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Awesome, I completely agree. I really loved John Marston as a character, and what makes it more tragic is that even though the game is an open world game, and you can continue to play and explore after you complete it, you can't explore it with John any more (without starting a new game) and that more than anything drove his sacrifice home, and made his death feel more real.
I love that game. Great read as always Chad!
I love that game. Great read as always Chad!
The epilogue of the game was really the only part I thought that lived up to the promise of what RDR could have been. It was pretty darn amazing, impressive, and made me care about Marston, his plight, and his family more than the rest of the game combined.
Indeed. I jumped on Twitter and gushed about how epic the ending was as soon as I had completed it. I replayed it 3 more times to show friends who were equally impressed. One of the best endings out there.
Bravo Chad. This was one of the most unique and memorable endings in a game I can remember.
The only part I didn't enjoy was Jack's voice. It was so high-pitched and annoying that I couldn't really stand riding around as him. Had to restart the game to get John Marston's sweet voice back.
Great article!
The only part I didn't enjoy was Jack's voice. It was so high-pitched and annoying that I couldn't really stand riding around as him. Had to restart the game to get John Marston's sweet voice back.
Great article!
@ HEL105
Agreed. RDR overall was very boring to play. It is a beautiful game and the world breathes more than most, but the smoke and mirrors are as apparent and boring in the end as any other.
This and a few other moments were amazing. But 2/3, perhaps even 3/4 of the content were a chore to slog through and once I beat the game I put it down and haven't picked it back up since. A powerful ending doesn't make up for what ultimately amounts to being a pretty average game.
It feels like the game got GotY simply on production values and the ending alone - as if the reviews and people who played it suddenly forgot how boring the rest of the game was more often than not.
Agreed. RDR overall was very boring to play. It is a beautiful game and the world breathes more than most, but the smoke and mirrors are as apparent and boring in the end as any other.
This and a few other moments were amazing. But 2/3, perhaps even 3/4 of the content were a chore to slog through and once I beat the game I put it down and haven't picked it back up since. A powerful ending doesn't make up for what ultimately amounts to being a pretty average game.
It feels like the game got GotY simply on production values and the ending alone - as if the reviews and people who played it suddenly forgot how boring the rest of the game was more often than not.
I was especially surprised by the ending because I'd inadvertently read a "spoiler" that wasn't true at all (Edgar Ross kills Marston's family).
I didn't realize at first that Jack had a final mission (it's marked on the map as a stranger encounter rather than a full-fledged mission). When the credits finally rolled at the end of that mission, I felt a sense of satisfaction I've rarely gotten from a video game.
I didn't realize at first that Jack had a final mission (it's marked on the map as a stranger encounter rather than a full-fledged mission). When the credits finally rolled at the end of that mission, I felt a sense of satisfaction I've rarely gotten from a video game.
I've agreed with every Memory Card.......until now.
I just am not into the ending, AT ALL, for many reasons....reasons I am too lazy to describe. But through the dolphin eyes of THE CHAD, I will vicariously accept it.
I just am not into the ending, AT ALL, for many reasons....reasons I am too lazy to describe. But through the dolphin eyes of THE CHAD, I will vicariously accept it.
cool, i never finished this game... i was absolutely enthralled at first, and got sucked into the game and the atmosphere. but soon i got bored playing it, and just hated how john was basically a bitch the whole time, doing anything anyone told him to do. it seemed so contradictory to his character.
BUT i'm glad to hear it picked back up at the end. nice article!
BUT i'm glad to hear it picked back up at the end. nice article!
I actually found this part of the game the worst. I agree with Drakengard that most of the game was a slog to get through in the first place and then to have to do menial tasks like shooting crows around a silo and herding cows (again!), I couldn't do it anymore. I took the game out, sold it, watched the ending on Youtube. *shrug* Meh.
I've been a bit hesitant to try this game out, which is a shame given my love for the old west. After reading this Memory Card, I think I'm going to give it a shot. :D
@kami
WERK, YA DAMN NAG! I don't know anyone who liked his voice.
@Drakengard
I feel that that same sentiment can be applied to GTA4 as well though, RDR's more methodical out of mission pace and lack of cars just made it that much more apparent how lacking the base mechanics are.
I personally still love the game, but then again, I play it by a bunch of arbitrary role play rules I set up for myself.
WERK, YA DAMN NAG! I don't know anyone who liked his voice.
@Drakengard
I feel that that same sentiment can be applied to GTA4 as well though, RDR's more methodical out of mission pace and lack of cars just made it that much more apparent how lacking the base mechanics are.
I personally still love the game, but then again, I play it by a bunch of arbitrary role play rules I set up for myself.
What i loved more than anything else, it's the sad thing is that even with all efforts of John, Jack ends been an outlaw killing the now awarded-n-retired cop at the end.
Not to mention, the awesome idea of making SO hard to find the ol' cop; the fact that the game make you ride so many in order to find him, it's awesome. It make you hate him more for been so hard to track down!
Not to mention, the awesome idea of making SO hard to find the ol' cop; the fact that the game make you ride so many in order to find him, it's awesome. It make you hate him more for been so hard to track down!
