So, after shooting the Legendary White Bison about 3 separate times, only to have him run into the lake and sink to the bottom before I can push him or lasso him, etc. I pondered a bit. I was using the Rolling Rock rifle and Express ammo, hardest hitting weapon I have. So I did a reload and tried something else.
This time I came at him from the lake side, and armed dual Scholfield revolvers using express ammo. Got close then deadeyed and fired as many times as I could, which is a lot. He ran about 3 steps and fell dead just short of the lake. Apparently the multiple hits were more effective than than the one or two I could get with the Rolling Rock rifle with it’s slow reload.
Also, once again: people really get focused on getting graphics as good as possible, but I contend that sound in this game is at least as impressive and worth maximizing. With a good set of headphones it’s just a couple of levels better game. You can hear every little nuance they’ve put into the sounds (plus it’s much easier to locate sounds.)
Oh, no question: the soundscape in this game is amazing. The birdsong and animal calls, the rustling of shrubbery, the noise of the reins and the little metal bits they’re attached to on the bridle (multiplied when driving a team of horses pulling a wagon/carriage). Particularly impressive is everything surrounding the horses one rides (the hoofbeats on varying surfaces, the heavier breathing borne of exertion): they make you feel like you’re dealing with real, weighty beasts.
Yeah, I played about half the game with my bluetooth ear buds sync’d to my TV and it was just amazing. I should maybe invest in a good soundbar on this TV.
I found a good set of full headphones made a huge difference. I have to play sometimes without headphones, but then when I put them on (and I have a decent sound system) I hear a lot of little things I don’t hear without them.
Speaking of hearing things: Have any of you ever noticed, just once in a while, while having a Deluxe Bath and chatting up the lady helping with the bath, you hear a “Ka-CHING” sound? Like a cash register? I look and my cash didn’t go down at all. Is this Rockstar’s sly way of saying you got a little “extra deluxe” while her hand was under the water??
So, ELI5 (as they say) what the outfit mechanics are. Can you only have 4 custom outfits saved, period? Also, it appears you can only have three outfits saved to the horse. Is that a hard limit, or can I increase it with a bigger saddlebag?
Finally, what is the trick to creating an “average temps” custom outfit? Is it just adding a vest and neckerchief to a coat?
Oh, and regarding horses, I can’t seem to go higher than bonding level 4 with the Ardennes Warhorse that was a freebie included in the box shipped with the PS4 Pro bundle. Is that gated by story progress?
Wired, got a long cable, love the hardware for managing the sound, volume, etc. - nice heavy solid feel to the amp box. They were recommended by several people, and once I got them I stopped looking at headsets. Made for the PS4 and connects very simply.
This may not help you, but my TV has a bluetooth receiver so I actually connect my headphones to my TV, not the PS4. It’s nice because then it works for when I want to watch like the Netflix app or swap sources over to play on the Switch. I assume most TV’s have a bluetooth receiver?
Thanks for the headphones recommendation, JeffL. Coincidentally I was just about to pick up a second pair of what I currently use on my PC (Sennheiser Game One) for my new PS4 Pro and am persuaded to go with the Astro now, even though it’s a little spendier, because it looks like it might be a better fit. Anyone know? I wonder if the mic is at least on par with the Game One, or ideally better.
I do love my soundbar, but as others mentioned it can be hard to pinpoint where specific noises are coming from, without headphones. Or people, come to think of it. Often someone will call out and I have no idea how far away they are or which direction to go unless I spot the flashing icon on the minimap.
Just took on a hideout (Shady Belle) for the first time. And I totally found it by accident, which increased the immersion. Also didn’t cheese it, or even have to reload any saves. What a rush that was! The area is worth getting acquainted with, as there are a ton of useful resources there. Plus the designated camping spot near the shore is super convenient, if you don’t mind the gator neighbors.
Finished the game, and I remain where I was on it - great world, love trotting around it, and missions remained cutting edge 2005-era design that all too frequently devolve into sub-par cover-shooter shooting galleries.
I did wind up invested quite a bit in Arthur, even if took until chapter three or so, and liked how the main story concluded. And then the epilogues happened, and the game lost me again. It’s nice to see my two favourite characters Sadie and Charles make it out ok, I guess, but it’s just doing the prequel thing of connecting dots that didn’t need connecting.
@tomchick drew the connection to Blade Runner 2049 in his review, and one of the key things about that is that it doesn’t matter what happens after that final shot. If Rockstar made that movie, it’d have dragged on for another 40 minutes and shat its thematic pants.
It honestly feels like it’s just there as a narrative justification for eventually letting you roam and hunt collectibles you missed.
While I don’t feel the need or the benefit of comparing two great games in their own right, I will, Kinda, ;)
While RDR2 doesn’t provide the moral dilemma that Witcher 3 often did in decisions, primarily because it doesn’t offer the freedom of decisions that W3 did, I do appreciate that the developers sometimes surprise me with a mission. Without spoilers, I just did a mission for a stranger that I ran across in Rhodes, and I expected a pretty standard fetch mission. I was looking forward to it anyway, because I really wanted to help this poor guy out. I’ll just say they threw me a curve ball on this one.
The difference is that, in W3, I would have had at least a couple of choices in how to deal with the end part of the mission. Neither necessarily being the “right” decision. In RDR2, the mission ends with a satisfying end, but there’s no choice on my part at that point.
Witcher 3, and RDR2 so far, both are on my all time top 10 list at this point, for different reasons. IMO one thing RDR2 does “better” than W3 is the open world itself. I loved exploring every inch of the world, on foot, i W3. However, much of the world was pretty empty. Even with nothing really significant going on, I can enjoy just riding around and exploring the lakes and rivers and hills and mountains in RDR2, the vast array of wildlife, the amazing sounds of the world, and more. Now if they just had some of the blackjack tables in the cities and towns of RDR2 set up for Gwent. ;)
Anyone notice that if Arthur is wearing a mask, his voice sounds muffled?
I was trying to collect a cow hide, so I walked into a fenced pasture with some cows in it. Shot one of the cows, and of course the cowherds all drew their irons. During the resulting shootout, a section of fence got blown apart, which allowed all the cows (all the cows who managed to dodge bullets, that is) to escape, so I was escaping across the countryside avoiding cows with the law on my heels.
Side note: did you know if you have a lawman tied up and laid across your saddle, you can’t ever lose the Wanted designation? Because there’s a lawman right there on your saddle to see you. . .
. . .Another side note: NPCs can’t swim while tied up. My Arthur is a bad man who has done some really bad things.
I think the choices in RDR2 more often come in the form of deciding whether to engage something at all.
Like deciding to free a prisoner from a jail wagon, or a guy being taken in by bounty hunters. Or helping those guys building the house. Or helping the hooker who keeps killing people.
That last one was funny… I helped her like 3 times, when she kept "accidentally"murdering people. Then one day, I was in Valentine, and they were having a hanging. It was the hooker. They had apparently caught her.
I listened to them condemn her to death, and right before they pulled the lever, I shot the rope. She jumped off the platform and ran away. I shot the sheriff and his men, and rode off myself. I wasn’t able to find her, so I’m not sure if I’ll run into her again.
I think I just did this mission and there was a choice of sorts at the end.
I shot the guy and got positive karma points as he keeled over and started burning in his own campfire. My choice whether to let him suffer or not I guess. I really wanted to loot him though so I ended up also dying in said fire lol
