But unlike many others that I’ve talked to about this, I don’t find myself turned off by any of these aspects of Red Dead Redemption 2 . In fact, I think these elements are Red Dead Redemption 2 ‘ s biggest strength from what I’ve played so far. Rather than just feeling like I’m another bland avatar that is filling a void within this larger open-world, Red Dead Redemption 2 is forcing me to live the actual (fictional) life of Arthur Morgan.
December 2014 was a terrible time to be a gamer. Not only did we have to contend with the buggy launches of DriveClub, Assassin’s Creed: Unity, and Halo: The Master Chief Collection, but we also had to deal with Lizard Squad who sought to ruin Christmas for so many gamers. With no purpose or intent, Lizard Squad bombarded PSN and Xbox Live servers with DDOS attacks. This crippled PSN and Xbox Live throughout the month, but also on Christmas Day when thousands of new PS4 and Xbox One owners were unwrapping their consoles. These consoles need firmware update to properly function, something that can’t be done if the consoles can’t connect online. We hope that in 2015 this malicious group stays away from PSN and Xbox Live.
A bit hypocritical perhaps, but at least two Uncharted games and one Gears of War game could use some serious updating. Both Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (2007) and Gears of War (2006) are horribly outdated compared to modern standards. It would be cool to see these games redone with modern gameplay and graphics. Uncharted: Golden Abyss (2012) was released on the PS Vita. Seeing it remade for PS4 would be sweet as pie. Personally, I’d love to see the collections bundled together ala Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Gears of War: The Locust War Collection would be so cool to have.
Unfortunately, one key component to Red Dead Redemption 2 I have difficulty getting into is the controls. The controls are similar to the typical Rockstar open world formula (at least Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption), with a thousand different actions being assigned to a handful of buttons. This is a mechanical marvel with all the different systems at play, from gunplay, horseback riding, hand-to-hand combat, character interactions and so forth. Controlling Arthur feels loose and stiff at the same time, something I can never put my finger on, and I have a difficult time determining if it’s a good or bad thing. Sometimes it can be frustrating, while other times it can lend to the charm of the game. The gunplay is still top notch, though, with each of the old rifles, pistols and shotguns feeling authentic and enjoyable to fire, especially with the Dead Eye skill. There are a ton of different weapons to obtain, all of which are need to be properly maintained, which somewhat ties into the survival aspect of the game, such as maintaining food intake for both you and your horse.
Like I’m sure many of you have been doing, I’ve spent a portion of my weekend playing that new cowboy game everyone has been talking about. Red Dead Redemption 2 has been the game of choice in my off-time these past two days and even though I’m surely not as far into it as some others are, it’s easy to see after any amount of playtime just how gorgeous its Open world games collectibles-world is.
Wanted levels have never made sense in Rockstar games and they are always a joke. In the Grand Theft Auto games, even though you can steal a tank, and destroy literally hundreds of people, all that happens when you get caught is you lose some mo
Uncharted 4, Halo 5 and The Legend of Zelda will be the poster-children for the PS4, Xbox One and Wii U throughout 2015. All three will launch in time for the Holiday, and you bet people will be trying to tear them down. PS4 lovers will attack Halo and Zelda, Xbox lovers will attack Uncharted and Zelda and Wii U lovers will attack Uncharted and Halo. Why? There’s no benefit to tearing down any of the three games. All three games are going to be amazing, and if there was any year to try and get all three consoles then 2015 is that year.
Don’t be deceived by the number at the end of the title, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a direct prequel to its predecessor. The story takes place years before our last adventure as we follow Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang. If you recognize the latter name, it was the group of outlaws that John Marston rode with back in the day. As you can expect, you’ll see our loveable Marston often, who is perfectly implemented into the story. It’s not too much fan service or focus, but just enough so he’s a solid supporting role, especially in the later half of the campaign. He has his own arc, but it’s all about Arthur and his issues. The first couple of chapters in the story, Arthur is an unlikable individual. It takes him a little while to find his footing as he’s an overly serious character who never breaks a smile and plays the rough cowboy to a T. His relationship with the group, including the gang’s leader, Dutch van der Linde, is what stands out among everything else. It’s the little things around the camp; the songs, the gestures and the interactions that expand our protagonist’s likability, and you begin to better understand him. Even the most insignificant faces seem to bring out the more positive aspects out of Arthur more than the main story ever does, and it’s sad that it’s something players can completely overlook, especially considering entering the camp setting forces the player to move at a snail’s pace.