Red Dead Redemption

Swapping the hectic, gridlocked streets of modern Liberty City for the Wild West in 1911, we are sucked into a world on the brink of modern civilisation. The opening sequence sees our protagonist, John Marston, set foot in the American West as the influence of the Eastern cities is emerging; the first motorcars are brought off the boat with John, and we are invited to eavesdrop on characters talking of the developing world as we take the new steam-train to our destination. Additional elements such as being able to watch a developing cultural phenomenon - silent movies - in town churches, early telephone poles, and embarking on a quest to find one of the first machine guns, all adds to the feeling that we are within a world that is seeing real change. Combine this with the visual spectacle of the game’s world, which encompasses the barren fields and dusty settlements of the West and Mexico, the snowy areas to the North, and the soggy swamps of the East, and you can begin to appreciate the range and depth of Rockstar’s magnum opus.

The gameplay has built upon the model set by GTA IV, with many buttons holding similar commands. The cover system returns, smoother and more refined. Weapons are selected via a wheel that one can pull up during gameplay, and each period gun handles realistically. The dead eye meter is a new addition, enabling you to slow down time and target various people/animals/items, before you quickly pop off bullets at lightening speed, making you feel like more of a badass than Clint Eastwood. The lasso is a welcome and appropriate item - the first thing I did upon obtaining it was lasso a bandit, hogtie him, drag him onto the train tracks and wait… trust me, it’s worth it.

The horses, which Rockstar have openly admitted was the biggest challenge in the game (imagine trying to motion capture a real horse), deserve a lot of praise - they are, bar-none, the most realistic animals ever created in a game, and the fact that they are such a key element in the game really highlights how impressive they are, right down to the mane and muscle movement as you gallop through the dust. Once again, Rockstar have gone above and beyond with what you can achieve in the game, with the ability to chase down, climb on, and tame wild horses to become your trusty steed being particularly cool.

A real effort has been made to make us believe and like the characters in Redemption; voice acting is of the highest quality - as we have come to expect from a Rockstar game - and improved motion capture animations make every movement and reaction believable. John is on a quest to save his family, so whilst there are copious numbers of whores in every saloon, our protagonist shuns them all with sentences like “I have a wife, miss.” Instead of feeling like the game is lacking something one could do in GTA IV (have sex with women of the night), it feels like a decision the character would realistically make, and I found myself agreeing with John as he ignored these advances.

The game is also cleverly filled with homages and hints to what other Western visions may have influenced the construction of the game’s world - a small settlement with wooden oil wells called “Plainview” made me grin; the name a clear reference to Daniel Plainview from 2007’s There Will Be Blood, centered around a prospector at the turn of the century.

As expected from a Rockstar game, the main quest will take you nearly 20 hours to complete, but if you really want to have fun you’ll never finish. I’ve lost countless hours hunting and skinning animals ranging from rabbits to bears and cougars, playing cards and dice, duelling in the streets, robbing stores with my bandana on, hunting down bounties, arm wrestling, taming horses, herding cattle… The list goes on. I haven’t even mentioned the multiplayer, but the fact that one mode starts with every player in a circular Mexican stand-off should be enough to convince you of its worth.

GTA IV on horses this game is not. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to ride off into the sunset on my trusty steed.

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