When you arrive, she gladly takes the money, until John informs her that he killed her child’s father. Even though the guy was a bonafide butt plug, the woman is still upset that her child’s father has been gunned down. A few days later, John finds her mourning at his grave, inconsolable. That’s what you get for getting in the middle of someone else’s family issues, John; nothing is solved and no one is ha

_ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ improves upon the original with its focus on player choices. Whenever Arthur crosses paths with an NPC, players can choose how they want to interact with them: either warmly or antagonistically. Each decision will result in its own outcome, such as a potential shootout if the NPC is antagonized. The outcome will also ultimately have an effect on Arthur’s honor, which directly impacts item discounts and unlockable outfits. A higher rating results in better discounts at stores and unlockable outfits, whereas a low (or even negative) ranking will increase money and item drop rates from dead N

For all the genre's advancements in the past decade or more, only a few games have come close to the sort of ultimate, lofty goal of crafting an Open world Games collectibles-world that truly feels "living." Many open-world games have aimed to become a place where players can not only have the chance to engage with a game world that is ripe with possibility and endless locations to explore, but to really immerse players inside a world and make them feel like a part of it. They want to be a place where players can influence its direction and truly feel like they have an impact on its characters and setting.

After a few days John is good enough to start helping around on the ranch like any gunslinger who recently received a near fatal wound would. Before too long John is working with the US Marshalls and some other interesting characters. In the same vein as Grand Theft Auto, John ends up doing odd jobs for these varied characters to help form an alliance for another go at Fort Mercer. This second attempt goes better, except in victory it turns out Williamson is a cowardly bastard who fled to Mexico. This seems bad, but this also means that Mexico is unlocked and border crossing was much easier a little over a century ago.

One of the best examples of this deep sense of interaction with other characters and the environments comes from the Van der Linde gang's camp, which shifts locations at various points in the story and provides players with a place to call home while out completing missions and exploring the world. Aside from giving the player a place to eat, sleep, and renew Arthur's energy while out on his journey, the camp also provides ample opportunities to interact with the rest of the gang's familiar faces -- many of whom you'll be going out on missions with -- making it key to visit the camp every so often to see what sort of surprises may be in store there.

With so many different facets to the gameplay and interacting with the environment, the number of systems and mechanics at play in Red Dead Redemption 2 is staggering, and in some instances can even sound a little overwhelming. However, after having hands-on time with the game and first-hand experience with these mechanics, these touches truly feel like meaningful ways to make Red Dead Redemption 2 feel alive and dynamic, for the players that really want to go deeper into it. As Rockstar emphasized to us during the demo, these more survival-driven mechanics aren't meant to feel like "chores" that the player has to do -- they're optional -- but instead to develop that idea that Arthur is truly a part of this world and more than just a vehicle for players to explore what it has to offer.

So let's get this out of the way first before delving into the deeper parts of this review: Red Dead Redemption 2 is an exceptional game that pushes the bar for open-world titles, and will more than likely be considered one of the best games of this generation. Much like its predecessor, Red Dead Redemption 2 's blend of storytelling, gameplay, and artistry are all working together to form a game that works on every level. In the way that Grand Theft Auto III set the foundations for the open-world genre nearly two decades ago, Red Dead Redemption 2 feels like the culmination of everything Rockstar Games has done to develop a world that feels not only grand in scope, but even deeper when it comes to the levels of interactivity and immersion that it offers players throughout its journey.

This isn’t revolting in the violence sense, but it’s morally reprehensible. Why? Because it’s so true to real life politics that it’s sickening. This type of blackmailing is so commonplace in the back rooms of politics, that it is one of the main cogs that runs the entire machine. Another example of how Rockstar is able to work relevant social commentary into their ga

Member the games you used to play? We member. The basement at the Hardcore Gamer office has a section known as the Crust Room, with an old grey couch and a big old CRT TV. All the classic systems are down there collecting dust, so in an effort to improve the cleanliness of our work space, we dust off these old consoles every so often and put an old game through its paces, just to make sure everything stays in working order. We even have a beige computer with a floppy disk drive.