"Just you left, is it?"
"Yeah... just me."
Let me just get this out of the way immediately: this is the greatest open world game I've ever played, bar none! In comparison to other open world games, it isn't even a fair fight; this is easily the finest crafted in the entire "open world/sandbox" genre. Rockstar is just on another level when compared to other developers, which is why I'll always be there Day 1 whenever they release a new title.
RDR2 improved upon the 1st in every conceivable way. An incredible amount of detail was put into this work of art to create a massive, living, breathing world... the realism on display here is utterly unbelievable. When I played this, I was completely immersed into the setting and never got tired of playing it throughout its lengthy campaign. All in all, there is so much to see and so much to do in this game, that I know even after putting over 100+ hours into it, I still am not even close to seeing everything.
Starting with the characters - the Van der Linde gang has an amazing assortment of personalities: some you love, others you love to hate... it truly feels like a family at the beginning that slowly begins to unravel and decline. The personal journeys, their character arcs, and the direction the storyline heads in is Rockstar at its absolute best. This is peak storytelling, world building, and character development in a video game.
Dutch van der Linde, the de facto leader of the group, has such charisma and personality, that he'll even convince (more like manipulate) some players that "he has a plan" and that he'd be a good person to follow. He's a fascinating character here unlike what little you see of him in RDR1. Also, I loved seeing a younger John Marston... it gave me a bit of nostalgic feelings, but also at the same time, made me wonder (and dread) how the events were going to unfold to get to where we end up in the 1st game.
And then there is the lead, Arthur Morgan - it didn't take long for me to no longer miss playing as John, and absolutely fall in love with him. His character journey I think may even outshine John's from the 1st game. The scene with Sister Calderon is seered into my memory - a very powerful moment. How great the voice acting and facial animations are in this game are really on display during this pivotal scene. Saying all of that though, I still love John Marston. Both him and Arthur are the 2 greatest protagonists that Rockstar has ever created.
Even with God of War coming out in 2018, this was my personal GoTY that year. If you loved the spaghetti westerns of old, such as "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" - just imagine if you could play it... That is what it feels like with this game. It's an epic, legendary masterpiece, with a storyline and conclusion that will leave you feeling all sorts of different emotions... combine that with some of the best music that feels perfectly in line with the late, great Ennio Morricone, and you have one of the easiest 5/5 scores I could ever give out. An absolute must play, and Rockstar's greatest game.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention - RDR2 has probably the greatest epilogue in all of video games. The epilogue alone is as long as most full AAA games in terms of how much story there still is to play out, and it is fan service done to perfection! I've never been more hyped hearing certain musical tracks and experiencing character/story moments. An experience I'll never forget.
"Yeah... just me."
Let me just get this out of the way immediately: this is the greatest open world game I've ever played, bar none! In comparison to other open world games, it isn't even a fair fight; this is easily the finest crafted in the entire "open world/sandbox" genre. Rockstar is just on another level when compared to other developers, which is why I'll always be there Day 1 whenever they release a new title.
RDR2 improved upon the 1st in every conceivable way. An incredible amount of detail was put into this work of art to create a massive, living, breathing world... the realism on display here is utterly unbelievable. When I played this, I was completely immersed into the setting and never got tired of playing it throughout its lengthy campaign. All in all, there is so much to see and so much to do in this game, that I know even after putting over 100+ hours into it, I still am not even close to seeing everything.
Starting with the characters - the Van der Linde gang has an amazing assortment of personalities: some you love, others you love to hate... it truly feels like a family at the beginning that slowly begins to unravel and decline. The personal journeys, their character arcs, and the direction the storyline heads in is Rockstar at its absolute best. This is peak storytelling, world building, and character development in a video game.
Dutch van der Linde, the de facto leader of the group, has such charisma and personality, that he'll even convince (more like manipulate) some players that "he has a plan" and that he'd be a good person to follow. He's a fascinating character here unlike what little you see of him in RDR1. Also, I loved seeing a younger John Marston... it gave me a bit of nostalgic feelings, but also at the same time, made me wonder (and dread) how the events were going to unfold to get to where we end up in the 1st game.
And then there is the lead, Arthur Morgan - it didn't take long for me to no longer miss playing as John, and absolutely fall in love with him. His character journey I think may even outshine John's from the 1st game. The scene with Sister Calderon is seered into my memory - a very powerful moment. How great the voice acting and facial animations are in this game are really on display during this pivotal scene. Saying all of that though, I still love John Marston. Both him and Arthur are the 2 greatest protagonists that Rockstar has ever created.
Even with God of War coming out in 2018, this was my personal GoTY that year. If you loved the spaghetti westerns of old, such as "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" - just imagine if you could play it... That is what it feels like with this game. It's an epic, legendary masterpiece, with a storyline and conclusion that will leave you feeling all sorts of different emotions... combine that with some of the best music that feels perfectly in line with the late, great Ennio Morricone, and you have one of the easiest 5/5 scores I could ever give out. An absolute must play, and Rockstar's greatest game.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention - RDR2 has probably the greatest epilogue in all of video games. The epilogue alone is as long as most full AAA games in terms of how much story there still is to play out, and it is fan service done to perfection! I've never been more hyped hearing certain musical tracks and experiencing character/story moments. An experience I'll never forget.