Thursday’s Video

March 28th, 2024 by



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Tuesday’s Shots! Call

March 26th, 2024 by

New comic and video.



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Monday Short

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Friday Fish Fry

March 22nd, 2024 by

Flawed, But Great Game

When you develop an open world game, like Red Dead Redemption 2, it will have some flaws and problems. Because of the time needed to create all the intricate details, sometimes things get overlooked. Putting in easter eggs, and homages sometimes are more important than other details.

Chapter 1 was something that turned me off at first due to it’s lineal nature. Then again, it did begin like most open world games, with a mission. The mission introduced the main character(s) and set them up for the story. Skyrim began with the character escaping execution. GTA 5 began with two of the main characters robbing an armored car company. Assassin’s Creed games always begin with some sort of mission. With Chapter 1, Red Dead Redemption 2 was trying to get players associated and familiar with the somewhat complex mechanics of the game. I spent nearly five minutes trying to get Arthur to put on his mask before the train robbery. Some of the other gang members started chastising Arthur for goofing around. The instructions on how to do so went by very quickly.

Challenges were half good and half bad. The good ones enhanced game play. The bad ones seemed to be thrown together last minute and not thought out, even detracting from game play. Explorer, Gambler, Sharpshooter and Weapons Expert were all marred by just poorly thought out concepts. Some so universally easy just having the main character do something mundane was a success. Other parts were so frustratingly hard, I did not bother to continue. Explorer challenge could have been used to move the player closer to 100%, instead of find map, find treasure, repeat until done. Gambler challenge left nothing to skill and all to dumb luck. Sharpshooter and Weapons Expert could have been combine into one challenge with only half of the parts from each used. Bandit, Horseman, Master Hunter, and Survivalist had their flaws, but they enhanced the game play. Herbalist would have been awesome, if not for the fact that only John can finish the challenge. Might as well not bother when playing as Arthur.

Farming mentality for some stranger missions and succeeding in game. Farming in game play means repeating certain tasks to gain more of something. Duchesses and Other Animals is the stranger mission where Arthur has to find anywhere form half a dozen to thiry of certain items. Experienced players know spawn points are unreliable. Though there is some methodology to make things happen. In many cases the spawn points and attempts to get them to work became tedious. Another reason why people sometimes just quit or give up on things.

Chapter 5 or the New World chapter, is the least favorite chapter of mine. Chapter 1 served a purpose. Chapter 5 had no reason or purpose except to show the gang escaped. Then they were stuck in Guarma with very limited ability to explore. Yet, after the chapter, the gang returned to the mainland only to find the rest of the gang hiding, and quickly forced to find a new hiding spot. The chapter could have been the gang reuniting while hiding in small groups without having to send Arthur, Dutch, and three others to another country. This could have been used to temporarily open the west up for Arthur.

Partially complete stranger missions and challenges. It is understood that the game developers did not want people to feel that the Epilogue was just a waste of time, and give the player a reason to continue. The dinosaur bones, legendary fish, hunting request, and even herbalist challenge had to be completed by John. It was very frustrating. And playing as Arthur for nearly 90% of the game, made just starting some of the missions pointless. Yet, those missions had to be started.

All and all, the attention to some details in Red Dead Redemption 2 would have made things better. Thinking through what to allow Arthur to do versus John, and what could be completed might have helped. Bounty hunting could have been one thing John needed to complete toward 100%. Just like having run ins with the six different gangs. The game itself is expansive and immersive even with the flaws. But, it might have been a higher play through and more attempts for 100% if some more attention to intricasies was paid attention to.



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