Poll: One Week Later, Is Red Dead Redemption 2 the Best Game of 2018?

Got my pump action shotgun, Schofield revolver, and Lancaster repeater. I'm a happy player. I do wish the replay mission feature actually remembered your equipment and clothing though. I tried replaying a mission that I used my shotgun in, and I didn't have it when I went to replay it. :/

I've put in about 20 hours so far and I'm absolutely loving it. But it's definitely not without its problems. Aside from the control scheme, which got on my nerves at first but I have at least got used to, there are other systems at play that could really do with patching. The wanted system is way too aggressive, for instance. You can end up with a bounty on your head and being exiled from an area for things that are seemingly innocuous or else completely out of your control (like NPCs suddenly running out in front of your horse, for example). Things like this and some others would have made me hand it a 9 if I were a reviewer. But it is incredible, and once you get passed the opening hours and get used to the pace I do agree it comes into its own and becomes something remarkable. Though I feel bad for the people who find it too slow and can't get to the point me and others of the same view have. They're not wrong in sense, but if only they could hold out a little longer...

I reckon I'll let you know when I finally play it.

I hold the unpopular opinion that the first RDRedemption is one of the most overrated and boring games ever so I'm surprised at how much I've loved playing this. If it wasn't for God of War it would certainly be in the running for GotY.

I can't remember ever playing a game where I've been so happy to just stroll around at the slowest walking/riding speed, simply enjoying the environments and everything the game has to offer.

I think a lot of people who aren't quite sold on it being a 10/10 might change their minds by the time the credits roll. It's a very long game and in my opinion the story only gets better and better and better as the stakes get higher. Maybe a week isn't quite long enough to fully realise the scope of the game.

Glad most people seem to be really enjoying it, though.

The game so far is amazing but some things where overhyped.

talking to NPC's is nowhere near as revolutianary as the previews claimed since the responses the NPC's give you are basic and repeating.

as for the double recording of dialogue,spiderman did that as well.

Now I am not saying that this a bad game! i love it,but I can't see why this is the best game ever according to some.

Also happy that the RPG stuff is not annoying,but again all these things have been done before,so I don't think that the game is revolutionary in the open world genre,but it includes the best stuff the open world genre has in 1 game and I applaud them for that.

So in short,it is not the best game ever made but it is still worthy of GOTY despite some things being overhyped.

Ive just started the first one (for the tenth time) and and determined to try n get into it this time. Its just ssooo slow. . . Travel by horse ... watch cut scene. Repeat. Actually find it quite a relaxing game. If the sequel is similar, theres no way it should get game of the year over God of War!!

@ShogunRok In my opinion, no game can be a 10/10 as there is always room for improvement. Its not perfect which 10/10 would seem to indicate. Maybe is a 9.5 but 10/10 would seem to indicate this the 'perfect' game.

In every game that has received 'perfect' scores, there has been 'something' that could be improved and or bettered. I do think though that this is the 'best' game of the year and Rockstars Best too.

My jury is out on 'Rockstar's Best Game' because I finished GTA V and I'm only 30 or so hours into RDR2.

My one gripe is that some ways of explaining mechanics in RDR2 aren't perfect. Trying to tell me what to do whilst I'm getting shot at isn't the greatest teaching method. And easily missable if text is displayed bottom middle and then sometimes top left.

And we're all probably skipping whole sections of gameplay. Everyone know about their camp chores? Too easy to miss.

Yup, still haven’t played it. Eventually though.

@ShogunRok this game is best ever i playing for 30 hours now so i haven't play it for awhile because it so annoying about no fast travel to reach camp for donate money, craft, purchase for camp

Love this game, this and spiderman are my favourite games at the moment. Yes it has a lot of flaws like people have already pointed out, controls and wanted system, but for me the world is so full of life and things to do that I just get lost in it all for hours and suddenly realise I haven't done an actual mission for over an hour 😂 that to me is what makes it great, plus I love the wild West setting. Some people won't like it obviously as it may not be to their tastes but for me I would of put this one up to 11

Haven't played it yet, but I'm eager to. I might buckle if there's a black friday deal: otherwise, I'll nab it after Christmas.

@Quintumply I have put a huge amount of time into it and still haven't got beyond chapter 2!

@ShogunRok I’m enjoying it and really like the story but that isn’t reason enough for me to give it a ten. The controls are borderline bad,the combat is mediocre and is only saved from being terrible by the deadeye system,the survival elements are superfluous and more an annoyance than a benefit,too many actions tied to the same buttons,no one in real life moves like Morgan so that excuse people are trying to give is ridiculous,the day to night transition is pretty bad,the main missions while enjoyable enough are the same template rockstar has been using for over a decade now they need to come up with something better and the UI is not laid out well. I would give it an 8.5 probably a 9 because gameplay matters the most in a game not story and that’s where rockstars newest game falls short.

