i always respect the sages reviews on games, he is very unbiased

One of the best story-driven games in years? You mean other than Uncharted 2, Heavy Rain, MGS4, and several others (not all of them exclusive to one console)?

Sage I didnt actually know who you were (sry) till this past NC Kickassia epic battle. Well, now I'm a huge fan!! You have a good eye on the games that I too enjoy Im happy to say Ive watched most of your old episodes and will continue to watch in the future!! Keep up the good reviews.

Did you not hear him? He said his problems with the connection should be interpreted as having NO BEARING on the review, outside the fact that he can't review multiplayer.
And how come you immediately assume he uses an xbox just because he complained about his connection? really, is the Playstation Network THAT much more stable that connection issues are IMPOSSIBLE on it?

Graduate from high school first, then start posting on the internet.

Hey, he was just saying it was weird that sage's multiplayer wasn't working calm down..

Stop PMSing first, then start posting on the internet.

I love epic games like this/

And kickass review for a kickass game. I especially like how you get into the subtle details like the characters' facial expressions.

Red Dead Redemption...

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[size=tiny](that's supposed to be homer simpson drooling.)[/size]

That's two good reviews from ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com for this game. Like I said in Joe's review's comments, I think this is quite a good game. However, like you do, I had my share of little problems with it.

Another good video Sage. It's good to know as many opinions as possible on any video game one plans to buy, even if I already did buy this one. ;)

Wow. How controlled and honest. Joe should really see this review! He'd prolly... blow a gasket.

I am SO getting this game when I have the cash. I keep hearing great things about it from all the reviews I've seen. Thanks Sage for your opinion! :)

I'm not really much of a fan of multiplayer as there's not enough to do in free roam and whatever imperfections shown in the shooting in single player becomes extremely annoying in competitive multiplayer. I would also like to point out that I personally believe the morality system may be intended more for after the campaign's completion.

Angry Joe was the one who sold me on this game and like he said it's worth every penny. I got tons of enjoyment out of it.

This game is fucking awesome.

This review is definitely a lot more accurate than Joes- but I feel like given your time limits sage its lacking a lot of specific details. It was great you made note of the linearity of the game, joe just totally blew past it making nothing of it despite the fact GTA4 that preceded it had multiple endings and non-linear missions at times.

And the fact that you have been booted from the game actually IS the game's fault, this is the problem with a lack of decent Matchmaking as well as the ability to run dedicated servers (see Modern Warfare 2 for an example of why this sucks). Next time I hope they avoid using the same system because tbh even GTA4 had the same problem.

To be honest the multiplayer is a huge let down and for myself was supposed to be 50% of my playing due to how over marketed the game was, my expectations were high based on the marketing and I left completely disappointed. As great as the single player is, the game itself is too short and due to the crap multiplayer leaves us no reason to continue playing, 20 hours is NOT good value so I don't understand all the praise for this fact- its too short for a hardcore openworld game, compare it to other games that are doing the same thing and you'll see what I mean, but fortunately rockstar has a habit of going all out with DLC that fixes the length of the game so suffice to say when the first major one is released I'll let that fact slide and hopefully have fun with the game again.

There is absolutely NO replay value though since all the random missions still occur post-game and your honor doesn't change the story at all. This really I felt hurt the games lasting appeal for me personally that I doubt I'll pick the game up again until that DLC arrives.

well lucky fro u the first dlc is gonna be free

I should stop watching reviews, it's been sold out at our Blockbuster for about a week and a half now. Since its release. :pinch: (I prefer to rent games first before buying no matter what the case might be)
Thanks for the honest and fair review though, Sage! :)

Professor Sage, I think your reviews make a really good counterpoint to Angry Joe. Your contrasting styles allow us to build a more complete picture, and I'm glad you're on the scene.
Speaking as a guy who loves games, yet can rarely find one satisfying enough to spend more than an hour with it, I'm digging your work. You've probably saved me hundreds of dollars.
Thanks!

i love you for using the deadman's gun song from the end credits during your review. i love that song so goddamn much. man oh man.

i've beaten the game twice now, i loved the story that much.

it's essentially become my favorite game of all time. i love the story, the attention to detail, all of it.

