Red Dead Redemption 2

[morlac]

Add me to the list of people who hate the goddamn controls. So far I’ve shot an innocent guy who I was trying to simply say hi to, and knifed a guy in the chest while trying to punch him.

At this rate I’m going to be the single most hated outlaw in the west...by accident.

I was going post my impressions below but right here works....

Controls are hot garbage but after the first two hours they do get better as you get used to it. Those first couple hours are comically bad though. I accidentally punched the shit outta my horse trying desperately to swap out to the shotgun in the saddlebags when prompted. It makes a satisfying thud sound and horse neighed loudly. It was so satisfying that I did it a few more times hoping like an action RPG, that my horse would eventually just spit out my loot. Hell if I could figure out how to swap it out. He did not, but he did run off eventually causing me to reload after I worked him over pretty good. Yep, failed the tutorial due to horse abuse. Then in the first gunfight where you are to run point with the rifle I somehow whipped out my pistol instead. I did successfully loot it off horse without punching though, so progress! Then as the gang leader is splainin' the plan in a soft whisper as we are all hiding just our of ear shot I accidentally did a "Desk Pop" when trying frantically to swap said pistol out for the rifle. Hilarity ensued as the "plan" went to shit and everyone is now running around out of cover/position shooting at anything that moves like an intro to the Benny Hill show. I was getting yelled out for ruining the plan so they somehow just knew a player would go off the plan and screwing up. So blowing the plan was scripted I effectively lost in the tutorial twice causing reloads. I haven't had this much fun in a tutorial since dying 3 times in Space Rangers 2. 10 out of 10, will punch horse in gut and perform Desk Pops to ruin plans again.

[hepcat]

I accidentally punched the shit outta my horse trying desperately to swap out to the shotgun in the saddlebags when prompted.

Mongo just a pawn in the game of life.

[Skinypupy]

Add me to the list of people who hate the goddamn controls. So far I’ve shot an innocent guy who I was trying to simply say hi to, and knifed a guy in the chest while trying to punch him.

At this rate I’m going to be the single most hated outlaw in the west...by accident.

I was going post my impressions below but right here works....

Controls are hot garbage but after the first two hours they do get better as you get used to it. Those first couple hours are comically bad though. I accidentally punched the shit outta my horse trying desperately to swap out to the shotgun in the saddlebags when prompted. It makes a satisfying thud sound and horse neighed loudly. It was so satisfying that I did it a few more times hoping like an action RPG, that my horse would eventually just spit out my loot. Hell if I could figure out how to swap it out. He did not, but he did run off eventually causing me to reload after I worked him over pretty good. Yep, failed the tutorial due to horse abuse. Then in the first gunfight where you are to run point with the rifle I somehow whipped out my pistol instead. I did successfully loot it off horse without punching though, so progress! Then as the gang leader is splainin' the plan in a soft whisper as we are all hiding just our of ear shot I accidentally did a "Desk Pop" when trying frantically to swap said pistol out for the rifle. Hilarity ensued as the "plan" went to shit and everyone is now running around out of cover/position shooting at anything that moves like an intro to the Benny Hill show. I was getting yelled out for ruining the plan so they somehow just knew a player would go off the plan and screwing up. So blowing the plan was scripted I effectively lost in the tutorial twice causing reloads. I haven't had this much fun in a tutorial since dying 3 times in Space Rangers 2. 10 out of 10, will punch horse in gut and perform Desk Pops to ruin plans again.

I've had largely the same experience with the wonky controls, but have mostly just come away from it annoyed as hell.

Good to know that others find that sort of thing amusing and fun, I suppose.

[morlac]

Well it's a game so I try not to take it to serious. If the controls were broken and/or unresponsive I would be more annoyed. They're not and actually do make some sense in a weird way once you wrap your head around them (they remind me of old school tactical/flying games that had a keyboard overlay). Until then, I am easily amused at punching horses and the occasional misfire. The fact they scripted the second scenario really shows off the attention to detail. It was freaking hysterical. "Ok guys here we are, I'm going to walk up and talk to them so Arthur yo go hide over...dammit what the hell!" Chaotic gun fight ensues... I literally cut him off in mid sentence.

Hepcat: HAHA, pretty much went down just like that. My entire first two hours felt like a cross between Blazing Saddles and Benny Hill mixed with Fistful of Dollars.

side note: I actually bought the hardback collectors guide book from Gamestop when I got this over the weekend. It was $10 off and gorgeous enough to stay on my coffee table in the game room. Very well made.