I must have played well over 50 hours by now and I'm still only in chapter 2. I'm quite happy just to wander off into the sunset to do some hunting or fishing and just enjoy the remarkable scenery. I have no qualms about the controls, in fact i think they are perfect and love it how Rockstar makes everything feel perfectly weighted in their games. My only bugbear is how fast the day/night cycle is but I understand the decision as to give travelling the land a bit of scale. It's most definitely my game of the year, no question.

One week later, still at Chapter 2, not rushing through this masterpiece we waited 8 years for. Don't understand that gamers mindset who love to rush through missions just to see the credits roll, if you play a R* game like that with a linear game mindset you'd be disappointed. Take it slow, the game isn't going anywhere.

Still 10/10 for me just by that absolute dynamic camp never before seen. R* open worlds are the real kinds of open world. You can't even SIT in Horizon or Witcher, it's like you're always under pressure, makes the player feel the open world isn't really important with few interactions. But this here RDR2, like GTAV, the world is alive.

@ApostateMage Same here, still Chapter 2 but I think the time is a bit slower, day and night came too fast in GTAV. This is definitely better.

@PaperyWhiteBoy Definitely right about the wanted system. I was in Valentine, and some jerk started mouthing off at me so I tried both defusing the situation and antagonizing him. I ended up walking away and then walking back and the guy just pulled out a pistol and started shooting at me so I shot back and killed him. Then I got charged with murder! What the heck? I shot back in self defense!

I played for 30 minutes and fell asleep with the controller in my hand with arthur walking endlessly into a fireplace. But thats a side effect of being a parent and no reflection on the game (kratos regularly received similar treatment this year. No wonder he is so angry). I hope to get stuck in over the weekend though!

It will take some game to beat God of War as my GOTY, but this could very well be that game

@Gatatog agree with you.rdr2 is a very good game but the story is too slow and too many unforgettable missions for me although it's getting better as I progress towards chapter 4. Imo everything about GOW was perfect and deserves goty imo.

@BAMozzy Jeezus I think they've explained over a billion times their policy for giving out a 10, it doesn't have to be perfect. It's the same policy for most sites, we're never ever going get a perfect game, that don't mean 5 star or 10 can't be used.

I've skipped everything for RDR2 the past week and been playing as much as I can. I'm thinking around 60-70 hours so far... nearly the end of the story and I still think I haven't seen anything. There's a lot of exploring to do and lots of challenges to overcome.
Will continue on playing way after I'm done with the story.
One simply cannot get enough of RDR2

@TheArt I couldn't care less what others may rate their games - I was explaining MY rating and NOT questioning Push Squares rating. In my scale, I will NEVER give a 10 (although may round it up if I can't have decimal places - particularly in cases where the score is out of 5 and 4 is certainly too low.

This poll asks what score I would give and I gave it a 9 because NO game can be a 10 in MY scale!!

God of War is still secure atop my GOTY list for sure!!

The world in RDR is second to none but I’m finding it really clunky and quite frustrating to play. More time me required to temper my initial issues but nothing that I can see that will push it ahead of God of War!!

Whenever I finish Dragon Quest 11, I'll start playing the game.

Who knows when that will be.

Unfortunately life got in the way, so I’ve not got to play too much.
It’s very impressive though. The attention to detail is unreal.

I'll say this, whoever wins GOTY this year will have earned it. Some years it's pretty easy to decide, maybe 1 game, maybe 2, but this year just on PS4 alone you have GoW and Spiderman that received mass appeal, and DQXI is really good for anyone into JRPG, and Switch got, ok well yeah sophomore slump going on over there. And also Tomb Raider and AC:O. Maybe those last 2 aren't the best, but they are big AA games that came out this year. I have absolutely no idea what came out on Xbox this year but I'm guessing something. Forza?

It probably will be RDR2, but it won't be a gimme - "Well it won b/c what else was there?" - kind of year.

Are they going to give TLoU2 the award for next year while doing this years awards to save everyone the trouble?

@Giygas_95 Yes! Stuff like that's happened to me so many times. In a sense I'm okay with it as I decided from the outset I was going to Blackhat this playthrough, so heavy wanted levels was always a certainty. But if you're trying to go the other direction it essentially means the honour system's broken.

@3MonthBeef oh I get that it is the marketing, but so many people still say that it is the best game EVER and that the dialogue system is something never seen before etc when it is not all that true.

I love it,it is the best game of this gen but not of all time and it is not all that revolutionary as so many people claim it is. but then again almost every rockstar game gets the best game of all time label just because it is a rockstar game,no matter if it deserves it or not.

Bought it on launch (preorder), haven't played it. I want to finish spider-man first.

I’ve got it locked and loaded on my Ps4, ready to start today.

Have put around 12 or so hours in. Wouldn't put it anywhere close to GOW, maybe even behind Spiderman. It's good but not great for me.

The controls are outrageously bad (the fact that L2 is both draw+aim AND interact drives me insane) and the time goes way too fast (sunsets last 6 seconds, immediately takes me out of the immersion)...but those two things are my only problems. Rest is an absolute masterpiece.

