Review: Red Dead Redemption 2

What’s worth noting though is that I don’t think what Rockstar has done with these ideas is really all that revolutionary by any means. No: instead, they’ve just leaned into these things that other developers would certainly stray away from for the reasons that I’ve already heard many complain about this weekend — it ends up being too slow and too boring. However, Rockstar knew before release that Red Dead Redemption 2 would sell millions of copies no matter what they did. This notion allowed them far more experimentation and more willingness to take chances compared to what other studios might attempt. For the most part, I think it’s an experiment that has worked to Red Dead Redemption 2 ‘s benefit so far.

Ever hear of the legend of Lucky Luke? Yeah neither have I, dear readers. That’s probably because it’s based on a series of French comics dating back to the late 40s. As obscure as it is I’m surprised there are so many games based on the character. I grabbed one for my favorite console, the Super Nintendo, and was not impressed. It looks good (resembling the comic to a degree), but I wouldn’t call it exciting. Lucky Luke is slow as molasses in terms of walking and jumping, which makes platforming a needlessly hard challenge. Shooting is no better either. Worse yet, your objective is not clearly defined in a level. I don’t expect games to hold my hand, but give me a break. At least try to be decent to your play

In a time where open-world games are a dime a dozen, my problem with most titles in the genre is that they rarely force you to engage with the world that has been laid out. Instead, developers just use the confines of an open-world to place the structure of their game inside of, because it’s the normal thing to do more often than not nowadays. Simply existing in an open world games strategy-world though isn’t enough when you don’t feel any sort of connection to the environment that you’re within. Forcing you to explore and take your time in the world allows you to get to know the area which you find yourself in. This is something that I think The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild did so perfectly last year , and it’s something that I think finds success here in Red Dead Redemption 2 as well.

The first Call of Juarez game is a decent Westerns, but it’s definitely a B-tier ‘play it by the books’ sort of shooters. Call of Juarez: Gunslinger not only shakes things up for the franchise, but for the genre as well. You play as the legendary bounty hunter Silas Greaves who recounts his many feats to his fellow bar mates. This may seem like a rote storytelling trope, but the amazing thing here is Silas’ unreliability. He may claim he faced off against a hundred bandits when a patron will call him out on it and the game will literally change before your eyes. The shooting is outstanding, and the cel-shading is like icing on the cake. At max, it’s only $15 too so go on Steam, PSN, or Xbox Live and grab it

It was an abused item by already powerful Champions such as Irelia and would make the game harder than it already is. For the moment, some are wishing for its return while others aspire for something differ

Expectations for Batman: Arkham Knight were already high before the game was delayed to June 2, 2015. Now, expectations are even higher. With all this extra time, we’re hoping for the most polished, visceral, and grand Batman experience ever. Batman: Arkham Knight looks set to meet these expectations thanks to a large amount of secrecy surrounding the game. Despite being a high profile game, Rocksteady has been very careful about how much information we get out of each trailer and press release. The story, Gotham City, the Arkham Knight and Scarecrow’s plans remain wrapped in secrecy, and it will be unwrapping those secrets that’s going to make Batman: Arkham Knight hard to put down.

At this point, it is still questionable whether this highly anticipated sequel will even make it to PC, so this rumor should obviously be taken with a grain of salt. However, optimizing the game graphically does sound like something Rockstar Games would want to do, and the trailer does luck absolutely stunn

It’s safe to say that Red Dead Redemption 2 is easily the most visually-impressive game Rockstar has ever created. While it’s difficult for open world games to compare to more linear, focused experiences due to the amount of content shoved onto screen at once, there were times when I thought I was playing a CG movie. Maybe that’s a little bit of hyperbole as there are still some compromises that are taken, but for the most part this is arguably the best looking game of the year. Character models are remarkably detailed, even with the most insignificant individuals, and the open world is absolutely gorgeous. Not only does it have an incredible amount of variety, from industrial cities to snowy mountains, but the way settings are organized bring the world to life in a sensational way. From a pure visual aspect, the only negative notions are minor ones, namely beards can sometimes look like they’re pulled off a character creator, and the rendering and reflections when moving through water has a strange issue on the sides of the screen. Animation is the only other aspect that can be bothersome at times. Don’t get me wrong, everything is animated meticulous, from faces to actions, but when you need to interact with something in the world, it can put you into an animation that takes a lot longer than you’d hope for. Other than that, I was blown away with what Rockstar was able to accomplish, as the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 is simply breathtaking.