| <br>The release of the original _ Red Dead Redemption _ in 2010, along with the _ Undead Nightmare _ expansion, left players wanting more of everything. More shootouts and saloon fights. More eccentric and wily characters. More riding horseback through the vast, open world of the western frontier. And while it was a long eight years, Rockstar made sure that the wait was well worth it – albeit not without some controversy . _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ immerses players in the grueling world of the wild west with familiar gameplay dynamics that have been taken to the next level to not only make _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ an easy favorite for game of the year, but also Rockstar’s crowning achievement to d<br><br>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.<br><br>Red Dead Redemption 2 is a long game and there’s a lot to do in it. The main campaign alone, along with a good number of Stranger missions, took us just under fifty hours to complete, which is exponentially longer than its predecessor. That’s barely even participating in the various other activities, such as [https://Www.Openworldpilot.com/articles/shadows-in-the-night-my-journey-for-dark-fragments-on-feybreak-island.html Night hunting strategy], gambling, bounty hunting and more. The Stranger missions are one of the bigger draws as they are once again whacky, over-the-top scenarios that fill out the world. Arthur may not have the sarcastic, comical timing of John Marston, but he still lends to each situation with his confusion. Sadly, I never saw a damsel tied up on a railroad track that needed saving. Speaking of Stranger missions, you're also able to make choices that may affect scenes in the main story. For example, I met one woman earlier in the campaign and she appeared as a prostitute later on, which lead to a bounty immediately put on my head. Another was a surprisingly lengthy scene with a nun who I randomly bumped into once, and Arthur opened up to her. Your choices through the campaign do hold some weight as they can affect where specific people end up in the future and might even expand upon Arthur’s character more.<br><br>Aside from the numerous options to customize Arthur's physical appearance and gear, the other core relationship that players will develop throughout the game is that of Arthur and his horse. Red Dead Redemption 2 has expanded immensely on making your horse more than just a mode of transportation, and there are numerous ways that players can invest time into developing their bond with their horse and, as a result, increasing its ability to take players through this world. These actions start as simply as riding the horse and utilizing its saddle to store all of your equipment and gear between missions, but as you spend more time for your horse and care for it -- feeding it, brushing its fur, petting it, etc. -- you'll be able to increase its stamina and health.<br><br> <br>While the PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions of GTA V prepped Rockstar for working on new hardware, they still weren’t creating an entirely new game. Even the first-person mode was just a new perspective. The game itself didn’t change drastically when it jumped consoles. With Red Dead 2 , the development team over at Rockstar is making their very first next generation game from the ground up. While the new hardware has been praised by developers, Rockstar is known for pushing hardware to its limits, and creating graphically stunning games, this new challenge could be proving more difficult than they anticipated, drastically hampering the game’s developm<br><br>As for the main story, it’s entertaining but far from revolutionary. It has its highs and lows, the lows being the lack of development outside anyone who’s within the Van der Linde gang. You get to meet a plethora of characters through Arthur’s journey and yet most of them only appear in one or two missions, outside of a couple of exceptions. Red Dead Redemptions 2 moves at an incredible pace to the point that most people in the world are disposable and sometimes unnecessary, making me wish there was more of a focus on specific story beats as it’s spread too thin in spots. With that said, outside of the phenomenal core cast, what Rockstar does right is create exciting scenarios. This is something the company is known for, crafting well-designed and often comical heists that are sure to go awry. Whether it’s robbing a train or a stagecoach, or simply walking through town, each chapter has a handful of standout missions that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Granted, the other missions are mostly broken up into your standard affairs, but at least they’re kept lively thanks to Arthur generally being assisted by another member of the gang.