Red Dead Redemption screens, and trailer!

[Mupepe]

Got into Mexico last night

[chronovore]

Got into Mexico last night

¡Bienvenido a la Land of Moral Ambiguity!

All the choices about who to help and whether or not you really want to finish the mission become a tad more painful south of the border.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Sadly, I'm not talking about Marsten's penis and some kind of in-game "hot coffee" scenario.

[close]

[Eel O'Brian]

played some with infectegib this afternoon, that was probably the worst i've ever done at the gang matches

those guys we were playing against were really good, though, one of them had his golden guns

[Smooth Groove]

Eel, how long is the total play-through if I do a reasonable amount of side missions?

[Eel O'Brian]

it really is next to impossible to get the [Wild Bunch] title in public sessions, though

i only got up to about $3500 before other players starting showing up, and between worrying about them and the mexican army i just cashed it in and tried to fend off other players as much as possible so infectedgib could hit his mark of $7500

he was so close, too

[Eel O'Brian]

Eel, how long is the total play-through if I do a reasonable amount of side missions?

i did all the side missions, a little bit (very little) of the ambient challenges, and the main missions, and i got 30 hours out of it

just blowing through the main and the sides i'd guess around 20, maybe 25 hours?

[Stoney Mason]

I did a shitload of side missions and level up quests and I finished at 31:24:54 according to the rockstar website.

If I strictly stuck to the main path I probably could easily cut that in half if not a bit more.

[The Sceneman]

it really is next to impossible to get the [Wild Bunch] title in public sessions, though

i only got up to about $3500 before other players starting showing up, and between worrying about them and the mexican army i just cashed it in and tried to fend off other players as much as possible so infectedgib could hit his mark of $7500

he was so close, too

Im keen to go for those Outlaw challenges too, next time were on together lets do it in private free roam

[Eel O'Brian]

it's not likely anyone will just stick to the main quest, just in travelling from mission to mission you're gonna hit a bunch of random events that will sidetrack you

[Eel O'Brian]

it really is next to impossible to get the [Wild Bunch] title in public sessions, though

i only got up to about $3500 before other players starting showing up, and between worrying about them and the mexican army i just cashed it in and tried to fend off other players as much as possible so infectedgib could hit his mark of $7500

he was so close, too

Im keen to go for those Outlaw challenges too, next time were on together lets do it in private free roam

yeah, infected said he has a friend who wants to get them so if we can all get together in private free roam and cover all 4 sides of the presidio we whould be able to handle it no problem

the more the merrier, it'll take longer (they only send so many lawmen/military after you at one time), but more people = better coverage

[Stoney Mason]

it's not likely anyone will just stick to the main quest, just in travelling from mission to mission you're gonna hit a bunch of random events that will sidetrack you

Technically you could just run away from those also. Later in the game once my honor and fame were up, I mostly ignored them. But I'm mainly just talking about the theoretical time limit. I enjoyed all of that shit. Although I've sent the game back I honestly could have still spent time in the game doing stuff or loading up an old game and doing some of the stuff I missed out on. My point being that its such a rich and wonderful world, its honestly to your benefit to spend as much time as possible in it, rather than rushing through it.

[Eel O'Brian]

yeah, i suppose i did lose track of time more than i was aware while playing, so you're probably right on your length estimation (and about wanting to just hang around in the game world)

i miss those filthy whores trying to lure me into roadside bandit attacks while i'm in multiplayer

[The Sceneman]

I got 100% in single player in around 35 hours I think.

[chronovore]

I've been doing tons of the side missions. Ignoring them messes with my immersion, since I'm playing Marston-as-hero. I want to help everyone I can, and the game keeps tossing them at me. Last night I was dealing with the Stranger quest which ends in El Sepulcro, couldn't sleep until I'd got some satisfaction with the girl's pimp.

I'm trying to get out of Mexico. I want to kill bears. I want to be in snow. Instead I'm dicking around in the most morally ambiguous missions to-date.

[Eel O'Brian]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

be sure and buy a newspaper after you "finish" the game

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[chronovore]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

be sure and buy a newspaper after you "finish" the game

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Is that really a spoiler? I waffled over whether or not to click on it, but even the Xbox Insider guys on the tips channel have said:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

You may think you've finished, but it's not over until the credits roll!

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[Robo]

Just got the Reyes' Rebels outfit last night... why the hell didn't they let me have this BEFORE I left Mexico?    It's my favorite one so far, but it doesn't look appropriate when running around in the woods.

