Red Dead Redemption 2

wotzgoingon

Finally finished this game just now. I actually really enjoyed it except some parts of chapter 5. It was like starting a

new game in the epilogue.

I have a few cards to collect and then maybe I might give the online a go. For someone who started this game midnight of release it sure took me a long time to finish it not that I didn't enjoy it or anything.

wotzgoingon

I just explored

New Austin and was thinking it was such a waste having it in the game and not doing

anything there and then I tried the online and where

do you start New Austin.

Jamiekelly

I got a PS4 just to play RDR2 and honestly it's easily the best 250 quid I've spent. I'm only on chapter 2 (still at Horseshoe Overlook) and I'm loving every second of it. I'd go as far as to say this game is in my top 5 games I've ever played. And if it keeps getting better then I know it's going to be my favourite game of all time. There's just so much going on it's hard to break it down in a single post but I'll try.

1. The smaller details are really what makes this game stand out, especially so early in the game. When I was chopping wood to try and get my honour up from the start, little Jack came walking by and said something like "Keep chopping, wood chopper man". Completely unprompted, this genuinely put a smile on my face, it made me feel like he was an actual kid messing around saying silly things and not some scripted NPC in a video game. The way the town of Valentine reacts to certain things you do, like after the Lenny drinking mission, I went into the general store the day after and the shopkeeper commented on the line dancing we did when we were drunk during the mission. Such a tiny detail that didn't need to be there but when it is, adds so much depth.

2. The world is nothing short of spectacular, in size, depth and detail. I found myself using the binoculars a lot in high places just to soak in the surroundings and feeling amazed at the level of care the developers put into creating the world. Using the binoculars at Horseshoe Overlook and seeing the wildlife and carriages pass in the distance is breathtaking. They don't just load in as you get close but are active in the world whether you're paying attention or not. I've been waiting a very long time for a game to pull that off and not just show empty roads in the distance because they couldn't be bothered to render the AI to go with it. Also, seeing the building in Valentine being constructed near the stables in real time is brilliant. It makes the world feel alive in a way no other game really does. If this was an EA or Activision game the building would still be worked on long after you finished the game with the same guy putting a single nail in a single spot. Rockstar actually understand what "depth" really means in a video game, and a world changing and being constructed in real time adds so much to it.

3. The random interactions with people in the world (who are not marked as strangers or side mission) are very compelling. I met a man and his two sons trying to build a house just south of Valentine and on my first interaction I saw the sons mess up and drop a frame piece of the house and the father scold them for being useless. A few days later as I travelling back to camp from Valentine and heard shots in the area of the house only to find the two sons and father being attacked by a gang looking for protection money, after killing and looting the bodies the father thanked me and I was on my way. Few days after that I returned to check on them only to find the father was having trouble getting supplies to build the house. Instead of helping him find the supplies (since all my cores were drained and Arthur needed sleep) I decided to give him the $100 he needed to complete the house. I completely forgot about it until I was cashstrapped over a week later after upgrading the camp and when I remembered I had given quite a bit of money I went to collect, hoping it wouldn't turn into some horrible debt collector mission for Strauss where I would have to beat a nice man for money. The house was built and looking great and when he told me he managed to sell it to some farmer looking to move closer to a livestock town I actually felt happy for him and relieved he would have the money to pay me back, he then paid me the $100 dollars he owed me and included $50 in interest and thanked me for all the help. From one little detour down a dirt road out of curiousity, I got 4 unique interactions with the same people during different stages of their journey and I loved it. It's the kind of thing I know for a fact I will remember about this game for many years to come. And since I'm still so early in the game I'm actually hoping to meet them again soon.

I also sucked the venom out of a guy's leg after he had been bitten by a snake. Thought nothing of it and went about my day, only to be greeted by the same guy in Valentine a while later telling me he was grateful to me for saving his life and that he wants to repay me back by letting me buy a gun completely free on his tab. Got myself a Springfield rifle worth $120 just from helping a random stranger on the side of the road. That's a rewarding interaction that makes being honourable worth it, actually makes me give a feck about the random people in the world and helping them out when I can.

4. Every character in your gang actually has a personality worth remembering and caring for. I remember when we first set up camp I thought to myself, there's far to many people in the gang for me to even care about, let alone get to know, but since then I've come to love most of them and their little quirks. I can name all of them and even guess how they might feel about each other when they interact. Karen and Sean have feeling for each other, Bill treating Lenny like he's dirt because he's black and Charles and Javier bonding over being kind of outsiders to the white people in the group. The script writers for the characters clearly put a lot of thought and effort into fleshing them out and making them worth knowing without being too reliant on cliches and conventional tropes.

