Unfortunately, one key component to Red Dead Redemption 2 I have difficulty getting into is the controls. The controls are similar to the typical Rockstar Open world games missions world formula (at least Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption), with a thousand different actions being assigned to a handful of buttons. This is a mechanical marvel with all the different systems at play, from gunplay, horseback riding, hand-to-hand combat, character interactions and so forth. Controlling Arthur feels loose and stiff at the same time, something I can never put my finger on, and I have a difficult time determining if it’s a good or bad thing. Sometimes it can be frustrating, while other times it can lend to the charm of the game. The gunplay is still top notch, though, with each of the old rifles, pistols and shotguns feeling authentic and enjoyable to fire, especially with the Dead Eye skill. There are a ton of different weapons to obtain, all of which are need to be properly maintained, which somewhat ties into the survival aspect of the game, such as maintaining food intake for both you and your horse.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a long game and there’s a lot to do in it. The main campaign alone, along with a good number of Stranger missions, took us just under fifty hours to complete, which is exponentially longer than its predecessor. That’s barely even participating in the various other activities, such as hunting, gambling, bounty hunting and more. The Stranger missions are one of the bigger draws as they are once again whacky, over-the-top scenarios that fill out the world. Arthur may not have the sarcastic, comical timing of John Marston, but he still lends to each situation with his confusion. Sadly, I never saw a damsel tied up on a railroad track that needed saving. Speaking of Stranger missions, you’re also able to make choices that may affect scenes in the main story. For example, I met one woman earlier in the campaign and she appeared as a prostitute later on, which lead to a bounty immediately put on my head. Another was a surprisingly lengthy scene with a nun who I randomly bumped into once, and Arthur opened up to her. Your choices through the campaign do hold some weight as they can affect where specific people end up in the future and might even expand upon Arthur’s character more.

Of course, many of those strong character moments especially revolve around Arthur Morgan, one of the senior members of the Van der Linde gang and the character who players will take control of throughout their journey in Red Dead Redemption 2 . As a man that has essentially been raised since childhood as an outlaw, Arthur owes his life to Dutch and that experience has shaped him into a fierce protector of the rest of the Van der Linde gang, though Arthur has plenty of his own conflicts and backstory that players will discover over the course of the game. While Arthur has his own proclivities towards violence and conflict out in the world, how far he is willing to push things is left for the player to decide as they control Arthur throughout the story and take action, and that’s all in part from the Honor system at play throughout the game’s world.

Uncharted 4, Halo 5 and The Legend of Zelda will be the poster-children for the PS4, Xbox One and Wii U throughout 2015. All three will launch in time for the Holiday, and you bet people will be trying to tear them down. PS4 lovers will attack Halo and Zelda, Xbox lovers will attack Uncharted and Zelda and Wii U lovers will attack Uncharted and Halo. Why? There’s no benefit to tearing down any of the three games. All three games are going to be amazing, and if there was any year to try and get all three consoles then 2015 is that year.

This may seem a little selfish, but I really want support for PS3 and Xbox 360 to end. It’s not that I don’t like the systems. I love them both and have cherished my time with both, but it is time for the industry to move. Continuing development on these old systems continues to hold back games like Call of Duty, Destiny, Battlefield, and Far Cry. Developers can’t properly take advantage of the extra power in these new consoles if they’re being tied down by PS3 and Xbox 360. Now, developers can make last-gen exclusive games like Assassin’s Creed: Rogue, but cross-gen development needs to stop in 2015.

With the release of the eagerly awaited Red Dead Redemption 2 on the horizon, they will be thrust into the spotlight once again. That being said, nothing is ever perfect and we all make mistakes, and Rockstar has been no exception over the years. Whether it is being nit-picked to death by their players or condemned within the media, no publisher inspires as many positive and negative reviews as Rockstar. But all publicity is good publicity. ri

Getting back on topic, the problem with the controls is that they can be overly finicky. For example, mounting your horse and strangling a nearby pedestrian are assigned to the same button for whatever reason. Same goes with interacting with an item on the ground and say vaulting over a railing to your death. Throwing dynamite while in cover can also be hazardous as more than often it found itself on the cover in front of us. In addition, dealing with a horse is the biggest pain in the ass than anything else in video games and Red Dead Redemption 2 is no exception. The difference between this and Grand Theft Auto is that your vehicle won’t run away when it hears gunfire, ensuring you fail a mission when you need him. The physics can be a little wonky, too, as we had multiple instances where the horse could easily make a small dip or go over a rock, but instead decided to trip over its own feet, dying in the process once in a while. We even had an instance where it ran into another rider while in the cinematic camera angle (which allows you to put the controller down as the horse gallops to a set destination), something the recipient of the crash was not too happy about. Finally, I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to assign the run button (tapping X) to the horse, but there has to be a better way. As you can see, I’m not a big fan of horses in video games, as it consistently feels like you’re fighting with them, which doesn’t help with the already finicky controls.