@MrFunsockz
Yep! Jesus....that line... The best part is he says it EVERY TEN DAMN SECONDS he is riding a horse. I wish they gave the player the option to switch back to John Marston after the last mission was complete.
Yep! Jesus....that line... The best part is he says it EVERY TEN DAMN SECONDS he is riding a horse. I wish they gave the player the option to switch back to John Marston after the last mission was complete.
I actually had a hard time with the ending in RDR despite liking the tone of the game as it led up to that point (Mind you, I didnt like the mundane farm tasks, but the cutscenes were a treat as the mood evolved). I felt that John's death was almost anti-climatic in the way it was presented and Jack's eventual maturity and quest for vengeance was left feeling like a sloppy side quest. I'm not surprised people did end up enjoying it, but I have to say that for me, it was a let down.
Chad. CHAD!
This was so fucking good :)
RDR is one of my favorite games in recent memory (screw the haters), and everything you detailed from "The Moment" onward moved me in the same way it moved you. Such an amazing videogame experience.
Awesome, awesome stuff!
This was so fucking good :)
RDR is one of my favorite games in recent memory (screw the haters), and everything you detailed from "The Moment" onward moved me in the same way it moved you. Such an amazing videogame experience.
Awesome, awesome stuff!
Up until Dutch's death I thought the game was okay. It initially blew me away and then just started degrading from there... the menial farm tasks were lame and then the final shoot-out, as tense as it was, destroyed everything I thought I knew about Marston's character. And then having his son get revenge completely abolished Marston's sacrifice by throwing out redemption. In short, I didn't like this game, but I understand if other people do. Should have been called Red Dead Revenge.
there were some hilarious glitches in that game. Floating people and dogs that talk..... good times!
I had this spoiled for me while playing the game and quit.
But playing the Zombie DLC, it contained some humorous allusions to this that had me cackling with laughter.
But playing the Zombie DLC, it contained some humorous allusions to this that had me cackling with laughter.
I like what they did with the ending from a narrative standpoint. My only complaint is that it kills the replay value. Don't get me wrong, it was awesome the first time around. It's just that I found it a challenge to revisit the experience once I realized nothing I did as that character would pay off in the end.
My second playthrough I simply stopped once John made it home because screw it, that's the best ending he's going to get. Plus I liked the surrealism of having that one spot in the yard he couldn't go to lest something horrible take place. It was an area of singularity, his personal hole in things, if that makes sense.
Then on my third I rushed through the core path as John and tried doing the side missions as Jack. Problem was, Jack's path seemed depressing and pointless no matter how I tried to play it. His family was dead and he had literally no story, instead being condemned to aimlessly wander the earth.
So yeah, out of these two approaches to a replay I'd have to say I found the first far more rewarding than the second. Great game but really, I'd rather play something I can actually win.
My second playthrough I simply stopped once John made it home because screw it, that's the best ending he's going to get. Plus I liked the surrealism of having that one spot in the yard he couldn't go to lest something horrible take place. It was an area of singularity, his personal hole in things, if that makes sense.
Then on my third I rushed through the core path as John and tried doing the side missions as Jack. Problem was, Jack's path seemed depressing and pointless no matter how I tried to play it. His family was dead and he had literally no story, instead being condemned to aimlessly wander the earth.
So yeah, out of these two approaches to a replay I'd have to say I found the first far more rewarding than the second. Great game but really, I'd rather play something I can actually win.
Chad!
I agree, but you missed the "sweet, sweet revenge" portion of the thing, which made it that much more amazing.
Getting to Deadeye-kill that Ross motherfucker is one of the most satisfying moments in gaming.
I agree, but you missed the "sweet, sweet revenge" portion of the thing, which made it that much more amazing.
Getting to Deadeye-kill that Ross motherfucker is one of the most satisfying moments in gaming.
I love that final Dead Eye moment. I love how you realize halfway through picking your targets that John is done for. Letting the player control the final struggle is amazing. It reminded me of *SPOILERS* the end of Shadow of the Colossus where you are being sealed by magic, but can still try to resist the pull of the spell.
I really enjoyed the whole game, but that ending was completely amazing. The final final mission, having to ride all the way out there was greatly satisfying.
I also like how they find ways to reconcile side mission you either handn't picked up, or hadn't completed be "accepted" as John. They recorded so much dialog for Jack!
I know a bunch of people really didn't get up over this ending sequence, but it was really fantastic to me. The whole mundane mission line, and going back to see Bonnie- really sweet moments with John, his wife and poor flame holding Bonnie (she was always to cool and too respectful to cause a fuss: classy!). This game more than any wrapped up the Rockstar open world template in a a very nice package.
Also, Chad: did you ever meet the man in the black top hat, and do his three side missions? There's some great moments with him: really puts a righteous, quirky spin on this ending! Maybe not quite Memory Card material, but great mysterious flare for this mostly grounded world and story.
I also like how they find ways to reconcile side mission you either handn't picked up, or hadn't completed be "accepted" as John. They recorded so much dialog for Jack!
