Game Review: Red Dead Redemption II

Well after a solid two months I am finally wrapping up my gaming experience of Red Dead Redemption II and it was a very enjoyable time. I feel I truly got the most out of it, and put in a total of 72 hours playing the game. The game offered everything I was looking for with a complete free-reign immersion into the Old West. I don't think I've ever played a game so detailed as this, with endless options and things to do. Aside from the main outlaw story, there was an outdoorsmen aspect to this game that really heightened it's quality for me. With all it's features, cutting edge graphics, and exhilarating gameplay I would easily put this in my top ten all time video games. 

The setting is actually a prequel to Red Dead Redemption I set in the 1890s of the Old West. From playing the original game it was made clear that John Marsten use to be a member of a gang. He decided to leave the gang when he was left for dead and later hunted those who betrayed him. This game thus details Marsten's involvement in Dutch van der Linde's gang. However quite surprisingly the main hero of this game is not John Marsten, yet a character named Arthur Morgan. The map is once again a fictional setting, however not quite as much western desert as before. Most of the game play takes place to the east of the western setting included in RD1. The map is massive on par with Breath of the Wild or many of the Assassin's Creed games.

The Story

Having played several of these open-world format games I decided to really take my time with this one and not rush thru the story. It's loaded with great character content and interactions. After all the basis is about a gang of outlaws trying to escape from the law and establish a community. The story begins with this gang escaping high up into the snowy mountains. They had just robbed a bank in Blackwater and needed to clear out for a bit. At this point Arthur Morgan is laid with the first task to locate former gang member John Marsten. He is later discovered barely alive being attacked by a bear (this explains the scars on his face in RD1). From this point the gang takes refuge in the mountain camp where Arthur learns to hunt and track from one of the fellow native American gang members, Charles. 

After some time Dutch convinces the gang to rob a train and relocate to warmer weathers near the towns of Strawberry and Valentine. At this point Arthur Morgan is able to operate freely bringing in resources to the gang's settlement and performing tasks to build wealth. He goes on various missions with Hosea Matthews, Javier Escuella, and Bill Williamson. He helps free one of the gang members, Micah Bell and has an epic drunken escapade with Lenny Summers. He also befriends other gang members such as Saddie Adler (the gunslinger), Josiah Trelawny (the con artist), Leopold Straus (the debtor), Mr. Pearson (the butcher), Rev Swanson (the drunken clergyman), Sean MacGuire (the Irishman), Uncle (the drunkard from RD1), as welll as Abigail and Jack Marsten (the wife and son of John). There are various other minor gang members that Arthur also helps throughout the game. 

The gang has to relocate once again after breaking Micah out from the Valentine prison. They relocate to the hillbilly territory of Lemoyne and settle near the town of Rhodes. Dutch instructs his gang to stay out of trouble and befriend the wealthy families of the territory. The families eventually turn on the gang, leading Dutch to destroy both families in retaliation. They then relocate their camp near the booming city of Saint Denis to recover the kidnapped Jack Marsten. The gang finds a partnership with the city mob boss, Bronte, performing various jobs for him until feeding him to an alligator. Everything goes wrong for the gang however when the attempt to rob a major bank in Saint Dennis. Hosea and Lenny are killed, John is arrested, and the rest of the gang must flee on a boat. 

Dutch, Arthur, Bill, Javier, and Micah crash land on a remote island named Guarma. They are quickly imprisoned by the ruthless plantation owner, but rescued by a group of revolutionaries. The gang offers to help the revolutionaries if they can provide a ship back to America. This is an all out war on a tropical island and quite a change from the previous tasks and gameplay. The gang is able to help defeat the sugar plantation, free the island slaves, and find passage back to America. They are able to regroup with their isolated gang members in the swamplands of Lagras. Arthur disobeys Dutch and teams up with Saddie Adler to break John Marsten out of prison. 

From this point on a distrust begins to grow with Arthur Morgan and Dutch. Furthermore Arthur catches tuberculosis and begins to grow very sick. Knowing he is approaching his death, Arthur begins to act more graciously towards others. He insists that John and Abigail leave the gang and find a better life. Meanwhile Dutch and his new right hand man Micah establish a new partnership with the native tribes of Wapiti. Arthur sees thru Dutch's intentions to help the native people as more of a decoy from the law. The gang continues to dissolve amidst internal conflict and growing paranoia. Arthur however continues to stay loyal and aids Dutch in the robbery of an Army train. However once again this heist goes bad and Dutch abandons Arthur, leaves John for dead, while Abigail is captured by the Pinkerton. 

At this point Arthur is done with Dutch's gang, however still wants to help free Abigail. He teams up with Saddie to assault the Pinkerton's stronghold. They are able to free Abigail and also discover that Micah is a Pinkerton informant. Arthur then returns to the gang's camp to confront Micah and a standoff occurs between Arthur against Dutch, Micah, Javier, and Bill. Out of nowhere Arthur is aided by John who is somehow still alive. Before the gunfight can commence the Pinkertons arrive to bust the camp and everyone disperses. Arthur runs off with John into the mountains to help him escape as he holds off the Pinkertons. As John is able to flee, Micah ambushes Arthur in a final fight. Already weakened by the gunfight and his sickness Arthur eventually succumbs to death. His heroic act is complete however as John has successfully escaped with Abigail and their son.