[Cylus Maxii]

For those having problems figuring out where hostile fire is coming from - look for red shading on the edges of your mini map.

[naednek]

Loving the game, but having recently moved, my time is limited. I finished the intro, and did a few missions from Valentine. Controls seem fine to me, the game constantly reminds you what to use.

Had a funny moment where I accidently drove my galluping horse into a tree, I then flew head first into the tree leaving a bright red blood spot on the trunk.

I wish the dialogue was louder, but it could be my tv. I changed the dialogue to be louder in the menus, but it still feels too quiet.

[naednek]

I haven’t really had a struggle with the controls so far...no accidental shootings or knifing or the like.

I find myself just moseying around, looking at everything. This is one goddam beautiful game on my XB1X. I’m still not quite sure what the best route to go concerning how much to donate to the camp, how much to keep and craft and sell for myself, etc.

I’m still struggling with my inherent “never, ever play a bad guy in games” attitude and squaring it with the game. I’m currently doing my best to always take good options with the game...but I can’t see how I can avoid some things that appear to be baked into the game, like train robberies and the like.

My first encounter with the honor system really made me feel guilty.

Spoiler:

Some guy recognized me from Blackwater and went off running. I was tasked to chase him down and he ended up hanging from a cliff. I had the choice of threatening or killing him. I chose the latter because I didn't want the camp to be found. I felt extremely bad

[Rumpy]

I have a feeling the game will be patched with an alternate control scheme, something like a "classic" scheme that is more like the controls from the first one.

[Skinypupy]

Here's my gameplay experience from last night, which is pretty much a microcosm of my thoughts on the game (crossposted from GT)

I took on a mission to take on an enemy camp and kill the leader of a rival gang. Started off simply enough, as I jammed the X button to ride my horse for 10 minutes into the hinterlands (zzzzzzzzzzz) and find their camp. I decided to go for a stealthy approach, and instructed my compadre to quietly take out a sentry. He stabs the dude in the neck...so far, so good

As I sneak up to the second sentry, I look over to my team member to tell him to take the dude out quietly, expecting to see the Interact context menu. However, instead of talking to him, I somehow ended up drawing my gun and firing a round into a tree...which alerted the entire camp to my presence. Sigh, guess it's time for a shootout, cue the Benny Hill music.

I duck behind a log and start randomly firing at what I assume are bad guys. I can't really tell, mind you, because it's dark and they're far enough away to be nothing more than a few slightly moving pixels. But my targeting reticule is locking on to...something....so I just keep firing. In the process, I took a couple hits, so I decide to try and find a better spot. I slide over to hide behind a huge rock that's a couple feet to my left. That's apparently not a good option because even though it's about 3 times larger than the log I was hiding behind, this rock doesn't appear to be a designated "cover" spot and isn't stopping bullets the same way that rotting wood does. I soon find myself nearly dead, so I move back over and cower behind the smaller log again for "more cover".

I continue firing vaguely in the direction where I assume some bad guys are hiding, and eventually bullets stop coming my way, so...yay? Guess I won. My team tells me to check out a nearby cabin to see if the boss is inside. A pretty cool cutscene takes place as a dude bursts out and a scuffle occurs, after which I'm instructed to loot the place and head back to camp. I loot everything in the cabin (which takes an absurd amount of time as I position myself in front of each thing, then open the drawer, then grab the item, then look at it, then read it, then put it back, rinse and repeat) and head out the door, when the map area suddenly turns red and giant WANTED text starts flashing. I can only assume the law used some sort of horsey teleporter to warp to me once the firefight stopped, because it took me 10+ minutes to ride there from the nearest town and they appeared instantly. I can't see anyone, but I hear some voices saying "Find out who did this!", and a random number of $182.83 flashes up in the top right corner of my screen. Some sort of bounty, I guess? I can only guess, because the game doesn't actually give me any details about what the hell it is.

I debate getting into another firefight, but instead decide to just ride my horse out of the red circle, at which point everything simply goes back to normal. I'm guessing I still have a bounty on my head, but am not sure I care enough to figure out what it is.

It seems that some folks find that sort of chaos and unpredictability fun, but I'm not sure I'm one of them. My general takeaway through 5'ish hours is that while the worldbuilding aspects are incredible, everything else about the game's design is frustrating as hell. Character movement is slow and clunky, simple actions are buried in either menus or baffling combinations of button presses, trying to do one thing ends up leading to another entirely unexpected action, each time you loot enemies or chests it does an annoying animation, it takes ages to ride from point A to point B on horseback, mission requirements often feel vague, firefights seem to consist of firing randomly at enemies in cover, etc., etc.