I know a bunch of people really didn't get up over this ending sequence, but it was really fantastic to me. The whole mundane mission line, and going back to see Bonnie- really sweet moments with John, his wife and poor flame holding Bonnie (she was always to cool and too respectful to cause a fuss: classy!). This game more than any wrapped up the Rockstar open world template in a a very nice package.
Also, Chad: did you ever meet the man in the black top hat, and do his three side missions? There's some great moments with him: really puts a righteous, quirky spin on this ending! Maybe not quite Memory Card material, but great mysterious flare for this mostly grounded world and story.
damn that was a good game, I have to admit, I used the game a reference in my end of high school exam, but said it was a book, and I aced that shit. themes of the individual against the state, belonging, and adaptation to modernization. such a good game
On the one hand, the ending totally fits with the ''government always gets the last laugh'' theme that runs through the game, but on the other hand, i was disappointed that Rockstar killed off one of the best protagonists ever created
I heard a lot of people complain about the chore missions of RDR. I loved them for all the same reasons you did. Being a father myself it really hit home. Thanks for the article!
@ SxSW - "I used the game a reference in my end of high school exam, but said it was a book, and I aced that shit."
HAHAHA. Nice. :)
HAHAHA. Nice. :)
Reading Chad's words, I understand him perfectly. Many of what he says here, is very close to my own words since I finished that game. Red Dead Redemption is, by far, my favorite game of all time. Simply because, never before, I shed a tear in a game story. Even MGS4, a game which almost made me tearful for the sheed bliss of the experience, wasn't as intense.
In the final moments of John Marston, I choked. When the credits start to roll after the Jack Marston sequence, I put down the controller respectfully, listening to Ashtar Command's Deadman's Gun, and I was sure I just had experienced one of the greatest moments in videogame history. It was one experience I shall treasure for a lifetime, and share with my children someday, when they ask me "Dad, why do you love games so much?".
In the final moments of John Marston, I choked. When the credits start to roll after the Jack Marston sequence, I put down the controller respectfully, listening to Ashtar Command's Deadman's Gun, and I was sure I just had experienced one of the greatest moments in videogame history. It was one experience I shall treasure for a lifetime, and share with my children someday, when they ask me "Dad, why do you love games so much?".
For me, the whole shootout with the agents, the escape and the final showdown ocurren amidst a violent thundering storm just before dusk... that slow camera pan over Jhon's bleeding body under a gray sky and the falling rain, made this moment a lot sadder an more awesome at the same time.
Great article. Perfectly describes why this is one of my all-time favorite games in spite of the fact that I don't particularly enjoy the gameplay (I actually enjoyed the "chore" missions; it was a nice break from the "go to a place and shoot everyone" missions). You should consider doing a mini-Memory-Card about how amazing it was to ride into Mexico for the first time with that badass José Gonzalez song playing.
The ending of this game was really great, probably the best part of the whole thing. To me, if you cut out most of section in Mexico (leaving the awesome part where you first get in though, the part with the song), and took out some of the missions that made John feel a bit too much like an errand boy, you'd have one of the tightest and best narratives in all of gaming. As it stands, the game is a little bloated and unfocused, but the ending is damn near perfect.
This is easily my favorite Rockstar game and very possibly my favorite game of the current console generation as well. The whole game was fantastic, but that ending... goddamn that ending...
It really was perfect.
It really was perfect.
Yeah, this game caught me by surprise as well. I ended up loving it after initially ignoring it.
Also, my personal favorite part was Bonnie kicking dirt. That one moment of her kicking dirt after talking to John and his wife was just... amazing. So much was said in one simple movement.
Also, my personal favorite part was Bonnie kicking dirt. That one moment of her kicking dirt after talking to John and his wife was just... amazing. So much was said in one simple movement.
Brilliant ending, though I felt the game lacked a central, proper villain, in the way most westerns have (who could forget Gene Hackman in Unforgiven). Bill Williamson, Allende, De Santa, Dutch and Ross - it kept switching and none, other than the last two, were that notable.
I love this moment. I knew exactly how it would end, because it is a perfectly narrated tragedy. You just know the sins of his past will catch up, no matter how much John wants to change, and i salute Rockstar for having the balls to pull it off (unlike say, MGS4, which also felt like a tragedy but ended with a somewhat tacked on happy ending).
I was in the same boat. Took me a long time to actually get this game, and it quickly gained a place in my top five, thanks mostly to the ending.
When Jack Marston shoots the agent, then looks at his gun, unsure of himself...that brought the game home for me. You want revenge. You want to kill the agent, just like Jack would. But that's not want John Marston wanted; he wanted a better life for his son. He did everything he did so his son wouldn't have to be what he was. However, regardless of what he did, he couldn't stop it; it was out of his hands.
Such a moving game. Wish more modern games could pull this off.
When Jack Marston shoots the agent, then looks at his gun, unsure of himself...that brought the game home for me. You want revenge. You want to kill the agent, just like Jack would. But that's not want John Marston wanted; he wanted a better life for his son. He did everything he did so his son wouldn't have to be what he was. However, regardless of what he did, he couldn't stop it; it was out of his hands.
Such a moving game. Wish more modern games could pull this off.
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