Live Magazine Christmas 2016 ISSUE Live Magazine December 2016 Issue | Page 38
YOUR SAY
VIDEO
GAMES
the wester
the king of the wild west: looking forward to
red dead redemption 2
In case you missed it, Rockstar
Games officially announced that
Red Dead Redemption 2 is in development. Even better, they’ve
even let us know the release period: Fall 2017 (that’s Spring 2017
for us Aussies!). That’s right gamers, one of the greatest openworld action games is getting a sequel in 2017 and will be available
on all current-gen consoles. So
what do we know about the game
so far and what can we expect?
Here’s what we think, but please
note, that as very little is known
about red Dead Redemption 2 at
this point, some of this article will
be simple speculation.
A Massive and
Gorgeous
Open-world
Rockstar Games have a penchant
for creating massive detailed
worlds such as the ones seen in
Red Dead Redemption and Grand
Theft Auto V. In fact, they are considered by many to be the pioneers
of the open-world genre, as Rockstar’s own Grand Theft Auto III set
the standard when it was released
for the PlayStation 2 in 2001.
The original Red Dead Redemption
released on the PlayStation 3 and
Xbox 360 in 2010 – roughly two
and a half years before the current
generation of consoles. It was built
on Rockstar’s RAGE (Rockstar Advanced Game Engine), the same
game engine that powered titles
such as Grand Theft Auto IV and
Max Payne 3. Whilst Rockstar’s
games pushed the last generation
of consoles’ hardware to the limit,
they were still a couple of years
ahead of the next console generation. A lot has changed since 2010,
and today’s consoles are more
much more powerful than that of
the last generation – and there
are even more powerful versions
of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4
on the way.
While Red Dead Redemption 2’s
trailer didn’t reveal anything about
the game’s story, the one thing it
did show was an immense and
breathtaking world. Lush, green
fields, craggy cliffs, dusty deserts
and bustling towns were all on
display. Deer and bison roam the
landscape, with steam-trains roaring along heavy iron tracks. From
a more technological standpoint,
the game utilises more advanced
visual techniques as well, such as
crepuscular rays (AKA God rays).
It’s fair to assume that there will be
other modern design techniques
in the final game as well, such as
more advanced particle effects
for dust and debris. One this is for
certain, this is bound to be the best
looking version of the Wild West
we’ve ever seen.
A Layered and
Rich Story
The original Red Dead Redemption
had a fantastic story, and featured
one of the most popular protagonists in gaming history. Playing as
John Marsten, gamers experienced
the story of a man who needed to
bury his past, only to have it catch
up with him. Travelling across the
land, Marsten encounters a host of
colourful characters, and goes on
a number of thrilling adventures.
He’ll take on the Mexican army, defeat a gang of bandits, and even
face corrupt lawmen in his quest
for a new life with his family.
Red Dead Redemption captivated
players with its enthralling story,
and while it was unmistakably a
Rockstar game, it had a more cohesive and emotive narrative than
that of Grand Theft Auto IV, Bully
and the Max Payne games. As far
as Rockstar game plots go, it was
the cream of the crop.