I have a love and hate (well more frustrated ) relationship with this game. Like people have said before the controls are clunky as f***. It's a very unforgiving game but I feel like it adds to the charm. Ita weird but one second I am blown away the next second I am shaking my head at the mechanics. Its definitely up there but I still reckon GOW was a better game.

Eh, not my game of the year. Some systems are really nice, others are beyond clunky. Hard to get "immersed" in a game when you run your horse into a tree because he won't steer.....and it somehow triggers the wanted system..

@jdv95 @jdv95 @get2sammyb talking to NPC's is nowhere near as revolutionary. I have to agree here and also there is really basic clipping going on that shouldn't be in a game that's been in development this long with the budget spent.

I haven't really enjoyed what I've played so far. Appreciate the world they've built, it's design and graphics / sound are second to none but the gameplay is lacking for me. God of War still my favourite for the year.

@WillMerfi You can't get a Wanted Dead or Alive bounty by committing crimes — it's only used as a story mechanic. I think the maximum bounty you can get in the game is $300 but don't quote me on that. Hopefully you can finish that mission!

I am only in the middle of chapter 2 and still adjusting to the clunky controls (shot the butcher in Valentine by accident yesterday) but my overall impression is positive so far. Would give it currently a 8/10.

It’s definitely my favorite rockstar game. Around 10 hours in chapter 2. It’s amazing, but I don’t think it’ll top GOW for my GoTY.

@fluggy That's exactly how I felt about the first one and why I'm somewhat weary about trying this one. My mates been playing it and he raves about it, but, then again he's a massive fan of pretty much all of Rockstars games.

I'm about 15 to 20 hours in and I'm absolutely loving it most of the time, there are a few annoying niggles that crop up but the positives far outweigh the negatives. It's up there as Rockstar's best game with the original Red Dead Redemption, at the moment I'd put that one slightly ahead but that could change once I've seen everything this has to offer. The story in this is great, the wanted system is superb and the world is unbelievable and a joy to explore and be able to discover things on your own which is a rarity in an open world game these days and the shooting is fun. On the negative side the control scheme isn't great with some conflicting button commands and too many needing to be held down, the menu's are sloppy and the game likes to constantly remove your weapons and Arthur can be sluggish and cumbersome to manoeuvre at times.

Overall I'd give it a 9 so far, would be a 10 but for those issues. As far as GOTY is concerned God of War takes it for me, that game is brilliant in every department and Kratos is a joy to control, particularly throwing the axe, I'd put this second with Spiderman close behind in third, a great year all round.

@stupidget @fluggy to be fair, I’ve disliked pretty much every rockstar game ever made. Haven’t finished a single one. I’m really enjoying this one so far. It is pretty slow but the world and slow build feels satisfying. I also went into this expecting not to like it but tried to keep an open mind.

I will not play it.
The first didnt do it for me so ill pass this one as well.

I am clearly in the minority, but I have found the shortcomings to be far more bothersome than many of the reviewers have (although many noted them). Particularly the clunky controls and constant downtime. I understand what the devs were going for, but it is not what I am typically looking for in a game. That said, the world is gorgeous, and the characters are excellent. In a year with amazing all around packages like God of War, those shortcomings just stand out more than I may have noticed a few years ago.

@ztpayne7 Oh for heavens sake, now you're making me want to play it

@ApostateMage I agree the days should pass slower but it's a minor thing. My only real gripe has been losing any 'perfect' skins I was keeping on my horse whenever I die. Wish there was a way to store skins at the camp, I'm trying to save them for crafting. The game doesn't let you lose legendary ones so hopefully they will fix this.
Absolutely loving the game though, so easy to get distracted in the world.

Monster Hunter World.

Amazing game - Will not need a new game for a very long time.

Even canceled my FallOut Pre-order, because no way will I play it until I am done with this. You just loose yourself for hrs.

Monster Hunter World and God Of War are high up there for me also.

Traded it in after 10 hours. Just not my thing. Glad so many people are enjoying it though

My GOTY is still Monster Hunter World.

Yeah, I've been a victim of the wanted system, I was in Rhodes being a good citizen and enquiring with the beggar to see how he was getting on after I saw him last and some half breed started mouthing off at me. I tried to defuse the situation but he started punching me. After I received a number of blows I proceeded to hit him back. Suddenly he pulled out his gun and the coward started shooting at me, I ran to take cover and he said "Well, at least he knows where his place is now". This comment boiled my blood and it turned me from the wild west's answer to mother Theresa into The Punisher. I thought no way is some half breed hickey who looked like an extra from the hills have eyes going to get the better of me so I shot him straight through his big browed Neanderthal head and he hit the floor like a giant cowpat. Suddenly I was surrounded by the law, shooting at me from all sides and after 30 seconds of trying to defend myself; my wanted level went from zero to $85, so to avoid my bounty becoming big enough to sink the Titanic I made a run for it, so yeah the wanted level does need quite a bit of tweaking...so much for helping the needy

I’ve put 20-30 hours in. Dated controls and movement system as you have only three speeds of movement on foot. You really feel this during combat. Glitches and one really bad one for me, Marston is missing from camp. He was the one character I was interested in. Has a dull look with fake/bad HDR.

