Six shots straight to the wallet.
Well, it’s here, and it was well worth the wait. Literally drooling looking at the amazing fidelity of the in-game footage, we’re given a small tour of the 1800’s American frontier and Arthur Morgan, senior gun in the Van der Linde Gang. Rockstar has stated that they want to create a living, breathing, deeper world, that drags you kicking and screaming into what it feels like to be an outlaw in the “Old West”, and by going on the footage in this gameplay trailer, I’m already whistling spaghetti-western theme tunes and performing Clint Eastwood impersonations.
The landscapes look breathtaking, with mountain vistas and bleak-looking deserts littered with the bleached skulls of its victims. These worlds have been designed to be navigated on either foot or horseback, and treatment of your equine companion will determine how well your horse will respond to you.
Trading posts have turned into towns as the civilised part of America starts to spread its reach out into the vast untouched wilderness. More people and trade, however, means more money and opportunity for outlaws to strike.
An updated feature in Red Dead Redemption 2 will be the ‘Outlaw Camps’. Although we had camps in the first outing, they were more just quick travel hubs. Now, camps are staging grounds for the whole outlaw gang. The camp will move around the map as the story progresses and you continue to stay ahead of the law, but whilst you reside in the camp you can play games like cards with your fellow members, go hunting, or just share stories around the campfire.
Combat has received an overhaul, with a real emphasis on your decisions having an impact on how honourable Arthur will be. Will Arthur Morgan escalate or diffuse confrontations? Get involved or walk away? These are decisions you will have to make.
Guns have been tuned to be more realistic for the time period with reloading times, gun physics and characteristics appropriate to the weapon. Higher powered weapons will feature higher recoil and associated aiming conditions. Another update is to the slow-mo dead-eye mechanic, now you can mark your enemies in slow motion, before unleashing a quickdraw that dispatches them in pure “High Noon” style.
We cannot wait for part 2.