Developer - Rockstar San Diego
Publisher - Rockstar Games
Year - 2010
Genre - Open-World, TFS
Format Reviewed - PS3
Other Formats - Xbox360
Players - 1
Difficulty - Lenient
ESRB Rating - M
BBFC Rating - 18
HD Space min (PS3) - 600 MD
Resolution: 640p (720p on 360)
Red Dead Redemption © Rockstar Games

Screen shots

Media

Written Review

Rock Star San Diego and Rock Star Games return to the old west with Red Dead Redemption, a spiritual successor to the last generation’s Red Dead Revolver; but is the game worthy of your fistful of dollars?

It’s 1911, and the old west is on it last legs. Federate agents are being sent in to clean the lands of criminals and murderers; so the folk can be safe and businesses may thrive. John Marston, once an outlaw in his own right, is sent against his will to this unforgiving place to hunt down the men he once called brothers, his first attempt at negotiation is met with a bullet, but thanks to the aid of rancher Bonnie MacFarlane, he gets a second chance to go after his old "friends". Along the way, he meets some interesting people and shoots a whole lot more.

If you’re played any of the Grand Theft Auto games, you’ll find yourself in very familiar territory with the game’s design. From the outset the majority of the land is yours to explore, with two additional areas opening up later on; in each of the lands you have individuals you can meet to initiate story missions, which can range from herding cattle, infiltrating hide-outs, to prolonged skirmishes against waves of enemies.

Alternatively you can wonder aimlessly across the map looking for diversions, of which there are many. Table games such as poker and blackjack can be played for high stakes, as can horseshoes and the somewhat more dangerous five-finger fillet. You can take night watches, engage in duels, go hunting and take time to engage in some bounty hunting, infiltrate hideouts that reset over time and even go to watch a flick, complete with title cards and piano music.

Along your travels in the open world you’ll be greeted with random events like a deputy asking you to recover a safe from thieves, or someone being attacked by a pack of bandits or animals. You can also find Strangers, designated NPCs laid out across the map, who will give you an optional quest to partake in. You’re free to do these at your leisure, or not at all, and some of them are almost heartbreaking; or just plain weird.

There is abundant wildlife, from rabbits, deer and coyotes, to more dangerous animals like wolves, cougars, and grizzly bears; all are fair game for your collection of weapons and once dead can be skinned for their fur, feathers and meats, which can then be sold to merchants.

To get around, you really need a horse and the game will always provide you with a basic breed by default, different horse’s have different rates of stamina and speed; so it’s ideal to try to catch and tame a better one. Taming involves a brief mini-game and once a breed has been tamed you can buy a deed for that type to make it your default. Travelling by horse feels like a good facsimile of the real thing, tapping the X button to make the horse gallop faster and holding R1 for pulling on the reigns. Rapidly pressing X over a short time will tire the horse out so bear in mind its stamina or it will throw you off in protest. Holding down X while riding in a group will make you match their speed.

There are alternatives to horses, stage coaches let you quick travel to towns, and the train will take you to any town that it passes through, although you’ll forced to wait the journey out. Occasionally your find yourself either as a passenger on a wagon or as the driver, just be prepare on these occasions to engage in the odd shootout.

Weapons are authentic to the time, with revolvers, rifles, and dynamite; while several sections involve much more heavy artillery such as gatling guns. John also acquires a lasso for the non-lethal capture of both humans and animals, and it is quite amusing to drag a human behind your horse as you gallop over fields of cacti, although it’s more practical to hogtie your victim and carry him via horseback.

Although the aiming is more than adequate, it’s nothing compared to the game’s most powerful ability, dead eye mode. Being in Dead Eye allows you to essentially slow time down to more easily aim and shoot at the enemy. Eventually you upgrade it to include the ability to target specific body parts (or pretty much anything), upon which Marston will unleash lead on the selected enemies. However the bar quickly drains, refilling over time, or with precise or elaborate gunplay, making sure that the mechanic never become a crutch to lead on.

Unlike most of his foes, John Marston himself is pretty resilient, able to take several bullets in quick succession before being downed; with the screen fading to indicate how close he is to death. Keeping him out of reach of lethal projectiles allows him to regain health considerable quickly, putting him back in the game. Along with the dead eye abilities, it can make the game seem too easy at times, but it certainly is fun.

Being caught by surprise is often much more fatal, like blindly running into a random ambush, or getting pounced on by a cougar you didn’t see. Negating death somewhat is the lack of any sort of real penalties, and the cleverly spaced mission checkpoints, which never leave you with too much backtracking to do: it goes a long way to limit any frustration.

The A.I. reacts well to your actions, with NPC’s running for cover or out of saloons when you fire you gun, characters will engage in banter amongst themselves, and the townfolk have something resembling a schedule. Enemies in combat run to cover and activating try to avoid being in plain view, although at times they resort to somewhat too basic tactics, popping up and down like a whack-a-mole game. Combat nevertheless always feels fun and

While the game tries to portray John as a reluctant hero, you don’t necessarily have to play by the rules, you can commit burglaries, murders or go on a homicidal rampage if you so wish. However make sure to wipe out any witnesses, or they’ll inform the local law enforcement, giving you a wanted level as well as putting a bounty on your head. You can lose the law by outrunning their perimeter, but the bounty will remain, attracting hunters until you either pay the bounty yourself or give a pardon notice in at a telegraph station. Alternately you can give yourself in and do a spell in prison, paying the fine in the process with either cash or by going on a bounty hunt. However the game doesn’t really encourage this type of behaviour, with shops refusing to serve you the law pinning for you blood; the benefits of staying on the honourable side of things tends to reward you more often here.

During the review play-through, the controls did cop-out on more than one occasion, making it impossible to mount a horse or hogtie a bounty, or unable to stop running; both problems were minor and thanks to the well placed checkpoints, solvable by simply reloading a save. In a game this large and complex, a few bugs are understandable.

Red Dead looks greats; in fact it looks like a downright beautiful open-world game. Factor in practically nonexistent loading times outside of the initial boot-up and quick travelling. Detailed textures, immaculate draw distance and an eye for detail all play their part; as do humans who don’t look like they’re living in the uncanny valley. The frame rate on the PS3 version takes a bit of a dip here and there where things get hectic, and there’s a tiny bit of aliasing issues while playing in Standard Def. but for the main part Redemption is a visual feast for the eyes.

The soundtrack boasts some great music appropriate to the subject matter, but the music is more selective than a constant companion, with you during action and other pivotal moments, with ambient sound effects, and conversations taking greater precedence. The script is well written, with hour upon hour of dialogue and goes from being touching to genuinely funny, while the voice actors are spot on in their roles.

9/10