From Outlaw To Hero: A True Story Of Redemption

Out of any game I have played or will play, I stand firm that Red Dead Redemption 2 will stay the greatest game of all time. Typically, I hesitate before saying a game is my favorite, even if that game is an absolute masterpiece. However, my mind is made up that nothing will top Red Dead Redemption 2. In the song "Video Games", Jack Black says, "But Red Dead Redemption 2, that is not a game. It's an incredible journey through old American history. Fightin' for your life and fightin' for your family. Tryna live your days with honor and integrity." In this game, you play as Arthur Morgan, a 36 year old man who follows loyalty above all else. He is one of the most important members of the Van Der Linde gang, run by Dutch Van Der Linde himself. For 20 years, Dutch has trained Arthur essentially as his son, and because of this, Arthur will always be at Dutch's side. The game takes place in 1899; the Wild West had already died down, and law had begun to return to America. Unfortunately for the gang, crime is the only life they know, resulting in hardships. The game begins after a failed heist, leaving 3 members of the gang dead. With all of their money gone, they are forced to wander through dreadfully cold mountains, hoping that there will be so much as a shack to stay in to avoid death. Throughout the beginning of the game, the businesses robbed by the gang are owned by the same, greedy businessman: Leviticus Cornwall. Due to his mass wealth, he essentially has control over the government in America, and uses his power to turn Arthur into one of the most wanted men in the West. He hires two of the best government agents, Agent Milton and Agent Ross to hunt Dutch and bring him in. When this begins to fail, he goes after them himself. On top of this, many years before the events of the game, Dutch murdered the brother of a man named Colm O'Driscoll, causing Colm to hold a grudge against Dutch. With the odds stacked against them, the gang begins to fall apart. Sloppy planning leads to failed heists, gang members being captured, and even a few of them dying. All of this causing the gang to crumble, leaving what used to be a thriving group of outlaws to a distraught group of runaways - hopeless and dying. 

Not only does the game have an immaculate story, but Arthur Morgan is one of the greatest video game protagonists to ever be created. Throughout the events of the game, we watch him have a change of heart from his outlaw ways, and begin to fight for what is right. When the gang begins to fail, he tells John, an old friend of his who he grew up in the gang with, to, "Be loyal to what matters," showing how he now realizes the gang isn't doing the right thing. Rather than obeying every command, he begins to question Dutch's plans, and starts to try and solve their problems rather than running away. You can even see how the way he interacts with people changes. As the game goes on, he treats people better, and rather than swindling people, he donates money to those who need it.

 While the story is extremely well crafted and paced, the gameplay is just as great. The game is played on a massive open world, taking 16 minutes to get across the entire map even on a horse. The map is filled with towns full of activities for you to do: Strangers to help, bounties to collect, animals to hunt, etc. There is so much to do, that you can spend hours without continuing the story and just spend time in free roam. Most of the game is spent in gunfights, where you could go in guns blazing or utilize cover to flank your enemies. While some gamers say the amount of gunfights makes the gameplay repetitive and boring, I find each fight just as entertaining.

Now, you play as John instead of Arthur, and can not only explore new places, but see people and places from 8 years ago and see how they've changed. You can also find some of the gang members across the map, and see what they did with their lives.

While at the beginning of the game, it may feel like you'll never remember the personalities and names of all 26 gang members, by the end, it would be hard to forget. Throughout the story missions, you slowly learn more and more about each character, and they start to stick with you. By the end of the game, I saw John go from one of Arthur's friends to one of my favorite characters out of games, books, and movies. While the gang is a group of thieves who hardly do the right thing, most people root for them because of how well designed the characters are. They act like real people, have emotions and dreams. This not only goes for the main characters, but also some characters you barely ever see. For example, in the first town the game introduces you to, Valentine, you can find a homeless man named Mickey. Mickey claims to have served in the Army, and says he lost one of his arms in battle. Rather than being bitter and angry, Mickey only wishes to have a conversation with the player. He always stays happy, and is glad to finally have a friend. 

But this game isn't just amazing due to it's story, as it has an entire second game as well, called Red Dead Online. Rather than being a single player story mode, Red Dead Online is an MMO game, or a Massively Multiplayer Online game. This game takes place in the same time and place as the main game, but has around 30 different people per server. On top of this, the game has many opportunities for the players. You could spend your time hunting animals for money, collecting the bounties of infamous thieves, or start a secret illegal moon shining business. If you enjoy games for their story, but also hate playing games alone, then this is the game for you. There was enough content present in Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead online to keep a few players entertained for almost 32,000 hours of gameplay, which rounds to about 3.5 years spent in the game. And if all of this doesn't seem like enough, you can also play the many different PvP modes in the game, called "Series". These modes range from King of the Hill to sneaking through a forest with nothing but a few axes to attack your opponents with. Learning how to use the different weapons and utilize your environment can be a fun way to spend time within the game. On consoles, the base game is around $60, but Red Dead Online requires the online service for your console of choice. On computer, Red Dead Online is sold as its own game for $20, but these go on sale pretty often. With everything this game has to offer, I strongly urge you to give this game a try, and hopefully go on to play the whole game through. 

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