Red Dead Redemption 2 (XBox One)

Red Dead Redemption 2 is finally here after a short delay which I commend Rockstar for doing to get the game right for release day as opposed to releasing a buggy mess. It's been eight years since the original took videogames by storm and is my favourite Rockstar franchise but is it still as good all these years later? RDR 2 has you playing as a new protagonist in Arthur Morgan in what is essentially a prequel to the first game. I feel as though there is a better cast of characters or a stronger set of characters in RDR2 than in the original game although quite a few do crossover. The story is outstanding and it affected me in a way a story often fails to achieve where you will become emotionally invested in these characters with all the paradoxes and contradictions that can evoke. In terms of how good the story is I would put it in the same league as say Metal Gear Solid or Silent Hill 2 (albeit a completely different overall narrative and story arc) but all three games will linger in your mind long after completion. If I was to levy a criticism on the story it would be that some details are overemphasised at the expense of others and I would have liked to see certain characters get a bit more focus. It can also be said that the story peaks a good 4-5 hours before it is actually finished which is the biggest issue with it but overall and by the time the credits roll it all ties together fantastically and does leave me wanting to fire up the original all over again. In addition to the normal campaign missions there are many side missions to undertake as expected from a Rockstar title. Some of these side missions are genuinely funny but some are also duds with a notable amount of 'fetch quests' but I wouldn't go as far as calling any of it grating. There's also a number of activities such as poker, blackjack, fishing, hunting and other things to do as in RDR. Somewhat disappointingly there is not much new here but everything that is here in terms of activities is done very well. Maintenance also returns and is added for your horse where the most intrusive element I found to be was horse grooming which was just annoying. It's not really required or you can work around it but it definitely has more of a vibe for realism than for fun in that regard. Arthur's appearance will also change depending on if the player decides to have his hair or beard cut which is a nice touch and is easy enough to customise to your own liking. The key difference here being that it grows organically which I don't recollect being in GTA 5 but I may be mistaken. As in GTA 5, bank and stagecoach robberies are in the game and depending on your path Arthur Morgan can be honourable or a savage. This is dependent on your actions with the main missions, side missions and strangers where interactions can repeat which may cause some irritation but it's completely up to the player as to whether they choose to proceed. Largely all of the padding is entirely optional. At the time of writing the RDR2 online beta has opened which I have played very little of. I must admit that I don't really have much interest in this which will be a cash cow for Rockstar and I don't blame them wanting to make money off of it but it's just not very interesting to me. There is a clear difference in terms of story which is much stronger in single player but to compare the two would be offensive. ---Summary--- (Scored out of 10) Graphics - 9 - Mostly good but there are some irregularities when it comes to the lighting where characters can light up like lambent from Gears of War. On the whole though it's a great looking game with fine little details such as mud, footprints and tracks looking very nice. Sound - 10 - The star of the show it really is exceptional all the way through and puts many Hollywood films to shame. Gameplay - 8 - I have seen some criticism for the combat being too loose but I found it to be good seeing as it can all be customised in terms of auto-aim which I prefer to be off. There's perhaps an overreliance on deadeye but it all works well. Lifespan - 8 - I've finished the campaign and it must have been at least 20 hours. I can see myself going back through it at some point and I've not completed all the challenges or made it to 100% yet. As I said, online doesn't really appeal to me but if it does to you then the game has got even more longevity. ---Verdict--- Red Dead Redemption 2 is a masterclass in how great videogames are made and it deserves all the praise it is getting and then some. This isn't just game of the year for me but is even in game of the decade as far as that conversation goes. There are some minor gameplay niggles but the execution of everything else is near flawless or as close to it as you're going get. Go buy this now.

