Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the greatest experiences I have had in my life. As I mentioned in my review for the first Red Dead Redemption, I was pretty disappointed in the first one and it just never clicked for me until years later. This was different. On launch day, RDR2 was the only thing I could think about and couldn’t wait to play it. My brother had unfortunately got to the PS4 first so I had to wait till later that night to play. Even today I’m still stuck by how insane the game seem. To this day, this game feels like a game of the future. Something so life like and immersive that it shouldn’t even be possible today. I got impressed by the game and then I just kinda dropped it. I think I played it for about a week or couple days, school caught up to me and then I just didn’t think about it again. It wasn’t until after I graduated the next year, in Summer 2019, where I picked it up and decided I was going to beat it. I still wonder what pushed me to keep going but that small push set the tone for the summer. Just coming off graduation and preparing for college put me in a great mindset where I just wanted to immerse myself and play it during my afternoons. I had a stressful job in insulation with my Dad so the game really helped me to relax. That summer had so many events going on yet I always found some time to play. Arthur Morgan’s tale of his gang was just so captivating and I genuinely couldn’t stop playing. Unlike the first one, I just got it eventually and I just wanted to do everything. Every stranger, every side quest, every hunting challenge. I felt like I did it all and for a brief moment I just thought it wasn’t going to end. Even though the game is over 100hrs, every hour is justified. The story just plays as though it was a Academy Award winning film or Emmy sweeping TV show. It’s genuinely so good and I still remember the big blockbuster moments as well as the quieter more somber moments. Even when playing, I have my own stories of adventuring through the swamps and shootouts with the police. When it was finally time to put it down, if felt like saying goodbye to an era of myself that went through such a big change. I came out of that game changed, for the better, and I’m no longer the same boy I was when I first played it. One of the very best games ever made and the memories this game gave me will be something I hope will stick with me forever. I’m so glad I played it at the time I did and forever grateful by how much influence it gave me during one of my most uncertain and transitional periods of my life. It’s art, it’s cinema, it’s a classic. Pure and simple.

Throughout all 2016 I had first really started getting into watching movies. A big mix of getting Netflix and the majority of Quentin Tarantino’s filmography set me on such a blazing path where I genuinely didn’t go even one week without seeing at least something. During this wonderful time, a genre that always captivated me was Westerns. My dad had always loved Westerns but I didn’t really like watching them as a kid. I loved cowboys, I loved horses, revolvers and the sort but the movies really seemed much too old to me. I loved bounty hunter characters and the cowboy aesthetic was probably my favorite thing growing up, whether I knew it or not. So keeping all this in mind, I had Red Dead in mind for a while as something that I wanted to play but never really got the chance too. Now as the year had ended , my passion for Westerns was at all time high and thanks to Black Friday, I was able to get Red dead for $10 and I was ecstatic! Rockstar is my favorite developer, the story is always praised, and it’s probably my favorite setting, what could go wrong?! To this day, I am not sure what had me burned out on Red dead but it was something that never clicked. Now contrary to my log dates, I did beat it about 5 days before Red Dead 2 but I only now just beat the epilogue during a morning of being hungover. I’m frankly surprised I even beat the game but I can’t remember the characters, my favorite memories of John and Dutch are mostly from the sequel nowadays, and the setting just seemed so boring. It’s such a stark contrast to what I would expect me to say. It saddens me so much but I just saw this game as a disappointment. The game felt a bit too clunky compared to GTA 5, the story dragged on with quests that felt meaningless and tedious. I remember feeling aggravated as I thought this was gonna be THE cowboy game and it just never clicked. In my head, this game came and went and registered as just a appetizer for the sequel and that was that for many years. Yet, on that drunken evening I decided to just finish that epilogue and yet I had the time of my life that entire morning just taking down camps and taming the West with these bandits. Instead of just boring dry deserts, I saw new life and vast landscapes that I wanted to ride to. The game finally clicked, 7 years later and an entire play-through later. I have picked up the new remaster and I’ll share my thoughts once I’m finish with the second play through but for now, I will leave my score to reflect my experience I had the first go around.

Spider-Man was probably most anticipated game of 2018 and is probably the driving force for getting a PS4. I remember watching E3 2016 and seeing that reveal was the final straw, I had to get a PS4. My first play through when it first released was a lot of fun, but felt just a bit empty. The web slinging mechanics, the stealth, the fighting all felt great but the open world design felt like it had been done a million times. It felt tedious to get it complete and once you’re done, there’s not much left. The DLC’s felt really tedious as well and are not something I’ll replay ever again. Yet all the story beats, the story missions, and the characters are all top notch and great to play. I was always excited to battle the next villain or see what set piece was next. Spider-Man is a great game, and the quintessential Spider-Man experience, but the sequel will need some fine tuning in its open world for it to truly be another classic.