GTA Trilogy Remaster

There was news back in the summer about the PlayStation 2 Grand Theft Auto games getting a remaster. While III, Vice City, and San Andreas are still excellent games, some aspects could have been finely tuned to be better. The news is confirmed that they are getting a re-release this year. Downside is that the original versions are getting delisted on PS3, PS4, and Xbox 360. The same is going to happen for the HD San Andreas game on 360. At the time of this blog on a Monday night, they probably have be taken off the digital stores already. If not, this week. 

These are coming out on everything. Xbox One, Xbox Series, PS4, PS5, PC, iOS, Android, and the Switch. The fact that Nintendo is getting these is a huge surprise. Only their handhelds had GTA games with ports of the first two and two original releases. Rockstar has shown some support with Manhunt 2, Table Tennis and Bully on the Wii and L.A. Noire on Switch. Having GTA is a benchmark for the developer. From all assumptions, these will play roughly the same, but have better visuals. I have a feeling it will get cleaned up quite a bit to retain their looks but utilize the hardware of everything.

As far as delisting goes, I'm not sure if this is going to be permanent or not. I wouldn't think so, but weird things do happen in gaming. With the PC, you can find copies of them. You can also find copies for the PS2 and original Xbox. These were mega sellers. Millions upon millions, especially on PS2. Very common and going for 10 to 25 dollars. Maybe more if people are trying to popularize theme even more. There is that talk of game preservation, but the discs are not inaccessible. GTA is in a strange spot and I don't have an easy answer on how to solve the issue of digital stuff being taken away.

These should do decently and the price will hover around 40 to 60 dollars. You're getting 200 plus hours worth of content with these three games. I'll have to wait and see how it fares and see some gameplay to see if it's worth getting. For now, it's a decent way of celebrating 20 years since GTA III released and changed how games could be played.

First Impression: Red Dead Redemption II

Normally, I don't buy games that close around their release date. There are exceptions, and Red Dead Redemption II is one of those examples. It has been a game that has been on my radar for a good while and I loved the first Redemption when I first played it on Xbox 360 back in 2012. Now to play the new one on PS4, I'm liking it so far. Maybe a tad bit below the first, but still good.

It's 1899 and a prequel to Redemption. Dutch Van der Linde and his gang must survive the land in their attempt to get money and have a fresh start. That is if they can stay out of trouble, which is very slim. So far from the story, it's a tight group that works together to commit crimes or find stuff that will lead them to easy money.

You are Arthur Morgan, and the game is in a way like GTA: San Andreas. Taking care of him is a must with feeding him, with options to trim his hair, and statistics such as stamina and total health. There isn't too much depth, but it's good enough. Otherwise, it's an open world Western where it plays like Redemption with a mix of GTA V. It will be riding horses, helping or hurting strangers, and playing a variety of mini games like poker, horseshoes, and five finger filet.

The game looks very gorgeous. This is about as photo realistic as you can get. I'm not sure if the hardware on either system has reached its limits. Its scenery, especially in the very beginning with the snow effects and the mountain, is stunning and a sight to see. Outside of that, the character modeling is very real, the areas depict a Western that is nearing the final stages, which it was during that time period. What else needs to be said that hasn't been said already? Given the audio, it's not too Western like, but decent enough. The voices are done very well. Both facets were given good enough care.

For gunplay, it's mainly finding cover and taking care of any bad guys that get in the way. Other times, it might be getting someone to stop or just putting one shot in them to stop. If not, you can use a lasso. You can still loot them or put them on your horse Like the first, you can hunt animals, but it takes a lot more skill than just a simple skinning of them and selling parts for money and survival. Be weary, as some of them can kill you rather quickly. There is a good variety of rifles, shotguns, and handguns that have various pros and cons, and choosing the right one could make the difference.

Like any game from Rockstar, you have missions. So far, I've played mainly lengthy ones. Normally, that would bother me in something like GTA and L.A. Noire, but it feels more complex and slower paced here. Going after other outlaws or stopping trains is not as simple as you think. Even the first Redemption felt that way, too. With it being an entire gang, you have to put your contributions in, so you'll have to find a way to mix in doing missions and doing stuff when in between them.

I'll wrap up by saying Red Dead Redemption is a must buy. Rockstar delivered on another solid product and I will keep getting further into it and see how much my thought changes after playing it more.