I don’t quite know where to begin when talking about this game. I was excited for it as soon as it was announced by Rockstar, but nobody, including myself, realised it would be quite this good. Let me start off by saying...this game is a masterpiece, and that word is thrown around a lot - for films, games, albums. But this is as a creative achievement, is truly one of a kind. The narrative is by far the strongest of Rockstar’s so far, and in my opinion, the history of gaming so far. The cast is huge, going from the Van Der Linde gang to side characters who you meet in the world. Each character is so rich, vibrant and textured that they genuinely feel like real people. For this, you will find yourself investing your emotions in their comings and goings, in their triumphs and downfalls. The story is fierce, with strong themes of loyalty, trust and brotherhood. You see this once dominant gang steadily decay under the boot off the Federal Law, and the multiple challenges that the world sets on them. It is exhilarating and tragic to see them evolve from optimistic outlaws to broken individuals hoping for a better life for themselves. It is by far the longest story mode I have ever played. Doing only side quests and stranger missions, I am over 80 hours in. Missions are versatile, ranging from action-packed bank robberies to more subtle objectives such as fishing or heading to one of the many towns to interact with the locals. They enhance the sense of character and realism in this world, immersing you into feeling beyond a mere player holding a controller. I never thought that a game would be able to surpass the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt or BioShock in terms of storytelling, but Rockstar have made RDR 2 slow-paced, but thoughtful, mature rather than guns blazing 24/7. Each set piece is masterful, paying homage to classic Sergio Leonne Western films. The dialogue between characters is believable, and some of the one liners are to die for. I would also like to take this opportunity to warn readers that other reviews have story spoilers, as does YouTube sites and social media; browse at your own risk!!! The world itself is vast, being substantially larger than the original (even though it features the top half of the first game, anyway). It varies from alligator-invested swamps to open plains, from an industrialised city to farming commutnies, from mountain peaks to snow-carpeted wilderness; in terms of location, this game simply has it all. And the story takes you to a large amount of the map in an organic way, which is not only relevant to the story, but also gives you a chance to explore different areas out of your own leisure. The light effects are beautiful, especially when the dying light of sundown dapples through the arms of trees. The sound effects add to the immersive world too, with crisp sound quality that makes it again seem more than a video game. Rockstar’s attention to detail is the greatest achievement in video game history as of so far. Even rockstar themselves may not be able to surpass what they have achieved with this game. I play on an Xbox one X and on a 4K TV, and in Native 4K, this game is beyond stunning. Many times (more than I dare to admit), I was staring out into the game’s world in awe. I was simply left with pure wonder at how a game could look, feel and sound so real. NPCs will carry on with whatever they’re doing or saying whether you’re there to witness it or not. Encounters happen frequently, meaning long horse journeys to and from locations are not mundane or lacking excitement. Rival gangs will ambush you or be up to no good within your proximity. Citizens will ask for your help or try to rob you. So much can happen that you almost can never predict when something will; that’s what keeps it fresh after countless hours of play. In this world there is also so much to do and engage with, from hunting to treasure hunting, to bounty hunting and completing challenges. Even when the story is over with, I guarantee you will not be left with little to do. there are over 200 species of wildlife, and if you’re like me (being a completionist and wildlife nerd), you’ll have many hours of fun just from studying or hunting wildlife. Many upgrades can be made either to the main camp or to your inventory layout, meaning there is almost always something to strive for, whether it is to earn money, or to complete a specific challenge. I’ve rambled on enough and no words will ever be able to fully explain the pure epicness of this game. You have to just play it and find out for yourself. I went to the midnight launch and do not regret it, nor the many many hours I have put into it. Drawing close to the conclusion, I know it will be hard to leave once it’s over. Arthur Morgan is my favourite video game character now. A masterpiece in virtually every aspect. If you enjoyed the first game, you NEED to experience this. It ties in the first game with this one extremely well and in an organic manner. You will not be disappointed. Forget online games; this game will be the main talk of this year, and for a very long time no doubt.

I REALLY love and hate this game. First off ,the love: The RDRII environment is huge, realistic and visually engaging, making it very much like a Wild West version of Far Cry, in that theres constantly a stack of things to do over a vast territory that you have to explore. And this also means you are definitely going to have to murder a lot of people, slaughter animals in their hundreds and,rather unfortunately, probably kill yourself and your horse quite frequently if you are not careful about what you do and how you do it. The excellent graphics make it a really naturalistic world with everything you'd expect of it and the soundscapes ,where ever you go ,make it brilliantly atmospheric, even down to the warning bird calls when a predator is around. Its also peopled with characters with very distinct personalities and traits ,whose appearance, dialogue and and motion capture help make this a very personally immersive game, and you're constantly forced to engage at every level you can think of to get them and game progression working for you (or most definitely against you when you go on the rob!!!!). So beware ,there are very real penalties for doing " dodgy" things here and you are going to get hurt often, badly and quite likely killed if you're not quick enough on the draw. And that's part of the hate problem. It often feels overly complex and difficult to control, particularly with the combat and shooting, and its unfairly balanced against you ,certainly in the early stages. Just getting used to all the basics of it made my head ache, and I frequently had to put the controller down in order to give myself a break, particularly after being bush wacked or savaged to death by animals a couple of times in a row. This will hugely piss you off, so go brew a coffee because you really didn't want to throw the controller through that expensive widescreen TV . It is that frustrating real at times and it feels like it to. Its a warts and all western all right, but all the constant management of camps, horses , health, herb crafting ,donating to keep moral up, missions with bloody long rides that often don't seem worth it make it feel like a quite unforgiving slog in the early stages. I've never had to deal with this kind of high level of general mundanity and mediocrity in a game before, at least not at this extreme, and that does detract from some great set pieces like the raids on competing gangs. Those shoot outs are absolutely gripping but well panicky ,so try to keep your cool and use the cover !!!! So, in summary , unless you have a great deal of patience and are prepared to sit through a stack of slow feeling early missions to really learn how it all works as a complete whole, then there are better and more easier games to play. It really is a difficult one to master well, because there is so little to guide you through it, even when you read the in game instructions and follow the missions tasks, there is so much to maintain and get right to keep your character alive (and the horse!!!) going on an even keel. Of its type, if you really want to get into this era and live this life (even down to having to shave for gods sake) then this IS the game for you. Just be prepared to think a lot about the environment you are playing in and accept that much of living in the wild west appears to amount to long, long periods of boredom (which explains all the drinking in this) followed by unexpected moments of sudden deadly violence and brutal death. PS On the plus side ,going on my current progress its going to take weeks to complete! And I've now increased my Amazon rating to Five. Once you get "practised" and amass enough wealth to upgrade personal weaponry and experience , along with health, stamina ,deadeye and camps its gets far more manageable. It just takes a while to get used to Arthur and how the whole world works. Its incredibly absorbing, the hunting and shoot outs are absolutely addictive and hugely enjoyable!!

