The Red Dead franchise succeeds because it’s playing into the most American fantasies of what the Wild West was, while keeping it grounded. It was a time were America was still getting its footing as a new nation. Things were being discovered by a people who had largely still never seen most of what the land had to offer, thus appropriately titled, the Wild West. It seemed like a hellish dreamscape where those from the east coast talked of savages and wild beast, men who idealized the same sort of lawlessness discussed among certain circles. Yet, it was none of these things, for a people having just arrived to a nation, it was much tamer than one might imagine. Instead, it was a place not overly populated and begging for people to settle its lands (I hope we see Natives in this game). The west was a place of opportunity and discovery, somewhere one could make their mark in a relatively easy way (for the time).
Until Rockstar reveals more, though, I will keep being nervous over just what Red Dead Redemption 2 is. A lot of rumors are floating around that it’s a prequel. If it is, they could knock it out of the park, I just don’t want them relying on The Magnificent Seven to do it. Give us an American classic, something steeped in our own mythos, while keeping it fresh. Running and gunning is fun in games, but you can get that anywhere ( GTAV /any shooter ever). Let’s see a western tale more in truth with reality than Hollywood. There are so many other stories out there that get overlooked. If it is a prequel, the fall of John Marston’s gang could be done with style. How cool would it be to build up a bandit posse only to have it all ripped away (or in Marstons case, walking away)? Usually in games where the player must form a crew ( Mafia III /GTAV), it’s to set out on some serious mayhem and succeed. To have a game where the player forms their crew only to have it taken away would be the ultimate middle finger to that style of storytelling in gaming. Especially coming from Rockstar. Not only would it flip the script, but it would show Rockstar can even go against their own grain, while not borrowing from Hollywood.
And that’s the story of how Graves ADC got first frag, winning them the lane and the eventual game. Of course, Graves got the honors rather than Annie since he got the eliminations, but is Annie upset? You bet
It was the moments of quiet that were most enjoyable, just wandering the prairie through Redemption was enough to satisfy western fantasies. Both games also took place in the classic dusty west audiences have come to imagine from spaghetti westerns, now veering toward more recent films such as The Revenant, which seems to be the direction Red Dead Redemption 2 is going. Not a bad thing.
One side of Garen shows us his cowardice and laziness of refusing to farm and instead camping in the brush. The other side of him shows us that “fear no evil” side where he refuses to give up or call himself weak. He will take on any foe no matter what his life is. Sometimes it works out, but other times…he kind of falls to a jungle buff. Speaking of, does anyone else remember lizards? Good times, am I ri
Or shall we say Zyra? Them boys won’t leave the plants alone! Zyra may not be the strongest champion in the game and you know she is statistically the squishiest. But does that stop her from being a threat? Of course not! I don’t blame her for being particular about her plants. After all, she’s literally a plant that took on the form of a humanoid in order to save herself from extinction. The plants she summons are part of her. That’s like someone stepping on your own flesh and blood. Disgust
At the beginning of the game you’ll start off with one or two fairly standard horse breeds, and certain types of horses are better suited for different situations — some are faster and more agile, while others are more sturdy and durable workhorses. Whichever breed you may wind up with is up to you, but the important thing is that once you pick a horse to your liking, spend time to develop your bond with it so that you can increase its ability to aid you while roaming through West.
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 hunting, 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 Open World Games Exploration. 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.