I'm waiting for this on PC ;)

Me too, & I hope it gets a big modding community.

I've seen some of the glitches on Youtube. They are hillarious. I'm not sure if Donkey Woman, Cougar Man, the Flying Reindeer, & the Bird Men are glitches or deliberate jokes, but the Hydrolic Carages are worth messing with.

I definitely think this is one of Rockstars finest games in awhile, certainly of this generation so far.

Personally, the multiplayer, when things go right and people aren't Dead Eye hoarding dicks or just being obnoxious to the point of forcing you to quit, Free Roam is great with a buddy. Not alot to do in Free Roam, but enough. Can't comment on the other gamemodes though...Whenever I get into a game, it doesn't seem like people want to play anything other than Free Roam and there are no card games or liars dice which is quite disappointing and should be released in an update I think.

This is an actual review as opposed to Angry Joe's fanboy gushing. But that's to be expected when someone spends weeks talking about how awesome a game is going to be I suppose.

I agree that this game is very good, very fun game but so far from perfect that it's not even funny. There are enough small flaws that see to that.

But the one thing that really annoys the piss out of me is how everyone praises the characters. The story, fine. I can understand how people might like the story of Marstons redemption... until the ending. That final mission is the biggest load of wasted potential I've ever seen in a video game.

And excellent characterization I keep hearing about? No, not at all. Everyone in this game is just a jerk along that wants to use Marston like a garden instrument and then discard him, all the while preaching to him about how bandits are evil, Marston is the evil for having been a jerk once, you should care about what happens in Mexico more than you should getting back to your family, etc. etc.

It's just horrible, unrelentingly bad writing. Nobody, except maybe Bonnie, is likeable in this entire game. I laughed at what happened to basically everyone in Mexico. Especially during the final mission. Poor poor stupid lady with a knife, hah!

About the ending, I felt the same way as you until I played the TRUE ending, its actually pretty satisfying if you go on a bit of a rampage throughout the mission.

The other ending can be activated in the final town by hanging out near the train station, it comes up as a side quest and will actually take you back to mexico (its the only mission in the entire game that does that). Still I don't know why the fuck they chose to make it hidden- it goes against all game design logic to do it that way since most players will probably miss it.

I agree with everyone being a jerk (except Seth, he was just funny- even funnier is the easter egg at the end of the game make sure you buy a newspaper at the end of the game to know what I mean).

definately the first ending you get is anti-climatic, almost in some cases a total ripoff because it "plays out the game for you" and you have no control or say over what happens.. so that definately sucks, but the extra mission you get allows you to at least get the closure you were probably looking for that I felt the game was missing up until that point.

The entire cast of characters never appear again after 3 missions or so with them, the only exceptions are Bonnie and the tonic sales man. So as much as people praise the game for character development, its all complete lies, the characters are so under developed its not funny, only John Marston gets any real character development with the exception of his son that gets just a little bit but not enough to satisfy me that the game is truly character driven.

A lot of the story is nothing more than small talk- and its a cast of un-memorable characters that are thrown away too quickly.

In the end most of the characters in the game come off as annoying. As in "agh not another babysitting mission"

It's not a secret, it is the only true ending, I thought it was a great ending cause 1. it was simple and very wild west like, and 2. it shows how much I cared for the character of John Marston. The only thing I was a bit dissapointed with was why *SPOILER* the agents went after Marston even after he did what he was supposed to, would have liked to know if it was truly Ross who ordered it or not cause that last scene with the dead Dutch really seemed like Ross's involvement was at an end.