[Eel O'Brian]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

be sure and buy a newspaper after you "finish" the game

[close]

Is that really a spoiler? I waffled over whether or not to click on it, but even the Xbox Insider guys on the tips channel have said:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

You may think you've finished, but it's not over until the credits roll!

[close]

well, it's not really a spoiler, but it does let you know what becomes of some of the characters you meet, i was just playing safe i guess

you can do it before or after the credits

[Stoney Mason]

Still haven't done a proper "review" of the game yet but since I'm in the mood I just wanted to say I loved the way they handled Bonnie in the game. Particularly at the end when she meets Martson's wife. Sad and Sweet. Which is not an emotion that a videogame is often able to evoke.

[Brehvolution]

I let a buddy who has fallen on hard times recently borrow my game so MP with you guys isn't gonna happen for a while. 

[chronovore]

Just got the Reyes' Rebels outfit last night... why the hell didn't they let me have this BEFORE I left Mexico?    It's my favorite one so far, but it doesn't look appropriate when running around in the woods.

I'm only one checklist item away from getting that, and I too just cleared Mexico tonight. I'll have to go back for some things, but I'm kind of glad to be done with it. It's enjoyable helping the Armadillo sheriff and the MacFarlanes, but having to cooperate with anyone in Mexico felt less-than-heroic.

What is a "treasure hunter bounty" and where are they assigned? I've brought back Walton's gang, banditos, and whatever gang is around the MacFarlane Ranch. I don't think I've seen a treasure hunter yet.

[Stoney Mason]

What is a "treasure hunter bounty" and where are they assigned? I've brought back Walton's gang, banditos, and whatever gang is around the MacFarlane Ranch. I don't think I've seen a treasure hunter yet.

Use the tracking thing. I think those are the bounties at the MacFarlane Ranch.

[chronovore]

Oh, right! Good one, thanks. I'd totally forgotten about that feature.

[chronovore]

Played some co-op with Sceneman and Eel today; still waiting to hear if I messed up their run at glory by dying while in their posse.

Played a bit more multiplayer tonight, cleared Survival and Hunter Challenges and am working through level two in Tall Trees.

Um... cougars.
 

Not my favorite animal now. The get up on you, swipe your ass off, pick it up, hold it up for you to see, and say, "See this? This is your ass." I ended up glitching the knife kill by standing on a box at Tanner's Love Shack.

[chronovore]

Had some good timing and managed to posse up with Eel. Blew through all the gang hideouts in one go, nabbing the "Have gun, will travel" 'cheev. Encountered a really ill-advised griefer who rolled up on us after Eel had supplied both of us with Buffalo Rifles.

Good times.

[Eel O'Brian]

Had some good timing and managed to posse up with Eel. Blew through all the gang hideouts in one go, nabbing the "Have gun, will travel" 'cheev. Encountered a really ill-advised griefer who rolled up on us after Eel had supplied both of us with Buffalo Rifles.

Good times.

i hated losing that rifle when i logged off 

[chronovore]

Yeah, I logged on a little earlier tonight, and was trying to find the Legendary Wolf for a lvl.2 hunting challenge, and some cocksmith decided it would be more fun to start sniping me while I rode around. If I'd had a longer range weapon, it might have been more fun.

[Eel O'Brian]

The "Outlaws to the End" DLC pack releases tomorrow for free.  Six co-op missions for 2-4 players.  Thank goodness, even I was starting to get a little tired of Free Roam.

Who's down?  I'm down.  You down?

[The Fake Shemp]

I'm down...

... but out of town.

Will play upon my return.

[Eel O'Brian]

Here are the six missions:

Walton’s Gold
Walton’s Gang have taken control of a mining camp rich with gold.  Fight through the camp and load your mine cart with as much gold as you can carry and get out as fast as you can – Walton’s boys have rigged the place to blow!

The River
Ride a raft down river, taking out rebel encampments along the way until you reach the rebel stronghold of Nosalida and a final epic battle for the town’s massive weapons caches. Watch out for Gatling gun-equipped enemy rafts.

Ammunition
The Mexican Army has the town of Tesoro Azul under siege.  Storm the gates under heavy cannon, Gatling gun and sniper fire to destroy the Mexican artillery placements.

The Kidnapped Girl
Another gang has taken over Fort Mercer, and they’re holding a farmer’s daughter hostage. You and your crew will need to charge the fort and eliminate the gang with all firepower necessary – then fend off enemy reinforcements as you transport the girl by stagecoach safely to her home at Ridgewood Farm.

