Review: Red Dead Redemption

Xbox 360, PS3

By James Heffield / Monday, June 14 2010

From cattle wrangling and poker to bounty hunting and quick draw, Red Dead Redemption brings the wild west to life like no game before.

Playing as morally loose bounty hunter John Marston, the game spits you out into a graphically beautiful open world complete with wildlife, bandits, small lawless towns and of course, tumble weeds. Much of the early game is spent helping a rancher’s daughter, Bonnie McFarlane, to round up cattle, scare off coyotes and break in horses. Nary a shot need be fired in the first hour or so, which may disappoint fans of Rockstar Games’ best known title, Grand Theft Auto. Of course, you can play the bandit if you want to, but the superior voice acting and deeper characters almost make it hard to sleep at night if you play the bad guy.

The wild west setting is wonderfully created by Rockstar and features raging rivers, jaw-droppingly high cliffs and an ecology of animals that can be hunted and then skinned to obtain pelts, feathers or meat. The sheer scale and beauty of the landscape makes it impossible to avoid wandering off into the sunset just to take a look at your surroundings from time to time, although it’s important to watch out for any wolves or cougars that might be feeling hungry for you or your horse . Of course, if you do lose your horse, you can search the wilderness for a wild horse to lasso and break in, or steal one from outside a saloon or sheriff’s office if you think your riding skills are good enough to make a getaway.

The game is open and allows you to gain or lose fame and honour depending on what good deeds or sins you commit. It also provides a strong plot and interesting missions for those that want some direction. Alongside the main plot, which focuses on Marston’s quest to kill former gang colleague Bill Williamson, are a series of side plots, mini games and random events. As you wander through the wilderness or small towns you may come across a group of bandits attempting to rob a farmer or a drunk getting rough with a saloon girl at a small-town watering hole. At each of these random events it’s up to you to decide whether you help out, turn a blind eye or in some cases, join in.

Some of the mini games you will come across are surprisingly entertaining, whether it be poker or blackjack, horseshoe toss or five finger fillet (think “knifey knifey” from the movie Aliens). These mini games generally involve gambling and often provide another means of earning money, aside from hunting animals and selling their pelts, catching criminals and collecting the bounty on their heads or completing missions. That cash can then be used to buy weapons or supplies.

Despite its strong plotlines and immersive gameplay, there are a couple of areas where Rockstar could have done better. Some of the physics are a little dodgy when you ride your horse through the undergrowth, jump a fence or collide with a wall, and I noticed a few graphical oddities from time to time. At one point I noticed a man sitting in mid-air a short way from a fence when I’m sure he was meant to be on top of the fence. Fortunately these are very minor things and they don’t detract much from the gameplay.

It’s also worth noting that if you want a gunfight its not hard to find one in Red Dead Redemption, but it doesn’t quite have the variety and intensity of action you will find in Grand Theft Auto. What it does have is a compelling plot, some incredibly entertaining characters and a stunningly put together world that would make Billy the Kid and John Wayne feel at home. It’s taken far too long for a developer to create a great western, but finally, one has arrived.

Red Dead Redemption
R16
Developer: Rockstar Games
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Better than: Red Dead Revolver
Worse than: Grand Theft Auto IV
The best western game ever made.

9/10