L.A. Noire was an interesting step in a new direction for Rockstar. Developed by Team Bondai and published by Rockstar, L.A Noire took us back to 1940s Los Angeles in a Noire setting made popular within the film industry. Controlling Detective Cole Phelps, you work your way through the divisions of the LAPD, solving some of the best and most gruesome cases 1940's L.A has to offer. As well as this, Rockstar introduced a free roam mode, allowing us to explore the era in all its glory. While the game grossed highly and is rated among its fans, it did receive some criticism for being boring. Although it is argued that the slow pace and difficult interrogations help build the atmosphere for the overall experience, many feel they still missed the boat in some circumstances, actually turning the whole story into a bit of a d

Each and every GTA instalment has their fair share of lovable, but stupid characters. You know, the ones who cause more trouble than they're worth, but we can't stay angry at. Well, in GTA IV , they started to put a heavy social element into our main character's life, helping to create a very realistic world in which you can hang out with the associates you've met along the way. This meant that a number of social mini-games became available to us. That being said, there was nothing more irritating than being constantly badgered by Roman about bowling, so much so that his irksome requests became somewhat of an internet joke. Think about it, you're in the middle of a mission and your car is being peppered by bullets. You're fully concentrated on taking down the enemy, only to be interrupted by "HEY COUSIN, IT'S ROMAN." It's absolutely infuriat

As is clearly evident now, Rockstar have put a lot of effort into their online game mode in GTA V . So you'd we expect it to be smooth sailing when we log on, right? Wrong. So many reports have come through about the failures of GTA Online' s lobbies. They always seem unable to cope with the sheer amount they have to process. In my personal experience, they've always felt really choppy and slow. Often, I've been kicked out of lobbies for what seems like no good reason. The option to join your friends lobby when they are in free roam is a great one, making it easier to connect with your pals without having to bother them with invites. But, again it seems like such a temperamental feature, as I'm often being told I have no friends active, when I clearly do! I even had this happen with a guy who was in the same room as

It’s safe to say that Red Dead Redemption 2 is easily the most visually-impressive game Rockstar has ever created. While it’s difficult for open world games to compare to more linear, focused experiences due to the amount of content shoved onto screen at once, there were times when I thought I was playing a CG movie. Maybe that’s a little bit of hyperbole as there are still some compromises that are taken, but for the most part this is arguably the Best Weapons Palworld 2025 looking game of the year. Character models are remarkably detailed, even with the most insignificant individuals, and the open world is absolutely gorgeous. Not only does it have an incredible amount of variety, from industrial cities to snowy mountains, but the way settings are organized bring the world to life in a sensational way. From a pure visual aspect, the only negative notions are minor ones, namely beards can sometimes look like they’re pulled off a character creator, and the rendering and reflections when moving through water has a strange issue on the sides of the screen. Animation is the only other aspect that can be bothersome at times. Don’t get me wrong, everything is animated meticulous, from faces to actions, but when you need to interact with something in the world, it can put you into an animation that takes a lot longer than you’d hope for. Other than that, I was blown away with what Rockstar was able to accomplish, as the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 is simply breathtaking.

In a time where open-world games are a dime a dozen, my problem with most titles in the genre is that they rarely force you to engage with the world that has been laid out. Instead, developers just use the confines of an open-world to place the structure of their game inside of, because it's the normal thing to do more often than not nowadays. Simply existing in an open-world though isn't enough when you don't feel any sort of connection to the environment that you're within. Forcing you to explore and take your time in the world allows you to get to know the area which you find yourself in. This is something that I think The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild did so perfectly last year , and it's something that I think finds success here in Red Dead Redemption 2 as well.

No small detail is overlooked. It is the collection of countless minor details that makes _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ so captivating. It is unbelievably satisfying watching horses trudge through miles of deep snow en route to a mission, only to find the same player-made snow trail upon returning to the mission’s point of origin. Throw a corpse into the river, and the body will continue on until it gets stuck, or flows into a lake at the mouth of the river. And last, but not least: hats. Hats easily fly off in the heat of a shootout or during a bar fight, but any hat can be picked up and worn by Arthur. Collecting hats across the western frontier might be one of the most satisfying, unofficial mini-games within _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ . In fact, as of this writing, the topic of hats was actually trending for the game on Twitt