Archive for June, 2010

Had over an hour to play this last night – bliss! I mainly went around picking flowers, partly to complete survivalist challenges and partly so Billy could give them to his lovely wife Annabel. It’s lovely to see a couple so in love after so many years of marriage.

I also persuaded a man not to have relations with a prostitute, met up with the would-be movie mogul from earlier in the game, shot several people who deserved it (and at least one who didn’t) and got killed by bears.

Oh, and I’ve got a new way of dealing with those women who try to lure me into ambushes. Once I’ve dispatched the lurking men, I hogtie the lady, put her on my horse and then dump her on the floor of the nearest brothel. (I may or may not shout “Whore delivery!” as I do so. Let’s say I don’t, because this is worrying enough already, psychologically speaking.) Now, I assume they won’t force her to work there, in fact I reckon they’ll cut her loose, give her something to drink and send her on her way, but I reckon it’s a humiliating enough experience to pay her back for trying to get me killed. And it’s nicer than than leaving her tied up on the train tracks. (That gets very messy indeed.)

Next time I play I think I’ll be on the hunt for beaver. And boars. Luckily, they seem to be in the same rough location. Unluckily, I think it might be bear country.

Okay, this post might have a few too many spoilers for those of a sensitive nature, but I’ll try to keep things general where possible. If you want to play the game unsullied, best look away now, though.

So, my Mexican adventures came to an end. I’m sure I’ll be back later on – there’s a chap down there who needs me to deliver some beaver at some point – but right now I’m up north in the town of Blackwater. Awfully unsettling experience, riding into that town. After the emptiness of Mexico and New Austin, it feels claustrophobic and far too modern. More than that, though, I feel out of place. Even after changing out of my bandito outfit and going back to my duster, I don’t feel right. I’m not built for the city, even one of only a few blocks. And it doesn’t help that the townspeople know who I am and warn me to keep myself under control as I walk around. I couldn’t even find anywhere to hitch my horse outside the saloon. It’s rare that a game unsettles me so deeply. Certainly a huge achievement, but not an especially pleasant one.

On a technical note, the game’s been getting buggier and buggier. Nothing too major, but I did need to restart the game entirely at one point after a stagecoach I needed to drive refused to move, even after restarting the entire mission. And then after an epic, game-changing mission the game stopped doing anything for about three minutes until another cut scene suddenly kicked in. Strange that the problems have been with the story missions – in a game like this I’d have thought they’d be the most likely parts to work properly.