Red Dead Redemption 2

[Atticus]

My mate said he had a productive night. He killed a bear and paid a lady to bathe him.

But did he play any Red Dead?

[QualityChimp]

But did he play any Red Dead?

Yes!

He killed a woman and paid a bear to bathe him.

[QualityChimp]

Threads like this are one of the great bonuses of Bordersdown. Since everyone tends to give honest opinions I know I would've played this for an hour and gotten royally pissed off with it and chucked it in the sales forum.

We've got to know each other's tastes a little too and you know if someone likes something, you might too.
Likewise, we also have differing tastes.

These open-world games aren't really your thing, Col, and I admire you for knowing they're not and for at least giving some of them a whirl like Just Cause 3.

[Colin]

Just Cause 3 received so much play out of me literally having nothing else to waste time on. Though I did end up getting a lot of fun out of it. Red Dead, though I'd fully intended to buy it, I had no idea how 'grindy' it was from a gameplay viewpoint so I would've wasted my cash. I hate crap like that, JC3 was just plain mindless stuff!

[wakka]

I just did the early mission where you go drinking last night. Really well done, cracked me up. I like stuff like that in games, where the mission isn’t necessarily challenging but just interesting and/or amusing.

[QualityChimp]

Just Cause 3 received so much play out of me literally having nothing else to waste time on. Though I did end up getting a lot of fun out of it. Red Dead, though I'd fully intended to buy it, I had no idea how 'grindy' it was from a gameplay viewpoint so I would've wasted my cash. I hate crap like that, JC3 was just plain mindless stuff!

I was discussing this with a work colleague this morning who'd listened to a podcast where the speaker was wondering why he wasn't enjoying it like all the reviews said, but we agreed that GTAV lends itself to horseplay (without the horses!) a lot more than RDR2.

JC3 is even more suited to goofing around with that grappling hook and wingsuit combo!

->Open Spoiler<-

[Neon Ignition]

I got very little done again last night as I fell asleep in my chair again I feel like the opening of the game and the approach to more just existing within the game world may be one of the reasons why Rockstar played so coy with the marketing. As it is players seem to be getting a feel for how the game works this time around whereas any heavy and showey marketing drive would have probably focused on heists, shootouts etc and the game would have then held a higher risk of getting a backlash from those finding the game is asking them to clean a horse etc.

[fishbowlhead]

Another great off the cuff moment last night. Walking around town admiring the rain and the way the mud deforms around people, things, gets on everything. A stage coach rolls into town just going about its business, suddenly a lone guy on a horse comes speeding though out of nowhere and spooks the stage coach horses, they rear up and go speeding off and as it all goes round a corner takes the local paper boy out, this causes the local sheriff to come come out and start chasing the stage coach, at which point it leaves town with the sheriff casing after it.

All the while i'm still sat on a bench outside a saloon watching it all randomly unfold while a drunk npc is will shouting at me .

[Brad]

I think that what's come out of all of this is that R* decided to make a Western Movie that the player takes part in, without ANY consideration as to how games are traditionally played. They decided not to have their hands tied by decisions of the past. The result is something very different to what we're used to and you may or may not get your head around it and even if you do get your head around it you might not like it because you came to play a game set in the wild west as opposed to what you're now actually being asked to do. I flit between being completely on-board with it and rejecting it. The stuff about enhancing and maintaining your camp, buying new saddles for your horse, picking flowers and making tonics, making food from animals you've hunted is all stuff they've put in because that's what games do and what people expect; it's not really part of their game and that shows when you realise that you don't have to do any of it.

[fishbowlhead]

I think that what's come out of all of this is that R* decided to make a Western Movie that the player takes part in, without ANY consideration as to how games are traditionally played. They decided not to have their hands tied by decisions of the past. The result is something very different to what we're used to and you may or may not get your head around it and even if you do get your head around it you might not like it because you came to play a game set in the wild west as opposed to what you're now actually being asked to do. I flit between being completely on-board with it and rejecting it. The stuff about enhancing and maintaining your camp, buying new saddles for your horse, picking flowers and making tonics, making food from animals you've hunted is all stuff they've put in because that's what games do and what people expect; it's not really part of their game and that shows when you realise that you don't have to do any of it.

