Red Dead Redemption Review

It has been a while since I played a Rockstar title.  Like many gamers, I burnt out on the indulgent violence of Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City.  The games preceding these titles all blurred together in siren flashes and helicopter explosions.  When I learned of Red Dead Redemption’s markedly different setting, I was intrigued and followed the game’s development closely.

I admit my heart has opened somewhat to Rockstar due to this title — maybe they aren’t a bunch of explosion-fornicators after all.

Story and Setting –  Blood Meridian

Red Dead Redemption is set at the beginning of American industrialization, which coincided with the beginning of the end of the “wild West.”  This was a time when the national government was solidifying to lump the country together, whether an industrialized city or rural western settlement, under one law system.  The protagonist, John Marston, embodies this difficult transition as a member of a brutal gang of outlaws.  After being betrayed by them, he eventually becomes a tool of the government (itself consisting of criminals) to help destroy his former allies, bringing “order” to the West.  His goal is to do what the government asks of him thus earning his freedom so that he and his family may live an honest life in peace.

The story felt like one of the most polished aspects of Red Dead Redemption.  It painted an intriguing and accurate image of the West.  I became attached to John and the idea of the cowboy — I didn’t want either to ever have to go away.  I even relished seeing aspects of modernity struggle: in a scene where John is riding an early automobile with some government crooks, it suddenly breaks down; John quickly snaps that he would rather have a horse.  “Awesome,” I thought, rooting against an aspect of technology vital to my modern-day life.

There is more to the story than just history and wisecracking cowboys.  There are some relatively deep themes at work.  The question of redemption: can one really be forgiven for the things they have done?  And modernization:  what is lost in the quest for a life of leisure?  The question of right and wrong — who decides which is which?  What defines freedom, the foundation of our countries formation? The list goes on, but I appreciate a game which makes me contemplate deeper issues.  This regrettably is somewhat of a rarity in games these days.

System — All the Pretty Horses

The primary mode of combat in Red Dead is gunplay, which can be executed whilst walking, running, on horseback, carriage and so on.  Targeting is third-person over-the-shoulder with different difficulty settings.  The default setting is a snap-to targeting system which makes the game fairly easy.  I noticed that this brings the cross-hair to the dead center of your enemy, so a little more skill is required to attain the prized head-shot.  The harder setting for targeting removes the snap-to, really requiring some nimble reactions.  I appreciated that I had the option of selecting a difficulty, but ultimately the higher setting was too much under heavy fire.  This game doesn’t really allow for stealthy play which would make it easier to take your time and aim.

This horses muscles look more realistic than some people's faces

Horses are the primary mode of transportation in the game.  It is evident that Rockstar took laborious steps to accurately animate horses and the way they move.  I was amazed after examining a horse’s muscular structure — this is surely the best representation of a real animal in a video game I have ever seen.  My only complaint is that the variety of horses is low (only about 20) when compared to, say, the vehicles in GTA titles.  Also, many of the available horses aren’t worth keeping or stealing, especially since identifying them is difficult.  Once you get a decent horse you have no reason to steal one — I literally stole one horse in my entire play-through and that is because I was required to.

Perhaps another reason for my good behavior has to do with Marston’s background, essentially labeling him as a “good guy”.  He doesn’t cheat on his wife (not that he should), he helps people, and in a world of evil, quintessentially Rockstar characters, he is the only one who seems to do the right thing.  Perhaps the game’s morality system is a bit unnecessary for this reason.  The morality system affects the player’s fame and honor values which have little bearing on the game.

One of Red Dead Redemption’s big draws for me was being able to explore the vast emptiness of the frontier.  I was really happy with the variety of settings, which ranged from badlands to plains to snowy forests and mountains.  Realistic-looking (and sounding) weather such as rain and thunderstorms accent this dynamic scenery while abundant and dangerous wildlife further solidifies the setting and environment.  While there are a number of random encounters, after I had reached Mexico (about halfway into the game) I had pretty much seen all the game had and these events began repeating.  Also, most of said events occur near the roadside so going off the beaten path meant less surprises which affected the immersion for me somewhat.  Ultimately the environment looks real, but the repetition and lack of reasons to really explore did not make it feel real.

Multiplayer — Cities of the Plain

My love affair with the multiplayer for Red Dead Redemption was brief and violent.  After clearing the story,  I started my character and logged in.  I was dimly aware that there were other people on the map with me and MMO-like messages let me know what they were doing and what I was doing.  I found an outlaw base and set about exterminating the lot of them.  I died about 4 or 5 times, which was somewhat embarrassing as it informs everyone on the map, but whatever, it was my first time.  After clearing the camp I earned some EXP which increased my level and unlocked new weapons.  You can find weapons as well, but they aren’t retained after logging out.

After memorizing where the enemies popped up I had a pretty good handle on the area and decided to get into a random team.  I found a group of guys with mics somewhat higher level than myself who were taking on the same camp I had familiarized myself with.  I was amazed how much faster it went in a team!  Immediately after finishing, we would re-enter.  I did this until the sun came up — literally.

The next day I played with some Internet friends, but it dawned on me that I would just go back to shooting people.  For what end?  To get more weapons to shoot people with?  What of the mini-games in offline as an alternative to gunning down other players and NPCs?  Can I play horseshoes against someone?  No.  Can I enter a race against people on horseback or in a carriage?  No.  Can I challenge someone to an official duel?  No.  Can I play poker against a group of players?  No.  I can run around shooting like a wildman.  The story sure didn’t depict a wild West like that, and it isn’t where I want to spend my time.

I have yet to log back in since my initial experiences online.  This is important to mention as it means I have not tried the new DLC released this month.  Does this content fix these issues or make the online a more interesting, rich experience?  I couldn’t say.

Conclusions — The Border

Red Dead Redemption’s story was powerful and it made me think:  that alone makes the game worthy of purchase.  However, I expected to stock many more hours into the game than I did.  Once the single player was over, I was left with a game in which the online features did not come close to the offline (nor held my interest long enough), and the offline was quite devoid of things to explore or new experiences to pursue.  I haven’t played it since my foray into the online environment, yet a number of the game’s events still haunt me.  The story is the game’s greatest asset, so I suggest you experience Red Dead Redemption once and then ride off into the sunset.

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