Howdy partners. I recently finished Red Dead Redemption 2 and with Ben going back to test the waters with the original game, I figured I come out and share my experience offline and on.
My single player experience I'll keep relatively short to avoid spoilers: It was fantastic, here's why. Despite being able to appeal to a wider and receptive audience following GTA V's success and the world's constant infatuation with westerns, RDR2 takes the time to slow things down with mechanics that make you consider your actions.
Such mechanics included; weight systems based on how much food you consume, health, stamina, and deadeye (accuracy and slow-mo powers) cores that present passive debuffs if you don't replenish them with items or by resting. Such items can be purchased, looted off dead bodies, or found by rummaging through random homes or shacks.
How you obtain certain items, including cash, affect your karma (much like RDR1) which offers in world benefits or consequences. The law responds appropriately when being broken or when you freak out witnesses with crimes. You can either surrender and serve your time, fight until someone dies or you do, or pay off your bounty.
A lot of what I've mentioned sounds slow and monotonous. That's because it is and I haven't even talked about bonding with your horse, hunting animals for pelts, crafting, and the benefits of fishing (there are so many, you guys). And while these systems appear and often are taxing on a player, I'm of the opinion the game is stronger for it. Combine those systems with old world guns that need to be cleaned, cocked before nearly every shot, enemies that take damage somewhat realistically, and being thoroughly supplied with ammunition; you have combat that makes every bullet count.
I haven't even mentioned the compelling story that is making me, at this moment, want to dive back into RDR1 with Ben just to keep the experience going to some extent. It was a wild ride from start to finish, even knowing how it will end.
If you want to check out the first 40 minutes of the game over on the YouTube channel, here's the link: Howdy Howdy Howdy
Now, turning back towards the online experience... It's okay.
I have to preface by saying at the time of writing, it's still in Beta. Red Dead Online keeps all the mechanics I've mentioned to various degrees. Without doing the math, I can imagine certain damage values or statistical degradation have been tweaked in order to compensate for the online experience. But I was really hoping the rat race city life antics of GTA Online were in the past or at least not encouraged.
I understand it's a free roam, open space vibe that makes you wanna plug holes in the first city slicker you see. But can we not, just as gamers, just restrain ourselves a little? It'd be nice to go fishing or horse riding without worrying about the next player I see feeling like shooting me for no discernible reason (I know, it's multiplayer, I should've expected it). I simply hope there'll be more to regulate against shenanigans like this. Aggressive pinkertons like the cops in GTA, long term bounties for players that go hog wild, more benefits of karmic consistency that can improve or sync up your game experience.
*Sidenote: While I wrote this out, I got shot in the head while sitting at a fire doing nothing. Can't a man just enjoy the simplicity of nature and a roaring fire? Apparently not.
It's simply that I feel as though the slow pace nature of the central design is rubbing up against the demands of multiplayer with little success so far. And it's not simply player to player interactions, it's the foreseeable progression of this game's economy (much like what plagued GTA online's experience). Many items are locked off arbitrarily until later levels (binoculars are locked until level 20 for some reason) and yes, I know there are already easy grinding strategies, and yes I know you can just use the secondary currency, gold, to buy things faster without waiting.
But then why have these blocks in the first place if it's easy to over come them? I assume there'll be more activities when the full online experience is rolled out. But I'm worried for the pacing of unlocks that may require long grinds for mundane items that will quickly go out of style or may cause many players to resort to paying directly for gold to keep up with an experience that should already be molded to be fun and not tedious.
For what it's worth, I am having fun (and would be having more if I could get a regular posse together). And the story missions that do exists are pretty fun to be apart of along with a neat cooperative karma system where everyone votes what to do next on occasion. But that's another issue... I have to share that experience with others who, at random, may end up trampling over the design. One mission asked for us to be stealthy and try using a bow (that many of us had neither the money or rank to even purchase). The mission continues if you just open fire, which my teammates did. I don't blame them for doing so, (god knows stealth in GTA online was a crap shoot) I just wish the game had properly prepared us for having the option to do either.
Stranger missions in online can give out good or bad karma but if I want to remain at high honor, do I ignore half of that content? Clearing out bandit hideouts is both fun and rewarding for loot and treasure maps on occasion but they spawn at random, should I just roam around hoping to find one?
A lot of this feels rough around the edges but it important to remember, it is still in Beta. I know I'll be keeping an eye on things to come and patiently waiting for the update that lets me buy a farm and arm my horses with guns to protect said farm. Manifest destiny indeed.
