Ben-DutkaIt's usually a bad idea to make predictions concerning annual awards, especially when the game in question hasn't even arrived on store shelves just yet. Even so, given the early critical acclaim Rocktar's Red Dead Redemption has received, it doesn't seem too silly to consider it as one of 2010's best.
Granted, the competition for such a lofty award will be stiff – as it is most every year – as we've already seen legitimate contenders in God of War III , Heavy Rain , and Mass Effect 2 , and looking down the road, we have to look at LittleBigPlanet 2 , Halo: Reach and Gran Turismo 5 . But even so, concerning RDR, we've seen a 9.75 from Gamer Informer, a 9 from a UK publication, and a perfect 10 from OPM, so if scores from major websites are as high, we really do have to say this hotly anticipated Western-themed adventure will rightly claim its spot amongst the 2010 elites. The official trailer was enough to give me goosebumps; it looks great, it sounds great and apparently, it plays great, too. I've often compared it to last year's Assassin's Creed II (and I may or may not be accurate) and if RDR has that level of polish, it's going to be one hell of an achievement.
While we've had Red Dead Revolver , Gun and the Call of Juarez titles, we've never really had a defining Western shooter, you know? I almost want to give RDR a nod at the end of the year simply for being the first landmark title to feature a true-blue Old West setting and premise. I think I'll always have a special place in my heart for Heavy Rain and what it did for the industry, but there are other titles this year that can also have a big impact. And you know, here's what does it for me: I really don't like Westerns. I've never liked those movies; I think just about every last one of them is overrated (with the possible exception of "Tombstone," just because Val Kilmer saying "I'm your huckleberry" still gets a grin out of me). And yet, Red Dead Redemption is one of my most anticipated games of the entire generation. …how can that be? I couldn't possibly care less about cowboys and junk like that.
Well, it's because I really love and appreciate fantastic efforts in gaming, regardless of the concept, and RDR appears to be something well worth my time. The only question left is if it can stand with the other 2010 heavyweights come December 31…
This game looks really impressive and very cool. This is going to be in my game collection sometime soon because I really enjoy the GTA series.
Ars Technica said that the XBOX 360 version has a slight graphical advantage in it? I really can't believe this since, they really didn't have proof of any real graphical advantage. They said they were switching back and forth trying to compare the 2 consoles. There really isn't proof as really this review seemed very biased as they stated that they have 16 people playing one the 360 and 3 people playing on the PS3, that tells me this probably isn't a real comparison. The only true way you are really going to determine if a console has better graphics on the other is:
– same tv
– same HDMI cable
– Same tv settings
– Same console display settings
– same gameplay time
– playing both games at once
– same person playing for the same set of time
– same gameplay video setting on default or custom
– real life comparison can't watch a video on the web.
– same lighting in rooms
– Switching the tv back and forth doesn't count as you are loosing view time on both systems.
I really don't like people saying the xbox 360 has better graphics because there really no proof unless you see it in real life both compared side by side with legit people both not biased. You can't just listen to an expert go on about it sounding real smart about it saying the 360 has a slight shaper picture. To me the criteria above is really the only way to compare video games on graphical dominance. Though I don't really mind that the 360 has a slight advantage, as long as it is exclusive to ps3 that's fine, But just wanted to get a point out.
Here's their story:
Our review copies of Red Dead Redemption have arrived, which means it's time to get to work on some coverage. Rockstar sent both a PS3 and a 360 version of the game, and many people are wondering which version to get, so we thought we'd do a quick comparison.
This is non-scientific, but after playing an hour of both games, and switching back and forth between the two systems on our display, it's clear that the 360 version has quite the graphical advantage. It's sharper, with much less aliasing. The faces of the characters were clearer in the opening section. Gameplay sections likewise looked better, with smoother graphics across the board. The PlayStation 3 version looked impressive, but there was a noticeable jump in quality while playing on the 360.
Keep in mind that the game doesn't look bad on the PS3—not by any stretch—but based on our time with the game and direct comparisons, the 360 version looks better. If you purchase the PS3 version of the game you're not going to be let down, but if you have the choice, pick up a copy for the 360.
Here's another reason to buy the game for the Xbox 360: if you dislike playing with strangers, there are 16 Ars Technica members in the game's thread playing online with the 360 version, compared to three on the PS3. If you're going to be playing, sign up!
Why did we decide to write this post for this particular game? It's rare we get sent both copies of a game, and there has been some discussion about which one to get. Let us know if this is something you're interested in seeing in the future, and we'll try to provide more of it when we can.
Last edited by thj_1980 on 5/18/2010 3:20:00 PM