The year is 1911. John Marshton was once a dangerous outlaw but has left that life behind to pursue the simple pleasures of being a family man. John is enjoying his new life until the Bureau of Investigation visits him to work out a deal with him and take his wife and kid into custody for leverage. As a former outlaw, John is facing some serious penalties for his past but the FBI is willing to cut him a break if he brings his former gang members to justice. John agrees to these terms, not like he has much choice, and travels to Fort Mercer to confront his former rappy, Bill Williamson. Things go horribly wrong and instead of bringing anyone to justice, John is shot and left for dead, only to end up in the care of Bonnie MacFarlane.
When you have a bit of extra cash you can part with, my suggestion would be to spend some of that money and put it towards upgrading the camp's food, ammo, and medical stashes early, and each of them can be upgraded a few times for better quality items, such as improved tonics to boost your Health and Stamina, or more powerful weaponry like fire bottles and different ammo types. The more you put into the camp, the more you get, so don't miss out on expanding its uses while exploring the world and completing missions.
When you think of Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto is no doubt the first thing that pops into mind. They’ve built a multi-billionaire dollar franchise that has become a household name, but they’re a multi-studio company that has many properties in their catalogue. Midnight Club, Smuggler’s Run, Max Payne, State of Emergency, Bully and so many more, Rockstar is far more than just Grand Theft Auto. With that said, their third-person action adventure formula has worked for them in the past and so they’ve been implementing it into other titles, one for example would be Red Dead Redemption. Released over eight years ago, we dove into the Wild West like we’ve never done so before, with an open world ripe for exploration, a compelling story with a loveable cast of characters and a cleverly-designed shooting mechanic. Here we are again, as Rockstar has created a more colossal and Black Myth Zhong Kui immersive game that puts it in a familiar territory, all while making feel like its own identity.
2015 is mere hours away, and I could not be more excited to say goodbye to 2014. A lot of things happened during the year that I liked, and a lot of things I didn’t. The games industry has plenty to prove after 2014 with numerous disastrous launches, delays and disappointments. Going forward into 2015 there are certain games I'd like to see announced, certain games launch, or specific things happen within the gaming industry. These are my wishes for the game industry; 15 for 2015.
Calling Red Dead Redemption Grand Theft Equine is a dumb joke, even by my standards, but the GTA influence is as visible as the scars on John's face. The game is played in a large open world map that spans part of Mexico and part of the western American frontier, divided into three regions that are unlocked as the story progresses. John's actions can influence his fame and honor which have an impact on how townspeople react to him. Helping innocent people fight off bandits may improve his reputation but gunning down those same innocent townsfolk will have the opposite effect. Like GTA titles there is a wanted system, where if John decides to commit crimes he can attract the attention of the law and depending on how far he wants to take it this may escalate into military involvement. John can surrender to the law men, kill them all or simply high tail it out of there until the heat dies down. The problem with the last two options is the law might give up on John but that just means they've decided to send a bounty hunter after him so they don't have to deal with him themselves.
This seems nearly impossible seeing as we’re almost at the 10-year anniversary of the game’s announcement, but I feel fairly positive Final Fantasy XV might at least launch in Japan by the time 2015 ends. The fact that we’re getting a gameplay demo in 2015, the large amount of gameplay trailers released in 2014, and the fact that the English voice-overs are already done is enough evidence to suggest we’ll be playing Final Fantasy XV sooner than later.
Don’t be deceived by the number at the end of the title, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a direct prequel to its predecessor. The story takes place years before our last adventure as we follow Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang. If you recognize the latter name, it was the group of outlaws that John Marston rode with back in the day. As you can expect, you’ll see our loveable Marston often, who is perfectly implemented into the story. It’s not too much fan service or focus, but just enough so he’s a solid supporting role, especially in the later half of the campaign. He has his own arc, but it’s all about Arthur and his issues. The first couple of chapters in the story, Arthur is an unlikable individual. It takes him a little while to find his footing as he’s an overly serious character who never breaks a smile and plays the rough cowboy to a T. His relationship with the group, including the gang’s leader, Dutch van der Linde, is what stands out among everything else. It’s the little things around the camp; the songs, the gestures and the interactions that expand our protagonist’s likability, and you begin to better understand him. Even the most insignificant faces seem to bring out the more positive aspects out of Arthur more than the main story ever does, and it’s sad that it’s something players can completely overlook, especially considering entering the camp setting forces the player to move at a snail’s pace.
