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| source// Rockstar |
Hop down from your horse, put your ear to the ground and listen. Hear that rapid pounding that’s approaching fast? It’s not bandits or a cattle stampede, it’s waves of Red Dead Redemption fans taking to the streets to celebrate the rumours that we might soon be getting a Red Dead Redemption 2 announcement.
Though unconfirmed, multiple outlets are reporting that Rockstar are gearing up to announce another instalment in the franchise at E3 2016. Whether or not these rumours turn out to be true, it does seem pretty inevitable that we’ll one day return to Rockstar’s version of the wild west. Given how incredible Red Dead Redemption was, you can understand why people would jump on any news that suggests such a day may be sooner rather than later.
While Red Dead Redemption was an incredible gaming experience, but like many other great games, it was not a perfect one. As much as fans may be anticipating the return of the things that make the game great, we should be equally excited at the prospect of Rockstar getting a second chance to fix issues that kept the game from being even greater, and build upon the foundations that both Red Dead Revolver and Redemption didn’t give us enough of.
10. Add Undead Nightmare Content As Soon As Possible
The only debate among fans regarding Undead Nightmare, is whether it is the best video game DLC ever made, or merely one of the best pieces of video game DLC ever made.
Undead Nightmare not only added zombies to the old west, but did so while paying tribute to the presentation and narrative elements that make the B-movie horror genre so beloved. It was an add-on that was focused on injecting a real sense of fun into the world of Red Dead Redemption and in the process, greatly expanded the longevity of the game through its compelling single player and multiplayer content.
If Rockstar are smart, they’ll make sure that the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 is followed very closely by additional Undead Nightmare content. The DLC pack has become nearly as beloved as Red Dead itself, and the sooner that Rockstar can bring back that sweet, sweet zombie action, the better this sequel will be for it.
9. Focus On Unique Multiplayer Options
Although GTA V’s much-hyped multiplayer mode started off as a resounding disappointment, it has developed over the years into something even greater than its initial billing. Containing more content alone than the rest of the Grand Theft Auto franchise combined, GTA V’s online free roam multiplayer provides an infinite rabbit hole of things to do.
But I don’t think that Red Dead Redemption 2 should follow in its footsteps. Even though Red Dead Redemption’s online multiplayer laid the groundwork for GTA V’s, its more grounded universe doesn’t open itself up for the same variety of chaos that the modern day GTA V does.
Instead, RDR 2 would be better off focusing on the co-op and competitive options that made up the bulk of Read Dead Redemption’s multiplayer. That’s not to say that Rockstar shouldn’t expand and improve the multiplayer, but following in the tracks of GTA V directly will leave it with big shoes to fill.
8. Make Towns And Settlements Feel More Alive
The world of Red Dead Redemption was not like Liberty City in GTA IV. It was not a thriving metropolis that Rockstar could populate with a variety of subtle touches and real life attributes to make it feel like an actual city. The world of Red Dead was a mostly barren frontier that emphasized the exploration of nature.
And that’s okay. Actually, it was one of the things that made RDR so special. That being said, whenever you did encounter a town or settlement in the game it just felt so cold and empty. Much like a desert gas station that claims to be the last for miles, the towns in Red Dead were there to serve a purpose, but lacked much more than that.
While these tiny habitations could never match the splendour of a GTA city, they could feel more active and meaningful in RDR 2. By including more instances of people going about their daily lives and even a side-story or two, Rockstar could make these brief reprieves from the game’s vast plains feel much more meaningful.
7. Have More Substantial Side-Quests
In Red Dead Redemption, if you didn’t feel like engaging in the game’s campaign, it instead was kind enough to offer you a variety of other activities such as bounty hunting, animal hunting, plant picking and gambling.
On their own these activities were fine enough, but collectively they lacked the creativity and engagement of the side quests in games like GTA V and GTA: San Andreas. With the exception of the stranger-related side quests in RDR, there was very little creativity to be found in the game’s activities. Certainly you can’t have a cowboy playing tennis, going bowling with his cousin or dropping by the bar to play darts, but it feels like the old west had more entertainment to offer than just shooting foxes.