It sounds to me like you're mixing good character development with likeabiliy. First of all, all characters aren't that bad. Okay, most of the them are self-centered and trying to get what they want before trying to help Marston but what about Lucie (or at least i think it was Lucie... i just know it wasn't Laura... ^^'), who clearly cares about her family and dreams of better days for her country? What about the Marshall (in Armadillo, I think it was Johnson but i'm not sure) who tries to keep the peace but obviously has to make some comprise? What about Rickett, genuinely trying to make a difference in Mexico? And secondly i'm sorry but i totally disagree with you on the character development thing. Ok, so maybe it's not astonishing but it's there and you can definitely see that Rockstar put a lot of work into it. Just listen to the conversations that happen during the many travels you have to make with them (i.e. don't skip. And by the way, the dialogs in this game are just GREAT) and you'll see that they're not just random NPCs with a different skin but legitimate characters with their own motivations (often selfish, i'll give you that, but that sounds pretty realistic to me) and feelings. Maybe it's the fact that the missions combine to a total of only 20 hours of play that makes you think there is no character development but pay a little more attention to details if you ever play it again. I assure you it's there and it's pretty solid.
Just to be clear, i'm not saying "you're WRONG" or anything, i guess i can see why you'd think the character development is bad, i just don't share your opinion ;)

PS: sorry for any mistake there might be in my message, english is not my first language.

The only people I've seen get kicked from a game are jerks who continually stalk other people for no other reason than to shoot them dead over and over. Were you being a jerk Sage?

Didn't have time to be a jerk, even if I were so inclined. Never could stay in a single session for more than three minutes.

I have to say before launch I was not convinced of the game, now ive seen it in action and got a hands on tester of the game I was sold...

Only problem is so was everyone else and beacuse of my delayed want of the game it is sold out in every store in my area for the 360! even Game's online site ran out of stock!

So iam gonna have to wait till its back in stock to get my fix. xD

Those are fair points but have you played the game? The core gameplay is still sound and worthy of the praise this game has received

But no game is perfect i agree there.

I always look forward to your reviews Sage, mostly since it feels like your reading my mind during your reviews EX: MGS4, RE5 and Litle Big Planet ect.. I'm glad red dead is it's own game considering I sorta got tired with GTA feeling like I was just playing the same game over again dispite the amount of features put in the next game I'm not to sure why I usually don't mind something like that in a game and I've never been intrested in mutilplayer especially online they feel more like longer versions of minigames to me. I will always see the single player aspects of a game to be the more important than multiplayer. Back to Rockstar, I'm always welcoming to a diffrent named game of theirs

As calm, unbiased and great review as always.

so... us poor souls weff no ps3 or x boxes... sucks to be us? fudge you rockstar... gf pc verson or sue you for traumatc cheldhood.

Guess it depends on your area, or something. I've never been kicked out of a game by other players or by the connection (except for just one time when my modem was being screwy and not connecting to any internet at all).
I just played a really fun session where i met some people i joined in taking over some hideouts, but then we travelled to this one base where another posse was holding these cannons and many of them became "wanted", so we all went after them and slaughtered each other for a while, trying to get into the fort. No side really won, and it lasted so long a lot of people just disconnected to go to bed or whatever, but it was a lot of fun while it lasted.

I dunno why some people are dissin' AJ's review. I think both of these reviews are great because both have 2 different views in games.
AJ is more of what the typical gamer would probably say if he/she played the game and who it would appeal to and Sages is a more in depth retrospect of the game.
Thats why i love when the they review the same game. By seeing both reviews i see the technical AND the fun factors of the game, thus giving me a more complete view of the entire game itself

They pretty much said the same thing just in a different tone, even AJ talked about the minor graphical glitches.

I have to say I love the single player mode, but so far, the Multi player mode did not impress me that much.

Anyway, good review.

Japedav's got it pretty much nailed down. I don't know if I've ever heard The Sage tell us he had simple fun playing a game, he just explains where it's either good or lacking. With Angry Joe, we get a full gambit of emotions. Sage's reviews feel like a very professional analysis of the games and Joe's reviews feel like I'm talking about the game with a friend. It's good to hear both sides.