Red Dead Redemption Review

Much like today, times were changing at the turn of the 20th century. Red Dead Redemption tells the story of John Marston, an outlaw abandoned by his gang that began working for the federal government to catch his former friends. John is sent to Armadillo, a town in the West far away from his home in the Great Plains. His travels will send him throughout the West, South into Mexico and eventually to the snowy mountains near Canada.

I came into Red Dead Redemption expecting that it would be a lot like Grand Theft Auto, being that it was developed by Rockstar. While it is apparent who is behind the game, Red Dead feels more like a Wild West action movie than anything. Wanted posters are strewn throughout towns in the game. These are optional side missions that bring an extra layer of Western lore to the game. You can bring these bandits back dead or alive with a higher reward for bringing them back breathing.

Throughout the game you will have challenges to complete that you can find in your Journal. Along the road you will find plants that you will need to collect, animals that you will need to shoot and treasure that you will need to find. Of course, it is all optional, but will gain you fame and can sell most of the stuff in shops around the game world. The missions themselves usually involve taking out some local gang leader, but can be quite varied. You may need to herd cattle or lasso some wild horses. Games such as horseshoes, blackjack and Texas Hold ‘Em are also available.

The game plays from a third person perspective. You can aim your rifle (or pistol) with L2, while firing is done with R2. Dead Eye, this game’s version of a slow-down feature, is accomplished by clicking in on the right analog stick, selecting the body parts that you want to shoot with R1 and then firing. You can fire as many rounds as the gun holds while remaining in Dead Eye. The game handles quite well, which is a good thing, considering the fact that this game takes a good amount of precision as opposed to a game like GTA where you can just spray at enemies.

Red Dead Redemption is an open world game. As I said in the beginning, you start off in Armadillo, but will make your way across the Western U.S., eventually into Mexico. These towns have shops that you can buy and sell supplies at, doctor’s offices for medicine, gunsmiths, hotels and saloons. You can purchase properties in order to save games and create a point where you will load from when you die.

The game has a fame and honor system that change certain dynamics of the game. If you just kill people indiscriminately, the townspeople will fear you and a bounty will be put on your head. Eventually posses will come after you. Depending on whether you are good or bad, stores will either open or shut their doors and may even give you discounts. Finally, once you have beaten all story missions in a certain area, you will then have the optional side mission of clearing out local gang hideouts.

In conclusion, I believe that Red Dead Redemption is a game that deserves your attention. It’s a good twenty hours long with a multi-player option, along with free recently announced co-op missions for download. There’s plenty of content to keep you busy for at least a few weeks. This is the Wild West game that we’ve all been waiting for. Pick it up today. It’s well worth every penny.