By now most gamers have probably formed an opinion on games based in the American West. To be sure these opinions are by and large, accurate ones. With few notable exceptions, the genre has gone largely untouched over the course of gaming history. The distance developers have set between themselves and Western based games comes with good reason, too. In our opinion, the cream of the crop for Western games includes Gun, Red Dead Revolver (a game Rockstar actually purchased from Capcom) and maybe Oregon Trail if that can even be counted. That’s a fairly short list for 30 years of game development. In our opinion, part of the problem lies in that to do a Western game properly, developers need loads of resources. Until recently, those resources haven’t been at the disposal of studios. With the release of Red Dead Redemption, those days appear to be officially over.
The story of Red Dead Redemption is one that’s not necessarily new, but is still fresh and original. Players take on the role of John Marston, a former gang member and outlaw, who is tasked with hunting down his former gang members by agents of the federal government. To ‘inspire’ John to take on these tasks, these Agents have taken both John’s wife and son hostage. The constant threat of harm to them motivates John to accomplish his mission. The game is set on the border of Mexico and the United States in the American Southwest. The year is 1911, and the era of the untamed Wild West is clearly coming to close.
Come to the Southwest! Enjoy the lush vegetation...
Red Dead Redemption could easily be described as Grand Theft Auto in the Old West. While that statement may not be entirely untrue, it doesn’t do Red Dead Redemption justice. On a primary level, the game has many elements drawn from the GTA series. The influence is unmistakable, but then again it is a Rockstar game. It wouldn’t make sense for a company to not draw inspiration from it’s flagship franchise. Where Red Dead Redemption truly makes it’s mark though is in the level of immersion not yet found in other Rockstar titles. Throughout the course of the game, players will missions and tasks to accomplish. These missions are extremely varied, from herding cattle, to helping a snake oil salesman hoodwink townfolk or helping a crazy treasure hunter find his long lost treasure. The overall mission structure is a good compass for how the game performs in general. On a large scale, everything works as it’s supposed to, but you will find on occasion the random bout of repetition, or just feel as though the story is dragging a bit. When this happens, the game seemlessly falls back on all of the little nuances that truly make it great.
To break up the monotony of daily life in the Old West, RDR allows gamers to do anything from playing poker (and cheating) to hunting down Grizzly bears. An area of particular note to us, was the random world events. While riding through massive environments, players will frequently come across these random world events, and have the option to respond or not. These events can range from things such as a cowboy getting a little too rough with the entertainment in a saloon, a rancher calling for help as thieves make off with his wagon, to a ‘damsel’ in distress calling for help only to reveal a clever ambush. These small touches make all the difference, and make the entire world feel much more alive.
Tijuana sure has changed...
The larger core elements of the game are largely are also worthy of high praise with two small exceptions. There are points in the game where it does grind a bit, and feel a tad repetitive. We primarily felt this way during the underwhelming cattle driving missions. Our suggestion is to break up the missions with free roaming elements. Taking the time to hunt down bounties, work odd jobs, or just finding and breaking wild horses will add much more enjoyment to the overall experience as players won’t feel as though they are being led down a linear path.
The other area of concern we wanted to discuss was the games controls. The mechanics were all sound, and for the most part button layout was all done well. We had problems on occasion though, when tasked with doing several things at once, such as lassoing a horse while trying to navigate the desert terrain, or making an escape on horseback while fighting off outlaws in pursuit. Bear in mind these are small gripes, but we would be remiss if we didn’t at least discuss them.
Sorry, Partner. Things are tough all over.
Artistically the game succeeds in ways typically reserved for RPG’s rife with cut scenes and one on one battle sequences. The ability of Rockstar to capture the subtle beauty of the American Southwest should be applauded. In a land filled with drab browns, reds, blacks and oranges, Rockstar manages to paint their world on a gorgeous canvas that is teeming with life and ever changing lush scenery. In a matter of minutes players can go from the beauty of a sunset over deep canyons, to the wild beauty of a snow covered mountain wild. With realtime weather effects, players will also experience everything from excruciating heat and blazing sun, to torrential downpours from flash thunderstorms. Player models in RDR are also extremely well done. It should be noted that just as much effort went into the models for NPC’s as did John Marston. The amount of detail right down to the scars on Marston’s cheek show a level of detail that Rockstar can be proud of.
Audibly, RDR is a tour de force. Music in the game always feels appropriate and rarely drowns out important action, only adding to the experience and never taking away from it. In game dialog is remarkable as well, with all voice work being spot on and sublimely done. Our favorite bit of in game chatter comes from random events, as the dialog between two random ranchers camping out in the desert is as colorful as the landscape they inhabit. Sound effect work in the game is also executed perfectly, as all gun play, animal sound effects, and everything else one could think of sound exactly as expected. In the video game world, poor audio can easily ruin a good game or go completely unnoticed in an excellent one. In RDR, the audio is a highlight and never an afterthought.
Regulators! Mount up!
Multiplayer action in the game is also a treat, as it provides an easy way to break up the single player action. The multiplayer portion of RDR is best experienced, in our opinion, in small doses however. Easily the highlight of the multiplayer action is the ability to raid gang hideouts with friends, or singlehandedly. We recommend at least trying this out, even if multiplayer action isn’t typically on the radar for a player. We did find that the standard multiplayer action frequently turned into a mindless effort of ‘every man for himself’ and rarely seemed to focus on the task at hand. We spent more time trying not to be killed by some random player, than we did working on a specific goal. This wanton display of ‘me first’ gaming isn’t a testament though to the quality of the game itself as it’s more of a commentary on the design of the multiplayer game modes. To really enjoy the multiplayer action, gamers are advised to try and secure a group of mostly friends before riding out.
The new Outlaws to the End DLC that Rockstar has released is also now available, for free. This content has been superb, and really showcases the co-op action we wanted to see from the beginning. For those that have the game, and haven’t picked this DLC up, do so now. It’s free, and really does add tremendous value to the overall package.
Every good cowboy needs a strong exit...
Up until now, there hasn’t been a game that has been developed in the Western genre that could be defined as a seminal moment. For every Gun, there’s been a Call of Juarez or a Darkwatch. The genre has been doomed with little inspiration, and where there was inspiration, it often bordered on the odd and fantastic (see Darkwatch.) Where Red Dead Redemption changes the formula, is in the fact that it openly draws inspiration from epic Western films, such as Shane, Pale Rider, and Unforgiven to name a few. Red Dead Redemption is that seminal title in the Western genre.
When Star Wars was released, it wasn’t just the cool story that drew viewers in. It was that it was such a fresh take on such an incredibly deep, well woven story that had been established for years and years in Westerns. The only difference was that it was set in space and the heroes used blasters and light sabers instead of six shooters and lassos.
With games like Red Dead Redemption, we hope to see the video game world make a return to solid immersive story telling, in much the same way movies like Star Wars did three decades ago. The need isn’t to reinvent the wheel. The need is to establish a solid and memorable story, and interweave it with elements that ultimately make the sum of the parts greater than the whole. Red Dead Redemption accomplishes this in a way that few games have before. Our recommendation to all gamers, is that Red Dead Redemption be treated as a must buy. No true gamer can consider their collection complete without it on their shelves.
Overall Rating 9.5/10