Hands down, the best cowboy game. Ever made. The attention to detail is astonishing. The gameplay is crisp and the environments are absolutely gorgeous. Although the way the story pans out becomes a bit too formulaic at times, Arthur Morgan's story is one worth immersing yourself into. And boy, immersion is something you'll get in droves! Unfortunately, I can't really say the same for multiplayer. It's filled with micro transactions and it's plain to see that the entire system is inflicted with the Gta online model of tiresome grinding. It's an absolute chore to play and it's a real shame that this focus on multiplayer is at the expense of the quite excellent single player story. As of writing, there is still no sign of a single-player expansion at work. Unfortunately, the lackluster nature of multiplayer kills the longevity of this game stone dead. I felt a bit wanting after completing a few playthroughs of the story. Rockstar's adamant stance towards a multiplayer-only focus seems more disingenuous by the day.

Myself I've been playing RDR2 since 26th October, then the RDR2 on-line for the last couple of weeks. Having seen some of the 1* reviews.... Let us all be aware this game is visibly stunning but it is not COD, nor intends to be. So if you want to run around shooting everything, then do not buy this game. It's not for you. The Story ... A single player game. Somewhere between a RP and FPS imo..... It is smooth and plays beautifully... You rob, hunt, fish and make some moral decisions ... What decisions you make, defines how the game plays for you. In story mode there is lots to do, loads to find and all sorts of fun to be had. But it is not COD, it indeed is really quite adult and the over 18 rating is correct..... Unless you want little Jimmy blowing people apart, literally, with a shotgun. There are endless YouTube reviews and details for the story, so if you want to know more..... The RDR2 On-line game.... Ostensibly it's the same map, the same quality of map, horses, characters etc etc ....... Then the game play ...... Awful, terrible, appalling, heart breaking and just so, so depressingly terrible after the Story. The On-Line is presently described as a BETA by R* ... It is quite blatantly not a BETA, rather it is a test bed to see how much they can sell to people in real life transactions...... For one example; a Mauser pistol......... In the story mode, where I can find all sorts of things like Gold nuggets and bars etc where a nugget is worth $25 and a bar $500 ... the gun is $250. It's nicely affordable. In the on-line version .... Where I can find basically nothing, not even a tin of peas.... Where earning money is incredibly difficult, R* made the gun $1,000. This is just one example of the broken economy. Also if any 'exploit' is turned up like the fishing was being used by 'grinders' to make money ... R* stopped that very quickly. In the story I can catch a wild horse, saddle it and make it mine.. in the on-line? No....... In the story I can sell that horse... Can I sell any horse apart from one I have bought? No. So after many complaints within a week R* changes the prices because it is 'responding to the players' ...... The Mauser is now only $600.... errrm? Then a couple of days later another patch which Nerfs anything which makes money, it raises prices on many things and the player's are back to square one.... There are no solo lobbies ... So Griefing, the activity of idiots killing everyone then sending messages saying 'Ha Ha!' are rampant.... The economy is broken ... There is little to do......... BUT they have managed to open the micro transactions store where for just $89.95 you can buy 300 gold bars. If you think the $89.95 sounds a lot - it is ......... If you think 300 gold bars buys a lot, it doesn't. Personally I adore the story mode, it is fantastic and a genuinely great experience ... I dislike the On-Line to an equal extent .... Apart from the paid for reviews on YouTube.... No players have a good thing to say about it.

