Why Red Dead Redemption 2 Needs to Have Rockstar’s Best Melee Combat

[NewsBot]

When Grand Theft Auto IV came out fans were pleasantly surprised that Rockstar Games had tucked a deep combat system into the fold. Niko could target enemies, counter punches, and make strong, medium or kick attacks. Input the right combo and players could disarm knives from opponents or unlock a special “fatality” move under the right circumstance.

Melee relied on skill, and the impact of each punch felt meaty and realistic.

Then came Grand Theft Auto V. A return to Los Santos meant hitting the gym and learning new fighting moves just like CJ did, right? Not quite. If anything, GTA V’s melee was a lackluster mix of blocking and jabbing, and not much more.

Red Dead Redemption’s melee wasn’t as in-depth as fans were expecting, either. The crazy saloon fights and drunken boxing matches were no where to be found (although the ability to tackle someone to the ground and get a couple pot shots in was pretty cool.) For replicating such a scrappy era of American history, it’s too bad hand-to-hand combat felt tame and underwhelming.

It shouldn’t be that big of a surprise. For the most part, Rockstar’s library consists of gun-oriented games: Max Payne, Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption. There are melee-centric titles such as Bully and the Warriors, though these were more brawl type beat ‘em ups than Rockstar’s flagship titles.

With Rockstar’s most ambitious, and possibly most mature title yet looming on the horizon, the studio needs to implement a rich melee combat system. Yes, the Wild West of our collective imagination was filled with honorable duels and gunslinging bandits, but they couldn’t have possibly resolved every fight with a gun, could they?

Rockstar has set a standard for realism in its games, and RDR2 will likely be brutal in its depiction of 19th century America. Fans are hoping Rockstar goes full Blood Meridian in it’s portrayal of outlaws, scalpers, prospectors and bounty hunters. Along with a refined combat and shooting system, we think an overhauled melee system would help RDR2 stand out among its videogame peers.

The post Why Red Dead Redemption 2 Needs to Have Rockstar’s Best Melee Combat appeared first on RDR2.

Read the full story

[MajorPain]

I would change the title of this article to say "best melee combat AND gun play" - reason being that car chases, racing, etc are a big part of the GTA series and they won't be in RDR2 obviously. So Rockstar will need to make up for that with much much better fighting mechanics. I know that this isn't a GTA game, but I'm more saying GTA V could have a weaker fighting system because it has cars, mods, races etc. RDR2 won't have that so if the combat mechanics are the same it will be a let down!

[SNIP3XL]

I feel like the combat mechanics in GTA V were too basic anyway, so they definitely need to beef them up regardless of whether there would be other gameplay aspects they could rely on (horse racing, ranching, hunting, whatever). The combat needs to be top notch.

[redscrew]

I read about this and I didn't think much of it until now. Having improved movement will greatly enrich the game over all so I hope they enhance it.

[YellowDragon]

25 minutes ago, redscrew said:

I read about this and I didn't think much of it until now. Having improved movement will greatly enrich the game over all so I hope they enhance it.

The melee was one of the worst things about GTA V. It just seems to stupid! It felt like you were punching air half the time. I want to see some true fighting. It is 2017 after all and the game RDR2 will be about gang life of the old west. Let us have some good old fashion bar brawls! 

[redscrew]

On 4/24/2017 at 8:30 PM, YellowDragon said:

The melee was one of the worst things about GTA V. It just seems to stupid! It felt like you were punching air half the time. I want to see some true fighting. It is 2017 after all and the game RDR2 will be about gang life of the old west. Let us have some good old fashion bar brawls! 

Oh I agree for sure with that. I mean the mechanics felt like they were 5 years behind with that game. I would like to think Rockstar have something up their sleeves to improve it in RDR2.

[YellowDragon]

We can only hope. I am thinking that they likely will be better but not as good as they should be, just judging this based on past games. 

[ArmedNAruba]

I want originality. Hopefully Rockstar doesn't follow and comes up with something fresh.