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).
Red Dead Redemption 2 has been hyped to hell and back as of last week, and while still not too much is known about the narrative that will be presented, I just can’t help but want another Rockstar tale that blows my mind. The ending of Red Dead Redemption might be one of my favorite endings of any video game ever. Until more is shown, though, I can only dream.
Red Dead Redemption 2 will release for PS4 and Xbox One on October 26th, 2018. If you have yet to pick up a copy of the game, there's still time to pre-order it on Amazon before it arrives later this month.
Most of the time, junglers don’t like giving their mid blue unless they are higher elo. But man, if you can sweet talk them into it, you’re set. Pretend to be a nice girl and it’s all yours, bb. Just make sure to report him after the game for harassment if you’re a real girl. Because that’s how it works when someone calls you
That interaction all starts with Arthur Morgan, the game's main protagonist, and how players will decide to take on the role of the senior member of the Van der Linde gang, and Dutch's right-hand man. Having been a part of the gang since childhood, the outlaw life is all that Arthur has known, and most of the trailers leading up to Red Dead Redemption 2 have shown that Arthur isn't exactly much of a „pleasant“ person to be around. However, as Rockstar pointed out to us during the demo, the reason behind this is that Arthur essentially owes his life to Dutch and the gang, and he's fiercely protective of them as a result. How fiercely his loyalty lies, however, is left up to the player to decide throughout the course of the story.
As much as there is the draw to get through the story missions as quickly as possible, don't be afraid to take some time in between missions to let yourself be immersed in the rich world that awaits you in Red Dead Redemption 2 , such as exploring towns like Valentine or the big city of Saint Denis. Likewise, get the most of your Western experience by playing a round of poker at the local saloon or take in a vaudeville show when you have some down time, or interact with the rest of the Van der Linde gang back at camp to complete side activities with them.
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 sources 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.
While these relationships definitely had their use in these action-heavy segments of the demo, the interactions that Arthur has with the other members of the gang also play out in more narratively-driven ways. While trekking through the mountains with John and Bill in a later story section that we played, I had the option to talk to Bill along the way to learn more about the rival gang camp that we were about to ambush. Staying silent would have been a completely viable option as well, but having those type of options speaks to the ways that Red Dead Redemption 2 is aiming for a more dynamic and natural way for players to interact with its world and characters.