The Escape
You and your teammates must attack and steal a gold coach along with a wagon and a Gatling gun.  Once acquired, you will be sent to turn them in to the American Army and then must clear out remaining resistance in the town of Tumbleweed.  After clearing the town, prepare for an explosive standoff that will take you all the way to Mexico.

The Herd
Cattle rustlers have taken control of Box Canyon.  Fight your way in and wipe out the rustlers, then use teamwork to protect the herd as you lead them home to Armadillo while drawing heavy fire from snipers and reinforcements on horseback.

The River and The Escape sound badass

[Robo]

I'm most certainly down.

[Brehvolution]

Sounds awesome. I'll have to get the game back from my friend tomorrow.

[Mupepe]

I think I fixed my router issues

[Eel O'Brian]

[youtube=560,345]sEInsKJ3xyU[/youtube]

[Eel O'Brian]

btw, i think "outlaws to the end" is a pretty stupid name for this dlc, since you're playing the roles of heroes in all the missions

should have saved that for a dlc where you terrorize and rob towns and such

[Robo]

I really hope they give us some DLC in the form of single player story missions somewhere along the line, like The Ballad of Gay Tony, et al.  After wrapping up the SP, I am dying for more story.

Additionally, I'd really want it to be prequel content (like the rise and fall of the original Dutch's Gang sort of stuff) and NOT post-script content, for a variety of reasons.

[Robo]

I just realized how odd it is to want more story in a Rockstar game.  It's not even that the story itself was particularly great (although by videogame standards, it's pretty goddamn good), but they really nailed the characters, the scenarios, and the dialouge.  I want more of that. 

[Eel O'Brian]

I wanted to see some of that "early Dutch's Gang" stuff in the game, too.  I wanted to feel hesitant about liking Marston, especially when he told Bonnie "We killed people we didn't like."  I came away thinking

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Ross had a bit of a point in some of the things he said to Marston.  John Marston never paid for his past crimes - as a matter of fact, he ended up owning a lovely ranch with lots of land.  What about the men he killed, and all the grieving wives and sons he left behind?  Instead we got a lot of long-winded explanations about how the gang were really a bunch of Robin Hoods (although this directly contradicts with the murderous personalities of the gang members he hunts down) and how he never did any of the worst business himself (again, directly contradicted by the previous quote - and, if you're riding with cutthroats, you're likely to have cut some throats yourself at one point or another).

[close]

I get that he's supposed to be the hero, and that the villains are painted with a cartoonish brush, but I would have liked to have seen a little more "Anti" there, if only in some brief flashbacks.  It's an okay story, but I don't follow along with those who have been fawning all over it on the various message boards.  It's a well-worn tale outside of video games.

But, I am looking for nuance in a Rockstar game...

[Mupepe]

I'd like to hear less of the "GUBMENT IS MESSIN WIT US" shit.  Everything else I'd fuck a sheep to get more of.

[Stoney Mason]

I thought it was a great story for videogame terms which I judge separately than movie or book terms. (Lets be honest. I judge them in light of them being inferior)

A lot of great characters. And more importantly they got the tone right for a lot of it.

 

[Robo]

Yeah, they really lost the trail with Marston's back story.  If his Robin Hood-esque take on his past behavior is accurate (and he repeats it so often that he must certainly believe it is, which is the most important thing here), how is this even a redemption story? 

As much as I want to roll with Dutch's Gang, robbing banks and shit, if they make DLC around those early events, it might be nice to portray them in with less (or even opposite) bias; possibly using a different main character on the other side of the law, for instance.

[Mupepe]

Yeah, they really lost the trail with Marston's back story.  If his Robin Hood-esque take on his past behavior is accurate (and he repeats it so often that he must certainly believe it is), how is this even a redemption story? 

As much as I want to roll with Dutch's Gang, robbing banks and shit, if they make DLC around those early events, it might be nice to portray them in with less (or even opposite) bias; possibly using a different main character on the other side of the law, for instance.

I'd love to either play a straight up outlaw in this setting or play a straight up good guy busting baddies left and right.  I felt they missed a lot with not choosing a side.  Robbing banks and shit would be so so so awesome.  getting shitfaced in brothels and catching std's and shooting cheats would the shiznit.

[Robo]

Yeah, I dunno why they even bothered with the honor system if they were going to make it so it has zero effect on ANYTHING other than shop prices.  The end of the game is humorously ironic if you chose to play through it as a villian.  I doubt that was the intention.