There's a million things to do, I just don't really find any of them to be very fun. My hope is that it clicks once I get a better handle on the controls. I'm gonna give it this week (got nothing else until D3 comes out on Friday)...we'll see.

[morlac]

I have a feeling the game will be patched with an alternate control scheme, something like a "classic" scheme that is more like the controls from the first one.

I doubt it. There are just to many actions to do in too many different scenarios. It's the ultimate "wouldn't it be cool if you could do..." game. Because you can, provided you learn the buttons to make it happen. Tap A, double Tab A, hold A x every button on the gamepad. All do different things depending on game context. In my game though, I am pretty sure it's draw weapon, punch horse, shot self in foot. At least that seems to be my favorite move.

[Rumpy]

I guess that's a symptom from the game being so detailed, and ultimately something that would work so much better on a keyboard.

[Octavious]

Maybe take a break? I'm honestly not having that much issue with controls. I do agree they are obtuse, but I'm rarely hitting the wrong buttons anymore and I quite enjoy the gunfights. My biggest issue is flying into trees with my horse. You're obviously not the only one making these complaints so I totally get it. I love the pacing and the long transit times. It's made me slow down and just soak in the atmosphere. For the long rides you can switch to cinematic mode and just let it auto pilot. I personally haven't used it much, but it is kind of cool.

[Skinypupy]

For the record, I'm not trying to convince anyone one way or the other. Just providing some impressions.

Most of which should be taken with a massive grain of salt, since I'm not much of a fan of open world games to begin with.

[Smoove_B]

If you sent me $10 a month and acted like it was an MMO, would that help?

[Octavious]

My and my horse Bessie:


Face Plant. I was dying laughing when this happened:

[Skinypupy]

If you sent me $10 a month and acted like it was an MMO, would that help?

Shut up.

[Octavious]

I'll do it for 5 dollars because I'm a nice guy. I'll even email you patch notes and tips. Somehow I think I will not make out ahead on this idea.

[YellowKing]

Keep those negative impressions coming! It's making it easier for me to finish AC: Odyssey first.

[Fretmute]

I’ll echo the common sentiment. Saved a dude who was hiding in a tree from a puma by shooting the puma. Also shot the guy when he was thanking me instead of talking to him.

[Brian]

Some if these tips really helped me.



Also, has anybody else found the Civil War hat? My Arthur looks like Lemmy Killmeister now.

[Octavious]

OMG I had no idea on the looting. That's awesome.

[Newcastle]

My general takeaway through 5'ish hours is that while the worldbuilding aspects are incredible, everything else about the game's design is frustrating as hell. Character movement is slow and clunky, simple actions are buried in either menus or baffling combinations of button presses, trying to do one thing ends up leading to another entirely unexpected action, each time you loot enemies or chests it does an annoying animation, it takes ages to ride from point A to point B on horseback, mission requirements often feel vague, firefights seem to consist of firing randomly at enemies in cover, etc., etc.

There's a million things to do, I just don't really find any of them to be very fun. My hope is that it clicks once I get a better handle on the controls. I'm gonna give it this week (got nothing else until D3 comes out on Friday)...we'll see.

This is more my opinion of the game. There are some neat elements, but there are quite a few that peturb me. Focusing on the negative

-Namely the slow, deliberate style of the game. Sorry, but I'm not going to waste my time watching Arthur leisurely loot carcasses or easily amble to cover in the middle of a firefight. This slow deliberative style also shows up in their travel in the lack of real fast travel options. I dont have the time to spend 10 minutes travelling from point a to point b. This irks me. I kind of get the law is coming you cant get everything, but it simply annoys me he has to spend 30 seconds rifling through some guys pockets for a small tonic or .33 cents. There needs to be an auto travel point back to camp.

-i am horrible with aiming and the auto aim doesnt help much. WTF is narrow, wide, free and the other option. Huh? Maybe I am dumb.

-I find the fights to be a bit helter skelter, and not in a good way. What button do I push to have him drop into cover? Oh wait he needs to leisurely stroll over to the cover.

fights pt 2. -Can't tell for sure if i have someone locked on yet, and when I do have see that little red pin prick it goes just as fast so I have to simply fire a ton of bullets that way and hope I get lucky. I admit, I suck in general in combat in shooters overall. But this aspect is a bit tedious. I do have slow reflexes, I get that. The dead eye helps a little bit.

