Play because your heart is young....

Ramblings Post #365

I'm on that Old Country Road. Well, not really, but that Yeehaw Agenda is popping. I'm out here trying to get me a little game going but you know what? I got this thing called a life. And friends. And a career. And dreams. And meetings. But if I could just get a solid evening with my PS4...well, not really. I mean, I'm gamer, but real life is real life. 

Red Dead Redemption 2 is huge. How huge? I got the game opening day. I'm still less than 20% done. 

You can actually ride to everywhere you can see, and then some.

Okay, I actually stopped playing for a while because I have like, a job and a life, then restarted but still. It's been a month or two since I picked it back up again (maybe a few hours a week really) and yet I'm still just in the beginning stages - chapter two of six. There is just so much extra to do. I've gotten caught up in exploring the map, bounty hunting, gambling, looking for dinosaur bones and stone carvings, treasure hunting, searching for old legends, playing dominoes and just marveling at the intricate detailed structure of the whole thing. It is quite simply stunning. 

My first time in the swamp around Legras sounded a little too real. I haven't even scratched the surface on locating all the animals. A trip up into the West Grizzlies through the thigh deep snow is just amazing. I am paranoid about ambushes. I'm trying to see how long Arthur's beard will grow. I want to see what's in the mines in Anneburg and up in mountains. I want to go catch and break a wild horse. I want to ride out into the wilderness, fight a bear and live. There are times I have forgotten completely about the main story. The game is fantastic. 

But alas I have to move on. Partly because at some point you just have to. Partly because there are scenes they show in the commercials that I haven't gotten to yet that I want to see. And partly because I can only avoid the spoilers for so much longer. 

One of the really cool things about new video games is that there is an online community that when you reach a point where you get stuck you can get some help, as I did in GTA IV where I couldn't figure out why a mission wouldn't start and then I found out it was because I was wearing shades. Seriously. But alas, that online community is also one of the terrible things about the new video games as well. Usually a week after it comes out, someone who obviously doesn't sleep or finds outside spaces too "peoplely" has already finished the game and posted online every single thing imaginable about it - all the tricks, tips, sidequests, shortcuts, and secrets. Now to me, part of the fun of a game is discovering what's in it. I ran across one of the rock carvings some Non-player character asked me to find the other day because I just wanted to see something totally unrelated, and it was neat little feeling of discovery. I could have used the online map and found it (and completed every other side-quest and all the rest in an afternoon)...but where is the fun in that? 

Hey, I'll be honest, if I had found all the cigarette cards but one and had already searched the map for week? Like a real seven days week. Yes, I would probably consult one of the online maps, why be that frustrated? But as I said, I'm less than 20% in, and I have stumbled upon some cool stuff. I would like to stumble upon so more cool stuff. It's part of what I paid for. 

I kind of guess the ending. I mean, although this called Red Dead Redemption 2 this is a prequel. It's what happened before the original. And you don't see our protagonist Arthur in the original, now do you? But let me get there in my own time. Well, not really my own time - let me get there are at my own pace. Or at least by myself. 

Barkeep. I'm looking for dinosaur bone. And a cold beer. Really, have you seen any bones?