As one of the industry’s most anticipated announced titles, Red Dead Redemption 2 is certainly no exception. Leaked maps, inside reports, former Rockstar Games employees, and even a potential shared universe all lie ahead. Here are more than a dozen of Red Dead Redemption 2 ’s most fascinating, most mind-blowing rum

These moments from Red Dead Redemption 2 very much feel like "Rockstar" moments. These are the types of moments that trailers for their past titles, such as Grand Theft Auto V , have highlighted to hone in on the fact that their games aim to feel larger than life, and delivering the types of action and spectacle that we see on the big screen and the films that Rockstar has always turned to for inspiration .

It was the moments of quiet that were most enjoyable, just wandering the prairie through Redemption was enough to satisfy western fantasies. Both games also took place in the classic dusty west audiences have come to imagine from spaghetti westerns, now veering toward more recent films such as The Revenant, which seems to be the direction Red Dead Redemption 2 is going. Not a bad thing.

Westerado started off as a browser game before becoming a bigger thing on Steam and Xbox One as Westerado: Double Barreled . Remember my wish that Law of the West’s mechanics would be transferred into another game? This is it! It’s a basic plot revolving around avenging your family’s murder, but the culprit changes with every playthrough. You gain leads by talking to townsfolk and going on missions. At any time you can pull out your gun in the middle of a conversation. Sometimes this will help get more information while other times it will probably cause you to die especially if you are in town. It may have pixel art, but the game beneath it all is very ambitious, and it nails everything it sets out to

There’s a lot more out there than I thought and most of what I found initially wasn’t very good. I dug a bit deeper, found some treasures, and even some unique games on the awful side. Every game on this list, bad or good, at least tried to do something ambitious for this genre. In that sense, I appreciate the effort. What's for sure though, is that you shouldn't miss any of my favorites on this list. If you play them back-to-back Red Dead Redemption 2 will be out before you know it. Without any more delays that is. Let’s put those dismissive thoughts out of our heads and round up the very best and the worst Weste

We’re finally coming back to those indie games. Gunman Clive is a classic 2D run and gun shooter. Shoot guys, collect power-ups, scroll from left to right, and so on. It’s basic, but what sets it apart is the art style. Better yet imagine if someone took the art style of A-ha’s Take on Me and made a game out of it. It looks like a sketch come to life. I bet if you play that song alongside Gunman Clive everything will match up. Maybe even the devil will appear and rip open world games beginner guide time and space itself. Either way: Gunman Clive is a real treat through and thro

Red Dead Redemption is simply one of the best games available for the seventh generation consoles. It did receive a zombie-themed expansion pack called Undead Nightmare, which was a fun novelty but didn't resonate the same way the base game did. The Grand Theft Auto San Andreas Bigfoot reference was rather humorous, though. It clearly uses the Grand Theft Auto games as a template but ends up finding its own identity through the setting, characters and storytelling. Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the most highly anticipated games of 2018, and with the quality of its predecessor, it has big boots to fill.

There is a linear story path to follow, but there are plenty of side opportunities to engage in. Each region has a few forts that need to be taken over, much like the same style as the battle at Fort Mercer. There are many characters that require assistance from John and these quests are usually entertaining. One quest involves a man with an undying love for his woman and another series of events from a quest giver involves a man who really gets under John's skin in the last quest he gives. Random events happen throughout the world such as highway robberies, hangings and other random encounters with strangers, making the game world feel alive. Rockstar games are known for their sense of humor and some of their dark humor naturally crept into Red Dead Redemption. One of my favorite achievements I ever unlocked happened in this game. A few years ago my girlfriend was hanging out at my apartment and I decided to show her this game (she may have bought it for me for a birthday present but I can't remember). I thought it would be funny to lasso a girl and leave her on the train tracks, like a mustache twirling silent film villain. As the locomotive turned the damsel in distress into a much gooier state of existence, an achievement popped up on screen. It's good to know that my sociopathic tendencies aren't so unusual that the developers weren't able to anticipate my behavior.