Rockstar is continuing to tease us with more trailers for the upcoming Red Dead Redemption 2. Just like the other trailers we will see some action, characters talking, and beautiful shots of the game’s world. Other than that, there is nothing that new from this trailer. Some hints to the story are present by characters talking to each other, but not much else.
The trailer starts with a group of armed men outside of a train. Since nobody is getting out of the train, the leader of these men commands to begin firing at the train. We see this man a few times throughout the trailer in various scenes.
Next, we see the protagonist Arthur Morgan talking to a woman. Every few shots cut to black with some text. The first of the text says, “By 1899, the West had nearly been tamed.” I assume there will be a similar theme to the first game as the world starts to evolve and the Wild West starts to die out.
The screen fades to men riding some horses with a close-up shot on the ground. A man can be heard talking to Arthur. The man is trying to give an inspirational speech about some potential threat. The next screen of text comes up with a transition into a group of people sitting around a campfire. What these people say is quite significant since they are talking about Dutch, who fans of the first game might remember.
As a character talks, we see a variety of shots of this beautiful game. We see more horses galloping through a field to stay away from someone trying to catch one of them. A town is then shown with a variety of people walking through. A show of a man spitting out some fire with a crowd cheering. That is one of the coolest scenes shown in the trailer. The lighting of it is beautifully done. After shows a man being treated for some wounds. At first, it looked to me as the man was being tortured. After pausing, I realized it was a doctor treating a patient for some gruesome wounds.
In the description, Rockstar has written a summary of the story that says, “America, 1899. The end of the wild west era has begun as lawmen hunt down the last remaining outlaw gangs. Those who will not surrender or succumb are killed. After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him.” The next portion of the trailer shows parts of this story play out.
A group of men walks into a bank to rob it. What happens next is shown after is the journey that they must go on to survive. Various shootouts and hand to hand combat are demonstrated between outlaws and federal agents. A man who speaks to the gang looks to be one of the lead federal agents that will play a significant role as a possible antagonist. The conflict seems compelling and full of violence, like any Rockstar game.
Overall, I am not too impressed. The game looks beautiful, and I know the story will be fantastic. Rockstar always makes a fun and compelling singleplayer campaign. My main issues are the trailer is more or less similar to the last few trailers we have seen. Some story hints along with showing how pretty the game will be. Not a single bit of gameplay is shown yet. The game is only five months away, and we have been given close to nothing. I am sure the game will have great gameplay and be fun, but I would like to see something as we are this close to release. My other major worry is online. I know I will love the singleplayer experience. However, GTA V did some right and wrong with online. I am worried Rockstar will have the same mistakes in Red Dead Redemption 2 that will kill the fun in multiplayer.
That is my analysis and impressions of the new trailer. What do you think of what we have seen in this new trailer? Are you excited about it or going to give this one a pass? Be sure to comment your thoughts in the comments below.
Red Dead Redemption 2 releases on October 26 for the Xbox One and PS4. Preorder below:
Image via Rockstar Games
Tristan Zelden 