Red Dead Redemption Review
Thursday, May 20th, 2010
Unbelievable.
Sometimes games get over hyped because of graphics, a new physics engine, or just because of who the developer is. Red Dead Redemption is not one of those games. Was the Rage engine hyped? Yes. Was it hyped because it was by the creators of Grand Theft Auto? Yes. Have the character, animal models, and graphics been hyped? Yes. Is it over hyped? No. This is the real deal.
I am a fan of sandbox play and a fan of the Wild West. I also had high expectations from this game and being from Rockstar my expectations grew. This normally would make me more critical of a game and the chance of me loving it less. Not RDR. This game constantly has me daydreaming of the Wild West and the exploits of John Marston when I don’t have a controller in hand.
Let’s knock out a couple of the negatives first. There are a few glitches here and there. I didn’t notice a single one until about 12 hours into the game. A small thing is models that are not quite rendered in the proper spot. People will be leaning on air as if they are supposed to be propped up against a banister or such. It’s so few and far between that it won’t take you out of the game emersion though. There are a couple of glitches that I ran into that will surely agitate some players and rightfully so. On one mission I went after a bounty, took the time and effort to take him alive and when I picked him up to put him on my horse…I was holding an invisible bag and not my bandit. At this point the controls won’t work to put him down or place him on my horse. I also could not mount my horse and was stuck in a slow walk animation of carrying a body, while reinforcements of bandits arrived. I had to go back and reload the mission. Since it was a bounty mission I had to start back at in town from my home point. Too much of this could destroy the game. Luckily I have only seen that issue that one time. There are 3 times because of a glitch (like not being able to board a wagon) that I had to restart a mission. While it was an annoyance, it was not enough to really gripe too much about. Honestly, that’s the worst of it.
Another so-called problem is how much like Grand theft auto this game is. I am not going to defend the game and say that it’s not just like grand theft auto like so many other reviews do. In my opinion, that’s just isn’t true. It is JUST like grand theft auto set in the Wild West.
Well, let’s back up a little. The HUD is very similar, the mission set ups are the same, and if this game came from another developer you would scream “total rip-off”! The pacing of the game from main story to side quests is very reminiscent of the GTA games. I would say anyone that says this game is just like GTA but on horses is absolutely correct, and totally wrong. Wait, what? That’s right I said totally wrong.
I realized while playing the game for a few hours that the GTA formula fits better here. While it is the same, it is also totally different. The gun play, now with dead aim, is so much better. Not having a ton of people and cars everywhere like in GTA because we are in the Wild West, takes a lot of the arcade like silliness away (even though it is still there…just is just not prevalent). The setting of the Wild West also make for a better story of why a person could get away with some of things we are able to get away with.
I had a hard time completing GTA San Andreas or GTA 4. The GTA formula in those games became over whelming to the point that I really didn’t care enough to go hunt someone down. I had too much other stuff to do and errands to run. RDR does a great job of not making you feel like an errand boy. The point is if you have become bored or overwhelmed with the GTA formula, DO NOT let sayings like “Red Dead Redemption is just GTA on horseback” stop you from playing this game. As stated before, it is GTA on horseback, but a screwdriver is just orange juice with vodka too. For whatever reason, the mixture of two just makes it better. The game I mean…well the drink too…but I am sure I know why the drink is so much better.
The multiplayer in my few hours with it is fantastically simple and fun. It’s an open map, free roam, mmo, all in one. It’s an open world and you or you and some buddies go and find trouble. If you are like us, you take a long time doing it because you are too busy shooting each other and then calling truce. Then you shoot the guy again. You can customize your online avatar and ride (and title) by using a ton of unlockables. While you can’t customize features, you can get another full character model unlocked. There are a TON of models to unlock. Soon I will be able to ride a bull like Mongo. Don’t know who Mongo is? Shame on you.
So from the rest of this review and the many others you have read you pretty much have an idea of what’s really cool about the game. I will give you a couple of highlights of mine. The Score…The Music, The Soundtrack…whatever…its awesome sauce. It totally makes the game for me. Seems like such a small thing. I often do not use the Fast Travel option just to ride off into the West with an awesome “Ima Bad ass, Wild West, with a base line” tune pumping. I cannot put into proper words how sweet this is. While I know it’s popular in GTA to be able to change the radio station and the radio personalities are a staple of that franchise…RDR makes a strong case for why the player should not have control of the ambient sound. The guy behind RDR did what I can only call a PERFECT job of scoring this game. Everything I am doing and the change in music from mission to mission depending on what type has been spot on.
Another fantastic part of this game is the sky and weather. Yes the sky. GTA 4had a similar yellow brown color palette. Many times the high rising buildings would make you feel locked in. I feel this way when I am in the city, so that’s a good thing. RDR uses a similar general color scheme. Surrounded by desert and tumble weeds, you have to. But the sky….at first I thought it was a nice bitmap just placed up there. I saw just really beautiful full rolling clouds. The then sun ducks behind one and without jaggies or anything odd looking, ray of sunlight beam from around the cloud. This effect is done perfectly. If you would have told me that this effect was so important to the Wild West I may have laughed at you. After playing RDR the sunset, clouds, and rain are more important than the horse I am riding.
So a couple of last awesome thought. The collection of different outfit sets is a great touch in this game and very rewarding. I can’t think of a Western look that I would like to see that is not in this game. Want to play cards or dice? It’s all in there…wanna cheat…there is a whole mini game to that once you get the “elegant suit”. Do you want to be a good guy, but then rob someone and not get caught? That’s what a bandana is for… and it’s in there (sounds like a simple thing, but it really adds a level of fun).
Well that’s it, I am going to go grab my golden steed from Kentucky and ride off directly into the sunset with a soundtrack that tells everyone watching the movie I am, that I am awesome. Then I might play a mission or two.
