Great discussion on the ending here. Before I get on to that, non-spoilerish thoughts on John Marston: Phenomenal job with this character. Possibly my favourite "defined" character of any game (ie, not counting characters like Mass Effect's Shepard where you make their decisions). Everything about his character is perfectly judged right down to touches like never failing to call Bonnie "Miss MacFarlane". Even his hesitance to speak about his past makes complete sense with the whole strong-silent-cowboy thing.
Having said that... on to the ending...
Really enjoyed that game overall. So much so that I wonder whether a sequel is worth it. They can't really pull anything like this again, can they? I'd be totally OK with RDR standing alone.
Having said that... on to the ending...
I thought the ending was a complete emotional punch in the gut. Outstanding idea that makes perfect sense. The events of the game showed that, try as he might, John could never outrun his past. It's sadder still when you realise that ultimately, it didn't really work: Jack literally turned into John. And if anything Jack's fate is even worse than John's; where John was a relic who died with the age that produced him, Jack chooses to become an anachronism. In a world where gunslingers are dying and the Old West is disappearing, he takes up the mantle.
But from a gameplay perspective, I don't think it quite worked. Part of the problem is Rockstar's habit of drip-feeding you information (they did this in GTA4, too). Firstly, you know NOTHING about your own damn son except that you have one until you meet him. Similarly, your wife: You build up a closer relationship to Bonnie than your wife. I felt "closer" to Bonnie, anyway. Which is a pity, because Abigail is (IMO) a well-written character who adds so much to John Marston. But you hear about her in the bank for the first time, and you get one mission to bond with her. That's it. Difficult to muster up any sort of emotion to save them when you barely know them.
(This is an issue with Dutch, too. As noted by a previous poster, Dutch is introduced so late on that the loyalty issues Ross talks about with John are a complete mystery to the player. I'd totally have shot Dutch given the chance, because they never gave me a reason to see John's apparent point of view.)
I don't think the missions worked, either. I get that it was an attempt to be mundane and slow to contrast with what came before and what was to come, but something was... off. They felt a little like tutorials. But they didn't feel like tutorials for you to prepare Jack, either. I don't know, I can't quite put my finger on it, but equally I can't shake the feeling that the Home missions (or at least some of them) were supposed to open the game.
It's a real missed opportunity for me, because the ending is already fantastic... it could have been just off-the-charts incredible.
Still, that I'm thinking about the impact the ending made days later tells you what an insanely great job they did nonetheless. And something which absolutely 100% worked was John's actual last stand. Through the entire mission I was thinking, OK, realistically, there's no way John's walking out of this. But obviously he can't die, so I wonder what Rockstar are going to pull to magically get him out of it. When you send Jack and Abigail off, in that few seconds of quiet, I was starting to think... there's no way out, is there? When he peeks through and sees 20-ish guys standing there, I knew. So that moment, just before Dead-Eye kicks in, where John throws the door open and stands there with everyone facing him, when your final faint hope of survival is quickly replaced with "I'm taking as many of you down with me as I can", is one of the greatest gaming memories I have.
But from a gameplay perspective, I don't think it quite worked. Part of the problem is Rockstar's habit of drip-feeding you information (they did this in GTA4, too). Firstly, you know NOTHING about your own damn son except that you have one until you meet him. Similarly, your wife: You build up a closer relationship to Bonnie than your wife. I felt "closer" to Bonnie, anyway. Which is a pity, because Abigail is (IMO) a well-written character who adds so much to John Marston. But you hear about her in the bank for the first time, and you get one mission to bond with her. That's it. Difficult to muster up any sort of emotion to save them when you barely know them.
(This is an issue with Dutch, too. As noted by a previous poster, Dutch is introduced so late on that the loyalty issues Ross talks about with John are a complete mystery to the player. I'd totally have shot Dutch given the chance, because they never gave me a reason to see John's apparent point of view.)
I don't think the missions worked, either. I get that it was an attempt to be mundane and slow to contrast with what came before and what was to come, but something was... off. They felt a little like tutorials. But they didn't feel like tutorials for you to prepare Jack, either. I don't know, I can't quite put my finger on it, but equally I can't shake the feeling that the Home missions (or at least some of them) were supposed to open the game.
It's a real missed opportunity for me, because the ending is already fantastic... it could have been just off-the-charts incredible.
Still, that I'm thinking about the impact the ending made days later tells you what an insanely great job they did nonetheless. And something which absolutely 100% worked was John's actual last stand. Through the entire mission I was thinking, OK, realistically, there's no way John's walking out of this. But obviously he can't die, so I wonder what Rockstar are going to pull to magically get him out of it. When you send Jack and Abigail off, in that few seconds of quiet, I was starting to think... there's no way out, is there? When he peeks through and sees 20-ish guys standing there, I knew. So that moment, just before Dead-Eye kicks in, where John throws the door open and stands there with everyone facing him, when your final faint hope of survival is quickly replaced with "I'm taking as many of you down with me as I can", is one of the greatest gaming memories I have.
Really enjoyed that game overall. So much so that I wonder whether a sequel is worth it. They can't really pull anything like this again, can they? I'd be totally OK with RDR standing alone.
Thanks for the answer anyway.