The marketing for a game starts the second it is announced. The job of marketing is to not only increase awareness of a title, but maintain hype through the game’s release. Shorter marketing cycles are typically more effective because they have a tighter focus. Red Dead Redemption 2 ’s marketing started in late 2016. While it is intermittent, this incredibly long cycle will likely see the game fall off some people’s radar for months before they suddenly remember that it exists. Rockstar is no stranger to long marketing cycles, but that doesn’t change the fact that it could still negatively impact the game’s sales. Red Dead simply isn’t as well known as GTA , so it needs every push it can get to take the gaming world by storm once ag

The scope for Red Dead Redemption 2 isn’t necessarily tied to the “size” of the world, but instead its depth. From the short amount that we played of the game, relatively-speaking, I have no doubts that the Western world that Red Dead Redemption 2 is bringing to life will probably be massive. As recent trailers and screenshots for the game have highlighted several environments that players will explore throughout the game , such as the swamplands of St. Denis and the snow-capped mountains of Mount Hagen, there already seem to be a larger variety of different topographies, climates, and locations compared to Red Dead Redemption .

The samurai western you should pay attention to is Red Steel 2 . When the first was revealed as a launch game the hype was through the roof. That was before we knew the limits of motion controls. Not good to say the least. So when a sequel was announced, I was admittedly shocked and a little hesitant. It switched the setting to a Western and even made it into a cel-shaded game. Felt like they were specifically baiting me into a trap, but the results were good. The controls were a lot better thanks to the Wii Motion Plus. There’s still a bit of jank there, but again, much better than the original. Just goes to show that developers can learn from their mistakes. Ubisoft is kind of the king of that actually. Remember the first Assassin’s Creed ? Yi

We’re finally coming back to those indie games. Gunman Clive is a classic 2D run and gun shooter. Shoot guys, collect power-ups, scroll from left to right, and so on. It’s basic, but what sets it apart is the art style. Better yet imagine if someone took the art style of A-ha’s Take on Me and made a game out of it. It looks like a sketch come to life. I bet if you play that song alongside Gunman Clive everything will match up. Maybe even the devil will appear and rip Open World Games reviews time and space itself. Either way: Gunman Clive is a real treat through and thro

Surprise, surprise Red Dead Redemption 2 got delayed. Smugness aside that sucks! I was hoping it was going to follow the trend of Fallout 4 by being in development for years without an official peep to then be revealed with a relatively quick date. Again it’s upsetting, but I at least know Rockstar is going to do their best so the wait will be worth it. However, I was really itching for a new game set in the Wild West, which got me thinking. How many are other Western games there? Obviously, there’s the first Red Dead Redemption and then the completely different Red Dead Revolver on PS2. Those feel like the obvious recommendations if you haven’t played them

While the map has yet to be released for Red Dead Redemption 2 , one can assume that there will be many bodies of water featured, much like in the previous game. Unfortunately, the bodies of water that were featured, mainly the San Luis River, were pretty static and mostly just served as barriers to parts of the map yet to be unlocked. The truth is, during the time of Frontier’s men, boats were an essential mode of transportation. Getting to paddle down river in a canoe as a giant casino ferry boat passes by would make for a much more fun and immersive experience. Getting to then hijack and send that giant casino ferry boat over a waterfall would just be the violent cherry up

One of the most fascinating sub-genres that I discovered was the samurai western. There were three that I stumbled upon with one being bad, one being mediocre, and the other being fantastic. Let’s start with bad, Samurai Western . You just know a game is going to be good when it’s named after its genre. I look forward to playing Platformer, First-Person Shooter, and Racing this Fall. Ahem, cheap jokes aside Samurai Western stars Gojiro Kiryu who has traveled to the U.S. in search of his brother Rando. It’s extremely cheesy, the voice acting is some of the worst on the system. Gameplay is your basic hack and slash with some RPG elements thrown in. It’s a great idea and the box art is gorgeous, but Samurai Western is awful on the wh

In Red Dead Redemption 2, that scale almost pales in comparison to Rockstar’s dedication to making its world feel just about as real as the turn-of-the-century West can get. This includes everything from Arthur being able to take baths and shave, to being able to customize your guns, down to the metal inlays in the barrel and stock of each weapon. As Rockstar emphasized during our demo, the studio isn’t necessarily aiming to make the game’s world all about physical size and area, but about expanding the ways and methods that players can interact with the game’s excruciatingly-detailed world, and how their actions and decisions will influence it.