Red Dead Redemption 2 - Live play: Tips, tricks and reviews for the Xbox One and PS4 sequel
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Your support makes all the difference.Red Dead Redemption II finally hits doormats and inboxes this morning, the latest title from Grand Theft Auto developers Rockstar Games and a prequel to 2010’s Red Dead Redemption.
The Western game has stunned critics, achieving almost unwavering five-star reviews across the board (including The Independent‘s verdict), and will be feverishly installed by millions this morning – some hardened gamers even taking time off work to play it.
We’ve had RDR2 for 10 days now, and will be roaming the plains this morning, offering up any tips, tricks and things we wished we’d known when we started, along with updates on the release, the reviews and the reaction.
The game centres on Arthur Morgan, an outlaw at the end of the age of outlaws, trying to scrape out a living in the country at a time when America is becoming increasingly urbanised.
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The Red Dead series isn’t a household name in the way Grand Theft Auto is, but a new instalment is a huge event in gaming nonetheless, and the Wild West offshoot goes for a more sedated, atmospheric effect than its largely city-based cousin.
RDR2 is available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and you can read more about installing and pre-loading the game, and how much space it will take up on your console, here.
"Cores" are essentially your health bars in the game. They're display around the map radar and aren't particularly intuitive. I wouldn't worry about them too much though – as long as you and your horse sleep and remember to eat something occasionally, you don't really need worry about health and stamina.
Keep an eye on your tonics, though. Stored in your satchel, most of them just top up health, stamina and Dead Eye (the sharpshooting ability) but one or two of them will boost these elements in perpetuity and are worth necking as soon as you get them.
The action on the weaponry is pretty special. Exhibit 1: The bolt-action rifle
Dead Eye works in much the same way as it did in the original. As you progress, however, you will earn the ability to be able to see critical and fatal points on your enemies, such as the heart, brain and lungs. Particularly useful when hunting.
Please appreciate my leather upholstered tables. Took me a while to source the materials.
Want to rob a train? Fine, though expect a little dishonour to come with it. Don't shake it down near a station or populated area though, as the law will be able to respond quicker and in greater numbers.
They've really thought of everything, so dressing for the weather is a thing too. You only have a select number of custom outfits, so making sure one is fit for hot weather, another for when you're up in the snowy mountains.
Though you'll start out in the small towns, there are some big cities in the game, including one based on New Orleans – Saint Denis.
A word on the cameras.
Cycle through and you'll find a first-person mode, which can be used for the duration of the game if you so wish, along with a "cinematic" camera mode. This one has been knocking around since GTA3 and really works quite well by this point. It's quite nice to turn on when you're in a more passive point in the game – travelling somewhere on a wagon or doing some fishing.
There's two approaches to hunting really. Go into stealth mode and sneak up on the animal, or chase them down on horseback. The latter is a lot easier, but you'll tend to rely on auto-aim, whereas stalking the prey you have more time to line up a one-shot kill needed to harvest perfect pelts.
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