Nov. 5 marked the highly-anticipated release of the PC edition of Rockstar Games’ action-adventure western Red Dead Redemption 2.
Originally released on the Xbox One and Playstation 4 in October of last year, the western has now been made available to players on PC with additional in-game features such as new weapons for your gunslinger, new bounties, gang hideouts to clear and treasure to find. It boasts higher graphic options than its console counterparts and a host of performance improvements.
On the technical side, there were a fair share of problems that I experienced on launch day. Initially, the game failed to open on my desktop, closing almost immediately after I tried to play.
I had to access my computer’s antivirus program and set the Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2) executable file as an exception, which fixed my crashing problem. The menus in-game were flickering and buggy at times, but they were still functional and navigable.
In terms of gameplay itself, I was in for a treat, spending most of the day Tuesday engrossed in RDR2’s vast open world, with graphics a massive step above from Grand Theft Auto 5, also developed by Rockstar Games and released in 2013.
The level of detail put into the fictionalized version of the American western frontier is astounding, and unlike many other games of the open-world genre, it really makes the world feel as if it is alive.
NPCs (nonplayer characters) often stop to interact with one another, greet you as you pass, or comment on actions you may perform. Situations are up to your discretion.
Finding someone stranded on the side of a lonely road in the middle of the night can mean an easy target for you to rob, or someone to help as you guide them back to town or give them a ride on your horse.
Of course, they may not have the best of intentions as well, and you may end up separated from your money before the encounter is through.
As a dedicated fan of the previous installment of Red Dead Redemption, released in 2010, I was pleasantly surprised to see the return of familiar faces in the sequel’s heavily upgraded graphics.
Though it is a sequel in name, Red Dead Redemption 2 acts as a prequel to the original, providing a look into the history of the first game protagonist John Marston’s past through the eyes of Arthur Morgan, fellow outlaw and member of the Van der Linde gang, a group of outlaws who serve as almost familial companions to the two cowboys.
Due to the sheer size and scope of the game, I definitely haven’t finished everything there is to do in Red Dead Redemption 2 since its release last Tuesday.
I am, however, greatly looking forward to what the game has in store. From my first impressions with the game, considering the technical difficulties I encountered, I would rate Red Dead Redemption 2 as 8.5/10.
