Saddle up and gather ’round the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, y’all — one of the most impressive games of the summer takes place back in the Wild West.
Red Dead Redemption, a spiritual successor to 2004’s Red Dead Revolver, follows former outlaw John Marston in an area known as New Austin at the turn of the 20th century.
After life in a criminal gang, Marston reforms for the sake of his family and moves away. Years later, the government threatens his loved ones unless he can track down the members of the gang — men he used to consider family.
Developed by Rockstar San Diego (Midnight Club: Los Angeles) and published by Rockstar Games (Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony), this narrative about the end of the Old West was in good hands as far as creative storytelling goes — Rockstar’s writers have proven to be among the best in the industry, and Red Dead Redemption just furthers the claim.
Rockstar paints the West vividly and authentically. The sandbox-style map is gigantic, allowing players to explore the vast expanses of Manifest Destiny either on foot, horseback or carriage. The landscape is populated by vultures, rabbits, coyotes and other wildlife that can all be hunted, and players can encounter random acts such as robberies and drunken fights, in which they can intervene.
The characters are colorful, attempting to survive as best they can as modern civilization approaches.
Rancher Bonnie McFarlane is a smart-talking independent woman, and Sheriff Johnson protects the town of Armadillo, explaining, “This country is infested with all manners of scum.” Seth Briars looks for treasure maps while digging up dead bodies, and Nigel West Dickens is a swindler who goes town to town selling “miracle cures” because “the lying, cheating degenerate … can prosper.” Other characters include a drunken Irish arms dealer, a revolutionary in Mexico, and a nutty professor from Yale.
Each character brings about a variety of mission types that include activities such as ranching, horse racing, duels and bounty hunting. The player’s actions as Marston will affect his “fame” and “honor” levels — these influence how people in the various towns perceive him.
Red Dead Redemption borrows quite a bit from the more recent Grand Theft Auto titles, including the map system, graphics engine and non-linear play style, but is so vastly different that it does not feel like a copy, but rather an innovative use of familiar features.
That doesn’t mean that Red Dead Redemption doesn’t have its faults. Despite a delay in its release, the game could still use some more polish. There are a few glitches, such as people occasionally moving without walking, and — on one occasion — a horse ending up on top of a wagon.
Voice acting is top notch, as gamers have come to expect from Rockstar titles. Not only are the main characters voiced over, but everyone in the Old West have casual conversations and speak while participating in their day-to-day tasks (players can even take part in some of them, like playing poker).
Combat becomes intuitive, as long as you don’t want to switch weapons in the middle of combat, which is difficult. Players can fight on foot, wagon or on horseback.
The most novel part of the combat is Marston’s “Dead Eye” ability, which slows time and allows him to pull off impressive trick shots with his guns.
As much fun as the story is, players can have a ton of fun simply riding their horse around the countryside, hunting animals and enjoying the randomly generated events that occur as they explore.
The naturalistic setting of Red Dead Redemption combines the best storytelling aspects found in Grand Theft Auto with the outback feel of Oregon Trail.
If Marston’s story isn’t enough, Red Dead Redemption also includes full-featured multiplayer options on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. Players can roam New Austin with other players or engage in variations on traditional games like Deathmatch and Capture the Flag.
Westerns are a rarity in a market filled with video games set in the big city. Rockstar took a risk and set their huge summer release in the Old West, and it is a refreshing change of pace.
Pulled down only by a few rare bugs and some load times, Red Dead Redemption brings Rockstar’s trademark writing together with great gameplay, making it an impressive narrative and a fantastic experience that starts the summer off with a bang.
RATING: 4.5 out of 5 stars
afreedman@umdbk.com
