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.

Switch Ports: Bethesda and Rockstar

Since 1996, Nintendo has struggled with getting third party games on their systems. Even for as big as the Wii was, it wasn't big on getting some of the bigger titles that made it to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The question on the Switch is still in the air. It has done decently since its debut in March, but the concern will be if there are games beyond the Big N that can make it to the portable/home console hybrid.

In the midst of this, Bethesda announced plans for a few of their latest titles to make it to the Switch. Doom, one of the bigger hits last year, is expected to come out late this year. Continuing into 2018, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus will be one of the new titles that will release in year 2 for the system. I think this is very important since these are titles, while not as big as other games, that can be high quality and give people a reason to feel confident in their new system. Bethesda is pretty confident. They are putting their eggs into Nintendo's basket. The last time these two series made it to any of their systems was 2002 with Doom II on the Game Boy Advance and since 1995 with Doom on the Super Nintendo.

To keep this in mind, Bethesda has developed games for Nintendo systems going back to the NES days, but it's such a small number (only two games for NES, nothing after that until the DS) and not much was seen in the last ten years in terms of support. With these two franchises and an Elder Scrolls port on the way, it could pave the way for other companies following suit and make it more than just a first party box. It could also give the company another avenue for profit considering how much they have grown since the first Elder Scrolls game on DOS in early 1994. Could something like Fallout 4 make it to the Switch? Who knows. The possibilities are there.

Shifting gears, Rockstar is one of those companies that early on gave Nintendo support with some games on the Nintendo 64, GameCube, and Game Boy line. However, they have mostly gravitated to Sony and Microsoft systems for their big titles. There have been a few surprises like Manhunt 2 making it to the Wii, but overall, they haven't warmed up to the Big N. I doubt this will be a confident changer to bring stuff like GTA V, but it is support. Coming out in November will be their crime thriller, L.A. Noire. The 2011 game that had a lengthy development time (started in 2004) is also going to come out on PS4, and Xbox One at the same time. It is the first big title, even though a port, for a Nintendo home console since 2008 with a port of Bully, and since 09 with GTA: Chinatown Wars on the DS.

I think this speaks a lot to Rockstar looking at how well the Switch has done. Typically, they are more of going towards the PlayStation and Xbox brands. It's very evident with Red Dead, GTA, The Warriors. They've been with these two since the original PlayStation and Xbox systems. They are not going to take a huge risk, but it's still in the air on whether this will convince Rockstar will continue with support for the Switch. It is going to be a little more expensive, but not much. Forty dollars is what it will be digitally, but getting a cartridge will be 50. There hasn't been a cartridge based system since the 64 and before this, all Nintendo handhelds have been cart based. With a new developer handling the port since Team Bondi shut down in the fall of 2011, it will be very intriguing to see where this lands in terms of critical and commercial success.

Nintendo has certainly got companies coming to them. Getting games from big and small developers and publishers so far in 2017 has gotten them off to a decent start. Combined with some of the big name titles like Mario Odyssey coming out this fall, it could be the year that they recover from the dreadful era of the Wii U. They can't let their foot off the gas. If they can continue to be aggressive and fully advertise and market the Switch and games for it, it will give the world a reason to like the Big N as a home console manufacturer.