-the controls are simply bad and there really is no excuse for that. . I've accidentally shot people who i've tried to have a conversation with, i've accidentally punched my horse and all sorts of shenanigans. I've actually said sorry outl oud a couple of times after I've f'ed something up.

-the game is a bit daunting, and while it seems open ended, I am struggling to finding things to do that interest me. I've started in on some of the hunting stuff, but If I travel back too far from camp I've got to spend 10 minutes riding back to camp to deliver my deer carcass. Honestly robbing stagecoaches or towns doesn't interest me ( i know this goes against the vein of rock star games). I am sure I've not yet peeled back the layers of the onion of it. I've seen the following:

Spoiler:

poker, hunting aging outlaws, bounties (haven't gotten 1 yet) and hunting legendary animals, and a treasure map.

-Beautiful and detailed world, but I really dont see myself lasting too long with this.

Main gripes: no auto travel points, where you dont have to watch a horse travel for 10 min., quicker looting animations, better character animation and better controls.

Bottom line: beautiful game, dumb mechanics. Its a hot chick to look at, but after spending a bit of time with her she seems a bit vapid and lacks substance or better yet if you go in to try to kiss her, then you find yourself tonguing the maitre D.

[Skinypupy]

Put in a few more hours last night...this just isn't a game for me. It'll be up in the trading forum in a few, if anyone wants it.

Interestingly, I figured that strong gameplay would overcome my general lack of interest in Westerns. Turned out to be the exact opposite. I really enjoyed the story, the world, and the characters, but disliked nearly everything about how the game played. Go figure.

[Isgrimnur]

Put in a few more hours last night...this just isn't a game for me. It'll be up in the trading forum in a few, if anyone wants it.

Interestingly, I figured that strong gameplay would overcome my general lack of interest in Westerns. Turned out to be the exact opposite. I really enjoyed the story, the world, and the characters, but disliked nearly everything about how the game played. Go figure.

Go pick up the first one cheap.

[Skinypupy]

Put in a few more hours last night...this just isn't a game for me. It'll be up in the trading forum in a few, if anyone wants it.

Interestingly, I figured that strong gameplay would overcome my general lack of interest in Westerns. Turned out to be the exact opposite. I really enjoyed the story, the world, and the characters, but disliked nearly everything about how the game played. Go figure.

Go pick up the first one cheap.

I tried it when it came out, came away with much the same opinion.

[coopasonic]

I never finished the first one and I have no idea why. That's not going to stop me from playing the second one... it's more likely to be the stupid here's life in the 19th century crap that keeps me from playing the second one.. beyond a few hours anyway.

[hepcat]

You know it's set in the 19th/early 20th century so why would you waste your cash on it if that's not your thing?

[coopasonic]

You know it's set in the 19th/early 20th century so why would you waste your cash on it if that's not your thing?

It's not the setting that is the problem, it's all the stuff I am hearing they have you do that might reinforce the setting but doesn't really constitute game play like eating and shaving and bathing. I saw it suggested elsewhere that the Tomb Raider of multiple difficulty sliders for the different facets of the game could help with this and I like that idea. Give me a "realism" slider so I can turn that stuff off.

[Smoove_B]

Red Dead Redemption 2’ Earns Record-Breaking $725 Million Opening Weekend.

“Red Dead Redemption 2” broke records in its first three days on sale, pulling in more than $725 million in worldwide retail sales and achieving the biggest opening weekend in the history of entertainment, developer Rockstar Games announced.

That tops the highest-grossing movie in history, “Avengers: Infinity Wars,” which earned more than $640 million during its opening weekend earlier this year. But “Red Dead Redemption 2” still isn’t the highest grossing entertainment launch of all time. That honor also goes to Rockstar Games for “Grand Theft Auto V,” which earned more than $1 billion in sell-through in its first three days. Because “Grand Theft Auto V” launched on a Tuesday, it left the door open for “Red Dead Redemption 2’s” — which launched on a Friday — record-setting weekend.

[YellowKing]

Yeah I was reading the Gamespot tips article and they were talking about how you can be overweight or underweight depending on how much you eat and my eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets.

Having to eat in a video game has never been fun. Ever.

[Isgrimnur]

I’ll have two number 9s, a number 9 large, a number 6 with extra dip, a number 7, two number 45s, one with cheese, and a large soda.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Having to eat in a video game has never been fun. Ever.

Especially in the Don't Starve games.

[wonderpug]

Having to eat in a video game has never been fun. Ever.

Especially in the Don't Starve games.

Pac-Man?!

