Red Dead Redemption Review

When Red Dead Revolver launched on the Playstation 2 back in 2004, a less developed Rockstar Studios took a gamble by creating a Grand Theft Auto style adventure game set in the Wild West. Six years later and the now legendary developer has returned to the series with staggeringly awesome results.

Red Dead Redemption tells the tale of John Marston, an retired outlaw who is forced to hunt down the men he used to call friends by the American government, who have kidnapped his family and demand change in the Old West. The story spans from 1911 to 1914 as Marston traverses his old gang's territory to find and kill his old comrades. Without giving too much away the story is simply fantastic, filled to burst with a plethora of interesting characters and the kind of human emotion and dialogue rarely seen in any modern game. The story draws the player in so much that they'll get almost completely emotionally invested and they'll never want it to end. The only issue with such a brilliant achievement is that there's barely any player choice compared with Grand Theft Auto 4 no matter whether you play through as a trustworthy hero or a ruthless bandit.

John Marston's rousing adventure is simply enormous as open games go. The single player story takes at least twenty hours and double that if most players factor in the extreme amount of things to do across the large map. Story missions, side missions, tricky challenges for hunting wildlife among others, properties to rent and buy, go drinking, kill or capture wanted outlaws for a cash reward, search for hidden treasures, watch a ranch at night for horse robbers, card games like poker and blackjack, complete gang hideouts, help out random strangers and so much more. The game is structured in that missions are activated by talking to a character or going to a specific location which then triggers a cut scene. The character will tell you what to do then you'll head off on horseback to kill a group of enemies find an item or escort the character. As per many Rockstar games saving is done by going to a bought property and sleeping which makes six hours pass in the game world. The game also features a camping system which Marston can use to save anywhere and change costumes and weapons. When you're not doing a story or side mission the world is almost completely open to explore at your leisure though some areas are bordered off until later parts of the game. Red Dead Redemption also boasts a good sized multiplayer component for 16 players across modes like grab the bag, team deathmatch and the like. The multiplayer extends across the entire with players starting matches at specific locations or just shooting each other up to become the most wanted player. Your character online levels up to aquire new skins, weapons and mounts which can be unbalanced when you start off but the multiplayer remains lots of fun and is bound to keep players interested long after the story is completed RDR will keep players going for months if not years to come thanks to it's extensive options and features.

The Western open world is divided into shooting and travelling. Trading shots with the West's worst bandits takes central stage as Marston locks on to enemies to take a shot. From there you can tune your aim to target an enemies heads for an instant kill or hit them in the leg to slow and cripple them. The game uses a dead eye system which slows time to target many enemies at once. It's an immensely gratifying system that makes dealing with many enemies at once more manageable. The many weapons include pistols, shotguns, rifles and projectiles with pistols being used in atmospheric duels. Here you must target the enemy to kill them or shoot the gun out of their hand. Health is handled by the radar in the bottom left of the screen which regenerates automatically but can also be refilled by herbs and different foods. Marston is an agile character in that similar to Grand Theft Auto 4 he can take cover behind just about any object, climb walls and perform evasive roles. Crucially the game also features a lasso which can be used in different ways. It can pull enemies over giving you the chance to fill them with lead or capture them alive and tie them to your horse. It's a bit baffling though that the lasso can't be used to climb obstacles.

Platforming is generally solid with good controls though it can get frustrating when attempting to reach specific areas to grab a treasure. Death results in a reload at the nearest property you bought which can be annoying but thankfully the travel mitigates the frustration as horses can travel quickly, setting up camp allows you to warp to an area and stage coaches are also available to view the detailed game world. Red Dead Redemption differs from GTA in that it uses Fame and Honour systems to track Marston's reputation with the NPCs in the game. Both are gained through completing missions and saving civilians but can be lost if Marston kills civilians or steals property such as horses. If you have high honour then NPCs will offer discounts and greet you but will steer clear if your honour is low. When a crime is committed a bounty is placed on John's head with bounty hunters showing up and the bounty increasing every time another crime is committed. To avoid the law you'll have to escape to another section of the map or use a bandanna to hide your identity and prevent the law from recognising Marston entirely. The bounty never goes away however and you'll have to pay off the bounty yourself at a local newspaper store or use a letter of pardon. The game play in RDR is greatly fun and satisfying despite controls being a tad fiddly for newcomers at first.

The presentation is almost completely authentic and incredibly detailed with it's rich world filled with excellent details like wild animals, varied environments and a beautiful looking landscapes with full day and night cycles. Characters, voice acting and dialogue are all superb, placed alongside technically brilliant music and graphics. There will be a few glitches in a game this side but as a whole package few games can match the immersion and detail found in Red Dead Redemption's old west.

Red Dead Redemption is an outstanding open world game that improves on the original and elevates the series to classic status. Any fan of third person shooters, open world games or westerns alike have no reason not to go and buy this game right away.

Rating: 9.5/10