GTA developer Rockstar’s open world games have always been known to shine brightly; however, will the long-anticipated sequel to the beloved 2010 classic, Red Dead Redemption blow fans out of the water like the previous iteration? Fans have been waiting on the “Red Dead” series to continue for close to a decade, and by the looks of this newest release, this game is going to completely innovate the open world generation of video games.

The first installment in the Red Dead Redemption franchise was praised for being one of the most interactive, wide-sprawling open world video games. The wild-west world into which the player is transported into feels just like reality: horses, cowboy shootouts, saloons, and a beautiful open-world environment that allows players to immerse themselves in this classic.

The beauty of this game is astounding and the monstrous size of the world can be experienced in a plethora of ways. Whoever holds the controller can play the game in whatever way they like, and it just works. The way these games are created allows the player to explore everything they want in the game from the start. Going off to find your own adventures, in my opinion, is the best way to play the game. The universe you inhabit has so much depth to it that there’s always something waiting around every corner for you to uncover.

Side missions and sudden events can quickly put you in a completely unexpected situation. For example, you could be riding your horse to a town, only to get jumped by outlaws and have to fight your way out. You can choose to be friendly with a town and its inhabitants, or you could choose to rob it and become an outlaw yourself. Red Dead Redemption gives you full control over however you want to play; in this case, the beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder.

Red Dead Redemption 2 will be taking these concepts and expanding on them. “Red Dead 2” is supposed to have an even larger map than the last. In addition to the size, the climate of each part of the map changes with time. This opens up for climate-based interaction to be added.

The artificial intelligence (AI) of this game is supposedly impeccable, with the non-player characters being so smart that they remember your character each time that you see them. If you rob a bar, the next time you go in the owner will immediately start shooting at you.

You will never see the two same lines of dialogue ever, as the AI will always have new things to say with each conversation, as well as new missions for you to complete.

“For RDR, we had to have a populated town of recognizable individuals, and each character in that town needs to be believable, and seen to be doing something meaningful,” Klass Schilstra, Director of engineering at Rockstar said, It’s possible to recognize the beginnings of this in the technology for GTA 5, but at the same time every one of our systems has evolved beyond recognition to make RDR possible.” 

Since the release of the game on October 26th, critics and fans have done nothing but praise this game for everything it has in it. The interactive world, game physics and mechanics, and the beautiful visuals are just scratching the surface of what this game has to offer.

“When I turn on the game, I get so immersed in the world, I end up playing for hours without even knowing,” Wiregrass senior Andres Poblete said. “I think the way they achieved that was by having ability to play the game in whatever way you want. Every second of what I’ve played has been a blast and I can’t wait to keep playing.”

Rockstar has been putting out the best open world games in the industry for a while now, and I think the bar for a good open world game is going to be raised with this recent release.