The epilogue of the story now begins where the game's playable character switches from Arthur to John Marsten. John and Abigail begin to start a new honest life free from crime. John find's work as a ranch hand and quickly gains the favor of the owner as he fights off local bandits. After several years he is able to take a loan from the Blackwater bank and purchase the plot of land at Beecher's Hope. He is later joined by Uncle and Charles to build a ranch on the land. He also reunites with Saddie who shows him her successful endeavor of bounty hunting. In the final task of the game John, Saddie, and Charles set off to kill Micah. In a rather shocking turn of events, Dutch kills Micah before John can and everyone parts ways. John returns to his ranch happily with his wife and son and the main story ends at this point. 

The Gameplay

The format of the game is quite similar to Red Dead 1 with the basic elements of shooting, horseback riding, and western trade. Some new trade elements of this game include a butcher, fur-trapper, barber, and the ability to buy and eat food. New features include the ability to hunt, fish, craft, and cook which are essential in building the character's health and resources. I'll get more into this aspect of the game later. For now I'll focus on the general shooter-up format of the game. As I mentioned in my previous RD1 game review, I normally prefer the sword-and-slash over the shooter-up format and made a rare exception for both of these games. However it made for a very exhilarating new change for me. 

This game has many realistic elements to maintaining your character, your horse, and your supplies. For example the character has not only a health bar, but also a stamina bar and a dead-eye bar. It is encouraged to eat, drink, take medicine, and rest often to revitalize the character. The horse also has a health bar and can only run for so long without any supplements. Even the guns require frequent maintenance and cleaning with oil for more accurate shooting. I found this to be a very realistic addition to the game.    

I found targeting to be a little more difficult in this game, however once again the very valuable tool of Dead Eye is back. This feature slows everything done so the character can get a proper target in the midst of a gunfight. The Dead Eye meter only lasts a few seconds but can easily be restored with various forms of tonic, tobacco, cigarettes, or alcohol. The arsenal in this game offers five types of guns (revolvers, pistols, rifles, repeaters, and shotguns). It also offers various other weapons such as the bow-and-arrow, knives, dynamite, tomahawk, and the classic lasso. Other items include the character's satchel, his binoculars, lamp, fishing rod, mask, and his camping gear. He also has the ability to change outfits and weaponry while mounted on his horse. 

The game has so much to offer in side quests, mini games, and challenges. There are many characters in need of help and assistance that have arching stories. There is also the random stranger in need of help (be it a lost horse, kidnapped friend, or rescuing from bandits). Acts such as this will build your player's honor, while killing or robbing for no reason will bring dishonor. When a dishonorable act is committed the crime will be reported, investigated, and later hunted. At this point there is a red region on the map in which the player must flee from to avoid conflict with the law. Bounties and misdemeanors are a frequent element of this game, and even bumping into a citizen can result in a criminal offense. 

I began to really enjoy the side games and challenges once I had finished the main story. I enjoyed Arthur Morgan but it felt especially fun to be playing once again as John Marsten. I partook in the side games of Poker, Blackjack, Dominoes, and Finger Filet. I explored as much of the map as possible, which surprisingly included some of the western towns in RD1 (such as Armadillo and Thieve's Landing) however these towns were not quite as settled yet. I also got very engaged in the challenges of this game pertaining to Bandit, Explorer, Gambler, Herbalist, Horseman, Hunter, Sharpshooter, Survalist, and Weapons Expert. I achieved about 40 of the 100 various challenges in these categories to be performed within the game.

The Outdoorsmen Aspect

I think it was Assassin's Creed 3 where I first began to enjoy the outdoorsmen feature of games. The character in that game could hunt and trap animals and use them to upgrade his equipment. I'm really not a fan of hunting for sport, but I do enjoy the idea of using it for survival. This feature was also very prevalent in Breath of the Wild and a very important part of the game for Link's survival. He needed to hunt in order to eat and maintain his health. Well in this game, the outdoorsman aspect is not quite as vital as it was in BOTW, however it is very much more detailed. 

Any animal in this game can be studied, tracked, hunted, skinned, stowed, cooked, eaten, or sold. The tracking feature is similar to dead eye where the player can follow the scent and footprints of an animal. The skinning and stowing of each animal's carcass is very detailed, realistic, and graphic in this game. I was furthermore quite impressed to see the hunter's ability to stow the dead carcass on his horse's back. Hunting is not as easy as shooting the animal dead, and has higher benefits for better hunting. A perfect hunt depends on the quality of the animal, yet more-so the right weapon with a clean kill-shot. Some animals required a bow-and-arrow or a varmint rifle to get a clean kill. With a clean kill you can sell or craft the animal pelts for clothing and equipment gear upgrades. 

Aside from hunting, the player also has the ability to collect plants and herbs. These herbs can be used as food or medicine and are ideal for crafting. In order to craft a certain recipe the player must obtain a recipe pamphlet and can learn to craft medicines or weapons such as a horse stimulant or a poisonous arrow. He can also cook coffee or his hunted game that will quickly restore health. In order to craft the player must be near a fire or at his campsite. Also at the campsite the player can sleep or fast travel to another location. 

There is also the ability to fish in this game which on par with the rest of the game is also very detailed. There is a variety of bait and lures that correspond with the type of fish and the type of water. The player can cast from along a shoreline or a small boat in the midst of the water. Once the proper bait is secured it's a matter of casting, hooking, and reeling the fish in. Just like normal fishing this takes patience but also precision. There are about 15 different species of fish in this game ranging from pickerel, salmon, perch, trout, and bass. The fish can be stowed and cooked just like the hunting game meat. It is as a great resource to revitalize the player's health.