Review :: Red Dead Redemption

Rockstar San Diego’s much anticipated and much advertised Red Dead Redemption is here. There have been a few attempts at creating an immersive, believable representation of the Wild West, but these previous outings have been solid at best. Who but Rockstar Games to try their hand at a western, as the kings of open world games. Were the results as stellar as anticipated?

I’ve been looking for a great western game for too long now. I was one of the few who really enjoyed Red Dead Revolver, and was absolutely drooling the first time I read about Neversoft’s Gun. (In case you weren’t aware, Red Dead Revolver was not Rockstar Games’ project. It was originally Capcom’s doing, so this is Rockstar’s first true attempt). As soon as Red Dead Redemption was announced, I knew something fantastic was in the making. If it were anywhere close in terms of quality to Rockstar North’s critically acclaimed Grand Theft Auto IV, I would’ve been more than satisfied. Also, this is not a true sequel. What’s here is more a spiritual successor, so don’t expect much to be translated over from the “original”.

Red Dead Redemption is the tale of one John Marston, a former outlaw who was abandoned by his posse and left for dead. A life he tried to leave behind him, Marston is now in pursuit of revenge and redemption (see what they did there?). It’s a bit cliche as a whole, but so well executed that even the sometimes semi-obvious plot points comes as a shock. This is one of the most well developed stories in a video game that I’ve played in years. Rockstar Games creates an unbelievably engrossing and organic world with Red Dead Redemption, but this is what we’ve come to expect. It’s the western we’ve been anticipating and hoping for, and it’s damn near impossible to put down.

In standard Rockstar fare, the presentation is absolutely staggering in every respect. Never before has there been such a fully realized, well crafted depiction of the west. Red Dead Redemption is set at the turn of the century near the border of Texas and Mexico. You’ll see examples of technology that were developing and brand new at the time, like the railroad system and automobile. The story and how it develops is only slightly based around some of these at-the-time technological wonders, but it provides for the perfect introduction to these new contraptions without them seeming out of place.

Other than that, this is what you would expect out of a western. It’s a wonderful story, with plenty of moments that will leave you floored. The characters in Red Dead Redemption are some of the best in recent memory. John Marston himself has quickly become one of my favorite video game characters of all time. Yes, he’s that good. The rest of the gang is equally as interesting, all thanks to some of the best voice acting in video games. The cut scenes are directed superbly, and help keep the plot more than interesting.

From a technical standpoint, Red Dead Redemption is astonishing. The game looks incredible, and runs quite well for such an expansive world. The various environments ranging from snowy mountains and heavily wooded forests to the vacant desert and towns all look great. Some of the weather effects like thunder and lightning are jaw-dropping. There’s minimal pop-in and aliasing, and the frame rate hardly ever dropped. It’s a bit of a shame that the ball was dropped in terms of resolution when compared to it’s Xbox 360 counterpart, but it can be easily overlooked.

Sound design is also spot-on. It’s obvious that serious attention to detail was given whilst creating some of the games many sounds. The voice acting is just about as perfect as it gets in video games, and the aural feast of gun shots ringing out while horses gallop thunderously adjacent a train barreling along is something worth experiencing undoubtedly. The soundtrack was expertly put together, and the few audio cues in some of the major parts of the game will give you goosebumps. In fact, I gave the entire soundtrack another listen through whilst writing this review.

Red Dead Redemption, for the most part, is Grand Theft Auto in the west. I know this. You, the reader, knows this. This game controls very similarly to GTA IV. The running, jumping, and gun play feel largely the same, with a cover system that’s a bit more refined. Now this is not a bad thing at all. The controls translate extremely well here, and refinements were made to aspects of the game to make it more fitting. One of the major ones, of course, is the horse back riding. I’m yet to ever play the game where riding a horse translates perfectly to a video game, but this is about as close as it’s going to get.

There’s a near-endless amount of things you can do in this game. Aside from the story, you’re presented with enough side quests to last you weeks on end. Bounty hunting, errand quests (that don’t suck) and more will add numerous hours to the already lengthy experience. I found myself on the way to start a mission, and being sidetracked for an hour by various missions along the way.  If that’s not enough for you, check out the extremely impressive online component.

I remember playing GTA IV online for the first time and thinking it was the greatest multiplayer experience since Counter Strike. That was for about an hour, until the novelty wore off and I realized it wasn’t all I expected. Rockstar San Diego adds to the good, and fixes the bad with Red Dead Redemption’s online. There’s your standard deathmatch, team deathmatch, and objective based modes. All of that works well, but it doesn’t have much lasting appeal. Free roam, on the other hand, is awesome. Up to 16 players is allowed, and up to 8 per posse. Yes, both posses can meet up and kill each other. There’s missions to be done around the world in order to increase XP and acquire unlocks consisting of characters, guns, mounts, and titles. With the right group of friends, it can be very satisfying and eat up hours upon hours of your free time.

Overall, I can’t stress enough how important it is you play this game. Obviously, it’s the greatest western video game of all time. You’re also looking at one of the best open world games in recent memory, and potentially the best game you’ll play this year. Aside from a few bugs here and there, it’s a near-flawless experience. The amount that’s been put into this game is admirable to say the least, so go pick up a copy and see what all the fuss is about.

9.9/10

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