Red Dead Redemption – Review (X360, PS3)
As Rockstar’s first foray into the old west open world genre, it wouldn’t be wholly unfair to call it a western Grand Theft Auto. In fact, had this been referred to as a spin off of the series, it would have been right at home. However, while I was quite disappointed with the last GTA, Red Dead Redemption doesn’t have any of its predecessors issues. In fact, it is probably one of the finest open world experiences I can recall.
Gameplay features the same basic setup as the new targeting system found in GTA IV. If the cursor is in the general vicinity of the target, tapping the aim button will lock onto the target. Dead Eye returns from the last game, which allows you to slow time for a bit and aim at as many targets as you have bullets in your gun. This feature can make larger gun fights quite easy, but the Dead Eye meter refills slowly enough that it never becomes an unfair advantage for the player. My only major issue with the gameplay is the return to the always annoying mechanic of ‘water is instant death’. I understand that the main character cannot swim, but he would be able to get out of neck deep water without immediately drowning.
Horseback riding has an excellent balance between requiring skill and ease of perfection. In the beginning of the game, I was frequently running into fences, bumping into people in town, and generally making a fool of myself. After some practice, riding the horses was as simple as driving vehicles in other games even though the controls are quite different. A fast travel feature is implemented in two fashions. The first allows you to make camp anywhere you like, as long as it is away from the roads and towns, and then select to travel to any location you have previously visited. The second form of travel is done by purchasing a stagecoach ride in town. These allow you to visit towns that you haven’t previously been to and passes less time than using your campsite.
Mission setup will be familiar to GTA fans as well. Looking at your mini-map will show you the locations of your next mission, usually labeled with the first initial of the quest-giver. The game occasionally goes a bit too far with the errand boy plot device. Quite often you will be required to do several missions for a person you don’t particularly like and do things you don’t necessarily agree with in order to get one tiny bit of information that helps you with your own goals. Fortunately, the majority of the missions are entertaining and never feel repetitive. My first playthrough took just over 30 hours, which is absolutely impressive when you consider that it never felt artificially extended by unnecessary repetitive the way most open world games do.
Optional side missions can quite literally pop up anywhere. Some begin in towns, but most will begin when you hear someone yelling to you and a blue dot appearing on your map. Most are fairly simple, such as chase down a horse thief or help a hunter hunt some local wild animals. Other side quests can take longer, like searching for a wanted criminal and delivering him to jail. Some of the more entertaining moments occurred when I stopped next to a person who was yelling for help, only to have them yank me to the ground and take off on my horse while laughing gleefully, leaving me only moments to shoot the person and get my horse back.
In addition to the side quests, there are also challenges to complete. Many of these have a bit of ‘World of Warcraft’ feel to them, requiring you to kill five birds or collect eight deer skins. The treasure hunter challenge was a highlight among these. Early in the game, you find a hand drawn map that give you the general location to search and an X at the location of the treasure. As you progress further, the general location is no longer given and you must be on the lookout for the landmarks drawn on the map. It’s quite a rush when you are traveling around the game world and suddenly recognize a rock formation for the drawing.
If you aren’t in the mood to play the main quest or work toward some objectives, you can kill some time and earn some money playing several different games in town. In most taverns at least one of the following games can be found: Texas Hold’em Poker, Black Jack, or Liar’s Dice. Outside you may find some arm wrestling, five finger fillet, or horseshoes to wager some money on. With all the activities that can be found in the game, it is easy to feel like you are truly living the life of a cowboy.
One of the major issues that plague these types of open world games is that halfway through the story, you are filthy rich and have nothing to spend the money on. Fortunately, that isn’t the case here. There are so many weapons, upgrades, properties, and horses to purchase that by the end of the game, I only had about $150 and still had things to purchase.
The game implements honor and fame systems. The fame is fairly basic, as it grows as you progress through the game and simple controls how well you are known throughout the game world. The honor allows the player to play as good or bad, though the main story is relatively unaffected either way. What is mostly affected are the reactions of people who see you and the side missions that are available. There isn’t much gray area in the honor system the way other recent games have, such as Mass Effect. It usually comes down to aiding and protecting the innocent or robbing and killing them yourself.
The storyline is successful at justifying the action and providing the main character with a real motivation, but not much beyond that. You do meet some memorable and likable characters, but most leave the story after a couple hours and very few ever return. Although the main character looks very similar to the protagonist from Red Dead Revolver (right down to the virtually identical facial scars), he is a different person and no mention is made to that game, so it isn’t required to play the first title to understand this one. While the story works for the game, I found the ending to be depressing. I play games as an escape from reality, not to remind myself that life sucks. Regardless of my feeling on the ending, I am at least happy that you can continue playing after the final mission to finish up and side quests or challenges.
Due to the broad scope of the game, a few items ended up not clearly being explained or properly implemented. In addition to many other provisions, you can purchase faster horses. However, since your horse can be killed, I was leery of spending a large amount of money on something that could be gone after my very next fire fight. After finally buying a horse, I discovered that even if your horse is killed, it is replaced with an identical one. This was great to learn, but was something that should have been explained. The shootouts are also a source of confusion. You only can perform the tutorial for them once and it could be hours before you participate in another, giving you plenty of time to forget what you should be doing. Even after completely finishing the game, I wasn’t entirely sure of why I had won or lost some of the shootouts. Another moderate annoyance I ran into revolved around the purchase of two of the fastest horses in the game. Throughout the entire adventure, I would periodically check the general stores, but they would always say ‘not available’. After searching the Internet, I found out they are only unlocked after finding one in the wild and taming it. At no point does the game explain this to you. None of these gameplay functions make the game seem broken, they just aren’t explained well.
Red Dead Redemption is a near perfect open world action game. The story will keep you wanting to push forward, the gun fights never get old, and all the side missions really make you feel like you are living in the old west. Even if you aren’t a fan of westerns, this game will keep you entertained far longer than has become the standard for video games.
The Bottom Line
| Pros |
|---|
| Broad scope without being overwhelming, Excellent controls for gunfighting, Missions never become tedious, Nearly endless amount of entertainment |
| Cons |
| Occassionally features aren't explained well, Depressing (though unexpected) ending, Errand-boy mission objectives appear a bit too often |
| Verdict |
| Grand Theft Auto in the Old West, but only in the best sense of the phrase. |
| Overall |
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