Red Dead Redemption 2 Needs To Avoid Hollywood Tropes

Assassin’s Creed: Victory was rudely outed December 2014 as the next Assassin’s Creed game, and there’s one thing everyone is thinking right now; please don’t be like Assassin’s Creed: Unity. Unity was a broken wreck at launch. Riddled with bugs, glitches, a Co-Op feature that barely works, and a continuously dipping framerate, Unity is the poster-boy for how not to launch a game. True, the experience has gotten better with patches, but that’s no excuse for launching Unity in the state it was in. Victory cannot achieve victory if it is in anyway like Unity. Hopefully, with Ubisoft Quebec leading development, we won’t have to experience an Assassin’s Creed wreck two years in a row.


And what do you know? There was actually something to find. Up on Mt. Shann, a little searching will reward you with a find big enough to make any archaeologist jealous. A massive skeleton lies solitary among the snowy mountains, begging the question: Is that really the end of the hunt? Or is the truth still lurking somewh

Before diving fully into my gripes with something that only has just shy over a minute of game footage that’s been shown, let me explain what made the other two games so special. Both, Red Dead Revolver/Redemption were games that touched on a part of American mythos in the best of ways. Even other cultural mythos play into what makes these games so great, with many different backgrounds showcased. Each game is a unique tail of one man’s quest deeply personal to them. Not only exploring the characters presented fully, but also putting forth some of the best storytelling for video games of such a genre at each respective time. Each felt like a true American western tale.

The Wii U can’t compete with the PS4 and Xbox One as is. Basically a PS3/ Xbox 360, the Wii U came too late, and despite having the best first-party lineup in 2014, has failed to keep up with PS4 and Xbox One. It’s time for Nintendo to get on, or at least close to Sony and Microsoft’s level. The New Wii U could be a game changer with more power, a new elegant design, and the adoption of a more traditional controller. Perhaps it could be enough to draw back third-party publishers. We can’t expect a new console yet, but an update (like the New 3DS) could turn around the Wii U’s fortunes.

Rockstar has such a great opportunity to deliver a tale that is bathed in more of a classic period piece than a ritzy Hollywood do over. If the game looks anything like what the teaser presented, they just might deliver that game. It seemed calm yet brooding. It seemed slower, while being thoughtful. The posse of men on horseback seen in the trailer is fitting for the time. It was stupid to travel alone through the wilderness of America, and cowboys relied on each other for not only companionship, but the journey ahead. My mind keeps wandering to The Magnificent Seven though and I can’t shake that this is what might be showcased. A band of cowboy bandits causing all sorts of mayhem in a sort of Magnificent Seven bizarro Open world game missions. The previous two games were great because the stories encountered seemed real; the characters seemed like real people dealing with personal qualms that had nothing to do with me. It’s the reason I loved the Witcher 3, the world didn’t care about the player, but if I could stop and help, I’d go for it. Otherwise, time to hit the dusty trail.

Uncharted 4, Halo 5 and The Legend of Zelda will be the poster-children for the PS4, Xbox One and Wii U throughout 2015. All three will launch in time for the Holiday, and you bet people will be trying to tear them down. PS4 lovers will attack Halo and Zelda, Xbox lovers will attack Uncharted and Zelda and Wii U lovers will attack Uncharted and Halo. Why? There’s no benefit to tearing down any of the three games. All three games are going to be amazing, and if there was any year to try and get all three consoles then 2015 is that year.

Until Rockstar reveals more, though, I will keep being nervous over just what Red Dead Redemption 2 is. A lot of rumors are floating around that it’s a prequel. If it is, they could knock it out of the park, I just don’t want them relying on The Magnificent Seven to do it. Give us an American classic, something steeped in our own mythos, while keeping it fresh. Running and gunning is fun in games, but you can get that anywhere ( GTAV /any shooter ever). Let’s see a western tale more in truth with reality than Hollywood. There are so many other stories out there that get overlooked. If it is a prequel, the fall of John Marston's gang could be done with style. How cool would it be to build up a bandit posse only to have it all ripped away (or in Marstons case, walking away)? Usually in games where the player must form a crew ( Mafia III /GTAV), it’s to set out on some serious mayhem and succeed. To have a game where the player forms their crew only to have it taken away would be the ultimate middle finger to that style of storytelling in gaming. Especially coming from Rockstar. Not only would it flip the script, but it would show Rockstar can even go against their own grain, while not borrowing from Hollywood.