<br> | | <br>There is a linear story path to follow, but there are plenty of side opportunities to engage in. Each region has a few forts that need to be taken over, much like the same style as the battle at Fort Mercer. There are many characters that require assistance from John and these quests are usually entertaining. One quest involves a man with an undying love for his woman and another series of events from a quest giver involves a man who really gets under John's skin in the last quest he gives. Random events happen throughout the world such as highway robberies, hangings and other random encounters with strangers, making the game world feel alive. Rockstar games are known for their sense of humor and some of their dark humor naturally crept into Red Dead Redemption. One of my favorite achievements I ever unlocked happened in this game. A few years ago my girlfriend was hanging out at my apartment and I decided to show her this game (she may have bought it for me for a birthday present but I can't remember). I thought it would be funny to lasso a girl and leave her on the train tracks, like a mustache twirling silent film villain. As the locomotive turned the damsel in distress into a much gooier state of existence, an achievement popped up on screen. It's good to know that my sociopathic tendencies aren't so unusual that the developers weren't able to anticipate my behavior.<br>Red Dead Redemption is simply one of the best games available for the seventh generation consoles. It did receive a zombie-themed expansion pack called Undead Nightmare, which was a fun novelty but didn't resonate the same way the base game did. The Grand Theft Auto San Andreas Bigfoot reference was rather humorous, though. It clearly uses the Grand Theft Auto games as a template but ends up finding its own identity through the setting, characters and storytelling. Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the most highly anticipated games of 2018, and with the quality of its predecessor, it has big boots to fill.<br><br>The year is 1911. John Marshton was once a dangerous outlaw but has left that life behind to pursue the simple pleasures of being a family man. John is enjoying his new life until the Bureau of Investigation visits him to work out a deal with him and take his wife and kid into custody for leverage. As a former outlaw, John is facing some serious penalties for his past but the FBI is willing to cut him a break if he brings his former gang members to justice. John agrees to these terms, not like he has much choice, and travels to Fort Mercer to confront his former rappy, Bill Williamson. Things go horribly wrong and instead of bringing anyone to justice, John is shot and left for dead, only to end up in the care of Bonnie MacFarlane.<br>That last point, in particular, is one of the most significant driving forces behind the story in Red Dead Redemption 2 , as the Van der Linde gang's outlaw way of life quickly comes to a head against the advances of modern life and civilization. Taking place in 1899, the turn of the century and growing government intervention into the West has Dutch, Arthur, and the rest of the gang embark on a journey to seek refuge from the forces that are seeking to eradicate them entirely.<br><br> <br>Try to make a habit of looking at your mini-map every few seconds, it’s one of the fundamentals of the game when your pre-made or teammate gets caught in a fight. Facing a dire situation, it's certain that your teammate will not be able to ping but, if you were to follow up the fight, it can result in your favor. Map awareness means to foresee the movement of your enemies on the map which can allow you to save yourself. If you cannot do this, you will either miss out an opportunity to keep time on important events such as team fights or perhaps even getting ganked by the enemy t<br><br>As a prequel, Red Dead Redemption 2 is set well over a decade before the events of Red Dead Redemption , [https://www.openworldpilot.com/articles/palworld-tides-of-terraria-update-dropping-sooner-than-you-think.html Www.openworldpilot.com] which takes players into the thick of the Van der Linde gang's story at the peak of their infamy in the great American West. Where Red Dead Redemption followed John Marston's search for vengeance many years after the gang's disbanding, Red Dead Redemption 2 instead follows Arthur Morgan, the right-hand man of Dutch Van der Linde, as he fights to protect the rest of the gang in their journey to stay one step ahead of the law, and the imminent demise of their outlaw life by modern society.<br><br>Of course, many of those strong character moments especially revolve around Arthur Morgan, one of the senior members of the Van der Linde gang and the character who players will take control of throughout their journey in Red Dead Redemption 2 . As a man that has essentially been raised since childhood as an outlaw, Arthur owes his life to Dutch and that experience has shaped him into a fierce protector of the rest of the Van der Linde gang, though Arthur has plenty of his own conflicts and backstory that players will discover over the course of the game. While Arthur has his own proclivities towards violence and conflict out in the world, how far he is willing to push things is left for the player to decide as they control Arthur throughout the story and take action, and that's all in part from the Honor system at play throughout the game's world.<br> |