Game is a 8 at best, so far. GoW is my GotY so far.

Around 10 and 20 hours, the game is great, I’m really impressed with the graphics, soundtrack, narrative and the details of the open-world. My main issue is with the shooting mechanics.
I prefer to judge the game when I finish it, but I had a better experience with God of War, Spider-Man and Dragon Quest XI, that’s why I believe that RDR 2 will not be my GOTY.

Anyway, still is a solid game.

I'll get RDR2 tomorrow since a find a good retail deal. Hope they patch the wanted system soon...

For me it's :

1-GTA IV
2-GTA SA
3-RDR 2

It's a great game, but for me it's not on the same level as Spider-Man or God of War.

@TheArt Na, man. I think GTAV's day/night cycle is much longer. You could probably lap the whole freeway right around Los Santos before it got dark.

@BearsEatBeets That's happened to me so many times. It's especially annoying when you have perfect cougar or snake skins.

Changing control scheme to "standard FPS" made a huge difference and I would recommend it over default controls for sure. Basically makes it control like other 3rd person shooters like uncharted.

this is possibly an unpopular opinion but honestly this is rockstars biggest let down this side of GTA4; i can see how a lot of work has been put into the game but all those little frustrations ie having to hold instead of press a button for nearly every action, the god awful controls and that boring slog of a first few hours (whilest your in the snowy mountains) really piled up and sadly took a lot of enjoymeny out of the game

For the question "How many hours have you spent playing Red Dead Redemption 2?", where's the option to answer "I don't know, I'm so lost in this game that time has ceased to mean anything"

@get2sammyb Having a 10 is still important. Whether a game is able to reach that score or not, its still important to have as that is an indication of how far away a game is from absolute perfection. Just because its virtually impossible to achieve a 'perfect' 10, doesn't mean to say that it shouldn't exist or be in your scale to indicate how close to that something gets.

There is of course the factor of whether or not you allow decimal places if marking out of 10 (or lower) - Something I may consider to be a 98 out of 100 (or 9.8 out of 10) wouldn't be fair to round down to a 9 just because it can't reach the 'perfect' 10. If you don't allow decimals then a 9 could be anything from a 85-94 out of 100.

This game is excellent but I wouldn't give it 95+/100 because there is a few things that I think could have been improved which loses a few points - therefore rounding to its nearest place in a score out of 10, this gets a 9 at the moment. Normally with a score out of 10, I would give a score to (at least) 1 decimal place though - but that is my method of rating games and depending on how impactful any flaws/issues are will depend on how many points off from 100 a game gets. Its still important to have a 100 (or 10) even if that is virtually unobtainable because its an indication of perfection and how close something gets to that. I don't think you should lower what 100 or 10 means (perfection) just because its unobtainable and my scores are more a reflection of the game as whole inc issues. A game rated 10 (or 100) at launch, even with patches and improvements for example cannot be an 11 but with my scoring it can get closer to perfection.

@beemo never mind I'm sure gta6 is only 5 years away

RDR2 is the perfect game IMO. I loved RDR1 and played that for years, but this game improves on everything and gives more. I feel the controls are clunky on purpose to give the feeling of weight and movement speed in the wild west. Things weren't fast back then and if controls and gameplay was sped up to feel more arcadey, then the illusion would be broken and you would not feel part of the world, but just be another superhuman character like in most other games.

The way you can hunt, explore and collect for hours upon hours, if you wish, is amazing and the visuals, audio and characters are top notch. As the game went on I grew to love some characters and hate others like no other game. And when I finished the story the game only got better. I can't wait to 100% the game and start all over again just like I did with the first game. Not GOTY but Game Of All Time for me.

A fantastic game let down by clunky controls.

@ApostateMage Because those were fast cars, these are horses though. I feel the cycle is fine.

Its pretty good but nothing mindblowing

I got AC Odyssey and RDR2 at the same time as gifts. Strangely enough I have touched RDR2 but really enjoying AC. I'm afraid if I start playing rdr2 I won't finish AC, so guess I'll go with that.

Been pretty immersed in it after battling through the first chapter. Controls are a bit sluggish and having to back out of the selling screen to then select buy at the same shop/Pearson is unbelievable. May have RSI from tapping X! Great distractions happening all the time & I'm in no rush to finish the story. Back to the treasure hunt!

@Nifty
Yea no rush either for me. I'm even reluctant to play the story because I'm enjoying the game so much as it is. Kinda afraid the story would spoil my enjoyment too. So much to do with my dual golden Schofield revolvers and my beautiful white mare I found in northern legendary land.

