If you are an avid JackHammer enthusiast, first off, great on you, second off, you might remember a month ago before my crazy hiatus I posted about how I had just started playing the game, Red Dead Redemption 2. A masterpiece of gaming created by Rockstar in 2018, and now I have finished RDR2 twice and started playing the first game, so now I think I am ready to give a total review, that is mostly spoiler free.

A good place to start off with is the characters, which I always found to be a highlight of the game, and was one of the best cast of characters of any game, ever, in my humble opinion. You play as Arthur Morgan, notorious member of the Van Der Linde gang, run by Dutch Van Der Linde, and you are the rough enforcer of this gang. You are virtually Dutch’s son and go along enforcing Dutch’s plans, alongside some other fun gunslingers, like Lenny Summers, Micah Bell, Bill Williamson, Javier Escuella, Charles Smith, and even the main character of the first game, John Marston. This gang is unlike many other gangs of the age, and functions more as a family, based around Dutch’s narcissistic, savior complex, but he’s still beloved and trusted, and he would never leave anyone behind. Which is what makes Dutch, alongside Hosea Matthews, a great leader for the gang. There are not just fun characters at camp, either, I quite enjoy the non-gang characters as well. Characters such as Rains Fall, Eagle Flies, and various other NPCs. As well as the villains, Agent Milton and Leviticus Cornwall are great, but so are Colonel Favours, Colm O’Driscoll, and of course Agent Ross, who is a great callback to the original game.

Rockstar also managed to create one of the most immersive maps to back up this cast of icons, with 5 different states, and particular regions to represent all parts of the American wilderness. New Austin is like a southwest, Texas-New Mexico, classic cowboy aesthetic, that is even where RDR1 takes place. Lemoyne is more swampy and bayou-like, which makes sense, since Saint Denis is modelled off of New Orleans, but the other part of it is a bit of a mix between New Austin and the rest of the map, dry and hot, but not to the level of New Austin. West Elizabeth is definitely more northwest, not all the way to Oregon or Washington, but maybe California, Nevada, or Colorado, and features some of the most popular towns in the game, like Blackwater, Strawberry, and Valentine. Ambarino is the far north, a snowy tundra based off north Colorado, and up to like Montana, Oregon, and Washington, with no real towns. Finally, New Hanover is much more similar to the east coast, with the north eastern most points resembling Virginia, but could even be further north, but south of New York, and it also covers a bit of the Central East, like West Virginia, Kentucky, etc. It is absurd the variety RDR2 has, while also feeling connected and flowing, there is never a sudden moment where desert becomes forest, it is very gradual.

The story itself is a masterpiece, I will not say more, to prevent spoilers, but yeah, if you have somehow avoided spoilers for this game, stay away from YouTube, and don’t have friends spoil it for you. I was not so lucky, but the story still nearly made me cry.

Finally, the gameplay is great, I love the shooting mechanics, and the different types of firearms, whether that be scoped rifles, shotguns, or pistols, yet they all keep that authenticity of the time period, to keep you immersed in the 1899 experience. Also, hunting and fishing are some of the most relaxing pastimes in the game, and I would highly recommend the legendary animals, they are fun to track down, and they get a fair price. You can even play poker or blackjack, or dominoes, or the RDR staple, five finger filet.

Overall this game is a 10/10 and the best I have ever played

Yours truly, JackHammer

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PS- I did write this on a separate doc