I still don’t have a PS4 Pro, so I’m not getting the absolute best in prettiness. That said, I’m still trying to decide which is prettier: Red Dead Redemption 2 or Horizon Zero Dawn. I’m still thinking Horizon, but it’s pretty close.
I too, am playing this on a standard PS4. On this platform I wouldn’t say it’s the prettiest - it doesn’t have the immaculate look of GTA5, or even the Far Cry games in my opinion. But although I’m barely any way into the game it does seem to have a strikingly realistic landscape, believably hewn by geological forces rather than arbitrarily constructed barriers for the player (that sentence makes me feel I’ve swallowed the hype, rather).
And it’s the much-vaunted level of detail which has impressed me most so far. The mud and snow-drifts, the individual products you can see on a shop’s shelves, the gruesome lynchings going on, the small-talk - really create what seems like a living world.
I am finding the game ‘realistically’ difficult too - without auto-aim, I’m continually out-gunned. My greatest enemies, in a sense, though are my real-life wife and baby who insist that I keep them fed and watered, as well as my player-character.
I did go ahead and break my pre-order rule on this one, the only game I’ve ever pre-ordered. This, despite never having played Red Dead Redemption 1 (never owned a console system until this latest generation.)
I’m finding it enjoyable so far, though I agree with what the reviews are saying about the controls being clunky. I wonder if some of that is intentional, to heighten the sense of “immersion.” It’s growing frustrating that there’s no fast travel. Well, I know there is, but I haven’t saved up enough money to by the map upgrade at camp yet, and stagecoaches or trains cost money too. I guess I’m too used to playing Ubisoft open world games where you can just warp around the world at will.
The most frustrating thing so far has been how once in a while O’Driscolls will just come out of nowhere and kill me. Because there’s no fast travel, I take advantage of the fact that your horse will navigate to a waypoint if you use cinematic camera. So I’m just sitting there holding down the x button watching the long journey, suddenly I start hearing a bunch of Irish accents talking about killing me, and before I even realize what’s happening and get my bearings, exit out of cinematic camera and open the weapon wheel to get out my gun, I’m dead. How are other people dealing with this?
I appear to be dealing with it by dying. A lot.
I don’t think that’s a particularly viable long-term strategy.
It also happens if you pick up a price on your head. Bounty hunters will randomly attack. Last time it happened I was taming a wild horse in the middle of a wide open field. They must have teleported in and started shooting, and all my good weapons were on my other horse. That really sucked.
Though my biggest gripe is the slug-pace walking/searching indoors. Especially when my fellow gang members are outside yelling at me to hurry up.
There needs to be a button to yell “I’m trying to search for some goddamn baked beans, you bastards, but I’m stuck on a piece of paper lying on the floor!” I would hit that button so much.
heh im still hearing on how crappy the gta 4 pc port was on pc gaming boards ……….
According to sources there is evidence in the code that there is a PC version. Also, it seems some retailer in Europe had listed the game being available next year. It is all touched on here.
There is limited fast travel - it’s a camp upgrade.
Looking forward to the inevitable Blazing Saddles full conversion mod on PC.
Because the priority is to get the game out, and consoles are the best return for the work. Sure, they include things to make it easier to port to PC later, but they don’t really work on the PC version until after the console version releases.
Not only that, but PC development has to contend with a wide string of capabilities. The hardware for console is known ahead of time. Not for PC.
It also allows a bit of reinvigoration to release another version later on. You release the PC version, and people are suddenly talking about your game again. Sure, by itself that’s not enough, but since you already need to do more work, why not?
Now, of course, developing for two different consoles is harder than just doing one at a time. But then you’re losing out on a big market of gamers who have the other console, while PC-only gamers who play this type of game are a smaller audience.
Most gamers I know who buy new releases of AAA games have at least one console. Even if they are “PC master race” and will buy the PC version later to run on their super rigs.
This was acknowledged but it was also mentioned that this can take time to save up for.
A similar thing that’s been happening to me is that I’ll be riding along and come across one of those spontaneous events where, say, you hear a person yelling for help. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I swerve hard and wind up trampling a pedestrian with my horse. Suddenly, I’m wanted for murder! Then I have to evade the law, and not only do I miss the opportunity, I now have to pay off a bounty.