@Ashkorsair Same

The visuals and audio are amazing. The controls could be better. The pacing is really slow, I wish the fast travel worked both directions. I also wish the auto-horse-riding didn't run people over and get me a bounty on my head and other annoyances...
The story from the sounds of it gets better, though I'm finding it difficult to care that much about the gang. Even my own character feels schizophrenic, I'm choosing to be honorable and help people stuck on the side of the road then forced in a story mission to massacre most of a town...

Pretty sure it's not going to be my GOTY.

yeah once you settle into the controls your good to go, the missions are so much fun, music is fantastic and the VA is the best in any game ever 10/10 from me and im only in chap 4

@get2sammyb I hear the same thing a lot of times the controls are cluncky that makes it less then a 10 for me. Does not mean i cant be great but not perfect thats for sure.

This is a 9.25 for me... My excitement never got taken over by the hype train but as a game its very enjoyable, the controls have been easy to adapt to, although could be better, but other than that, Rockstar have created a damn fine videogame.

At times it dabbles in cliched storylines, but with a beautiful world that encourages exploration and actually has stuff to do, it can be forgiven for minor foibles which tend to stem from its attempts at mimicking Westerns . Its also funny at times too...

Random incidents (KKK members deaths come to mind) and chance observations just add to a great attempt at a living world, while some attempt at tackling real issues of the time have to be commended even if it can be a little hackneyed on occasion...

I have got more out of this than GTA V but thats more me than the games. I cant do more than recommend it, although for some the slower pace could pose an issue

Now that I've learned the controls & mechanics I'm feeling a lot comfortable & having more fun, but still hate holding a button to interact with something. I'm in chapter 3 & taking my time so the pace is perfect.

Burned out on it in four days. I was impressed at first, but soon realized that everything is just such a chore.

Also, passively staring at my tv, holding X to watch a horse run for five minutes is not my idea of fun, let alone goty-material.

L.A. Noire is still my favourite Rockstar game, RDR2 doesn't change that. Rockstar is great at characters, settings and storytelling, ... their strengths in my opinion. The "gamey" stuff, like shooting, have always been somewhat clunky ... however I would say the same about 90% of all 3rd-person games (assuming you play this in 3rd person).

@JoeBlogs It makes sense to me. I know PushSquares and other sites may well be different - although I think IGN may well be similar to mine as they don't tend to give 10's. The point isn't that 10 is impossible although its not 'impossible' in theory but that 10 or 100 is the pinnacle, the top, the zenith, the apex - nothing can be better than that. Its perfection in every way - no flaws, no issues, nothing that can be improved on.

I can understand that sites or reviewers may round up to 10 because a game is better than a 9 for example and don't have decimal points or maybe would give it 95+/100 on a different scale. In this pole for example, I cannot have decimal points so would have to use rounding to the nearest whole number - which is why I voted 9 because for me, the game isn't a 95+/100 but had it been, then I would have to round that to a 10. In a 5 star rating system - especially if you can't have half stars - then this game is easily a 5 star game - which would be scaled up to 10/10, 100/100 but 4stars would be 8/10 or 80/100 and that is too low for this game in my opinion. When you don't allow decimals or fractions, and only have a 'small' scale (1-5, 1-10) then you have to round up which can then lead to games getting perfect scores. Would PushSquare have given this 100/100 if they had that scoring or would this be a 95-99/100? I don't know.

My point is though that just because we don't get the perfect, flawless game, doesn't mean that I shouldn't have 10 or 100 on my sale. Its their as the marker to show how close a game gets to perfection. Its no different from an exam and if you give all the perfect answers, you get full marks - 100% - if you are not 'perfect' you will lose marks. The fact that virtually all games can be bettered and the bar is constantly raising as new technology, new expectations etc may make it virtually impossible to get a perfect score doesn't mean it shouldn't exist - the bit to focus on is the 'out of' part - out of 10, out of 100, not the score itself in this instance as that is the marker of perfection and the 'score' is how close a game gets to being perfect.

As I said, a 10 or 100 score has nowhere to go it cannot be improved with patches, cannot be bettered in anyway because you cannot have 11/10. Every game releasing has some areas that can be improved - RDR2 is no exception - therefore its not 'perfect'.

@get2sammyb
Regarding the scoring. While I think scores should go away, if we realy want them then theres something I dont quite get. Going by the 'scores are only matter of opinion' if someone with simular liking as me scored GOW 10 but then think RDR2 is a far better game?
I genuinely think RDR2 is pushing the boundaries. Its the same problem as when old games that were amazing at the time of their release cant quite compete with modern games in every term.
Shouldnt all scores be re evaluated after a while? Its the whole logic of scores that doesnt make sense to me and the constant evolution of gaming. W hat about next month when RD online is available. Doesnt that make it an even better game with more ways to play it?

