It was the moments of quiet that were most enjoyable, just wandering the prairie through Redemption was enough to satisfy western fantasies. Both games also took place in the classic dusty west audiences have come to imagine from spaghetti westerns, now veering toward more recent films such as The Revenant, which seems to be the direction Red Dead Redemption 2 is going. Not a bad thing.

While loot boxes continue to dominate the discourse of legality in video games, it is the community of gamers at large that have actually forced changes to happen. The microtransaction controversy surrounding Star Wars Battllefront 2 is a prime example of the gaming community bringing a fundamental change to a game, as is the more recent removal of the "Death Tax" in _ Sea of Thieves. _ It will be interesting to see if the online element in _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ follows some sort of play-to-win platform, which many would argue is currently the case in _ GTA Online _ . Regardless, unless Rockstar manages to exceed expectations with the game’s online experience, the studio may be forced to play nice and enter into a collaboration with the community that will ultimately deem the multiplayer mode as a success or fail

Just like Arthur himself is meant to feel like a living character for players to embrace and play their role as, the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 feels ripe for exploration and unexpected sights to behold. While roaming across the landscape on horseback, I saw majestic mountain passes and calming rivers full of opportunities to hunt and Chinese Mythology RPG fish, especially as wildlife like deer and rabbits strode by. Just before that, I had Arthur and his horse perched on the top of a hill, only to see that a storm was brewing out in the distance, watching as clouds and mist rolled over the mountains. Standing there for a few minutes, the result of the passing rains ended up being a brilliant rainbow out on the horizon, something that even caught the Rockstar reps with us during the demo by surprise.

These moments, as small and inconsequential as they may seem compared to the larger story being told, were really what made Red Dead Redemption 2 's world and setting feel unlike anything that I've played before. As a game that's been worked on by Rockstar for nearly 7-8 years -- basically since the release of Red Dead Redemption in 2010 -- the time and attention to detail put into its world and setting by the studio are on an unprecedented level. With the force of all of Rockstar's teams behind it from around the world, the studio has called it their most "ambitious" project leading up to its release, and that might just be underselling it. Based on what I've played from the game so far, the level of interactivity, mechanics, and systems available to players make Red Dead Redemption 2 as close as we can get to the living, breathing Western world that Rockstar is aiming to deliver, and I can't wait to explore more of it.

As the oldest of the entries here, there wouldn't be a list of Western films complete without at least one entry from the extensive canon of legendary Western actor John Wayne. However, among all of the actor's work in the Western genre, The Searchers (from director John Ford) still ranks tall among its all-time greats, and is certainly worth a watch for those looking to hop into Red Dead Redemption 2 .

From its Morricone-inspired score to even the physical similarities that John Marston shared with Eastwood's iconic Man with No Name, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is a no-brainer to watch when selecting Western films, but a crucial film to explore the genre and one that arguably defines the visual styling of the Red Dead series.

We all know that GTA V 's online multiplayer community is one of the largest and most complex communities to ever exist, containing a grand number of players all vying to be the biggest, baddest and richest. Between online missions and heists, building yourself up from the ground in-game can be a daunting and lengthy experience. Starting out with nothing up against people who have everything, you begin to ask yourself: how? How can these people have so much when you have been grinding away just to buy yourself a crappy little garage on the bad side of town. Two words: Shark Cards. A common theme in multiplayer games these days is the ability to buy in game add-ons to give yourself an advantage against opponents. GTA V is no stranger to this tactic, making purchasable Shark Cards available to boost your in-game cash for real life tender. Although many people may think this is fair game, a large number of players who aren't willing to part with their hard earned cash have voiced their distaste for the use of the Shark Cards, as it means they are not able to compete with those who use t

With Red Dead Redemption 2 's prior trailers featuring staggering cinematography on par with that of the striking images and scenes that There Will Be Blood features, Anderson's film is a notable departure from the typical "Western." However, there's no denying that the film's deep exploration of a volatile turn of the century in America is one that shares some similarities with the time period that the Red Dead titles have taken place in, along with featuring a brilliant (and terrifying) character in Day-Lewis' role as Daniel Plainview.