Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 is just one of those games that only comes along once or twice per console generation, defining it's respective genre. For the 8th generation of systems, that game was Rockstar Game's own Red Dead Redemption 2, a prequel to 2010's Red Dead Redemption. The game tells the tale of the last few breaths of the wild west and at the very end of the outlaw era; as you see your gang dwindle down into obscurity, you also have to face major problems of your own. You play as Arthur Morgan, a 36 year old outlaw on the run. Arthur also has a gang that he is the co-leader of, the Van Der Linde gang, named after it's leader, Dutch Van Der Linde. The game starts off right after a heist gone wrong in the town of Blackwater. The opening sees the gang riding through a blizzard in the mountains, later finding some shelter to hold up in. That's where the game prepares the player for 50 hour-or-so story. Throughout the story, you are introduced to a huge cast of all unique and lovable characters who slowly etch their way into the player's heart. Their personalities and attributes are so lifelike that you really feel like they're real people. The story itself is so unique and has such clever twists and turns to it that it really stops the game from feeling like a one-and-done experience like most other narrative driven games. But it's in the gameplay and open world where the game truly shines. The sheer variety of customization options ranging from clothing to weapon skins really shed a new light on customization in video games. That's not even including the amount of things to do from fishing, racing, bathing, and drinking, you can have fun for hours just loosing yourself in the world of Red Dead 2. The shooting mechanics are nice and they work well, and the dead eye system was completely reworked with ease of use in mind; which is a nice touch. That's not without it's flaws, though. One big aspect of the game is realism and sometimes the game can feel a little Too realistic, especially in the animation department. Collecting items on the ground or on a shelf forces Arthur to slowly reach his hand up in a specific spot to grab the item where he then places it in his satchel. That doesn't sound like much of an issue on paper, but when he does it over and over again really makes this minor annoyance kind of obnoxious. The cover system also has some problems to it, every time you try and take cover it either works fine or the ai is confused and doesn't know which bit of cover Arthur should duck behind, so Arthur just spins in place until the player attempts to move him. Luckily though, the open world more than makes up for it. At a staggering 29 square miles, Rdr2's open world is absolutely massive, and after the intro, you're free to explore all of it. While it mainly takes place in the lush, green, forests in the center of the map, you are free to explore the snowy mountains, and even the original Red Dead Redemption map, which is located southwest of the world. One cool mechanic which relies on where you are in the world is the weather mechanic. If you are in the heartlands, where everything is a warm, but not hot temperature, you can wear any shirt you'd like. If you're in the mountains, you need to bring a jacket with you, otherwise you'll slowly lose heath and eventually die. The same goes for the desert area, in there, you need to wear something very light or else your heath will drain to zero. Overall, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a critical masterpiece and will be held as one of the best games of the eighth generation, while it does have minor issues to it, no game is perfect and these can easily be ignored and looked over. Red Dead Redemption 2 gets a 9/10.