Topic: Red Dead Redemption 2 OT

@JohnnyShoulder thanks mate.

@Jaz007 yes Hitchin. I'm trying to put my finger on it actually. I haven't had similar problems in this generations games since maybe Metal Gear Solid 5 when you press the wrong button and things go wrong (like standing up out of the box in a middle of a compound) due to the control scheme being complicated and forgetting what buttons make you hold up someone from the box stance.

Examples like pressing the right trigger then square to talk on horseback, pressing the motion track button to change camera angles etc. RDR2 is even more unnatural to me than anything since the PS2 era when there wasn't set standards for which buttons do what. With all that said it is early doors, the shooting is good actually - which is standard fare unlike most other button prompts so far. I will give it a proper run out one night this week.

@themcnoisy I'm at the very end of this game and while I was initially frustrated by this game, it's now one of my favorites of all time. Arthur is probably my favorite game character all time. I'm so impressed by this game, I just can't express my admiration enough. I usually think many games don't deserve all the praises, but this one does indeed, and I think it was robbed by all these goty awards going to other games.

So stick with it and try other control schemes if default one doesn't suit you. I chose to stick with the default one and now it's natural to me.

I will try to write some more impressions and admiration very soon when I actually finish the game. I have a couple of missions more and that's it, and I can't believe saying this but it makes me sad that this journey has come to the end.

BTW this is not an RPG game, it's action adventure.

After finishing it properly I can easily say that this is my GOTY and on par with The Witcher 3 as my favorite game of this gen. When I started playing it many things annoyed me and I think I've written about it, so when I finished chapter 3 I stopped playing it for a month, then continued and enjoyed it a lot more than I did enjoy those 3 chapters. This world and its characters are exceptionaly rich and nuanced, graphics are the best. I can't believe we got such graphics on current gen. No popin, no loading in such a vast world is impressive. It feels so alive. The game ain't perfect that's for sure, and I can see why it's not for everyone, but I'd easily recommend it to anyone with enough time to play it. So much better than the first rdr.

Arthur, oh Arthur...

@NecuVise Good stuff. Glad you liked it. I didn't enjoy Witcher 3 either tbf. The time commitment got the better of me (I had just beat MGS 5)

With rdr2 I am approaching it differently and want to get to 15 hours at least before giving up, currently 4 hours in and counting as I know its a slow burn. However I am starting to question if it is worth the payoff, does the openworld open up soon? I am on the train mission.

@themcnoisy The world most definitely opens up soon. Pretty soon you’ll have access to the whole map almost and the next challenge will be staying focused instead of chasing every distraction you come across as you get from one place to another. Random events and people will start popping up as you go about exploring, not to mention you’ll be hunting and trying to get the perfect pelts, robbing stores, choosing what style of facial hair you want at the barber, and having a bath in the back of the hotel, playing poker and dominos, fishing, bonding your horse, and just in general wandering around a huge living open world. Probably the most detailed and interactive open world of its size in all of gaming. The areas and towns aren’t really walled off from you in the early game and your’re free to roam. I might suggest sticking primarily to main quests and maybe a few stranger quests for a while though, as the main quests are still giving you tutorials and introducing some mechanics even 20
or more hours into the game.

@themcnoisy just like @Th3solution said, its open world opens up definitely, and my suggestion is also that you stick with the main story and some of those white quests as they are really interesting. For example, Arcadia for beginners (or something like that) side story was very interesting even though it's not challenging. Just don't approach this as an rpg, as there are no exp points so you don't get instant rewards for everything you do like in your average rpg game. I truly think if you like video games that you should play this one as there's no other game like it on the market, even the first rdr doesn't come even close in my opinion. As I said earlier, I also struggled with it in the beginning but by the end it became one of my favorite games of all time.

@Th3solution @NecuVise I've spoken to my mate in work and I'm playing the game wrong. I just need to crack on was basically the advice it's pretty much what you have both said so thank you.

I finished the train robbery and then got in the caravan.

