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First impression
Some months ago I played Red Dead Redemption (PS3) very first time. Or course I knew about the game, but never put my hands on it. I liked the game and the GTA vibes it gave to me, but it was pretty horrible to play 720p game on big TV screen. Eight years has passed from the RDR release and now the second installment was released. Red Dead Redemption 2 was something every player was waiting and it was highly anticipated. With gorgeous graphics and physics to vast western lands.
My very first impression was how beautiful the game is. Everything is highly detailed and lightning effects works perfectly. Does the great first impression hold throughout the gameplay?
Story
Arthur Morgan is a gang member who lives in a community in a camp side. I found out that the story is mostly told by how you play. There are small and big plot parts played outside the main story telling. Those can be played as they come up in your way depending where you go and what you do and who you talk to or help or not help, save or kill. That’s why the plot is kinda difficult to summary. It maybe better if I just tell what kinds of things happened to me along the way.
As I lived in a community I had to put my own share to its well-being with hunting food for my people or givin money to the jar so we could purchase upgrades to ease our lifes. I could choose who to help and mainly what missions I wanted to do. They mostly were from gun shooting to leisure hunting trips. Red Dead Redemption 2 was FULL of things I could do and people I could meet. Every character to some random village dogs can be talked to and new things to do came up by people I met. So mostly the story and gameplay is told of by what you do and how well you can be with people. Western inhabitants are very on the edge and guns will blaze even if you look at someone. But, every time it was time to head my camp I hunted an animal so we could eat :)
Gameplay & Controls
To me the gameplay was the best part of the Red Dead Redemption 2. It might be difficult to learn all the things and buttons and sometimes it felt like there isn’t a one and clear way to do all the things. That was what killed the flow of the gameplay sometimes.
But boy all the things I could do in the game and I think it’s pointless to start to list the things here, it’s simple to just tell that there was so many things to do that I thought I can never fulfill them all in my lifetime. But, the main things was to take care of my horse like a car (and it kinda was like a car) with feeding it and cleaning. Guns needed to be taken care, as well myself. I didn’t try not to do any of those things and see what happens as I’m good person (and virgin, too) and I would never do any bad things, okaaay.
It was easy to do things actually. Gameplay and controls were simple and easy to understand, but doing things right was hard. I could also find detailed options for the controls in the menu, where I could also find lot of detailed info of other parts of the game, which was interesting to read. What bothered me in the controls was how awkward they sometimes felt. It was mostly like in GTA games where you try to do a little movement and you find yourself moving to the other side of the map.
And dear lord if you bump up to someone by accident. I’m not kidding. I had couple of side missions where I tried to help people by giving them a ride to the town and in the town I accidentally touched someone with my horse (who I named Dirty Hoa) and then it was a war. They were shooting at me and I rode away like a maniac and then law enforcement was after me and it was riding away like in GTA. It was like old fashioned police chase. The WANTED sign came on the screen and and bullets flew past me. I got away, but I got a $20.00 bounty on me. Just because I only, literally, touched someone. (The NPC was on back of my Dirty Hoa all this time and the mission failed.)
This is the problem in Red Dead Redemption 2. All these kinds of occations happened all the time and mostly when I accidentally did something that caused World War 1 I. Then just loaded my save again because it was the most easy way out. I really could go on with this all day but I think you got the idea.
What I have to say about the changing the viewing angle; it’s the best thing EVER in gaming. It helped me so much when I entered in a store and wanted to search my groceries or running inside a train. The whole game seems to be playable with either one. This is something every developer should use. To give a choice to the player how to play (looking at you Cyberpunk 2077).
Graphics
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a beauty. Everything looks nice and sharp and all the detailed facial to horse muscle movements. Realistic mud or animal blood that coloured your clothes as where they got touched by it. Water and shadow effects… really just name it and there it is. Everything is so detailed that it first felt overwhelming how much I ‘have to see’ when I realized that I don’t. It’s some kind of natural reflex of a player that everything needs to be searched and seen and done in a video game. If you want to do and see EVERYTHING in Red Dead Redemption 2 then give yourself couple of months, meaning you have to play every day.
I loved all the random letters or photos I could find in some random collapsed cabin in a woods. Feels like there aren’t used same tree, animal, face, rock, grass, airdust twice anywhere in the game. Everything always looks new and something you haven’t seen before; such like in a real life.
HDR was present and it made everything even more prettier. Nature and colours looked realistic with HDR on. I was hoping Photo Mode but there weren’t any. But, using first person view and taking HUD off can do the trick.
Sound
I just got my new Gold Wireless Headset 500M Limited Edition and I don’t know if the audio was great because of that or the game. You can imagine how realistic and detailed the audio part are when the graphics and gameplay is like a real life. I even noticed how horses got they own hoof sound as they gallop. Am I the only one who liked the sound of horse gallop?
From voice acting to buzzing bee, this has the most details I have ever heard in any video game to date.
mostly the story and gameplay is told of by what you do
Difficulty
In Red Dead Redemption 2 I couldn’t choose the difficulty in the beginning. The game isn’t so difficult to play but what was difficult is the awkward controls and trying not to touch anyone in a town for not getting the whole town after you. It was difficult to get the bounty off (unless you wanted to pay the ransom.)
It was difficult trying to remember everything you have to, and can, do. The list from groceries to cleaning horse to the missions and other things. It was difficult trying to maintain everything and be like a real person in a virtual world.
Last impression
At the beginning I liked the the game and then it became annoying to do these little everyday tasks or riding from place to place. But after a while I just enjoyed the gameplay and how leisure everything is. Even though there was much to do I still wasn’t rushed to do them all at once. I could choose not to do missions and go relazing hunting or just ride my horse into the fields or just walk and gaze the beautiful nature and taking pictures. In 1800’s there wasn’t any timetables or deadlines. Everything was done, but done when it is done, and not done by some timeframes (that is a poem I just made up. You’re welcome.)
Even though my horse was digital creature I bonded with it spiritually. I took care of it more than I have taken care of myself in a decade. Horses didn’t feel disposable, but important vehicles you need to take care of.
There is so much to do in Red Dead Redemption 2 that it’ll literally take a lifetime to explore them all. Everything might seem complicated at the first glance, but they really aren’t.
This game is really something. I could go deeper and talk so many things but then this review would’ve turned into a novel. It’s best to experience them by yourself, just try not touch people, okay. In 1800’s you’ll get shot because of it.
One More Level 
I have a few questions. Did you complete the main campaign? If so, is the story as compelling as RDR1?
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I didn’t complete it 100% but almost to the end. It takes long to do things and knowing what missions are the ‘story ones’ isn’t clear so I basically did things and when saving I checked the presentage. I like the story in this one better than the RDR1.
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