I for one, am GLAD there's no third person. Because third person can fuck right off and die in a gutter.
And honestly, current console guys....what were you thinking? Wait for the next gen and try again. I get it, you like consoles and that's fine, it's 2020 and we're supposed to be accepting of alt lifestyles now days. But seriously, even the next gen stuff might struggle here.
I agree that the game falls a bit short of being fully immersive when compared to the RPG but c'mon....be fair...NOTHING short of actually jacking in will rival that experience, so get your panties unbunched and just accept that this is a GOOD ATTEMPT even if it can't quite flesh the world out the way it should be. Show me a game that comes close.
Oh also....optics would extend effective range not MAXIMUM range. A better optic will allow you to engage a target further away, THUS, extending your EFFECTIVE range.
Personally I've been enjoying it. I will agree that the AI can be a little wonky at times but I'm personally of the opinion that the NPC AIs here are far superior to GTA's versions. If for no other reason than they aren't in GTA which I've grown to despise over the years. I want to love it, but their insistence on including pvp in my non-pvp playthrough is a back breaker. I have only a few hours into RDR2 and then just walked away because of this. Which is a shame, the game looks fantastic and fun as hell.....but pvp in rockstar games can fuck right off.
My biggest complaints are car handling and quest tracking, other stuff too but it's mostly minor issues. Overall I think the game is great. Would I have done the skill tree a little differently? Sure, but it works even if it IS a bit like Borderlands at times.
Overall I'd give it a solid 8/10