The graphics in this game are amazing, ever detail has been perfectly crafted in the environment from the blades of grass to the sky both during the day with the clouds and at nighttime with the stars. When walking through mud or snow, you leave prints and become dirty, when walking through water you become wet and during battles or when hunting you will get bloodstained. The graphic of the characters has been thoroughly thought about and when interacting with them, you see their facial expressions change. The game is made as realistic as a game could be such as; you need to eat or you will lose weight with effects your health and energy, the same applies with feeding and caring for your horse (you must feed it, brush it and bond with it), you can choose to greet or antagonise people you meet and your choices will have consequences. You also must maintain your weapon using gun oil to clean it to ensure it has full effectiveness. The main quest makes hours of game play alongside, side quests, fishing, hunting, buying provisions, customising weapons, purchasing clothes for your character and watching shows (just to mention a few things you can do). You will spend hours playing this game. Once the main quest is complete, there is still the epilogue to complete alongside meeting new people and discovering you surroundings and little Easter eggs such as UFO's, giants bones, a man-made mutant and many more. You also have missions including the bandit and herbalist mission which you can complete. These are great fun allow you to unlock reinforced equipment. Each cut scene is made in a way to keep you enticed in the story and wanting to play more, you also develop a connection or dislike for certain characters which make the game more personal to you when things happen to the characters. Overall, this game is definitely worth buying and playing as you will have hours and hours of fun completing everything.

What a game!!! Im not sure I will ever get bored of this. Been playing it since its release date. Pre ordered this and do not regret it one bit. The wait was excruciating btw! Ive been gaming since you could only play games in arcades- Defender, Asteroids, Lunar Lander, then ZX Spectrums Tanks, Manic Miner, Astro Wars, right the way through to todays games (every GTA - yes when it was top down! -thru to your Far Crys 1-5, Skyrim etc) and this is THE BEST GAME Ive ever played. Seemless transition between cut scenes and actual gameplay. Whether completing missions galore, hunting, racing, treasure hunting, robbing trains or just riding your horse across its vast landscapes - its beyond brilliant. I actually felt like I was in the great western plains sometimes! Online is still in Beta and has a controversial economy (heavily weighted in favour of micro transactions ie pay to win) but hey the story mode is more than enough for me so not really too bothered about playing online anyway (although I did love being able to make/play a female character online). The atmosphere, the environments, the graphics - everything is top notch! Worth the 8 years of waiting since the original RDR. Rockstar truly are outstanding in this genre. Long live RDR2! In addition: Just so you know. When you do start playing you may struggle a little with controls and end up punching your horse a lot or shooting people you just meant to talk to. If the latter happens you end up with a bounty, which keeps increasing as you keep messing up your controls, and which in some cases renders it impossible to do anything without getting repeatedly killed by bounty hunters (very frustrating). You can pay bounties off but you probably wont be able to afford to keep doing that at first while you are learning the ropes) so if you are skint dont be afraid to surrender to the law (make sure you are unarmed and not on your horse to do this) and go to jail (basically its a 2 minute cut scene) This clears your bounty and lets you enjoy doing missions without the risk of being killed/wanted in every state. This in turn gives you chance to get better at using controls.and you’ll be less likely to give up in frustration. The rest is up to you 👍🏽 enjoy!!!!

Initially I was really worried how Red Dead Redemption 2 was going to turn out as I really enjoyed the 1st game and played it god knows how many times over and over. I didn't think they could make it any better but I was totally wrong. Red Dead Redemption 2 has been an amazing game and I can see why it has done so well in sales. The length of the game was really good and perfectly long just how I like my games to be... The game play is much more refined to the original game so shootouts are more realistic not that the original game wasn't but the guns and shooting are more realistic and you can go into first person and see the kickback of the bolts and hammers ext and slowdown of dead eye just amazed me with all the bullets flying around. Horse riding and bonding is crazy realistic and based on how you treat your horse it will help you or hinder you also your horse carrys allot of your equipment now like your guns for instance and supplies like skinned animals so there is a limit of how much you can carry which adds to realism, there are also quite a few horses you can find and store in the barn to use later. I loved this aspect of being able to store the horses in the barn because you can switch them when you feel like it or if you accidentally kill your horse. The character and main protagonist is Arthur morgan a brilliant bad boy character and he developes and changes quite a bit through the game which seemed like a full lifetime to playthrough but I enjoyed everything in this game from the missions to having shootouts with rival gangs and robbing the stagecoach and trains and also finding guns in random houses but it captures the period of the wild west fantastically and is now the leading game in wild west genre in my eyes and I'm sure in allot of other people's eyes to. Though I haven't even played the online side of the game yet but online games don't interest me to much because I'm so much more into the single player mode of games and it was a pleasure to play it. Rockstar have done a brilliant job of making this game and I look forward to the next installment of red dead redemption. Thing is its nice because allot of games have got very boring most are online battle royale games and very samey to me but it's nice to see a few company's who put pride into there games (Bethesda, ubisoft, rockstar) to mention a few and still put effort into single player games that become great in there own right. Red dead redemption 2 is the best game I played in 2018 absolutely the best. It should get a game of the year stamp on it for sure.