How The West Was Won

One post in May, it wasn't a great month for this fledgling blog but I'm hoping to get back on track. Step one in doing this is writing a new review. Today's game? Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption. Hold onto your cowboy hats as we visit the good ol' west, or at least the dying days of the west.

Red Dead isn't your typical Rockstar game. Now I know most people will go into this thing with the same mentality they have when playing Grand Theft Auto and in a way it's very similar. However the setting really help to differentiate between the two. You've got the open wilderness of the west versus the sprawling city of Grand Theft Auto and let me tell you, the old west might just be a bit more entertaining. I really shouldn't be comparing the two since they emerged from different development houses under the Rockstar brand but they utilize some of the same mechanics and similar visual style that it's hard not to. However from this point on I will judge Red Dead on it's own merit and boy does it hold it's own weight. 

Red Dead Redemption follows the story of John Marston, a former outlaw turned family man/rancher. Yes, this big bad outlaw has gone from robbing banks and shooting people to tending a small farm with his wife, son, and a man they all refer to as Uncle. Unfortunately John is dragged back into the world he has left when the government tasks him with tracking down his old gang who had previously shot and left him for dead. Thus begins the story of Red Dead Redemption as the player takes control of John Marston and sets out to track down his old gang members, a journey that will take them through desolate landscapes, ghost towns, and even into Mexico as they exact their revenge. 

I'm getting ahead of myself here because as straight forward as this all sounds, there's so much meat to this game that for a good while I stopped doing missions to advance the story all together. As I said before the landscapes are stunning but very sparse. You'll come across tumbleweeds, fields of cacti and generally open landscapes as far as the eye can see. Not to mention that it is all rendered beautifully. I can't commend Rockstar's San Diego crew enough on the job they did with the level design and atmosphere. But great level design can mean nothing if you can't bring life to it. Fortunately for us Rockstar was able to do just that in some very clever ways. Borrow a bit from GTA 4 where you had certain strangers that you could meet and help, Red Dead also has a strangers side quest. The good thing is that they're rewarding in certain ways. Not only do they add to your fame and honor (when you complete them as an upstanding lawman) but some of them add to your check list for unlocking other outfits for Marston to wear.

Here's the thing though; there's a difference between Stranger events and random events in the world. Now Red Dead isn't the first game to do this but it might be the most effective. Sure you've played open-world games where the NPCs might have some scripted acts that go on around you that don't effect the gameplay in any way, but the random events in Red Dead will draw you in. I can't tell you how many times I got side tracked on the way to a new town after a mission only to find myself ambushed by treasure hunters or bandits. And it's not just like bandits spawning out of nowhere either. I slowed my horse as I came across a woman standing next to her carriage and two dead horses only to find three bandits jumping out from behind the carriage ready to rob me. And after dealing with them I have a choice..do I punish this woman who took part in the attempted robbery or do I let her go? The choice is always up to the player.

Still, it's not all shooting and horseback riding in the game. Sometimes you may just like to enjoy the scenery or interacting with NPCs and Red Dead offers lots of chances to do this. I found a lot of the time when I didn't want to do a mission but still play the game I'd go to the saloon in one of the towns and maybe start a drunken bar brawl. Or if you're more into making money on the side you could go try your hand at Texas Hold 'Em, Blackjack, Five Finger Fillet, and other assorted games. I even found a Arm Wrestling mini-game out near the town of Blackwater. 

Granted I've been rattling off a bunch of features  and you're probably thinking to yourself now, "That's great, but how does the game actually play?" Well to be honest anyone who's played GTA4 will be used to this interface. The difference really comes down to the period pieces; the weaponry, the mode of transportation, and so on. Yes, you can ride by carriage much similar to riding in a taxi or you can ride your horse. Frankly if you're in the old west, horse is the only way to travel and very simple to control in terms of steering. There's a stamina bar for the horse and as you spur it along the stamina will drop. Holding the "A" button once the bar reaches red will maintain your speed as the stamina bar replenishes itself so you can spur again. This knowledge comes in handy because as with other Rockstar games, there will be opportunities to race. 

The shooting mechanic remains the same with your varying levels of aiming. The game is automatically set to auto-aim so all you have to do is point in that direction then hold the aim button to lock on. However when jumping the aiming up to expert you lose this and can free aim entirely. This would be for your more advanced  players. Although on normal you can use with one. (Side note, there is an achievement/trophy for nailing a headshot while using expert aiming. Just something to keep in mind.)  

While this may seem like a glowing review, I have to warn you all of the glitches that have thus far plagued the game. Since the game launched it has been unfortunately marred with bugs that have gone unresolved. For the first two days multiplayer was unplayable as portions of the map would turn characters and weapons invisible upon entrance. Physics glitches seem to effect both the multiplayer and single player experiences along with freezing issues and some sequences that don't seem to initiate properly when triggered. Rockstar has a title update in the works so they will be corrected and some of those early multiplayer bugs have been patched out already. Still it was disheartening to see a game's overall experience diminished by some bugs in the code. The general consensus is that Rockstar has a winner on its hands though. So when you take into account that so many people can overlook so many glitches (that are slowly being patched) and still tout this game as a contender for Game of the Year, you know something good has been created. 

The story is engaging, the game-play is fun and there's enough extra content to keep gamers coming back even after they've completed the final mission. Not to mention that Rockstar has already stated that a DLC pack of co-op missions will be launched for free. So there's even more incentive to keep playing even after you've completed those master hunter and survivalist challenges. It's not a perfect game, but it's pretty damn close. 

I'm giving Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 

Gameplay - 4/5

Story - 4/5

Level Design - 5/5

Sound Design - 5/5

Replay Value - 5/5

Overall - 4.5/5