[Mupepe]

Yeah, i stopped giving a shit about honor when I realized it only affected shop prices.  I thought it would be like Fable where people were scared and shit and no one would like me so it'd force me to be good.  but no one gives a shit.  They forget about it after a few minutes.

[Eel O'Brian]

they used to put medicine on the end of a thin glass rod and stick it in your dickhole to treat syphilis

just throwing that out there

[Mupepe]

mmmmm  dickholes

[chronovore]

I'd like to hear less of the "GUBMENT IS MESSIN WIT US" shit.  Everything else I'd fuck a sheep to get more of.

I'm reading a brief history of America, and the idea that people there would be near obsessed with big government intervention isn't all that surprising.

[chronovore]

This is me, last night:

public free roam; multiplayer; players (1) : chronovore
[old cowboy guy] Hm. No one's here. Guess I'll try and get that Public Enemy 'cheev while no one is online and gunning for me.
BOUNTY: $20, $40, $200, $500, $895
DEAD.
BOUNTY: $20, $40, $160, $300, $500
DEAD.
[old cowboy guy] Fuck!
BOUNTY: $20, $40, $200, $500, $700
DEAD.
[old cowboy guy] Fuckity fuck! I'll play the single player game for a bit then.
[Marsten] Oh, hai. All the Survival challenges I've just finished in multiplayer. PASS.
A NEW BOUNTY HAS BEEN POSTED
[Marsten] Oh, rock out. US$600 alive? BABY, COME TO PAPA.
*rides out to the base, sees a path up the mountain*
[Marsten] I'll just chuck some dynamite down into their camp from the top of the mountain. ...Say, what's this guy doing on the top of the mountain?
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG
DEAD
[Marsten] Fuck!
*rides again out of Blackwater, warps to base of mountain to get a better approach*
BEAR ATTACK
DEAD
[Marsten] Fuck!
*player goes to bed*

[demi]

The co-op free pack adds 100 more points

[The Sceneman]

yeah I cant wait for that shit, those cheevs will be miiiiine

[The Sceneman]

new achievements:

Well done 5
Complete a Co-Op mission.

Have posse, will travel 15
Complete all Co-Op missions.

2 guys, 1 Coop 10
Complete a Co-Op mission with just 2 people.

Stake a claim 5
Gold medal any Co-Op mission.

Struck gold 10
Gold medal all Co-Ops missions.

Friends indeed 5
Complete a Co-Op mission without anyone dying.

You rule! 15
Complete all Advanced Co-Op missions.

The mother lode 20
Gold medal all Advanced Co-Op missions.

Dodge this 10
Achieve a kill chain of 10 or more in any Advanced Co-Op mission.

Bulletproof 5
Complete a Co-Op mission without dying.

you get multiplayer XP for doing these missions, so I should rack up plenty while going for all of these. I plan on getting the Level 50 cheev eventually. Going for the 20 missions on the same horse cheev now.

[Eel O'Brian]

i like that you can actually die instead of just respawning endlessly like the free roam gang hideouts

[chronovore]

Well, I'd be surprised if that changes. I'd like to see that, it would be a neat win condition, but I think they'll stick with respawns.

[The Sceneman]

alright team, we have to get ALL the gold medals. daddy needs his 1100 gamerscore

PS. sorry Eel for acting weird on XBL last night, I had a bad cold and it took me ages to even figure out you were in the same free roam as me  I could barely talk etc.

[Eel O'Brian]

i'll have to resist my natural impulse to run or ride my horse smack into the middle of a gang blazing away with the semi-auto shotgun

btw, just leveled up to 35 tonight, permanent high power pistol

[chronovore]

High-powered pistol: permanent boner.

[The Sceneman]

I just wanna hit level 50 for the damn Buffalo Rifle, Im at 30 now

[Eel O'Brian]

I played The Escape just now, and, well, don't get too excited.  It was way easy, even easier than some of the normal gang hideouts.  The only time I was ever in any trouble was when I ran out in front of a cannon like a dumbass.  Seemed like there were very few enemies. Maybe in the advanced version you get the wagon with the gatling gun, but we only got to ride in the gold coach.

[The Sceneman]

did you check the gold medal criteria? Maybe thats where the challenge lies?

Got my "Spurred to Victory" chev anyhow. Just hit the hay but will check out the co-op missions when I get home tomorrow.

[Eel O'Brian]

we got the gold medal and it said "silver challenges unlocked"

expert aiming might be the way to go here to make it more fun for everyone, and maybe we just overlooked the gatling gun coach

will play some more at lunch if anyone's on