RDR2: What We Know So Far

online TreeFittyactivity 2707 Days Agoaffiliates 5429 Views
With the first trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2 dropping tomorrow - and the hype train leaving the station - here's a round-up of what we know so far from what little Rockstar has released and what we expect.

RDR2 is set for Fall 2017 release

Rockstar's typical marketing hype is 6 months from the first round of information to initial release (not counting delays) which would have given us Spring 2017 but this time they seem to have added some delay buffering and are looking at a Fall 2017 release. Delays could push that to Spring 2018 but we'll hope for the best!

RDR2 will be on PS4 and Xbox One

At this time there is no mention of a PC release for Red Dead Redemption 2. We hope that will change with a delayed release after the consoles as many PC users never did get Redemption after all these years.

RDR2 is a prequel featuring the "old gang"

The second image release by Rockstar on Monday gives us a glimpse of who will be in Red Dead Redemption 2. The artwork obscures some features but a few of the men shown stand out. The person that really shines is first on the left. This person looks a lot like John Marston. The next good example is third from the right. This appears to be Bill Williamson who was a part of John's old gang under the leadership of Dutch van der Linde (who may also be third from the left).

Image
Click for full size

Second from the left could be Edgar Ross, one of the federal agents that used John to take out his former gang. Note the nice shirt and tie. The two men on the far right could be a number of people. Numerous Native Americans were involved with Dutch's gang. The man second from the right is wearing military attire and appears to be older than the others.

Lastly is the man in the middle. We can't quite point out who it is. It may be an entirely new character - and is quite possibly our protagonist. Perhaps we play Red Dead Redemption 2 as one of the lesser-known gang members. Or maybe we fight against the old gang as someone new. This person's position in the middle and noticeably larger image gives him prominence. iRD

Numerous other characters that will likely be seen include Javier Escuella from the old gang, Abigail, Uncle, and possibly Jack depending how far back the story goes. Some minor characters such as strangers may also be present.

We should note that Redemption begins in the year 1911. We are introduced to John Marston a few years after being captured by federal agents following a failed 1906 robbery where John was left for dead by his gang. Red Dead Redemption 2 may start sometime in 1906 or earlier leading up to that robbery and perhaps show some of the aftermath leading into the previous game.

Dead Eye and returning gameplay features

Of course much if not all gameplay features from the previous title will be in Red Dead Redemption 2. A few to mention are:
  • Dead Eye - The RDR Series' signature feature where you can paint targets before unloading your gun.
  • Weapon Wheel - Rockstar's beloved weapon organization.
  • Strangers - Secondary mission strings where you meet and help other people.
  • Random Events - Encounters in the open world that may or may not be worth your while.
  • Animals - One of Red Dead Redemption's bigger features was the wildlife you could interact with.
  • Trading Posts - Sell or trade your animal furs for more useful items.
  • Games - Cards, horseshoes, dice and other games for extra cash and bragging rights.

John did not have the ability to swim as a way of setting boundaries in the game but Red Dead Redempton 2 could give us some leeway to navigate rivers or lakes.

We may revisit parts of the old game

Some may recall a "leaked" map posted a while back that included parts of the Redemption game map. While we will not say it is real, like many "leaks" and fakes there is some truthful information behind it. Dutch's gang was known to be terrorizing West Elizabeth which is where the story of Red Dead Redemption starts and ends. This doesn't confirm we'll see West Elizabeth in RDR2 but it has a little possiblity.

Image

Now here's a tricky part: this area of the old map was easily connected to the rest of the game world southwest of it including railroad tracks. Either numerous bridges will be blocked (and a small river deepened) or we could possibly have much more of the old map to explore. Essentially an HD remake of Redemption's map. But this is only speculation. New connections not existing in the old game would have to be added to connect to the new map. Or perhaps we would be forced to ferry over from across Flat Iron Lake? An interesting thought.

RDR2 will be epic

This should go without saying. Rockstar has definitely spent a lot of time on Red Dead Redemption 2 - as they do with all of their games, to the dismay of eager fans - so we fully expect RDR2 to be a masterpiece as much as the previous award-winning game. Rockstar Games uses experience from previous titles to continuously improve the next. Many of their studios have a hand in each game that's produced. Each studio puts in their expertise to make the epic games we've come to expect from them. RDR2 shouldn't be any different.

Stay tuned for the first trailer tomorrow! We can be certain many questions will be answered and many more will arise!