@JJ2 Well SOME games that grow into something great than when it was first released could be re-evaluated like SFV. I mean GTAV could be 99 on Metacritic right now if it was re-reviewed with all the free online content added till date, so I think reviewers considered RDO giving out the 10s to RDR2, and then people have the audacity to question the score. BUT then again it'll make developers rest on their laurels and ship out a half-finished product and keep making updates overtime, which wouldn't be good like in the case of SFV.

And with games like GoW, Witcher 3 getting 10s I think it's still fair as the score was given at that point in time in comparison to games released before them. And since those games raised the bar in certain aspects their 10s are warranted. For example if Mafia 3 released before GTA4 it would've been 90+ on Metacritic. If Shadow of the Tomb Raider released before Horizon it would've scored better like the Rise of Tomb Raider. These games like RDR2, Witcher3, GoW are all game changers at the time of release, and deserve the 10s because if reviewers have to wait for a better game before giving a 10 then we would be stuck on 9s forever, waiting for a game deserving 10 which we know isn't happening. So I don't think I'd go back and say mark Witcher 3 down 1 point because I think RDR2 is better, nah.

@JJ2 Nice. I was tracking one and got jumped by wolves & lost the trail. Have you seen Gavin? 😀

@ApostateMage I have only just noticed today that you can ‘donate’ the perfect animal skins to Pearson and he stores them until you have all the parts needed for crafting. Wished I spotted this sooner.

@AyanamiReign I was a bit annoyed with that mission. I’ve been playing as an honourable cowboy and getting my honour pretty high then go and get a 300 dollar bounty because of that mission. Can’t even leave the killing to the other character as he kept getting killed so I would have to restart.

@Nifty Ha! I love that English bloke looking for his mate.

@BearsEatBeets Aye. It's only for things to brighten up the camp but the sachels he crafts are pretty decent. I still need to donate loads to Pearson myself.

How about the greatest game ever in life? Has it reached that status?

@get2sammyb I agree that the missions are great fun, but I will say, Micah really screwed things up for me...lol

@AyanamiReign yeah that mission annoyed me a bit too; Rockstar wanted to remind you that you are not a good person.

@ApostateMage yeah I’m mainly trying to get all the satchel upgrades. The skin for the camp table looks like it might look good while playing poker too.

@JoeBlogs Well there is that aspect but generally there is issues with games - some that can be measured - like frame rate for example if it drops below target or has frame pacing problems and some may well be objective - could the story be better for example.

The more simple a game, the less parameters it has for analysis. You can't assess Tetris for its Story for example, the visuals are 'basic' - you don't have facial animations and how well they line up with the dialogue, you don't have dialogue, scripting and voice acting to consider. The controls too are 'basic - rotate left/right and drop so you have little to assess on control schemes. You may have online/couch MP to look at but the game is still far more simplistic compared to a game that has a suite of Online modes/features. You can argue that what Tetris does, it does without fault or you could see it as being much more basic and not offering the things that games today offer.

Is a very basic mobile that only makes calls the 'perfect' mobile when people today expect mobiles to also take photo's, play games, connect to the internet etc. A basic mobile may have been great 30yrs ago but now with iPhones etc, its lacking. Not to say that what it does, it may well do without fault - but then so do iPhones but they also offer a LOT more too. You can't judge the basic phone on its camera and quality of photo's, you can't judge it on its gaming performance etc but you can mark it down effectively for its lack of features, lack of innovation etc. Of course if all you want is a phone, then it may well be great for those people - but is it worthy of being a 10/10 when maybe an iPhone is a 9/10 because the app store isn't as big as Androids or the gaming performance isn't quite up to Samsungs (not that I know which has the biggest app selection or best gaming...) especially when modern mobiles also offer the same performance in making a call?

I know its difficult to compare a game like Tetris to a game like RDR2. Its difficult to compare games from different genres let alone different eras when they have more in common - 3D visuals with story, dialogue etc. There is a certain amount of objectiveness that comes in as well as things that can be quantifiable. I wouldn't call Tetris anywhere near 'perfect' even if what it offers is delivered without flaws - I get bored very quickly with Tetris - although 30yrs ago, I did play it a LOT.

Game of the year? Not a chance, its so clunky, the controls are... Irritating and the bounty system is yuck. Its a good game, but the hyperbole around this game is strong.

God of War is GOTY hands down, flawless from start to end

@beemo Still people acknowledge reviews for GAMES as important because... games are expensive. People use 2-3hrs to watch or listen to movies and music(probably pirated) and make their own judgements with no buyer's remorse cause they got it free. But with console games...they can't risk that money, so reviews are important. I think it's even the Games section keeping Metacritic relevant, more than the movies or music.

played about 3 hours finding it amazing controlls no problem

I just can’t get excited for this game (or Spider-Man, Assassins Creed Odyssey or God of War), Rockstar has been a total disappointment after GTA IV which I though was pretty good (while the two dlc episodes were disastrous), RDR and GTA V were absolute travesties and I just think they are wasting their resources and obvious talent. Why bother building these amazing open world environments when you fill them with tired gameplay mechanics, idiotic protagonists and uninteresting stories? Is this really what you want from video games, people?