Just now I was riding back to camp and passed a train. The game informed me trains are a lucrative robbery target, so I figured what the heck, I need money, I’ll give it a try. I barely had time to board the train and start searching one car when the train stopped and lawmen started arriving. I couldn’t continue to loot the train with them trying to kill me, so I killed them… and soon learn that infinite lawmen just keep spawning. Of course they eventually killed me. So not only did I make zero money from the train robbery, I now have to pay off a $170 bounty for killing lawmen. Thanks a lot, game. Yeah, real lucrative.
I had something similar happen at a robbery in one of the towns. Got a little bit of money, but it was more than offset by the bounty resulting from having to shoot my way out of town. Similarly, there’s a story mission that requires shooting your way out of town and that also resulted in a hefty bounty. At first I was like, “okay, makes sense, I am an outlaw after all,” but then the game periodically sends gangs of bounty hunters after you and it really interrupts the open world gameplay. So, instead of making progress in the game, I end up hiding out in a state where I’m not wanted, grinding money to pay off the bounties, and then I can get back to doing what I want. It’s almost like crime doesn’t pay.
Maybe all this can be avoided by shooting guns out of lawmen’s hands as you make your getaway?
Have either of you tried masking up before going on a heist/rampage? I’ve had some (though by no means consistent) success with that and am still trying to work out how to make it something that works more often than not. Usually it will still result in an investigation, particularly if a witness escapes, but you don’t get id’d, so can get out of there before anyone starts a real shooting match. Also, I have found that carrying a change of clothes on my horse and changing whilst the investigation is happening, but I am still out of direct sight, sometimes works. Getting any of this stuff to work every time is difficult though - and indeed, may not be possible. I’ve had no luck with big story mission shoot outs, had some luck with optional robbery missions (like at homesteads) and a fair degree of success if I just try and stick someone up on the road - or, as happened yesterday to me, I come across two ruffians in the middle of nowhere trying to break into a safe they’ve stolen.
I have to pay a bounty because some thugs picked a fight, lost, and I accidentally hit the loot button. It’s only $5, but still, it was three on one and they started it!
I bought it and I’m really starting to fucking hate it. It’s a horse riding / walking simulator so far.
I have been patient, waiting for some actual fun to happen in this game, but so far it’s a goddamned slog. The last mission I played, I had to bring my buddy into town to get him drunk for some reason. As missions go, it was fun to play, sort of, you don’t really do anything - decide to pick a fight or not & try not to get arrested - other than that it’s a prolonged cut scene, after which you wind up way the fuck out in the middle of nowhere, puking, horseless and you have to walk 10 real minutes to get back to camp. Then when I got there, I still didn’t have a horse - he was still back at the saloon - and I wasn’t allowed to ride any of the other owned horses, so I jumped on one bareback. Half way back to town to retrieve my horse, I got slammed into by a wagon and bucked. The horse went off and there I was in a fucking walking simulator again. So fuck it. I shot the wagon driver. Six fucking times and he just went riding off with a story to tell and then every gun in the west came baring down on me just in time to put the last hour and half of wasted game play out of its misery.
So, I’m really trying to find my zen place and enjoy this over-indulgent, over-priced piece of shit, but my patience is wearing thin.
So far, I’m giving a 1 out of These Programmers Are Assholes.
Yep. I think I’m going to have to trade this turd in.
I thought I’d just take a deep breath and give it another shot after that ridiculous waste of time mission. Fortunately I was respawned with my horse, so I took a moment to pick out a mission to head to, and within literally 30 seconds I was ambushed and shot dead before I could figure out how to shoot back.
This game sucks.
Okay, maybe I’m overreacting; there’s something about wanting 15 minutes of peaceful riding through the countryside before I head of to work only to be interrupted by ten guys shooting me for no reason and dying within a minute of my last frustration laden re-spawn makes me crazy.
I’ll smoke some of my anti-asshole medication and give it another shot after work. But this better start being fun, ferchrissakes.
I do know of the frustration you’re suffering, but I think I’ve only been attacked by gangs when on tracks/roads - aren’t you safe enough when mooching around in the open countryside? Notwithstanding mountain lion attacks, of course… I must say that so far I’ve spent much of my time playing poker or hunting deer, and then riding like the clappers as soon as a threat arises, so I’m not exactly role-playing Clint Eastwood currently.
Maybe Clint Eastwood from Back to the Future III.
That sounds like my experience with GTA V (except for the horses). I’ll take a hard pass.
You might all already know this but to speed up searching houses you can activate eagle vision and it highlights all lootable objects. When looting drawers you can hold down the loot button and you will automatically open and search all drawers.
I’ve been working away from home for the week, living in hotels. I really wish I’d packed the PS4…