But… we’ve been here before, haven’t we? It’s a recently-scribed tale as old as time: A sophisticated, wondrous looking trailer drops for an upcoming big-name title. Gamers then drop some serious coin on pre-orders for the game, only to be delivered a half-finished, buggy game that fails to meet expectations. This was notoriously the case for both _ No Man’s Sky _ and _ Sea of Thieves
First and foremost, let’s take a look at Rockstar Games’ track record with single-player titles. Rockstar has not delivered a new title since 2013’s _ Grand Theft Auto V _ , which is ultimately a reflection of the success of _ Grand Theft Auto Online _ . In fact, Rockstar has only released two other games since the original _ Red Dead Redemption _ and _ Undead Nightmare _ expansion in 2010: _ L.A. Noire _ and _ Max Payne 3 _ . Hopefully, the _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ team at Rockstar was fully-devoted to the title and the wait will be worth it, but a five-year hiatus from releasing any single-player title is enough to make us a bit w
Surprise, surprise Red Dead Redemption 2 got delayed. Smugness aside that sucks! I was hoping it was going to follow the trend of Fallout 4 by being in development for years without an official peep to then be revealed with a relatively quick date. Again it’s upsetting, but I at least know Rockstar is going to do their best so the wait will be worth it. However, I was really itching for a new game set in the Wild West, which got me thinking. How many are other Western games there? Obviously, there’s the first Red Dead Redemption and then the completely different Red Dead Revolver on PS2. Those feel like the obvious recommendations if you haven’t played them
The samurai western you should pay attention to is Red Steel 2 . When the first was revealed as a launch game the hype was through the roof. That was before we knew the limits of motion controls. Not good to say the least. So when a sequel was announced, I was admittedly shocked and a little hesitant. It switched the setting to a Western and even made it into a cel-shaded game. Felt like they were specifically baiting me into a trap, but the results were good. The controls were a lot better thanks to the Wii Motion Plus. There’s still a bit of jank there, but again, much better than the original. Just goes to show that developers can learn from their mistakes. Ubisoft is kind of the king of that actually. Remember the first Assassin’s Creed ? Yi
We’re finally coming back to those indie games. Gunman Clive is a classic 2D run and gun shooter. Shoot guys, collect power-ups, scroll from left to right, and so on. It’s basic, but what sets it apart is the art style. Better yet imagine if someone took the art style of A-ha’s Take on Me and made a game out of it. It looks like a sketch come to life. I bet if you play that song alongside Gunman Clive everything will match up. Maybe even the devil will appear and rip open time and space itself. Either way: Gunman Clive is a real treat through and thro
At the game’s beginning, a botched robbery in the town of Blackwater has deprived the gang of most of their funds and made them the top target of the law as a result. From bands of lawmen, to Pinkerton agents, to the growth of big cities like Saint Denis — the game’s stunning, New Orleans-esque urban setting — Red Dead Redemption 2 puts the Van der Linde gang’s backs against the wall, and seeing their story of survival and preserving their way of life makes for a striking contrast to what we saw from the setting of Red Dead Redemption and its depiction of the “end of the West.”
One of the best examples of this deep sense of interaction with other characters and the environments comes from the Van der Linde gang’s camp, which shifts locations at various points in the story and provides players with a place to call home while out completing missions and exploring the world. Aside from giving the player a place to eat, sleep, and renew Arthur’s energy while out on his journey, the camp also provides ample opportunities to interact with the rest of the gang’s familiar faces — many of whom you’ll be going out on missions with — making it key to visit the camp every so often to see what sort of surprises may be in store there.
No small detail is overlooked. It is the collection of countless minor details that makes _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ so captivating. It is unbelievably satisfying watching horses trudge through miles of deep snow en route to a mission, only to find the same player-made snow trail upon returning to the mission’s point of origin. Throw a corpse into the river, and the body will continue on until it gets stuck, or flows into a lake at the mouth of the river. And last, but not least: hats. Hats easily fly off in the heat of a shootout or during a bar fight, but any hat can be picked up and worn by Arthur. Collecting hats across the western frontier might be one of the most satisfying, unofficial mini-games within _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ . In fact, www.openworldpilot.Com as of this writing, the topic of hats was actually trending for the game on Twitt