Red Dead Redemption 2

 Red Dead Redemption 2 :

                                            Red Dead Redemption two on PC it's finally here on the platform, one year later after the original console released the Rockstar Games kind of kept us in suspense with this one like they, they really did we had no idea whether or not it was coming, other than the occasional rumor and lots of hopes and dreams, and thankfully for us PC folks. It was worth the wait. At least when it works. There have been some launch issues for some players, and I'll get into that, but ultimately when it's up and running, you're getting the best version of the game. I mean, look at it, these are first impressions of course, we downloaded it and started playing it today, like a lot of you guys. Now, Red Dead Redemption two already felt like it was like a damn miracle running on ps4 and xbox one and now that it can use the capabilities of a modern PC. There's a lot more icing on the cake here, you know, draw distances are noticeably sharper, and that's a good original didn't have that problem but Ambient Occlusion lighting and global illumination is strong across the board, making certain times of day look noticeably better than on console especially like in the evening hours. You can have higher resolution textures, shadows and get down with an ultra wide actions if you have the type of monitor. now photo mode, in particular really shines here in this version of the game because we can get everything so high rez so sharp, so full of anti aliasing and the fact and particles and everything. After some gorgeous moments and what they built here this whole world. 

            This isn't like a crazy outtake or anything but I think every game should have a photo to say. Now, I've said this before, we're not technical analysts, you know, we're not digital foundries, shout out to those people out there who are doing the good work. We're just going by look and feel here, and firstly I got to say the biggest thing here is the frame rate, having Red Dead at 60 fps or higher, especially with nice higher refresh rate. That really is the game changer here, I'm not usually like the framerate snob around here, you guys know me but it's probably the best feature here the game feels and plays, much, much better because of it. Now this is kind of obvious but you'll really notice the upgrades on like a 1440 or 4k monitor or TV, that's where some of the detail really lies, water is more realistic effects are stronger and more believable grass is a little more lush, this is an impressive PC version, although you're going to obviously need a big rig if you want to maxing out for real, you probably know the drill by now everything that comes with that. But, you know, also, I want to point out it's really nice having a quicker startup, the signature long load time that's open world Rockstar Games have on consoles typically is cut in half year, so long as like you have a good SSD or something. Now, here are the system requirements, just in case you haven't seen them, I'll put them up on screen, just to help you guys out there they are. We've been playing on a build with a 2017, and then another build with a 28. Now, there have been reports of people not quite getting the settings they want despite having a really good system.     

                We've seen reports of poor optimization, our chat on the live show on the live stream and comments on videos already have people claiming the game is running very poorly on their machines. So I really want to make sure we point this out because as far as we haven't had or experienced any issues run on the game at some decent settings with decent specs, we don't want to come across as like tone deaf though and not acknowledge that so we want to point out some players are having serious issues and there might be some issues with optimization, so it might be worth paying attention to if you're thinking about but there are also launch issues where the game either won't boot or immediately crashes, certain situations, at this point Rockstar has kind of been a little silent on it, to the point where I think that's bad, but I expect these issues to be fixed pretty quickly because on one machine we did run into the rock star launcher exit issue that you may have conceived making headlines today thankfully for us so that was a pretty easy thing, just normal PC gaming motion, it's important to note though that most of the places you buy it, it will still make you go through rock stars launcher which I'm not really the biggest fan of yet. It also makes you have a social club account, it seems like it's mandatory and that's kind of annoying to log in and depth stuff personally but again I just primarily plan to play single player but that's just me. Now, like I did it before you bought the Witcher three when it came to switch. I think it's just a good excuse to talk about this game, Red Dead Redemption two is why we like it so much over here, especially after months and months of time to sit on it mean oh Red Dead two is a massive slow case Dave, some might actually find it a bit boring, or meandering but personally I find it a really fascinating group character study at first like a look into the client the Wild West, from the perspective of a band of rebels, but people who aren't cartoonish outlaws are actually real people. The game is so convincing in its character writing and acting that, see where they end up, is like the real star of the show. But, of course, the real thing the main thing, you're spending long stretches of the game exploring completely alone. As this dude, Arthur Morgan, I think Arthur Morgan is a great character, the starting point but the jumping off point. When you play the game sees him already, as someone who is tired of this world, but it's all he knows he's already tried to change, but fell back in and this is where he's at now, This is doing, he can be dastardly, but ultimately he isn't a horrible person. He sometimes jokes that he is, unless of course you choose to play as just a complete nightmare monster, which you can, and that's always fun. It's a Rockstar game after all, but I just enjoyed playing as and watching someone in a wild west world that seems believable, like he might have actually been a real guy, sometimes it's harder to connect with characters portrayed in different time periods, just because their world is so different than the current world we live in, but I think with Arthur, you can actually somewhat make a connection, there's a believability that I really like and I think he's active sold it really frickin well. Now, what I got from his very unconventional story is a point that isn't expressed in movies and games like this very often, the importance of what you pass on this point, that says you know some people's lives are a result of the work, others have put in. 

                    That's why, as for, you know, most of the game of side characters John Marston and his family really round out Arthur's tale, and ultimately his art. Very interestingly translates into their own and strengthens the original Red Dead Redemption in the process. There's a lot to it, I think that makes it really special and the game takes its time to let you get to know every single character, it pays a lot of homage to a lot of classic movie and Western setups and things you've seen before, but does it in its own way and ultimately goes its own direction, and I found to be incredibly satisfying after its conclusion. It's also just a big world filled with things to mess around in weird Rockstar side quests and characters and there's a lot here. Of course that's just me. And what I've taken away from this game, especially after having a whole year to reflect on it but on that alone, I'd recommend it. Absolutely. Now with Renda too of course you also get rented online, so there's that. I thought it was some light fun at first, especially the competitive stuff, And the little bits of story they put into it, but ultimately it never held me for the long term, maybe it will for you. I don't know, really, Red Dead Redemption two is, like I said a solid game, and I'm glad it exists on PC.