@beemo
I almost totally agree with your comment except for I don't really like looking at the scores.
You quite summarised my thoughts about reviews. I even think reviewers tend to be out of touch with most gamers. Possibly because they are trying to have a professional or poetic or convoluted approach? Or too focused on a core gamer point of view? Idk. Anyway yea, I'm not easily influenced by reviews but enjoy reading some when I think I can get something from them even if at times, just taste of a game I'm going to buy anyway.

It's an amazing game, but to be honest I enjoyed God Of War better. GOW is almost entirely magical and jaw dropping from start to end. RDR2 has its amazing moments, but also many moments which aren't that fun for me - taking care of yourself and the horse, hunting, some uninspiring side quests - not everything there is super amazing as it is in GOW

@gmxs so far i would agree with you tbh. Its not to say the game isnt good but other games have evolved how you can control the character in the world. This still seems unecessarily convoluted like they havent learnt from the ps2 gta titles.

And the basic help section in the menu is so unintuitive. I struggled to find the button layout screen to refresh my memory of some of the basic controls after the tutorial. And i had to google how to manually save my game. Thats archaic menu design.

The game (so far) is very very good and i genuinely cant wait to play more. But i do feel like i am currently fighting with arthur in a way i shouldnt have to in 2018.

GoW would get my vote for goty currently , but that is in no way intended to under appreciate the work, heart and ambition rockstar have put into RDR

@BAMozzy Interesting comment. There’s never a “perfect” game because there’s always at least one flaw of some sort. Maybe the ratings scale needs to be adjusted. Instead of 10 meaning “perfect,” it should mean it’s absolutely positively worth every penny based on its manufacturer suggested retail price.

My Opinion may not like everyone. I sold it after I finish chapter 2 or 3, I forgot about it.. I really like the environment, very beautiful and lively. But the control really annoy me, I know that it need time to get used to it but after 5 hours, I still have the issue with control.

It feel so heavy, slowly and tedious (to me). It is just not a game for me. My GOTY so far still GoW, I also love Detroit as one of the best game this year as well. But I know RDR2 will win anyway.

@jgrangervikings1 I am sure that for some scales, 10/10 is that absolutely 'must buy' as soon as is possible at the asking price despite any minor flaws/issues. Its just not MY scale. If a game is rated 10 at launch for example, the maximum possible, what is it a month after launch when you have had patches to sort out those minor frame rate issues, bugs/glitches etc? Of course that's quantifiable issues that can be improved on over time which in my scale can be reflected on in a revised score, a way to show that the devs have made strides to improve things. Also with my scoring system, it doesn't allow devs to get away with these at launch and spend months (or more) to get the game up to the standard promised. In my book, a game at 30/60fps should run at 30/60fps consistently without drops. That is what is 'promised' not 28/55fps, not 29.9/59.9fps. I expect a game that is 1080p to be 1080p - not up to 1080p but only when you are standing still looking at a plain wall from 2" away but as soon as you move, it drops to 900p. Dynamic 1080p I would make a bit of an exception for as that does state 'Dynamic' but I still think they should state the 'avg resolution' rather than the top figure which barely, if ever is achievable - in other words, if a game avgs 900p, it should be classified as Dynamic 900p and have scope to go up as well as down. Anyway - that's getting off topic a bit - point is, my scale takes issues into consideration and reflects those in the score. It doesn't allow them to get away with releasing games that don't deliver on their 'promise' and depending on how 'close' to that promise they get, the smaller the points that get removed. The odd frame rate drop that barely impacts at all may only get a 0.1pt removed but something that barely hits the target could lose a whole point or more - depending on how bad it is and whether it greatly impacts on the game or not.

I know that Push Square have their own method, have their own scale which I understand and respect. If I was writing reviews for PushSquare, then I too would follow their scale but as I don't, I use my own method. There are different scales and criteria for a lot of reviewers who write for a publication to try and be consistent. Some may have 'definitions' for each score - a 6 is average, 7 above average, 8 good, 9 Excellent and 10 essential buy for example - my method may well fit in to that too - if you were to round it up and if I was reviewing for PS, take the other reviews into consideration to place the game I am tasked with reviewing for consistency - but like I said, my method is the way I assess games and allocate scores without having to follow the guidelines stipulated to be consistent for a specific publication.

The game is beautiful and of the highest quality. Where I feel it falls short isn't even it's own problem...it's my problem. I just can't get over the fact that there are so many beautiful things to look at, but I can't actually go touch them. I hate to make the reference, but Breath of the Wild said "See that? Go there, touch it, climb it, do what you want!" as where this game says "See that? Look how beautiful it is!"

Still the most enjoyable Old West game I've ever played.

I'm only about half way through chapter 2 so far but have to say I'm a little disappointed.