I'm now on my 3rd run in the caravan.

First time I took a shortcut over the river - game over.

Second time I went in cinematic mode and held x. Straight after getting the herbs off the longtime gang member my horses rode straight up the side of a hill, crashed and... - game over.

I have to do it again! Bloomin heck.

@themcnoisy I’d advise driving along the intended path and enjoying the story. 😂

@Jaz007 that's what I was doing on the second run. I put it into cinematic mode and pressed x occasionally. I think the interlude when you receive the herbs (your gang mate is mixing ginseng and something else in a bowl next to you) messed up the auto ride. Next thing you know my horse and carriage is up a hill a and my wheel comes off. I will try it again tomorrow.

I enjoy running levels in openworld games with a certain level of autonomy. Red dead is really trying it's hardest to make me dislike it as there isn't any at the minute. But after getting it as a present I will appreciate the damned game.

@themcnoisy Beware cinematic mode!

@Thrillho So the reality is - cinematic mode is unusable. Flipping great. Lol.

@themcnoisy Mostly, I had no problems with it but did have a few times when someone was riding alongside Arthur or coming the other way and Arthur decided to go head first into a tree.

To be honest, I used it very little as I enjoyed riding around and you could sometimes miss random encounters. Later in the game I did use trains and stagecoaches for long distance travel but never used the actual fast travel.

By the way, if you’re still at the first camp, there is a gold bar nearby which helps with camp upgrades and a few things early on (you need to have unlocked the fences to sell it first though).

@themcnoisy I'm enjoying reading back through your comments in this thread over the past week. There are times when it feels like Rockstar is almost trolling you during your opening hours with Red Dead II.

I'm up to Chapter 5 and I've put the game on hold until I've completed a couple of other things. My wife is persisting (cracking on) though, and she still uses the cinematic mode even though it's clearly rubbish. The other day her horse was taking Arthur back to Valentine, and when it approached the train track there was train sitting in the station, blocking the road. We're both watching, thinking "the horse will know the train is there and will stop. Surely, it's going to stop"

The horse did not stop.

So, what story completion are you guys at now. I noticed a couple have completed it. I'm at 72% soo long after release. I have tried to do all the side missions/stranger missions as they pop up but no more than that really. The struggle is real trying to get to the end. It's a strange feeling as I am enjoying it, but feel I need a break as its just so long. However, once I start on something else, I wont go back to it. Thought it was just me, but looking at the trophy achievement rates I don't think I am alone. Great game, but I just want to reach the end now.

@themcnoisy Just read through some of your comments from the last few days, your not alone in not getting on with RDR 2, I’m up to chapter 4 bit have left it for awhile to go back to AC: Odyssey because it’s simply far more fun to play for me. The RDR controls are just bad IMO, I get the whole idea of immersion and slowing things down but it’s 2018, we should be able to customize the controls at least. The game is gorgeous and the acting is absolutely great but the story hadn’t grabbed me yet and the missions have mostly been inspired to me (apart from a couple of great ones). Also the game is so finicky that it’s lead to countless deaths that don’t feel like my fault, which is one of the great crimes a game can do. Hoping after the break I can get back into it and it clicks more

@Shellcore I finished it at around 77%. I did almost all the side missions. There were two of them that appeared and then disappeared so I couldn't finish them, but everything else was completed. I didn't bother with challenges and unfortunately I sold it before I hunted all those legendary animals, same for legendery fish.

@Shellcore The % complete tally is weird. Some bits are super easy to complete like a certain number of random encounters etc, but others are finding all of each collectible which is just too much of a chore for me.

I got all the cigarette cards to get the trophy but did that by endlessly buying premium cigarettes near the end of the game.

@NecuVise I got all the legendary fish, found all dream catchers, and found all rock carvings. Wish I’d saved the time as the rewards are near pointless.

@Thrillho well, the point of games is to entertain you. If it's not entertaining you then don't do it. I didn't feel like loosing so much time on that and that's why I didn't do it.