The Wild West has been home to many fond memories in the past, and the topic alone has many instantly recognizable characters and imagery associated with it. From the popular schoolyard games of cowboys and Indians to the famous Will Smith rap song (and movie) to the infamous roundhouse kick of Chuck Norris, the West is not only an important piece of American history, but it’s also been an engrossing facet of entertainment. Such a rich history has unfortunately been avoided by video games for the most part, but Rockstar aims to change that with the release of Red Dead Redemption (RDR). It follows the tale of one John Marston, a former bandit attempting to straighten out until a corrupt government changes everything. Set in a time when gun slinging was a real skill, will Red Dead Redemption become synonymous with the Wild West, or will it be too slow on the draw to survive the vast dangers of the very land it portrays?
If nothing else, RDR provides an incredibly detailed look into the Wild West like no other game or movie has done before. This is most definitely one of the best looking games to date, and the fact that it runs near flawlessly within a completely open world sandbox environment is not only a technologically impressive feat, but a testament to the immersive ability of gaming. Everything around the player seems alive and self sustaining, as if the world isn’t depending on the player’s presence to make a difference. Grass moves under foot while tumbleweeds roll elegantly in the breeze, and NPC characters interact with nature and one another to occasionally resulting in hilarious moments. The game also makes use of a full night and day cycle, which means that the people in town enjoy different types of activities and wildlife patterns change to fit as well. Sure it’s more likely there will be stumbling drunks and bandit attacks from sunset on, but at the same time there could not be a more beautiful time to traverse the desert on horseback. Likewise, there’s no better time for a duel then high noon when the sun is beating down directly overhead and everyone nearby can watch justice being served first hand.
The Wild West had a strong shoot first, ask questions later mentality, because questions first might only lead to a body full of bullet holes. If this is how things worked in the past, it’s honestly a wonder anyone lived past the age of 25. There is a zero tolerance for crime of any kind in RDR, as it’s perfectly acceptable to open up on someone for stealing, cheating, lying, or simply giving someone a funny look. This brand of vigilante justice can provide some interesting moments within the story, and you’ll be on the edge of your seat for each cut scene because one of the characters may meet an early end. At first, RDR’s mission structure is actually rather repetitive and, at times, quite slow paced. The “follow someone here and then kill people there” is a staple of the game type, but thankfully it becomes more exciting and varied about half way through. The game becomes significantly more intense once you begin high jacking trains and mowing down gangs with old school Gatling guns, while at the same time adding in a very small amount of stealth, platforming and sniping variation. The gameplay itself is a bit slower paced and methodical due to the weapons available at the time, but it still stretches just slightly beyond the realistic realm to keep it entertaining. It only takes a bullet or two to kill most enemies though, so gunfights are usually quick stop and pop sequences that can be a bit simple, yet still entertaining. There is little more amusing then watching a mounted enemy get his foot caught and being dragged by his horse after pulling the trigger.
If you’re a fan of Rockstar’s previous title GTA4, the controls will instantly become second nature again because they’ve simply been copied and pasted in, with one exception. The Wild West didn’t have the modern cars of today, but instead people used horses and rickety wagons to travel and transport their goods. Unfortunately the horse controls are one of the few issues with this game, especially when compared to the intuitiveness of the on foot gameplay. When on wide open ground, everything works well and the player will be blazing across the desert with ease. However, when riding slowly or in enclosed areas such as towns, it is not uncommon to incur a frustrating battle with the steed as it’s often difficult just to get it to turn around. Also, aiming at enemies is tricky because of the need to tap a button to gain and maintain speed on a horse, making the player decide which is more important at the time. Once the system is gotten used to it becomes easier to manage your horse, but these issues remain persistent even if they occur less often. Controlling the main character, John Marston, on foot is very enjoyable though, which makes running around town and shooting whomever gets in the way a breeze. There is an auto aim option as well as a free aim setting available depending on your skill level, but whichever you choose is certain to result in some of the best ragdoll animations ever seen before.
This game is no slouch in the audio department either, as it has some of the most believable yet crazy cast members a person could ever befriend. The voice work in RDR is top quality, and obviously takes pointers from movies of the past. Many of the characters have stereotypical personalities, but each of them are used to the fullest extent and make for some grand conversations and odd missions. The characters are so well portrayed that you’ll like almost every single one of them, despite them often being criminals, scam artists, corrupt officials or crazy treasure hunters. Little things like the constant use of a characters last name and the use of some old sayings make the world a believable place. Of course, just as much time is spent shooting at people as it is talking to them, so it’s important that the old weapons sound accurate as well. Thankfully they do. Each weapon sounds powerful in the hands of Mr. Marston, and there are some classic sounds as bullets whiz by and ricochet around. Nature is no slouch either, with realistic sounding animals howling in the distance or growling up close. There is a bit of music playing depending on what’s going on at the time, but for the most part it blends in with the ambient sounds so well that it’s almost irrelevant. All of these traits carry into the multiplayer modes as well, though often even more intense due to more people interacting with each other.
RDR allows for up to 8 friends to form a posse online and take in the best and worst the Wild West has to offer. Whether it’s a pleasant horseback ride through a canyon at sunset, causing complete mayhem in town or teaming up to take out one of the various gang hideouts, there is plenty of fun to be had in free mode. Complete freedom to travel through the entire map seamlessly is still present, and it creates one of the best lobby experiences of all time to boot. If competitive gameplay is in order, just go to the nearest town and sign the posse up for one of the many game types online. One thing that needs mentioning is that competitive multiplayer modes all begin in a duel, with the winning team getting map control and a few bonus points from the start. There has never been a more amusing way to begin a match, and it gets the blood pumping right from the start with its high intensity. Unfortunately at this time at least, the online portion of Red Dead Redemption is riddled with bugs that often prevent the player from being able to enjoy it. Players will often lag out for no apparent reason, become invisible to all other players after joining, and other times the game will hang in the loading screen or freeze during gameplay.
This is a bit of an issue since multiplayer is one of the main components that will keep the game entertaining after many hours of play. When it works it can be a blast, and there is an online experience based ranking system to keep you busy as well. Unfortunately there is little more than new skins and name titles that can be unlocked to keep the player going, and the game really could have used a little more incentive to keep leveling up. Weapons and faster horses unlock over time as well, but they aren’t a big reward considering the fact that they can be stolen from NPCs and dead enemies at any time. If playing solo is more your thing, there are also tons of side missions and mini-games that can be played as well. It seems as though no one is able to help themselves when things go wrong, so the best solution is to ask a stranger to risk everything on their behalf. People will ask you to retrieve stolen items, search for lost family members or even blackmail other characters to name a few. One small issue with these is that they occasionally overlap with main story mission areas. One minute a barn will be on fire with people gruesomely hung inside it, and not five minutes later everyone is alive and well as if nothing ever happened. There are also mini-games such as horseshoes, blackjack, poker, and five finger fillet that can be found in most cities, and they provide a moderate distraction when a break is needed. None of them are particularly exciting, but they all play well and often times there is a chance to make (or lose) money betting on them. The more you bet, the more challenging the mini-game becomes, but it’s unlikely that they will hold the players attention for long periods of time.
The Rundown
Red Dead Redemption sets the bar high this year with its fascinating take on the Wild West. From the beautifully crafted and finely detailed setting, to the intriguing characters that reside within, this game is definitely one that needs to be experienced. Minor issues aside, it’s also a technically sound title with a high quality and authentic feel to it that few other games can match.
