Red Dead: . A video game franchise known among the gaming community for its excellent portrayal of 19th century Western America. Though other games in the series, such as “Red Dead Redemption 1”, and “Red Dead: Gunslingers are all masterpieces in the gaming universe, Red Dead’s newest prequel, “Red Dead Redemption 2”, surpasses them all easily.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a true graphical wonder; filled with lush forests, icy snow capped mountains, and thick, dense swamplands. Even after finishing the game’s main storyline, there are still endless side activities to complete and numerous unique locations to visit.

Red Dead Redemption 2 was released to the public on October 26th, 2018 and sold over 15 million copies in eight days alone,; double the amount of Red Dead Redemption 1 copies sold in its eight year lifespan.

Red Dead Redemption 2 Drops you in playing as Arthur Morgan, a member of the infamous Van der Linde Gang. You are hiding out in the mountains due to political  unrest and dangers in the neighboring cities and towns. Though the mountains are a good hiding spot, the freezing cold weather, constant snow, and lack of resources starts to take its toll on the group.  Eventually, you and your group are forced to abandon the mountains and head to a forested region called the Cumberland Forest. At this point, the prologue is complete and you are allowed to roam the massive map and the fate of Arthur Morgan is in your hands.

The main improvement from Red Dead’s previous titles is a more in-depth system of buying and selling items. In order to get food, you must walk into a grocery store and either pick what you want off of the shelves, or browse the store catalogue if you can not find the item you desire. The same applies with clothes, horses, and weapons. Additionally, if the clothing at the store(s) do not meet your requirements, you can hunt a variety of over 100 animal species and sell the pelts to a trapper for fur-style clothing. The animals in “Red Dead Redemption 2” vary from small turtles, squirrels and skunks to elk, buffalo, cougars, and bears. Though RDR2 is jam packed full of things to do, patience is required, since some aspects of the game take time to develop, such as the involvement of the Pinkertons, gang group members dying, etc. Additionally, there is another game mode to play called Red Dead Online which allows you to play with friends, but there is still much to be added due to it only being in beta. Overall, I would give “Red Dead Redemption 2” a 9 out of ten because of its gargantuan map to explore,  gripping storyline, and interesting protagonists that you want to learn more about.