15 Gaming Wishes For 2015

Is the truth really out there? At least in the Red Dead Redemption universe, that seems to be the case. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, just head between the "N" and "O" of New Hanover on the map, and you'll come across an old building. Inside, you'll be met with a pretty weird scene. There are beds lining the sides of the building, with a desk at the end. On the desk lies a note, which rather cryptically hints for you to come back to the building, or stay there, until about 2

Red Dead Redemption was a blast, with numerous side quests, activities and just a big Open World Game Patch Notes sandbox world to play in. Great game mechanics and design made it fun, a great story is what made it memorable. The pacing of the story doesn't ever hit any major lulls and the character of Marshton is sympathetic enough you end up rooting for him, since after all he's a good guy who just wants to be back with his family. And in trying to get back with his family he ends up being jerked around by the government. After jumping through endless hoops from the government they betray him. The ending of Red Dead Redemption is one of the sadder endings in a video game. The true ending occurs in 1914, and while there is a shot at setting things right, it ultimately feels hollow and unsatisfying. This sounds like a knock against the game, but in reality it is a testament to how powerful the narrative of Red Dead Redemption actually was.


One of the spookier finds thus far has been the discovery of a woman chained inside of an outhouse. She's been disfigured and continues, with apparent difficulty, chanting off numbers in a specific order. If you'd like to see or hear her for yourself, you can head to the Braithwaite Estate. On the outer edge is the outhouse with the inmate in question. What's her story? What do the numbers lead to? Is she locked in there for good reason? Or is it simply because she's differ

Outside of that, Rockstar has created an engaging system that allows you to rob shops, stagecoaches and even trains full of people at any time. All you need to do is put on mask (if you don’t want to get caught) and start demanding the goods. If you do most of the story, you won’t need to do this all that often as you’ll be rolling in dough, but it’s a fun way to de-stress. The Wanted system is also back, as the more heinous of crimes you commit and people witness, the higher the bounty is put on your head. You can change your disguise or grow your hair and facial hair out to avoid being recognized, but you’ll probably want to pay it off the fee to avoid bounty hunters coming at you in the wild. Alternatively, if you catch up to a witness, you can threaten them, or if a police officer sees it taking place, you can defuse the situation if it’s not too damaging of a crime. Occasionally it can be a confusing why you’re immediately pinpointed as the perpetrator, though, as we’ve had a number of instances where we killed someone, a pedestrian comes across the body while we’re nowhere to be found, and yet a bounty is set on our character. Overall, though, the system works fine and can even be entertaining to chase witnesses down as they plead for their lives.

It was the moments of quiet that were most enjoyable, just wandering the prairie through Redemption was enough to satisfy western fantasies. Both games also took place in the classic dusty west audiences have come to imagine from spaghetti westerns, now veering toward more recent films such as The Revenant, which seems to be the direction Red Dead Redemption 2 is going. Not a bad thing.

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.

Gunslingers in the wild west have been the subject of many memorable video games such as Gun, Custer's Revenge, Lethal Enforcers II and probably another one or two are in there somewhere. What is generally considered the most celebrated is 2010's Red Dead Redemption, or Grand Theft Equine as it's commonly referred. Like one or two other Rockstar titles, Red Dead Redemption was met with near universal acclaim and is still fondly remembered almost a decade later. The upcoming sequel is one of the most anticipated titles of 2018, and with that release just around the corner it seems like a good time to look back on the tale of John Marshton.

Part of what made Red Dead Redemption great was its characters. John Marshton was one of the better protagonists in a Rockstar game, which is not exactly a small feat given some of the other games they've put out. Giving up his outlaw life to be a family man after a bank robbery went awry, he maintains his tough exterior but seems to be making an honest attempt at being a decent human, even if doing so within the confines of the law is somewhat negotiable. The bar was set high enough with Marshton where the only thing I'm mildly worried about with Red Dead Redemption 2 is whether or not the new protagonist can match him. Aside from the lead there were numerous other characters. Nigel West Dickens was one of Marshton's more entertaining companions. Dickens was a swindler and snake oil salesman if there ever was one, but he did assist John on a few occasions, even if it was painfully obvious John wanted nothing more than to pistol whip him.