During gaming’s sixth generation, Rockstar Games broke through the pack by presenting, at the time, the most revolutionary version of open world gameplay seen thus far with “Grand Theft Auto III”. “GTA III” presented gaming in a mostly brand new light from a mainstream perspective; leading to sequels & clones alike until Rockstar felt comfortable enough to take their concepts into other realms such as schools, malls and, eventually, the wild west. PS2 gamers witnessed a glimpse of Rockstar’s attempt at crafting a western with “Red Dead Revolver”. While the original “RDR” proved to be entertaining, it didn’t set the world on fire; and when the spiritual sequel was unveiled in 2010 gamers weren’t too excited. But much to the surprise of many, gaming’s varied community gave “Red Dead Redemption” universal praise that set the stage for a sequel some eight years later. Without hesitation I put my money down to purchase the “Special Edition” of “Red Dead Redemption 2” knowing full well that it could provide me my Game of the Year in a year chock full of memorable experiences.
Did I Complete “Red Dead Redemption 2”?
Like so many Rockstar Games offerings from the past, “Red Dead Redemption 2” is almost bursting at the seams with things to do outside of the main story missions as well as side stories (“Stranger” missions), hunting legendary animals, collecting bounties & even acting like a loud fool while watching theater events. The player can spend dozens of hours generally goofing off while staring at the gorgeous graphics even if one of those animations is of your horse pooping. With so much to do I haven’t set forth just yet to accomplish 100% completion, but I have completed the story & a majority of the side missions minus the few ones connected to collectable items & sights such as rock formations; resulting in over seventy hours of play time thus far. Add that to the fact “Red Dead Online” dropped in its beta form with the belief it will roll into the full version; giving yours truly a chance to take part in the online mode’s story missions & multiplayer deathmatches with the hope of eventually turning my Danny Glover-looking avatar into an online MVP.
Did “Red Dead Redemption 2” Live Up to the Hype?
Considering the high reverence in which “Red Dead Redemption” is held upon its sequel in number only had a lot to live up to in hopes of becoming a classic experience. Thankfully Rockstar was wise enough not to change or warp a formula they’ve perfected; instead going the route of improving the flaws their last generation offerings provided while introducing new mechanics & ideas for one of the biggest games both in anticipation & scope to date. Players enter the year 1899 as Arthur Morgan, a lieutenant in the Van der Linde Gang – a batch of outlaws trying to string together some successful big-money crimes in hopes of starting anew elsewhere. Headed by Dutch Van der Linde, the gang that players of the original “Red Dead Redemption” will immediately recognize moves throughout a fictionalized version of the United States including locales resembling Texas, Louisiana & even an island territory run via dictatorship. The game quickly establishes not only its characters making up Dutch’s infamous family, but also their relationships and why certain personalities including “RDR’s” protagonist John Marston isn’t held in such high regard by Arthur. The main story can take a player anywhere from forty to fifty hours to complete with a variety of missions spanning from being involved in a bar brawl to robbing a train (two things that happen less than five hours into the game and are used as introductory tools). Unfortunately a majority of the missions lack the ability for a player to do it their way and going outside the box in terms of execution (such as killing an attempted woman beater when the game doesn’t want you to just yet) will result in failure. And then there are times when buddy AI becomes suicidal; running into gunfire without a care of dying & causing the player to potentially restart a mission at a reasonable checkpoint. Though the story is somewhat a retread in terms of “Red Dead Redemption’s” overall point, the storytelling & overall acting is so strong it’ll make any veteran “Red Dead” player forget the déjà vu feeling.
Just like its predecessor, “RDR 2” sports “Stranger” missions – this franchise’s answer to side quests. “Red Dead 2” keeps Rockstar’s streak alive by crafting side missions just as memorable as the main ones including Arthur attempting to settle a sibling feud by shooting bottles off the heads of twins and even attaining various collectables like fossilized bones. Various additional activities flesh out the world while showcasing Morgan’s abilities such as hunting legendary animals for rare pelts, collecting bounties, fishing, gambling & robbing be it stores, stagecoaches, trains or townspeople. Just as impressive as the mission selection is the world itself. Beyond the magnificent beauty that usually surrounds Arthur at any given moment are random situations like a woman looking to race horses or some wounded soul collapsing off his horse while begging for a doctor are the norm; as is being jumped by a band of would-be robbers who don’t know until it’s too late they messed with the wrong guy. “Red Dead Redemption 2’s” environments feel lived in & active – the truest definition of a “living, breathing open world” in video games. Almost every action connects to Morgan’s morality meter that will have characters remind Arthur of what he’s done both positively & negatively in whatever locale he occupied for a short time such as almost beating a person to death in the middle of the street bringing forth hecklers the next time he’s in town, or that person Arthur saved from a bear trap offering to buy him anything in the gun shop.