- Gabe
Writer, Let's Player, and Proud Member of Huffle N' Stuff
@GabeNStuff
My single player experience I'll keep relatively short to avoid spoilers: It was fantastic, here's why. Despite being able to appeal to a wider and receptive audience following GTA V's success and the world's constant infatuation with westerns, RDR2 takes the time to slow things down with mechanics that make you consider your actions.
Such mechanics included; weight systems based on how much food you consume, health, stamina, and deadeye (accuracy and slow-mo powers) cores that present passive debuffs if you don't replenish them with items or by resting. Such items can be purchased, looted off dead bodies, or found by rummaging through random homes or shacks.
How you obtain certain items, including cash, affect your karma (much like RDR1) which offers in world benefits or consequences. The law responds appropriately when being broken or when you freak out witnesses with crimes. You can either surrender and serve your time, fight until someone dies or you do, or pay off your bounty.
A lot of what I've mentioned sounds slow and monotonous. That's because it is and I haven't even talked about bonding with your horse, hunting animals for pelts, crafting, and the benefits of fishing (there are so many, you guys). And while these systems appear and often are taxing on a player, I'm of the opinion the game is stronger for it. Combine those systems with old world guns that need to be cleaned, cocked before nearly every shot, enemies that take damage somewhat realistically, and being thoroughly supplied with ammunition; you have combat that makes every bullet count.
I haven't even mentioned the compelling story that is making me, at this moment, want to dive back into RDR1 with Ben just to keep the experience going to some extent. It was a wild ride from start to finish, even knowing how it will end.
If you want to check out the first 40 minutes of the game over on the YouTube channel, here's the link: Howdy Howdy Howdy
 |
| Where fun goes to take brief vacation |
Now, turning back towards the online experience... It's okay.
I have to preface by saying at the time of writing, it's still in Beta. Red Dead Online keeps all the mechanics I've mentioned to various degrees. Without doing the math, I can imagine certain damage values or statistical degradation have been tweaked in order to compensate for the online experience. But I was really hoping the rat race city life antics of GTA Online were in the past or at least not encouraged.
I understand it's a free roam, open space vibe that makes you wanna plug holes in the first city slicker you see. But can we not, just as gamers, just restrain ourselves a little? It'd be nice to go fishing or horse riding without worrying about the next player I see feeling like shooting me for no discernible reason (I know, it's multiplayer, I should've expected it). I simply hope there'll be more to regulate against shenanigans like this. Aggressive pinkertons like the cops in GTA, long term bounties for players that go hog wild, more benefits of karmic consistency that can improve or sync up your game experience.
*Sidenote: While I wrote this out, I got shot in the head while sitting at a fire doing nothing. Can't a man just enjoy the simplicity of nature and a roaring fire? Apparently not.
It's simply that I feel as though the slow pace nature of the central design is rubbing up against the demands of multiplayer with little success so far. And it's not simply player to player interactions, it's the foreseeable progression of this game's economy (much like what plagued GTA online's experience). Many items are locked off arbitrarily until later levels (binoculars are locked until level 20 for some reason) and yes, I know there are already easy grinding strategies, and yes I know you can just use the secondary currency, gold, to buy things faster without waiting.
But then why have these blocks in the first place if it's easy to over come them? I assume there'll be more activities when the full online experience is rolled out. But I'm worried for the pacing of unlocks that may require long grinds for mundane items that will quickly go out of style or may cause many players to resort to paying directly for gold to keep up with an experience that should already be molded to be fun and not tedious.
For what it's worth, I am having fun (and would be having more if I could get a regular posse together). And the story missions that do exists are pretty fun to be apart of along with a neat cooperative karma system where everyone votes what to do next on occasion. But that's another issue... I have to share that experience with others who, at random, may end up trampling over the design. One mission asked for us to be stealthy and try using a bow (that many of us had neither the money or rank to even purchase). The mission continues if you just open fire, which my teammates did. I don't blame them for doing so, (god knows stealth in GTA online was a crap shoot) I just wish the game had properly prepared us for having the option to do either.
Stranger missions in online can give out good or bad karma but if I want to remain at high honor, do I ignore half of that content? Clearing out bandit hideouts is both fun and rewarding for loot and treasure maps on occasion but they spawn at random, should I just roam around hoping to find one?
 |
| Most fun I've had in the online so far |
A lot of this feels rough around the edges but it important to remember, it is still in Beta. I know I'll be keeping an eye on things to come and patiently waiting for the update that lets me buy a farm and arm my horses with guns to protect said farm. Manifest destiny indeed.
- Gabe
Writer, Let's Player, and Proud Member of Huffle N' Stuff
@GabeNStuff
Comments
Post a Comment