Whether its buying and operating businesses like in Vice City Stories or perhaps engaging in some Pinkerton Agency-type detective work, there is a lot more that Red Dead Redemption 2 can offer players when there is otherwise nothing to do.
6. Limit The Amount Of Collectibles
More and more open-world games are starting to populate their environments with a seemingly endless bounty of collectibles and fetch quest items.
Wherever you stand on this particular method of game design, it’s hard to argue that one of the great strengths of Red Dead Redemption was the quaint and quiet nature of its expansive frontier, and that populating that world and its mini-map with a series of pop up items would diminish the effect of the game’s environment.
A few collectibles that fit the game’s universe and perhaps tell a story would be welcome, but if Rockstar asks players to scour the world for hawk feathers or random skins for hours at a time, then they run the risk of watering down one of the series best aspects.
5. Have A Deeper Main Character
John Marston was a good man. John Marston was a capable man. John Marston, however, was not a great main character.
The problem with Red Dead Redemption’s protagonist was that he always seemed like a victim of circumstance. Constantly dragged into some new affair on his way towards vengeance against his own gang, Marston offered little more than the occasional joke or tough-guy glare to showcase his stance on things.
While some of the character’s motivations and past came to light late in the game, players spent most of RDR in control of a man who seemed perfectly willing to to be a weapon in everyone else’s war.
Hopefully, whoever Rockstar chooses for their hero in RDR 2 will have a little more say in their own affairs.
4. Greater Mission Variety
“John, I need you to go here/follow me and shoot this person/people,” said almost every single mission-giver in Red Dead Redemption.
While that basic structure makes up the bulk of many open world Rockstar games, much like the game’s side quests, Red Dead Redemption found it more difficult to hide this structural backbone behind a little creative variety. What the game needed was more missions like the raid on the Mexican fortress, as that at least added some extra scope and danger to all the gunplay. A few train robberies and bar fights certainly wouldn’t hurt either.
However Rockstar handles it, RDR 2 would certainly benefit by filling its campaign with a little more creative drive. Of course, those more generic killing missions might be a lot better if…
3. Make The Combat More Challenging
While Read Dead Redemption was several steps ahead of the awkward gunplay found in the early Grand Theft Auto games, it did suffer in its own way.
The biggest problem was that it was too simple. Entering the game’s dead eye mode would allow players of all skill levels to simply walk into most fights without ever breaking stride and kill everyone in front of you with precision shots. You rarely had to employ the game’s cover, nor did you need a reason to switch from your standard pistol to finish the fight. Things were even worse on horseback, where the all too helpful aim assist emphasised this even more.
By increasing the difficulty of the combat, Rockstar would help add an additional element of risk to the majority of the game’s encounters, which in turn would help to keep the experience fresher throughout.
2. Expand The Morality System
Remember Red Dead Redemption’s moral system? No? Well, I’m not surprised.
Based on the concepts of morality and fame, it was possible to turn John Marston into a hero of the west or just another outlaw, based on certain actions. That’s all well and good, but the problem was that RDR rarely took advantage of it in a meaningful way.
Your alignment may trigger some additional NPC dialog or cause more people to hunt you down, but it rarely impacted your experience in a manner that made your decisions truly matter.
If Rockstar keeps this system for RDR 2, then they will want to build upon it to make sure the player’s choice presents a more substantial series of rewards and consequences.
1. A More Engaging Story Throughout, Not Just The Ending
Red Dead Redemption’s story tends to be remembered favourably based on the game’s ending. While the finale is indeed one of the greatest in all of gaming, it’s easy to remember that much of the Red Dead Redemption’s narrative is kind of dull.
Much like how John Marston feels like a victim of circumstance, too much of the main story feels like a series of events for which you play a small part in. From time to time a character may throw a vague mention your way regarding useful information for your main quest, but for the most part the game’s story is a series of mini-tales that vary greatly in terms of quality.
The final act of RDR makes it abundantly clear that Rockstar knows how to tell a meaningful story in this world, and if they can stretch the most character-driven elements that make that ending so great across the entirety of RDR 2, they will have something special on their hands.
What do you want to see in Red Dead Redemption 2? Let us know in the comments!
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