Gunplay & hand-to-hand combat is both similar to “GTA V” in regards to the prior while the latter is easily the best offering from a Rockstar open world experience. No matter the difficulty, amount of enemies or weapons being used, shootouts prove to be mostly rewarding and made better when Morgan can successfully pull off a slew of kills by utilizing his “Dead Eye” ability (the game’s answer to “Bullet Time” shooting). Even the most inexperienced player of third-person shooting (or first-person depending on if the player utilizes the game’s first-person view) will quickly get the hang of “Red Dead 2’s” gun mechanics. Gun action is made better by the customization features a player can purchase without any type of microtransactions; though certain weapons are locked until specific points in the game without warning when they do unlock. Combat is mostly a 3D fighter with the player being able to punch & grapple an opponent between tapping a button to block at the right time. Blocking appropriately can also allow for opponent stun states, parries & sways that will set up quick knockouts.
The attempt at making this game a realistic experience without it fully becoming a western life simulator definitely has its pros and cons. Maintaining the vital stats (health & stamina) of both Morgan and whatever horse he’s utilizing is a necessity. Arthur & his horse have “Core” icons that are responsible for regenerating their overall health & stamina – giving the player nearly two meters to drain before things completely go awry. Both Arthur & his steed need to eat to maintain their optimum weight to maximize the efficiency of health & stamina rejuvenation. Arthur has to sleep to avoid gradual stamina loss over a period of time, while hitching his horse helps prevent the same type of problem for his mount. Arthur stores his weapons on his horse with the game being selective when it does or doesn’t want the player to have whatever Arthur had equipped during the ride come with him when he gets off; leading to the player having to go back to the horse and choose the weapons again. It’s ironic that weapon selection while horse riding is finicky, yet changing Arthur’s clothes on horseback to acclimate to the weather happens in a figurative snap. Weapons also degrade in effectiveness & need to be cleaned. When it comes to looting, Arthur performs the same long-winded animation to the point in missions involving his partners in crime will yell at him to hurry along. Hunting legendary animals proves to be a lengthier process than necessary especially when comparing the hunting in “RDR” to its sequel. And then there’s the traveling. While it’s understandable that this game wouldn’t feature some type of teleportation fast travel system, the ability to fast travel via a camp upgrade ends up being a one-way ticket. Using “Cinematic Mode” while on horseback can save a player from bashing their controller to death by continuously tapping the “Run” button, but it doesn’t speed up travel in any way. Players better have some cash ready because using stagecoach traveling is the most efficient way to get across the map. Moving around the gang’s camp and certain interiors forces Arthur to lazily walk around even if he’s in the middle of a hostile situation. There are also minor control issues such as mounting your horse being the same button as grappling a bystander with the latter overtaking the prior in priority for some odd reason. The inventory system is definitely rough around the edges when it comes to organizing, as is the quest log; though Arthur’s journalistic accounts of mostly everything that happens is a nice treat.
“RDR 2’s” online offering – “Red Dead Online” – came out in beta form about a month after the single player game’s release. Showcasing not only deathmatch & battle royale modes featuring stipulations including King of the Hill & Capture the Flag style modes, “RDO” also has its own story where a player takes their created character (the character creator lacks just like the “GTA Online” version) and joins forces with three other players to usually shoot down a bunch of enemies and even make group decisions in certain situations like allowing a bounty to go free or take him to the sheriff. Players can join up & form a “posse”, run around to do the online offering’s of “Stranger” missions & potentially grief players just trying to enter a town & start a story mission. While money is mostly easy to come by in the single player game, the online portion offers practically peanuts in regards to in-game currency. The other currency in the online portion are “gold bars” that will obviously be connected to microtransactions when the full version of “Red Dead Online” drops and allows for players to bypass locked item requirements at the cost of real money. Things like fast travel & certain weapons are attached to level ranks with the latter being ridiculously high to unlock. If someone just wants to act a fool, play some deathmatches or story missions, and only care about having a casual time then “RDO” is absolutely fun.
“Red Dead Redemption 2” proves to be everything many expected of it & then some even if there are some issues mostly connected to absurd realism. But those glaring flaws definitely hinder the idea that this is both the perfect offering from Rockstar Games and the perfect open world game; though it will definitely push other developers to step up their standards in regards to how the genre is presented going forward.
Should You Play “Red Dead Redemption 2”?
There are very few open world games that reach the depths of available content like “Red Dead Redemption 2”. From the lengthy story being enough to keep a player busy for at least forty to fifty hours to a copious amount of side missions & activities reaching levels of ridiculousness it’s hard to deny just how grandiose this game is, and that’s not even mentioning the online component that proves to be a lot more entertaining than expected; though it does have some worrying implementations. Fans of the previous “RDR” or the various Rockstar Games will definitely love this. Even players who’ve grown sick of so many open world games currently on the market will find themselves having a blast. Unless a bear is mauling you or you got caught having an affair with someone’s significant other in the name of art, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t own “Red Dead Redemption 2”.