There are weird design choices that are needless such as the way you interact/talk with things, unnecessary animations slowing the whole thing down. It feels less centred around giving the player a fun game to play (like GTA5/RDR1) while going after realism. Slow walking in camps, having to stop to feed my damn horse etc is irritating.

Of course the game is great overall but I'm finding it a bit slow paced and less fun than previous R* games so far. Hope it changes in later episodes...

@Amusei What did you like with GTA4? I really dislike the game not trying to be mean BTW.

@BAMozzy Who cares if the game is not 1080p all the time does the game look terrible at 900p? Why complain about those things anyway.

And some really small framedrops gets points deducted what a nonsense. I dont even like RDR but if your going too make a point about some stuff do it with real things. Like cluncky controls.

@Flaming_Kaiser There is more a principal at play here. If a game says its 1080/30, I expect 1080/30 - not 900p with the upscale blur for the majority of the time, not an average 28fps - these are quantifiable examples of areas where points can be 'lost' on my scale and where a game can fall short on its 'promise' to the customer. I don't expect 'upto' 30/60fps and frame rate drops as well as incorrect frame pacing which both affect the presentation and performance.

Things like Story for example are much more difficult to quantify and are more subjective. Its a bit more difficult to illustrate where a game my lose points here compared to something a lot more quantifiable. There are a lot of things that can be subjective and therefore I opted to illustrate the principal of my rating system by using aspects that are easy to quantify.

A game that promises 1080p but only delivers on 900p maybe won't lose a lot of points - but will lose some because its not delivering what was expected/promised - a game that promises 30fps but barely delivers 20fps will lose a lot more points than the game that only offers 900p because that has a much greater impact on the game-play. Points to me are out of 100, not 10 so a loss of a point for not being 'locked' to 30fps throughout is still only 99/100, 900p may only lose a point because it does affect the visuals with more 'blur' - that would still be 98/100 - assuming everything else was perfect - that would still be 10/10 if you round up. A game that runs at 20fps will lose a lot more points than a game that drops a point here and there - the more it drops, the more it impacts on the game, the more points it loses. The odd frame rate drop here and there isn't going to have a big impact overall so won't lose a lot of points but its not 'perfect' either!

Stop focussing on the little aspects and look at what I said as the big picture. I wasn't referring to RDR2 either when breaking down my scoring system but all games, As for RDR2's controls, the clunky controls are one of those things that is a bit more difficult to quantify - is it because of excessive input lag (which can be affected by poor frame rates) or the layout and button allocation. Some may feel they are clunky because of the way the weapons need to be drawn before you can hip fire or ADS, or having to hold down buttons for a second to do something - point is, they are not so easy to illustrate how points can be lost in my scoring system and to a degree can be a subjective thing to where others may find the controls fine but others that may be more used to playing 60fps games with low input lag find them clunky but for a 30fps game, the input lag, whilst longer, is still within the average for 30fps games.

I picked on resolution and frame rate because those are two factors about a game that can be easily quantifiable and easy ways to illustrate areas where points can be lost. Much easier than trying to illustrate where points can be lost on controls, on story, on writing (inc side Quests), on dialogue/voice acting, on music, on controls/control scheme etc etc. All areas that can lose points too.

@PaperyWhiteBoy The best review I have read. At the moment it is not a 10.. it can't be. I agree with a 9, because it is an amazing game but:
The controls are really bad.. and when a game goes after the realistic side or effect, when you have errors like the guy jumping in front of your horse, or stuff like that, it's even more noticed..
Talking about the 1080p, if it says it does, then it should.. The hdr is fake, just search about it. People are saying that is better to play without hdr to have a better image..

@Flaming_Kaiser I loved the characters, especially Niko, the gritty NY atmosphere, the handling of the cars, the physics, the more serious approach to the story. I know it's not a popular opinion but it just felt right to me. I've beaten it about 4 times, got to rank 10 online, probably spend around 1K+ hours on that game.

Never played red dead redemption I wasn't sure when I saw the trailers having played around 31%of the story 😕 33%total overall I'm giving it GOTY. That's me away from 1020 hours of ghost recon wildlands for a good while now as I'm so impressed with the believable responsibilities rockstar have designed for us in the form of a cowboy 🤠 the intro was a great idea at it's length loved it developing characters and story and the technology and systems in place environmentally was astounding on my ps4. They've done a fabulous job of letting you play the life of Arthur showing you the brutality and hardship you have to undergo to keep going, fishing 🎣 hunting etc contributing to the camp it's designed brilliantly felt like I was really there providing, up rivers fishing in boats in lakes looking at other amazing places I've yet to explore and can't believe there's actually a tropical location.Rockstar have set a new bar of an interactive huge open world here I'm just taking my time wether it be filling corridors with lawmens corpses as I blow their heads of loot and clamber to escape before I get trapped whilst fishing or hunting bounty law pigs suddenly appear test your skills with almost no time to react brilliant stuff 🙄.