[hepcat]

I’m going to be the Mama Cass Elliot of outlaws. My horse is going to run like hell when he sees my fat ass heading towards him with a saddle. I’ll spend all my stolen cash on pork and beans...I’m talking buckets of it.

Then I might play some Red Dead Redemption 2 on my Xbox.

[morlac]

Yeah I was reading the Gamespot tips article and they were talking about how you can be overweight or underweight depending on how much you eat and my eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets.

Having to eat in a video game has never been fun. Ever.

Not dissimilar to GT San Andreas but even more gameplay affecting. Fat = slower(via stamina draining faster) but with more HP. skinny = less hp but faster. NPC's react differently as well depending. I think it's kinda neat and is yet another way the game is immersive and "alive".

[Rumpy]

Having to eat in a video game has never been fun. Ever.

Especially in the Don't Starve games.

Even worse in Kim, a game that not only has a hunger meter, but a mood meter as well. Hungry? Eat! Feeling sad? Eat something to cheer you up! Tired? Aww, why don't you sleep? Particularly annoying since both meters deplete quickly and require constant supervision. The game also has a limited amount of game days to reach your goal with tons of questing to do, but the minutiae just distracts from what is otherwise a charming game.

[Cylus Maxii]

I'm definitely getting used to the control scheme. The tips for holding buttons to loot were definitely helpful. I also have just become very careful/aware of when I have weapons out. I think the only thing I would really like to see them "fix" is to have some sort of HUD icon for in hand items/weapons.

In any case, I've been running around hunting and exploring. I found a couple of throwing axes, one of which counts as melee (same slot as knife and fist) and another that counts as throwing (same slot as dynamite and lasso). I have been grinding up bonding with my horse. I find that its very easy to just alternate between patting and brushing and it levels quickly.

I really haven't had that much time to play it this week. But I'm very much looking forward to playing it a lot this weekend.

[Kurth]

Another fun adventure with the controls last night. Sneaking up on the O'Driscoll's camp. Me, Bill Williamson, John Marston and one another recruit. Getting in real close. A bunch of O'Driscoll scum are making their way back to camp. I get in real close and ready for a stealthy kill. Get out my throwing knives and . . . somehow proceed to throw a stick of dynamite at the guy. He blows to bits, the whole camp comes alive, and we're in a massive and chaotic fire fight. It was fun but definitely NOT what I had planned.

I also shot another guy in the face last night when trying to interrogate him. Ended that interrogation right quick.

This game is great (with some minor gripes about the pacing and story), but the controls suck donkey balls.

[em2nought]

Maybe they should include some Benny Hill music when things go wrong. LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PwsKzWli94

[Brian]

So my understanding is that the police in Los Santos (GTA 5) must all be descendants of the law enforcement in the territories covered in RDR2.

One example: I'm riding into town (Rhodes) when I see a couple dudes shooting at a fleeing man. I "may" have said something derogatory to them in passing as their quarry made his escape.

I continue into town only to find that these dudes have followed me into town and open fire on me in the middle of the street.

Naturally I return fire in my own defense and suddenly I'm wanted and being pursued. In the course of making my escape I had to "early retire" a couple of lawmen.

So now I have a $225 bounty in Lemoyne territory.

2nd example (again in Lemoyne): Riding into Saint Denis and I decide to swing by the butcher since I have a pair of recently killed turkeys and some venison that I'd like to offload.

Lots of foot traffic surrounding the butcher and as I try to make my way to him I bump into a fellow. He says something angry but I move on. Just as I'm nearing the butcher the same guy steps in front of me and I bump into him again. This sets him off and he starts throwing punches. Naturally I swing back and knock him out.

For some reason this angers the butcher so he starts throwing fists at me. Next thing I know I'm surrounded by angry townsfolk all trying to get me to sing along to their knuckle music and I'm wanted and have the law bearing down on me again. I make for my horse and start my get-away only to run down a person on the street and now I'm wanted for murder.

The lawmen chase me out of town and by now my horse is starting to get a little ragged so as I edge out of the red zone I slow down to give my horse (a giant Ardennes who I named "Monster Truck") a chance to rest when, BAM, I am suddenly deep in the red zone again with Johnny Law closing in for the kill. Once again I have to "retire" a couple of officers before I can get away and, of course, that means another huge bounty.

Fortunately, I had been doing the Treasure Hunter sidequests so I had a handsome amount of money to pay off these stupidly huge bounties.

Side Note: If there are any Achievement Hunter fans, the Train/Postal Clerk in Valentine is voiced by Geoff Ramsey. I recognized his voice when he expressed surprise at my ability to pay off such a large bounty.