Review: Red Dead Redemption (PS3)

Written by - Michael Butterworth

Red Dead Redemption is as you would probably have noticed by now, a game set in the Wild Wild West of America. And even though this is where the game is set geographically (its in the fictional County of New Austin), the time frame may confuse many players: its set in 1911. For anyone who has any knowledge of America during this time may be confused to how this can still be your traditional 'Spaghetti Western'. But this is the point - its not. 

You play John Marston, a former outlaw taken from his home and forced to hunt down the members of his old gang by the government branch 'BlackWater'. Marston is getting on now, and the days he once knew are changing. The whole world is changing. Technology is sweeping its way across the Western World and is finally catching up with the almost backwards Wild West. Gone are the days of fighting the Indians and living in peace from the outside world. The government is starting to control more and more aspects of Americans lives, and Blackwater, controls Marstons.

Right, now I've done the boring intro about the story (which in true Rockstar style is amazing) its time to talk about the game itself. 

Anyone who has played GTA will find themselves right at home here, the game is using the same - but enhanced - engine, and just like GTA, the game looks beautiful. Standing on any raised area of land demands a few seconds to be spent staring in awe at the polished visuals. The view distance is amazing; I am always filled with a sense of "that's so awesome" when looking into the distance and seeing a cliff, safe in the knowledge that 5 minutes horse ride and I could be there on that cliff looking back at where I now stand. Read Dead is certainly not claiming to be the best looking game ever. And to be blunt, its not. Some textures are a bit plain, none of the buildings or animals are uniquely the best looking thing in a video game ever, but finding a game that is this crisp and nice to look at overall, in all areas and on all graphical levels is hard if not impossible.

And talking of distances, the map is as you would expect, huge. Although the hand drawn map doesn't look as big as say Liberty City, it doesn't take long to realize how wrong that is. Riding from one end to the other would take a long time, even on the fastest steed in the West. However this could be a downside, but I can assure you it really isn't. Very rarely does traveling anywhere feel like a chore. This is for several reasons, firstly Rockstar have introduced a quick travel system which lets to travel to any major location you have visited. This is done through the use of a campfire which you must set up in the wild. At this campfire you can also save the game, and change  costumes. This is cleverly done as it does take some time to do this, but keeps it 'in character'. Marston settles down to sleep when you save the game, and kicks dust on the fire when to go to quick travel. Secondly, the landscape you travel across is, as I have already said, spectacular. Not only is it great to look at, but it's also unpredictable. Many times on my travels have I had to stop to save a fair old maiden from coyotes or being stabbed by a Mexican with a tash that would make the Pringles man jealous.

Something that Red Dead does that no other game has done this well, is its horses. The only game that comes to mind that had decent horses was Assassins Creed. But that was down a linear path... and was annoying because IT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO SWAP CITIES ARRGGGHHHH.  Ahem. The horses in Red Dead are truly worthy of a separate horse game; the muscles on their legs tense and move as they walk, their manes sway as they walk and blow in the wind, their legs adjust properly to different level surfaces and they walk differently in long grass as they do on the dusty roads. This is all fine and good, but if they were rubbish to control it clearly wouldn't be. Luckily like most things in this game the horse controls are brilliant. It doesn't feel like driving a car, which is one of the main fears I had. The more you play, the easier it gets to ride your horse. You get a feel for how to ride properly, over rough terrain and how to shoot and ride at the same time. All these take genuine skill in places, and although that skill does range from high to not a lot at times, the feeling you get from doing these well is greatly rewarding. 

Unlike many other games, RDR's multi-player is certainly not the main focus. IM LOOKING AT YOU CALL OF DUTY!!! But fortunately Rockstar have learned form their mistakes of simply tacking on a multi-player mode like they did with GTA. The online aspect has its own leveling system, which has no impact on the single-player and vice versa; its a level playing field. You earn better horses, costumes and titles as you rank up but not weapons. This means you don't have to worry about those Lvl 60's who have been playing online non stop since it came out. Free roam is back, but is much better, within free roam you can form 'posses' with your friends and other players. In these groups you can then simply wander around the world, or accept missions such as attacking gang hideouts. The other game modes are a pretty normal affair, capture the bag, deathmatch, team deathmatch, the whole works. These modes certainly aren't anywhere near as good as either free roam, nor the single-player, but they are worth your time and can be hilariously fun. But for me, the highlight of RDR's multi-player is the 'shooutout' that happens before each round. After teams are picked, and moments before the game begins, the two teams line up facing each other (or in the case of deathmatch in a circle) and its a case of DRAW!! The result is great, you can see just before everyone shoots who their guns are pointing at and in fact this has sometimes been more fun than the game that followed.

GTA IV, which I can't help but compare it to, for me at least, got boring not too far in. The missions were very samey, the city - although vibrant and huge - was grey and dull, albeit the best looking grey and dull city ever in a video game. Red Dead Redemption - at least a good 16 hours in - is yet to have any of these problems. The Wild West setting was an absolute genius choice. The Wild West has only had a handful of worthy games in the genre, which is what makes RDR even more special. The only way I can sum it up, is by saying this. When night fell in the game for the first time, I was out in the desert. I looked up to the sky, only to see thousands of twinkling stars, the full moon's light glinting down upon me and this endless plain. I would be lying If I said I didn't get goosebumps. 

'New Austin' truly is now my favourite ever setting in a game. And Red Dead... is now my favourite game.

VERDICT - A  "The best game of 2010 so far, and one I simply can't wait to keep playing."

+ An epic single player experience with characters and a storyline you wont forget in a hurry. 

+ The world of 'New Austin' is the best in a video game I have ever seen and the thrills and spills you experience there are well worth the asking price. 

- Multiplayer isn't tacked on, but it's not its strongest point.

- Odd visual and gameplay glitches can sometimes spoil the immersion.