The cowboy game is perhaps one of the more underused concepts, given the popularity of the classic western films that inspired many a mind both young and old – from the legendary Clint Eastwood movies, to Back to the Future III, the idea of horseback gangs and outlaws with pistols has always had a certain appeal – and it’s an idea that you’d think would lend itself to games rather well. Sure, there’s one or two titles out there, but I’d hardly say it was as well covered as the myriad of modern warfare, medieval knights and ninja games out there. Desperados on the PC was fantastic, yet didn’t give you a sense of being a cowboy with it’s RTS style; Darkwatch was, well, a vampire story with cowboy elements here and there – and I struggle to think of another good western game I’ve played.
Rockstar have had huge success over the past years, specifically with the Grand Theft Auto series. Now, although GTA manages to do sandbox games incredibly well, breathing a lot of life into vast environments – games set in modern times aren’t really my style. (Unless they include magic, superpowers or Lara Croft). Why? Perhaps it’s because I live in modern times and have no huge desire to see a virtual version of the world I already live in. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy GTA – only that I always crave something a bit different, but with that amount of quality. So we have an underused genre and a company that couldn’t go wrong by creating something a little different. The result? Red Dead Redemption.
Rockstar’s newest release revolves around a cowboy named John Marston, a man who had previously worked with a band of outlaws, but had since quit – opting for a quiet life with a family of his own. However, when his family are threatened by the government, he is forced to return to the west for the sake of their safety. His mission – to take down the gang that were once his comrades, something John doesn’t object to – having left them on bad terms in the past. To do so, he must forge allegiances with others who can help him track down his ex-partners.
At a basic level, you can tell that Read Dead Redemption (RDR) is a GTA-esque title. The structure of the title has a lot of similarities in terms of controls, HUD and general engine to that of GTAIV. If you’re a GTAIV player, the majority of the controls are the same, with the “enter/exit vehicle” button allowing you to mount horses in similar fashion. The game provides a large map and minimap, various letters denoting the locations of the characters you can meet in order to access the next mission and progress in the storyline. In contrast to GTAIV, RDR features a lot of small settlements scattered over vast landscapes that you must explore.
That’s not to say RDR feels like a repackaged GTA, however – as the game has clearly been built around the western theme. Rather than a load of automatic weapons, the game has a good selection of vintage weapons including revolvers, rifles and shotguns, which all feel good to use. Since the game is more focused on sharpshooting, the game includes the “Dead Eye” system, which allows you to expend some of your Dead Eye meter to slow down time temporarily and allow you to make precise shots. It’s good fun to use, and fits in nicely without feeling overpowered. The horses control well, having a similar style to that of Zelda, where you can speed it up by spurring it on – but you mustn’t overdo it or you’ll end up slowing the horse down – or even get bucked off. The game really does play well, and the “non-GTA” elements have been implemented perfectly. There’s even a lasso to catch horses or tie people up with, helpful if you want to take someone down without killing them.
The really great thing about RDR is that it more or less makes you feel as though you can do anything you would want to in a western game. Missions include shoot-outs on foot or horseback, horseback racing, or helping other characters with various tasks. These generally are the more combat heavy sections, as they often involve fighting other gangs for various reasons, or keeping yourself alive while trying to fulfil certain objectives. The missions have real charm, as Rockstar have managed to keep the game full of colourful (and questionable) characters that all have their own distinct personalities and humour – such as Nigel West Dickens, a “doctor” conning people with dodgy miracle cures, and Seth who seems to enjoy the company of corpses a little too much.
The thing that really makes this game shine in my eyes is the amount of things you can do outside the storyline. It’s all well and good having a huge expanse to traverse, but there’s got to be things to do or it’s nothing but travel. Red Dead delivers, offering a myriad of side-quests and fun things to do. Fancy gambling? Take your pick of Texas Hold ‘Em Poker, Blackjack, Liar’s Dice, Arm Wrestling and more… all fully fleshed out and good fun at that. Maybe you’d like to earn some extra cash? Try taming some wild horses, hunting wild animals for materials to sell, or taking up bounties to take down criminals dead or alive (alive paying twice as much). On top of that, you even have “Strangers” you can meet, which are ongoing side missions that can be completed at any time, involving other characters who can be just as interesting and intriguing as the rest. Of course, no cowboy game would be complete without gun duels – which involve quick aiming in order to kill or disarm an opponent using Dead Eye before they can riddle you with bullets. Duels are obviously included in missions sometimes, but they can be done with random challengers in towns as well.
There are even more side challenges that this, though – including fulfilling various objectives to unlock new outfits for John (some granting bonuses such as improved Dead-Eye or the ability to cheat at poker), and “Ambient Challenges” which are various ongoing tasks (such as hunting specific animals or finding treasure) to improve your skills and unlock some more bonuses.
The game has a system of “Fame” and “Honour”. Fame raises the more you do missions and side quests, and is a general measure of how famous you are in the west. The honour system is a bit more flexible, offering as a sort of morality meter. Saving and helping people, or making honourable choices will raise your Honour, while murdering people and stealing will cause your Honour to lower. Although you can choose to be a bad guy in most respects, the story does seem to suggest John is more of a good guy than a bad one. Still – if you wish to become a famous killer go for it – although you will become a wanted man! There are a few aspects to gameplay which only really surface when doing bad things, and unlike GTA you don’t generally have to upset the authorities unless you go out of your way to do so – so it might be good fun to play the game a second time and try playing the bad guy if you didn’t first time round.
If the game’s huge scale isn’t enough for you, there’s also a full blown online multiplayer mode. I have yet to really delve into this so I can’t say too much about it as of yet – but you can form gangs with other players, battle with other groups and participate in team shoot-outs, gaining EXP to unlock new character models, weapons and mounts. I can see some good potential if you have a group of friends to play with, but perhaps a little empty for people who prefer to play solo.
Really, Red Dead Redemption is simply packed with content. As soon as you’ve finished doing one thing, there’s always a load of other things just waiting to be done. Aside from the missions which are solid as GTA‘s, there’s so many things to do you can keep yourself busy for a long time without getting bored. This is how sandbox gaming should be – and in my eyes it’s even better than Grand Theft Auto. But maybe that’s just the Dr Emmett Brown in me talking.
- Leon
