Evan Gerard

It’s safe to say that Red Dead Redemption 2 is easily the most visually-impressive game Rockstar has ever created. While it’s difficult for open world games to compare to more linear, focused experiences due to the amount of content shoved onto screen at once, there were times when I thought I was playing a CG movie. Maybe that’s a little bit of hyperbole as there are still some compromises that are taken, but for the most part this is arguably the best looking game of the year. Character models are remarkably detailed, even with the most insignificant individuals, and the open world is absolutely gorgeous. Not only does it have an incredible amount of variety, from industrial cities to snowy mountains, but the way settings are organized bring the world to life in a sensational way. From a pure visual aspect, the only negative notions are minor ones, namely beards can sometimes look like they’re pulled off a character creator, and the rendering and reflections when moving through water has a strange issue on the sides of the screen. Animation is the only other aspect that can be bothersome at times. Don’t get me wrong, everything is animated meticulous, from faces to actions, but when you need to interact with something in the world, it can put you into an animation that takes a lot longer than you’d hope for. Other than that, I was blown away with what Rockstar was able to accomplish, as the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 is simply breathtaking. Fans of the first Red Dead Redemption understand the importance of a good campfire. Not only was it treated as a save location, it was also the area in which you could fast travel and change outfits. Fans were treated to a beautiful shot of a campfire deep within the wilderness with a gorgeous backdrop of the night sky. It wouldn't surprise us if the campfires served the exact same purpose they did in the first Red Dead Redemption . The only other element that would be a welcome addition to the campfire menu would be if it were the area in which you could level up and/or upgrade your skills. This would assume that Rockstar is leaning more into the RPG mechanics of an open world games collectibles-world experieDecember 2014 was a terrible time to be a gamer. Not only did we have to contend with the buggy launches of DriveClub, Assassin’s Creed: Unity, and Halo: The Master Chief Collection, but we also had to deal with Lizard Squad who sought to ruin Christmas for so many gamers. With no purpose or intent, Lizard Squad bombarded PSN and Xbox Live servers with DDOS attacks. This crippled PSN and Xbox Live throughout the month, but also on Christmas Day when thousands of new PS4 and Xbox One owners were unwrapping their consoles. These consoles need firmware update to properly function, something that can’t be done if the consoles can’t connect online. We hope that in 2015 this malicious group stays away from PSN and Xbox Live.This may seem a little selfish, but I really want support for PS3 and Xbox 360 to end. It’s not that I don’t like the systems. I love them both and have cherished my time with both, but it is time for the industry to move. Continuing development on these old systems continues to hold back games like Call of Duty, Destiny, Battlefield, and Far Cry. Developers can’t properly take advantage of the extra power in these new consoles if they’re being tied down by PS3 and Xbox 360. Now, developers can make last-gen exclusive games like Assassin’s Creed: Rogue, but cross-gen development needs to stop in 2015. I hope you enjoyed my 25 Things We Wish We Knew Before Starting Red Dead Redemption 2 article, because I’m back with another. This time I thought it would be fun to point out some of the inconsistencies, plot holes, and stuff that generally don’t make sense about Red Dead Redemption II . I know topics like this seem like cheap punching bags. I mean when you get right down to it, video games don't make a lot of sense in gene In Rockstar’s effort to create a realistic game, like horses that have packages that shrink in cold weather, they certainly didn't go all the way in some regards. For example, you can somehow store a near infinite amount of random items in your beginning pouch, but heaven forbid you to put more than one animal carcass on your horse. Also, somehow, you can store an army of guns on your sidesaddle, but not on Arthur's person. There are a lot of inconsistencies, but hey, that's video ga There are tons of things we can infer about the next entry in the Red Dead series by just taking a closer look at what we saw in the teaser trailer. These large video game companies understand the complexity of a trailer and how to expertly craft and hide multiple pieces of information regarding the game. It's not that far of a stretch to understand that everything included in the teaser trailer was there for a specific purpose. The teaser not only provided a valuable setup for the tone of the game but subtly introduced us to what we can expect in this hand-crafted mega Western adventure. There are still plenty of questions that remain unanswered regarding what Red Dead Redemption 2 is exactly. Hopefully, we'll be treated to a full unveil at this year's E3, but until then, let's get into all of the things we know about Red Dead Redemption 2 so