What on earth is Rockstar Games doing?
They are some of the most talented game developers in the history of game development. You don’t build a game as beautiful as “Red Dead Redemption 2” unless you have a very special team. So, why won’t Rockstar make its online mode more enjoyable?
I recently noted some of the problems with the online mode. Put simply, there isn’t enough to do. And following Rockstar’s most recent update about a week ago, there still isn’t enough to do.
Don’t get me wrong: The update has made marginal improvements. There are more missions, more purchasing opportunities, and nonplayer characters in the game seem more interactive. But things basically remain the same. I’m lucky if there are five other players in my lobby. I play for 20 minutes to see if something interesting happens. And then, when it inevitably doesn’t, I log off.
This game’s online mode offers Rockstar a chance to learn from the mistakes of “Grand Theft Auto 5” (now a cartoon world of flying motorbike rocket ships) and to make real money by engaging gamer interest. “Red Dead Redemption 2” online can be dramatically improved without much obvious programming challenge. So, why hasn’t Rockstar made any of the following improvements?
- More diverse missions: more variable hunting tasks, higher-stakes poker and blackjack games, more group missions.
- More bounty missions: This would help foster a gaming sense of Old-Western lawmen in the rough country.
- More players in each lobby. If necessary, reduce the number of available lobbies and increase start-up waiting time.
- More loot from dead bodies.
- More random interactions from nonplayer character gangs: Counterambush gameplay is fun!
- More out-there materials. For example, a makeshift parachute or glider, or bring back the hot-air balloon from story mode.
- More weapon customization (the update has improved things here, but more could be done).
- More treasure hunts that include nonplayer character challenges within them.
- Allow players to buy residences or rooms.
- Hunter-kill mode in group matches: One larger hunter team traverses the map to hunt a smaller team down.
- Fewer individual perk-upgrade opportunities: These create absurd mismatches in player combat interactions.
- Fewer glitches in being able to accept available missions.
- Open up Mexico for exploration (we know it’s there).
- Cheaper clothes options.
- Spawn a Bigfoot in each lobby, which can be hunted for experience points and cash.
Those are just my suggestions. Regardless, until Rockstar gets in gear, this game’s online mode will wallow in ignominious comparison to its extraordinary single-player counterpart. With time, fans will simply start playing other games.