Yep nail on head. You have to take this as a new kind of experience in its own right, rather than traditional game to just smash though for the best or fastest score.

[gambit6613]

I think that what's come out of all of this is that R* decided to make a Western Movie that the player takes part in, without ANY consideration as to how games are traditionally played. They decided not to have their hands tied by decisions of the past. The result is something very different to what we're used to and you may or may not get your head around it and even if you do get your head around it you might not like it because you came to play a game set in the wild west as opposed to what you're now actually being asked to do. I flit between being completely on-board with it and rejecting it. The stuff about enhancing and maintaining your camp, buying new saddles for your horse, picking flowers and making tonics, making food from animals you've hunted is all stuff they've put in because that's what games do and what people expect; it's not really part of their game and that shows when you realise that you don't have to do any of it.

I think you have pretty much hit the nail on the head with this. On the one hand i think im enjoying this game but at the same time im finding it such a chore. Some of the mechanics really work and do indeed make sense such as running into a tree head first knocks you flying, which is impressive realism and makes sense as that would happen in real life. Its funny the first time but when it keeps happening, more particularly during a mission and you fail, its bloody annoying. So is having to clean your guns, again yes it makes sense as in realism, but after a while its just a nuisance. Im sure some people really enjoy this level of immersion but i just want a damn video game to kick back with and have fun with.

[cutmymilk]

You don't have to do it but won't have access to certain things. It was all in Zelda BOTW, but the realism is in this game.

I'm enjoying taking in animal skins to craft better equipment, but need to get going on some main quests.

[QualityChimp]

I think that what's come out of all of this is that R* decided to make a Western Movie that the player takes part in, without ANY consideration as to how games are traditionally played. They decided not to have their hands tied by decisions of the past. The result is something very different to what we're used to and you may or may not get your head around it and even if you do get your head around it you might not like it because you came to play a game set in the wild west as opposed to what you're now actually being asked to do. I flit between being completely on-board with it and rejecting it. The stuff about enhancing and maintaining your camp, buying new saddles for your horse, picking flowers and making tonics, making food from animals you've hunted is all stuff they've put in because that's what games do and what people expect; it's not really part of their game and that shows when you realise that you don't have to do any of it.

That's a really interesting observation, Brad.

I mentioned that I've recently "played" Everybody's Gone to the Rapture.
I put "played" in inverted commas, because it's more like an interactive storybook that unfolds as you explore the village it's set in.
I really struggled at first, unable to switch off game tropes I've been trained in for decades.
Literally, in the first ten seconds I found a wrench and tried to pick it up because it's some sort of apocalypse, so you've got to defend yourself. I also couldn't jump. Years of squashing goombas out the window!

However, I really, really enjoyed the experience.
I think the closest I can say is imagine Bioshock, but you stripped out the enemies, weapons and jump key and you just wondered about Rapture trying to piece together what happened from the tape recorders that you find.

Some might find that boring, but I think it's nice that every single game isn't the same and shooting somebody in the face again.

If my copy isn't here today, I might watch a Western to get me in the mood.

Maybe the last episode of Godless.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2018-whats-up-with-red-dead-redemption-2s-hdr

Digital Foundry looks at the HDR support and it sounds like it might as well be turned off to avoid potentially over saturated scenes as there's no gain from it being on.

Edit - Boris, you kept that quiet

[MartyG]

Yep nail on head. You have to take this as a new kind of experience in its own right, rather than traditional game to just smash though for the best or fastest score.

It can be whatever experience it likes - but if that experience is at the expense of enjoyable gameplay I think that's a fail.

Just because it's realistic doesn't mean it's fun. Once again, Jim Sterling nails it ...