5. It's obvious Rockstar wanted this game to be a culmination of all their previous work. There are so many mechanics from their previous games at play here. The fighting system from The Warriors, the gun management system from Max Payne, the Dead Eye and stranger encounters from RDR1, the choice based systems from LA. Noire and GTA. Aswell as the lock on interaction system from Bully. It's no wonder it took them 5 years since releasing GTAV to make this. The fact that this is their first new game for next gen consoles gives me hope going forward that GTA6 will be even better than this and that they will take the time needed to create a masterpiece that actually fits their brand.

Anyway those are just my intial thoughts, I still have so much more to explore and do and I'm honestly delighted I bought a console just to play this game. I've gotten so much out of it already and I know I will be able to replay the entire game again with bad honour and have an entirely different experience, as well as first person mode. If this game was 100 euro to buy I still think it would be worth the money considering the amount of content crammed into it.

Riddle101

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgdnQFUuodc

20silkcut

wotzgoingon wrote: »

Finally finished this game just now. I actually really enjoyed it except some parts of chapter 5. It was like starting a

new game in the epilogue.

I have a few cards to collect and then maybe I might give the online a go. For someone who started this game midnight of release it sure took me a long time to finish it not that I didn't enjoy it or anything.

finished it last night myself watched the entire credits which were punctuated by clips of where the rest of the gang ended up. Very well done. Pearsons was particularly poignant as he glanced at a picture of the old gang as he mundanely served people in his shop. What a lifestyle change.
Anyone know why Dutch shot Micah. What changed between 1899 and 1907?
Why didn’t he shoot him when he was beating the **** out of Arthur?
Definitely room for some dlc on what Dutch was up to between 1899 and 1907 and why he thought shooting Micah was a good idea at that stage. He redeemed himself somewhat in that final scene. Although walking out on Arthur with a knife to his throat is not redeemable.

Penfailed

Just started Chapter 5 last night...not sure that the

island thing

was really necessary.

joe123

Best game I've played in years. One of those games you just need to let "breathe" and not rush. Trumps the also amazing Witcher 3 for me.

Storytelling was immense and Arthurs Story/Character was bloody brilliant. One of the best protagonists in a game I've ever played.

Once

You got sick, it was strange but you just sort of don't want to do the everyday stuff like hunting etc and it ties in with the way the main story goes

Game of the generation. Pity it will be another 8 odd years before the next one.

Uncharted

Due to a hectic workload,I'm a late beginner to RDR2,only on chapter 2 at the minute .

Really great characters and the scenery itself is almost a character. Amazing setting and sound effects, music etc.

Absolutely loving it so far,a slow burner that I'm trying to make even slower.
Long may it last.

The Nal

After free roaming for a while I started a new game and Im now on Chapter 4 and its a lot more enjoyable 2nd time around. Mainly because you can skip a couple of missions and skip cut scenes. Still dreading

Chapter 6 though. Think Ill pack it in after Guarma.

joe123

The Nal wrote: »

After free roaming for a while I started a new game and Im now on Chapter 4 and its a lot more enjoyable 2nd time around. Mainly because you can skip a couple of missions and skip cut scenes. Still dreading

Chapter 6 though. Think Ill pack it in after Guarma.

Some of the main redemption stuff is around the stranger missions. Which make the character/story even better

Tacitus Kilgore

Hey misters!


Just finished the main story, what a game, about 120hours played and absolutely loving it still.

Does anyone know the craic with

the mining share document/bonds you have in your satchel? (I only copped it after epilogue 2) can it be sold or whatever?

Also - has anyone found the

strange statues cave? That is some very very confusing stuff

tuxy

Does anyone know how to do more than one bounty hunting mission.
I did the first in Valentine during chapter 2. I saw more available on the map. I decided to do a main mission before taking them on but that mission finished chapter 2. I'm now some of the way through chapter 3 and I keep checking sheriff offices and can't find anymore wanted posters.

I don't have a bounty on my head atm so I know that's not it.

wotzgoingon

tuxy wrote: »

Does anyone know how to do more than one bounty hunting mission.
I did the first in Valentine during chapter 2. I saw more available on the map. I decided to do a main mission before taking them on but that mission finished chapter 2. I'm now some of the way through chapter 3 and I keep checking sheriff offices and can't find anymore wanted posters.

I don't have a bounty on my head atm so I know that's not it.

They appear back later in the game in each town. You can even do some once finished the game.

