Red Dead Redemption 2 [PS4, XBone] - PC in November

[Wrathbone]

I am quite ambivalent on this one. As Phil/Quietmen isn't on here I might not get a verbal battering for saying so, but as per PW the original RDR didn't do it for me. Loved the concept, the setting, but the execution just wasn't there.

Same here. I've tried playing it a couple of times and it didn't stick.

I'd like to give the new one a go, but I'm concerned it could be the same situation. Also I'm not sure if knowing the story of the first one will be important for 2, even though it's a prequel.

[Raid]

I've not played the original, so I'm not really sure what to expect, but it doesn't look particularly different from other open world adventures to me. Can you put your finger on what didn't work for you?

[Wrathbone]

I struggle to pinpoint what didn't work for me. On paper it should be a barnstormer for me, but I just didn't enjoy it. The closest I get is that it felt a bit like a wild west box-ticker: here's some horse-riding, here's some cow-herding, there's a saloon and guess what, there's a poker game in the back you can join. Oh look, a wanted poster I can claim a bounty on! It's entirely unfair because that's what a wild west game should do, and by all accounts it does it well, it's just that I felt like I already knew everything that I was going to see.

Bizarrely, I played Gun an absolute tonne, and that was a pre-Red Dead wild west game that did much of the same in a lower quality fashion. It was about as generic wild west as you can imagine, but somehow it worked for me. I should probably give Red Dead another chance. I remember I had a similar thing with Mass Effect when that first came out, but on my third go it finally clicked and now it's one of my favourite series of all time.

[Medicine Man]

I'm exactly the same when it comes to Red Dead. Tried a few times and on paper it should be right up my alley but despite my best efforts it does absolutely nothing for me.

Anyway reviews time...

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018 ... n-2-review
Recommended

https://uk.ign.com/articles/2018/10/25/ ... n-2-review
10

https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/red-de ... 0-6417019/
9

https://www.gameinformer.com/review/red ... the-ages-0
10

[DjchunKfunK]

From a quick look through some of these it seems to be a classic Rockstar game ie an amazing world which isn't that fun to actually play.

This from the Kotaku review:

I only rarely found Red Dead 2 to be “fun” in the way I find many other video games to be fun. The physical act of playing is rarely pleasurable on its own. It is often tiring and cumbersome, though no less thrilling for it.

Pressing a button in Red Dead 2 rarely results in an immediate or satisfying response. Navigating Arthur through the world is less like controlling a video game character and more like giving directions to an actor. Get in cover, I’ll tell him, only to see him climb on top of the cover. Did I press the button too late? Did my button-press register at all? Dude, get down, I’ll cry, as his enemies begin to open fire. He’ll slowly wheel around, then slide down to the ground with an elaborate stumbling animation. GET IN COVER, I’ll command, pressing the “take cover” button for what feels like the sixth time. He’ll haul his body weight forward, then finally crouch behind the wall.

[Rusty]

Holy shitballs. Sounds awful.

[DjchunKfunK]

Reading more it sounds like they got so into making an amazing and lifelike world that they forgot they were making a game.

The main issue is that it’s really easy to accidentally commit a crime, and when you do, you’re punished for it. The game’s contextual buttons, which do different things depending on the situation, can be a particular source of frustration.

One time I left a saloon and tried to get on my horse to head back to camp. Unfortunately, the same button that lets me mount my steed also is used to rob strangers, and someone was standing close enough to my horse that I accidentally mugged them instead. This led to a prolonged chase sequence, in which local law enforcement forced me out of town. Another time, I mounted someone else’s horse by mistake — it was a dark and foggy night — and was immediately reported for theft, and a similar law enforcement chase ensued. I ended up getting my horse’s tail braided so I could quickly spot her in a group.

[DjchunKfunK]

OK I've read a fair few reviews now and I really can't tell if this game is actually fun to play. It sounds like an incredibly detailed world and as a massive Western fan it should be my perfect game. However one of the worst bits about Red Dead was the length of time it took to skin an animal. After reading these reviews it sounds like Rockstar took that as a template and applied it across the game.

[Wrathbone]

I've caved and bought it. I think I'm near the end of Pathfinder: Kingmaker and I'm in the mood for this, despite my reservations with the first game. Plus it looks pretty enough that I think I could enjoy simply wandering around taking screenshots.

[Raid]

I'll watch some gameplay, but the reviews aren't really enticing me in. I find myself caring less for vast, exquisitely detailed and realistic worlds and more for games where the focus is clearly on the actual gameplay. It doesn't sound like RDR2 focuses on the minute to minute stuff, more that it's concerned with creating a cowboy simulator. Some reviewers are saying it's interesting that an activity is there, but the activity isn't actually fun to do.

[Snowy]

If they release it on the PC, I will buy it I am sure. Till then, not for me.

[Mantis]

From the EG review:

Red Dead Redemption 2's world leaves an impact on your avatar, the pointedly gritty wilds muddying your horse's hide and your clothes until you either brush your ride down and pay to use a bathhouse or incur the disgust and disdain of those around you. That dirt will clog up your arsenal as well, requiring you to clean your guns lest they lose their potency.

Sounds like very immersive busywork, but I'm not sure how long it would take for me to get sick of mechanics like that getting in the way of the game actually being fun.

[Rossell]

My copy is on the way so time to find out

[Medicine Man]

Remembered this was out today on my way to Tesco to pick up a few things, so I thought I might nab a copy while I was at it. Of course as soon as you walk in you're hit with a literal wall of game boxes all emblazoned with the bargain price of £50. £50?! Nah, you're alright thanks.

I know that price point is no surprise these days but those prices are way beyond me now. So I'm with Snowy, I'll pick it up on PC in a couple of years time for £15 or something.

[Achtung Englander]

what is an unbargain price ?