Red Dead Redemption
It’s 1911, and the rootin’, tootin’, six-gun shootin’ age of cowboys is riding off into a dusty, metaphorical sunset. The frontier’s got stuff like trains and automobiles and ladies with parasols now, and everybody’s busy making the place real nice and civilised-like, doncha know. Well, except for a bunch of lawless no-gooders like John Marston, although he’s trying to ditch that bit of his life and move on. Ironically enough, however, the local cops are forcing him to giddy up and get back into the outlaw business – and holding his family to ransom for it. John’s mission: hunt down his erstwhile compadres. And maybe endanger a few indigenous species while he’s at it. Cue rattlesnake sound effects.
Yes, it’s pretty much Grand Theft Auto with horses, right down to, well, just about everything. The user interface, GPS, and mission structures are virtually indistinguishable from GTA IV’s, although the cover system and gunplay have been significantly improved since their last tour of duty, and a few new features have been chucked into the wicky-wicky Wild Wild West sandbox for good measure. Yes, that includes mid-mission checkpointing, praise the lawd. There’s also Dead Eye – a super slo-mo target painter shooting mode that’s kinda instantly indispensible when you’re being rushed by angry beavers, banditos, and/or people who caught you cheating at cards.
When you’re not busy chasing personal realisation and the elusive American dream, however, there’s all sorts of things to do out on the prairies. The place is stuffed with critters, colonists, and counter-revolutionaries, and other junk to shoot – or not. There’s an Honour / Fame system out here in the New World, and playing the hero or villain will affect your standings with the locals accordingly. Try playing these tropes off each other – apprehend enough dastardly horse thieves, and the sheriff will turn an indulgently blind eye next time you decide to be one of those yourself. Just like real life, or something.
When you’re all done winning the day, Red Dead Redemption also features a robust multiplayer platform, including an almost MMO-like Public Free Roam environment where you can posse up with your pals and rush about town in a stolen stagecoach.
But of course, the game isn’t entirely without fault. The save and quick travel systems feel pointlessly cumbersome, some areas have serious framerate issues, and there are a number of game-breaking glitches – I had to restart a late-game mission three times because it kept locking up on me at the conclusion.
These problems notwithstanding, though, Red Dead Redemption is quite extraordinary. In a criminally under-subscribed genre – and all the more for its obvious and ready appeal – Rockstar’s pulled the definitive sandbox experience out of its ten-gallon hat, and with an astonishing, gunslinging tale to boot. Absolutely not to be missed.
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