Red Dead Redemption 2

Started by mirth, May 02, 2018, 01:17:39 PM

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al_infierno

I get what you mean Jason.  I think RDR2 does a better job of making the story feel more interactive and like you have a degree of meaningful choices, and opportunities to play as a good guy.  But ultimately, like the first game, you're just being shoehorned into this big convoluted tragedy where a blind man can see from miles away which way the wind is going to blow in the end.  Not to mention prequel-itis, where you know characters in RDR1 have to survive, and you're just wondering most of the game how the characters who didn't make it to RDR1 will die.
A War of a Madman's Making - a text-based war planning and political survival RPG

It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge.  War endures.  As well ask men what they think of stone.  War was always here.  Before man was, war waited for him.  The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.  That is the way it was and will be.  That way and not some other way.
- Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian


If they made nothing but WWII games, I'd be perfectly content.  Hypothetical matchups from alternate history 1980s, asymmetrical US-bashes-some-3rd world guerillas, or minor wars between Upper Bumblescum and outer Kaboomistan hold no appeal for me.
- Silent Disapproval Robot


I guess it's sort of nice that the word "tactical" seems to refer to some kind of seriousness during your moments of mental clarity.
- MengJiao

SirAndrewD

Quote from: JasonPratt on October 04, 2019, 02:47:21 PM
I'm not all that big a fan of grungy morally-grey storylines being foisted on me in games. I tolerated that in the first game, because there was room for some nuance occasionally, but the prequel seems like it's going to be much worse.

It really depends on how you play it.  The concept of Arthur being a "bad guy" really goes as far as you do or don't want it to go.  The Karma system is fully in play and it has some affect on how the story progresses, especially in the end. 

A good Arthur playthrough is a much more redemptive story arc, even more than the first game.   A bad playhrough seems very dark and shallow, and really doesn't mesh with the way the game seems to gently push you.

There's some really bad stuff you get up to either way you play it, but unlike some of the other games there's a lot of ironic consequence in the acts that come into play later. 

It's honestly the best Rockstar has done with telling a story.   I can't praise it enough.   There's a lot of stuff there that'll stick with me for a long time.   

It's enough I may buy it again for PC even though I've got it on PS4.
"These men do not want a happy ship. They are deeply sick and try to compensate by making me feel miserable. Last week was my birthday. Nobody even said "happy birthday" to me. Someday this tape will be played and then they'll feel sorry."  - Sgt. Pinback

JasonPratt

Ah! -- I'm glad to hear that, SirAndrew, thanks!  O0
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
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JasonPratt

Having said that: I'm also caught trying not to judge the product for what I wanted it to be, which is a western sequel set during World War I, trying to deal with the Germans fomenting Mexico to attack over the border in order to keep America out of the war. That would have been a hell of a ride and also a great story hook to work lots of angles from.

Plus the Three Amigos mods should have been epic.  :'(
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

SirAndrewD

#34
That would've been a cool concept for the game.

I prefer the way they went though.   There's a very "Butch and Sundance" vibe in this game, the way the old lawless way of life is dying and being replaced by centralized government and organized law enforcement backed by corporate power. 

The setting also allows for a stark look into the brutality of the "Wounded Knee Era" of the treatment of Native American tribes.

The gang is very much living in a world that's rejecting them and their supposedly noble "freedom loving" aspirations.   It goes far to ask if they were ever really true goals in the first place, and how much they were all possibly misled from the start by their leader, Dutch. 

As you say, you've played the first game, so you know exactly the kind of person Dutch was there.  He's seemingly not the same at the start of this game, and there's a real interrogation of his character that goes on right from the beginning through your viewpoint as his best friend and right hand man.

The game also has a villain in it that makes Dutch from the first game seem like a total pussycat.
"These men do not want a happy ship. They are deeply sick and try to compensate by making me feel miserable. Last week was my birthday. Nobody even said "happy birthday" to me. Someday this tape will be played and then they'll feel sorry."  - Sgt. Pinback

al_infierno

#35
Very well put S.A.D.  The historical context is definitely one of the most compelling aspects of RDR2, and the writing is a big step up from the first game.  RDR1 feels a lot more caricature-y, whereas RDR2 feels more like a living, breathing world based in real history.

Honestly, the biggest complaint I had with the game is no access to Mexico.  :(  I would have freakin' loved a new Mexico area to romp around in as Arthur.
A War of a Madman's Making - a text-based war planning and political survival RPG

It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge.  War endures.  As well ask men what they think of stone.  War was always here.  Before man was, war waited for him.  The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.  That is the way it was and will be.  That way and not some other way.
- Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian


If they made nothing but WWII games, I'd be perfectly content.  Hypothetical matchups from alternate history 1980s, asymmetrical US-bashes-some-3rd world guerillas, or minor wars between Upper Bumblescum and outer Kaboomistan hold no appeal for me.
- Silent Disapproval Robot


I guess it's sort of nice that the word "tactical" seems to refer to some kind of seriousness during your moments of mental clarity.
- MengJiao