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Red Dead Redemption - is a sprawling
Western tale of loyalty conviction and
the price of infamy all set in rockstars
most authentic and lived in open world
ever there are so many things to do so
many people to meet in so many places to
explore Red Dead Redemption - isn't just
rock stars greatest achievement to date
it's a game so lacking and compromise
it's tough to know where best to start
discussing it
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so let's start at the beginning it's
1899 and American outlaws are an
endangered species Dutch van de lien and
his gang are on the run after a botched
heist than the growing town of
Blackwater and they've retreated high
into the mountains where an atrocious
Blizzard is covering their escape we
slip into the spurs of Arthur Morgan and
exceedingly cool and capable outlaw and
settle in for a roughly 60 hour story
it's a self-contained and linear
introduction but it's a clever one it
heightened the impact of having the full
map opened up to me a few hours later
being set loose in the true open world
after typing it out in this
intentionally oppressive environment
really underscores the incredible
feeling of freedom the full map offers
and what a world it is more beautiful
broader and more varied than the one we
explored in 2010's Red Dead Redemption
by a massive margin there are snowy
peaks and dank alligator infested swamps
thick forests and open plateaus quaint
homesteads
and grand plantations narrow streams and
great lakes dusty gulches and dim caves
there's the muddy livestock town of
Valentine with its wooden buildings and
rustic charm and then there's the
imposing city of sander need a grimy and
growing metropolis full of modern
extravagances like electric trams paved
roads in Chinese restaurants with a vast
assortment of ecosystems and
environments seamlessly stitched
together here is nothing short of
remarkable the ability of this game to
keep itself fresh after so many hours is
extraordinary and not entirely due to
just the size and diversity of the world
its how alive all those places feel the
countryside of Red Dead Redemption too
is absolutely brimming with wildlife to
discover people to interact with and
potentially help and places to
scrutinize the more laid-back pace of
Red Dead Redemption to compare to
something like this slightly more
breakneck GTA 5 is also a big part of
how it encouraged me to slow down and
drink in all the world has to offer
we get a couple of beers brews bodies
have to be manually loaded single action
pistols need to be cocked before firing
Coffee needs to be brewed before
drinking it I suspect some folks may
regard this sort of stuff as chore like
but I really dig it there's something
methodical about it that really helps
ground Arthur in the world
rather than have him feel like he's
gliding through it I love the deliberate
and mechanical process of cycling a new
cartridge with a lever-action rifle
virus second pull of the fire button you
can even pause for dramatic effect half
way through rough stars designers didn't
need to factor that in but I think they
understand the tiny almost trivial
instances of subtle control like this
subconsciously seat me into the world as
Arthur even more the main story missions
themselves are a cocktail of high-stakes
heists deadly shootout desperate rescues
and thrilling chases mixed with a
lengthy list of other tasks many of
those function as organic ways to teach
us about new site hustles and other
activities that can be undertaken from
selling stolen horses to playing poker
or fishing it all feels great
to play similar in a lot of ways to its
immediate predecessor but injected with
a pile of new animations and multiple
layers of interactivity shootouts are
supremely cinematic thanks to pull any
of Gunsmoke and the same style of
on-the-fly ever-changing death
animations that have characterized
rockstar games since GTA 4 Red Dead
Redemption 2 is an undeniably pretty
game across the board
the lighting is fantastic the facial
animation is a noticeable step up from
GTA 5 and a level of granular detail is
almost absurd for the way blood smears
on Arthur's shoulder after carrying a
kill - the way individual strands of his
majestic muttonchops quiver in the
breeze remember this is a game where
horse testicles shrink when the weather
is cold hell are you doing equally
impressive is the audio from this
satisfying metallic crunch of a reload
to the twang of a hollywood-inspired
ricocheted bullets fired on mountaintops
ring with cracking echoes completely
different to the sound of bullets fired
indoors again lille seems to have been
missed and the music absolutely
outstanding Red Dead Redemption - is
rockstars most serious and earn a story
to date and certainly the best written
only the feeblest of man take jobs in
the government watching Duchess gradual
descent from being the charismatic
successful and clever leader of a gang
of deadly outlaws - someone on track to
become the cold-blooded and beaten man
being hunted down by masked and 12 years
later is captivating we get to watch an
incredibly nuanced performance as
Duchess confidence herbs and his
restraint fades oh god damned cowards
Arthur couch excellent - his main man
Arthur not only is there an infectious
authenticity to his low and smooth tone
of voice but when Arthur himself is afar
we're a man by the story's climax his
delivery is doubly potent I don't know
what you're saying Dutch but it seems
like I've heard it all before
combined with strong writing and
direction the result is a game that
sincere instead of satirical and funny
while remaining capable of some
supremely well owned emotional moments
especially throughout the truly
excellent crescendo and epilogue and
even after completing the epilogue I
still have a stack of strangers that
need helping gangs that need killing and
fish that need catching there are 30
different types of fishing this game
about Cowboys I've caught four
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Red Dead Redemption to stands shoulder
to shoulder with Grand Theft Auto 5 as
one of the greatest games of modern
times
it's a gorgeous depiction of an ugly age
that's patient polished and a huge
amount of fun to play and it's combined
with rockstars best storytelling to date
even after finishing the lengthy story I
can't wait to go back and play more this
is a game of rare quality a meticulously
polished open-world ode to the outlaw
era looking for one of these generations
very best single player action
experiences here's your huckleberry for
plenty more on Red Dead Redemption to
check out the first minutes and our
graphics comparison
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