Sad Professor

tuxy wrote: »

Does anyone know how to do more than one bounty hunting mission.
I did the first in Valentine during chapter 2. I saw more available on the map. I decided to do a main mission before taking them on but that mission finished chapter 2. I'm now some of the way through chapter 3 and I keep checking sheriff offices and can't find anymore wanted posters.

I don't have a bounty on my head atm so I know that's not it.

There's only one bounty hunter poster (Ellie Ann Swan) in Valentine after the side mission (snake oil guy) that unlocks them. The rest are in Strawberry, Rhodes, Saint Denis, and two other places that you can't access until later. In Rhodes they are in the train station rather than the sheriff's office and don't always appear on the map. There's only 2 of them and one is locked unless you loot a shack to (i think) the south of Rhodes first.

There's not that many non-story bounty hunter missions. 10 in total, half of which don't get unlocked until after chapter 6.

tuxy

Sad Professor wrote: »

There's only one bounty hunter poster (Ellie Ann Swan) in Valentine after the side mission (snake oil guy) that unlocks them. The rest are in Strawberry, Rhodes, Saint Denis, and two other places that you can't access until later. In Rhodes they are in the train station rather than the sheriff's office and don't always appear on the map. There's only 2 of them and one is locked unless you loot a shack to (i think) the south of Rhodes first.

There's not that many non-story bounty hunter missions. 10 in total, half of which don't get unlocked until after chapter 6.

Thanks, how do I start the one in Strawberry? There is no poster in the sheriffs office.

Edit: actully it just showed up now. Thanks again!

Sad Professor

A day in the life of three NPCs:

Dr. Bre

Glad to be out of Guarma. Horrible

Penn

20silkcut wrote: »

finished it last night myself watched the entire credits which were punctuated by clips of where the rest of the gang ended up. Very well done. Pearsons was particularly poignant as he glanced at a picture of the old gang as he mundanely served people in his shop. What a lifestyle change.
Anyone know why Dutch shot Micah. What changed between 1899 and 1907?
Why didn’t he shoot him when he was beating the **** out of Arthur?
Definitely room for some dlc on what Dutch was up to between 1899 and 1907 and why he thought shooting Micah was a good idea at that stage. He redeemed himself somewhat in that final scene. Although walking out on Arthur with a knife to his throat is not redeemable.

I think at the time Dutch believed Arthur that Micah was the rat, but Dutch was so conflicted about how Arthur betrayed him by not doing as he'd said and for always working against him, and how Micah betrayed him by working with the Pinkertons. Coupled with realising how everything had gone to hell and it was partly his own fault too, he decided to just leave them to it. Years later, I think he was mostly just using Micah and his gang to get the money out of Blackwater. I don't know if he was always planning on shooting Micah as he probably still didn't trust Micah fully, but I think seeing John and Sadie and how they were still fighting for Arthur so many years later, Dutch shot Micah and left them their share of the Blackwater money as his own form of redemption.

Penfailed

Is there any way of checking how many hours you've played the game? I'm currently tramping through Chapter 6...

wotzgoingon

Penfailed wrote: »

Is there any way of checking how many hours you've played the game? I'm currently tramping through Chapter 6...

Which console? I can't speak for PS4 as I do not have one but you can see on Xbox by going into achievements and then stats.

Potential-Monke

IIRC, there's no way to check on PS4

harr

https://www.buzzfeed.com/watch/video/74707?utm_term=.nmXMevnbrV#.nmXMevnbrV :rolleyes:

Penfailed

wotzgoingon wrote: »

Which console? I can't speak for PS4 as I do not have one but you can see on Xbox by going into achievements and then stats.

XBox Thanks!

DS86DS

Does anybody else find themselves abandoning other games due to RDR2 and Red Dead Online?

I have dozens of games as well as Xbox Live, Xbox Games Pass and EA Access.........but I keep finding myself coming back to this game repeatedly for the past two months.

In the past I would be playing AC Origins, Mass Effect Andromeda and a whole host of other games all at once over a year ago.

But I've literally been obsessed with Red Dead for the past two months. I haven't even bothered buying and playing Battlefield V yet despite been a big fan of the series, and Battlefield 1 in particular.

major bill

Have to say RDR2 easily best game I have played in years! Level of detail is unbelievable! Currently doing the story mode and only criticism so far is Episode 5 is a bit meh! Also Vampire Easter egg is buggy cant summon him even though done all the clues anyone else have same issue ?? I’ve gone twice at 12am to the location but nothing ??

Sad Professor

Yeah, any of the collectable quests can be done after the story.

Jordan 199

DS86DS wrote: »

Does anybody else find themselves abandoning other games due to RDR2 and Red Dead Online?

No.