

[kiltmanfortywo]

Nice review, fun to watch but it seemed a little nitpicky.

I played the game on the 360, had no graphical or glitching problems, it didn't crash and I never got stuck in a wall. It was amazingly beautiful and actually looked like west texas, so kudos for that.

 

[ItsAPaul]

Not sure if I can get this game since I know that they sweatshopped their employees to make it, but its good to know they left some bugs in to throw a big ol middle finger at their bosses.

 

[Seatownstriker]

Yeah watch out for those damn Cougars! Had a relative get hunted by one once, luckily he saw it in time and killed the damn thing.

 

[Haro]

Yahtzee is always going to go more on the negative parts of the games than the positive, especially on games that already receive a lot of critical attention/acclaim. That's what I like about him, he's a naysayer, a counter-balance to game reviewers that cushion games with higher scores that turn out to be rubbish. In Yahtzee-speak, going after things like staring at horse asses and having too many things to do is a sign that the game really is pretty solid, if not quite good. It's just funnier (and more Yahtzee-like) to go after all that other stuff.

For my personal input, I mostly agree with Yahtzee. This game is a time sink. But the thing is, I absolutely love it. Maybe it's just because I wanted to be a cowboy when I was six, but I really like the level of immersion and detail. It really does suck you in, or rather, me in I guess. I even enjoy the side games a lot, something I'm not usually a fan of. It's about as close to the wild west as I can get (though who knows, it might just be matching my romanticized version of history) without joining historical actors, so it's cheaper and I don't need to ignore modern society.

I must ask though, what platform were you playing this on? I realize bugs can be a very subjective issue for a game, but I really haven't had any for mine on the xbox 360. Might it be console-related bugs, or am I just that lucky?

 

[Decabo]

Good review. Also, congrats on 150 videos.

 

[JohanGasMask]

I was hoping to see one of thouse Red Dead Redemption VS. Call of Juarez, like you did with prototype and Infamos.
But anyway a funny review like always.

 

[duchaked]

Yeah I also loved the Windwaker sailing...

Anyways... The Prince of Persia movie wasn't shit, so... where are those pictures of you punching your self in your tiny unsatisfied testicles?.

yes, the sailing in Windwaker wasn't bad (except for the stupid sharks that'd knock you off the boat x.x bleh)

hahaha duude that movie was THE shit. but by his opinion it might be crap sooo...oh well (he might shake his googly-eyed rear at us again tho)

 

[Generic_Dave]

I've yet to experience a single glitch and I've been playing about 60 hours. I've found it so much more involving than GTA though. I didn't give much of a shit about Bellic. But Marsten and a few other (Luiza a couple of other quest givers) actually brought emotional responses out of me that weren't anger and frustration.

I find the bears much more dangers than the Mountain Lions...

 

[Krantos]

This is what I love about Yahtzee reviewing games I actually like. It a lot funnier when you can relate to the things he's complaining about. Games I haven't liked aren't as good because, with a few exceptions like Mirror's Edge, I haven't had enough contact with the bad bits to get worked up about it. But when I've sunk as much time into a game as I have with RDR, it's incredibly funny to hear the things that have been bothering me ripped apart so mercilessly.

Yes, that's right Escapists (MH Tri fans I'm looking at you), I love Red Dead Redemption, and I love this review. Easily the funniest he's done in a while because I can relate to everything he said.

On a nit-pick note, however... Remember in the Saints Row 2 review when Yahtzee said that he'd have enjoyed the side missions more if the game hadn't forced him to complete them to continue the story? And now he's criticizing RDR because it didn't force him to do the side missions?

hmmm..... Might want to check that next time Yahtzee, or you'll be called a tosser.

Also, I'm surprised he didn't complain about how finicky the weapon select is, because honestly that's what bugs me the most.

 

[squidbuddy99]

Wow, for the first time since his Brawl review, I strongly disagree with Yahtzee. On the auto-aim mechanic, if guns would not hone in on targets shooting would be monumentously harder since it would be nearly impossible to tell the difference between the dark brown fence from the dark brown man in a dark brown trenchcoat while blood is covering the screen.

Still lol'd, though. He's the only entertainer that can piss me off while I piss myself laughing.

 

[hyphz]

I spent a long time riding when I was starting too, then I realized I was doing it wrong.

Press Start. Map. Choose where you're going. Ride off the road. Campsite. Travel to Waypoint. Bam, you're done.