JBTV1991

Ian Mckellen's sardonic vigour and Derek Jacobi's only-dogs-can-hear-him-now overacting may seem tired on paper, but the outward result oozes with endearing nostalgia rather than lazy stereotyping. The script is splashed with 70s' style snark (had the 70s dared commission a sitcom starring two homosexual senior citizens) and every punchline comes free with an eyebrow raise. The end scene too is again nothing new; (a meddling mother coming to stay!) but the familiarity works.

Alongside the chemistry in the perfect casting, Vicious nails a tone that many new comedies choose to avoid in favour of attempting edginess. The reason why Vicious succeeds, is because it doesn't try to be something it's not.

Genuinely baffled as to why this exists, mainly because of the limitless potential granted by this current console generation squandered for a needless, banally youthful reboot. Bizarre that any semblance of valuable pathos is passed over for an overarching sensibility identical to that of The Third and IV, opting for an origins story no one asked for and coming up short as nothing but a mediocre-at-best time sink. Unlikable characters, clunky manoeuvrability literally every means of conveyance and a starter pistol that's more useful than 90% of your acquired arsenal are just the tip of the iceberg, but all in all, you could do worse despite the ungodly amount of cringe peppering every dialogue exchange. Can't remember the last time I got fed up with my obsessive, completest bent and forced myself to stop playing something on this scale. A massive disappointment meant to satisfy your curiosity and confirm what we all fear when user reception is either all over the map or largely negative. Oh well.

Red Dead Redemption 2's story mode follows the dying days of the wild west. The spreading industrial world encroaches on Arthur Morgan's small band of outlaws and social underdogs, an imperfect but loyal, loving, and self-sustaining community.

Capitalism is reducing humans to their value as resources. Indigenous Americans are driven from the plains to make way for 'civilization' and commerce. Forests are brought down for lumber, the hills gutted for coal, and Morgan's chosen family is caught in the middle of it all, forced to run, assimilate, or respond with violent protest. They do all three.

This is Rockstar's most serious drama yet, and it's really, really long. The story 'ends' after 40 to 50 hours if you're rushing, and then continues for another 10 to 15. Red Dead 2's main story missions are stubbornly typical Rockstar fare: ride to a destination talking all the while, do a tightly scripted albeit amusing thing, ride and chat to a final destination to finish up.

Missions are often thrilling action sequences or hypnotically mundane portraits of ranch labor and trade, peppered with cutscenes, long winded bespoke animations, and excellent performances. They're just frustratingly rigid, to the point where it feels like I'm following stage directions rather than roleplaying the life of a vagabond in the old west.

Step out of line in these missions and it's a failstate. In stark opposition to Red Dead Online, there's little in them that encourage players to think for themselves, each designed to serve the story foremost. The RDR2 show is a great one at least, luxuriating in the slow pace of life in the old west.