Surprisingly, the late spring and summer months are one of the slowest and least exciting times of the year for the video game world. May through August sees a majority of mediocre or disappointing games all across the spectrum of console, hand held, and PC gaming. Out of the almost 70 brand name titles released this past summer of 2009 only a handful somewhat proved to be worth the time and money (InFamous, Hearts of Iron III, Prototype, Batman Arkham Asylum), and none of them were big contenders for Game of the Year.
This Spring/Summer things seem to have changed.
GOTY contenders might be coming out over the next few months and who knows, they may give what's to come in the fall a run for their money. Alpha Protocol, Dead Rising 2, Mafia II, and StarCraft II are all scheduled for release this summer and will easily earn high sales. However; there's already been a strong GOTY contender that's been released...Red Dead Redemption.
Red Dead Redemption comes from Rockstar - the developer known more for their Grand Theft Auto franchise than their other titles (Max Payne, Manhunt, or Bully). Never one to shy away from a little bit of the ultra-violence, sex, and foul language a game taking place in the dying American West is almost too perfect a fit for them.
While Redemption isn't a true sequel to 2004's Red Dead Revolver it continues onwards with the same sort of Wild West setting. This time around Rockstar has applied its sandbox, open-world gameplay and the results have been more than phenomenal. While playing the game I found myself agreeing with IGN's statement (which is ever so appropriately on the inside of the Special Ed.'s cover): "Nothing less than the next step for the open world genre".
So how good is this game? Let's find out.
Review:
Graphics:
Does Redemption have the best graphics possible on the consoles? Truthfully no it does not. However one must take it all into context. Considering how many things pop up into the game world and start moving around all at once it's a wonder how the developers were even able to get the game looking as good as it does. Don't take this to mean that the graphics are bad or sub-par...actually they're quite great really but the best they are not.
In a lot of ways Redemption's graphics are more on the level of Grand Theft Auto IV's (2008), which as I said isn't necessarily a bad thing. How this game improves on the visuals in IV though is with character models and the finer details of textures. Characters, animals, buildings, and the environments are much more detailed than most of what you'll find in Liberty City, but much like Niko's game Redemption suffers a few of the same kinds of graphical bugs and glitches. Textures will take a moment to load properly - leaving the player to look at some colorful, out of focus, object for a few seconds. Also, sometimes NPCs and animals will need a few seconds to load when you come blazing into a town or encampment. Another odd visual bug I came across (but haven't seen in awhile, maybe they fixed it) is with clipping - sometimes guns or other objects will pass through character models and just look...odd....especially during cutscenes where it's more than obvious. Another odd clipping issue I had was with the Duster Coat Outfit...for some reason the tail end of the coat would go horizontal and come out through my character's waist. However; like I said I actually haven't come across these issues as much over the last few days.
All in all, while Redemption isn't anything like Crysis in terms of visual technology it's still a very well graphically designed game with an extra attention put into detail and the appropriate amount of work to not only bring the contrasting environments found in the game to life but also the NPCs and story characters that inhabit the game world.
Graphics = 10/10
Gameplay:
Jeez...where to start when it comes to Redemption's gameplay? I honestly don't know...there's so much to talk about. I guess the proper place to start would be talking about the game world and what you can do in it.
Redemption is an open world game, much like the GTA titles, and features a number of regions which the player will unlock and have free roam over as they progress through the story missions. At first you'll start in New Austin, which in itself, is made up of four different counties. As the story moves forward the player will be able to travel to Nuevo Paraiso (Mexico) and finally West Elizabeth. Each of the three regions is very different from one another as to not only their place in the story but also their environments.
New Austin is what you'd expect of the Wild West: dusty plains, cacti, a one street town complete with sheriff's office and saloon, and rolling hills. Nuevo Paraiso is something out of Fistful of Dollars or For a Few Dollars More: rocky deserts and plains, small Mexican homesteads and red painted mountains. Lastly West Elizabeth is a combination of three different environments. To the northwest can be found dark, dense snow covered forests that hide all sorts of dangers, east of that is a great prairie ideal for ranching and grazing cattle, and still further beyond that is the wake up call to the Wild West: Blackwater. Unlike the other settlements you'll come across in the game Blackwater is the only one that's fairly modern with it's brick buildings, stone streets, and automobiles.
So what kinds of things can you do in these environments you ask? There's a good bit to do if you're interested in what the game has to offer. While you can still simply run around and cause havok like I know a lot of us like to do with games like this, there's also a good bit of additional things the player can take part in. Gambling (Poker, Blackjack, and Liar's Dice) can be found in saloons across the game world, Horseshoes/Arm Wrestling/Five Finger Fillet can earn you a little cash if you don't feel like spending (or better yet losing) lots of money, and if you feel like making money as opposed to spending it there are horsebreaking, night watch, and bounty hunting missions available in the appropriate places.
What else can you do? How about hunting? Yup, you can head out and hunt down/skin any animal you come across in the game. From there you can then sell their meat and hides for money at certain stores. Still bored? What about the endless amount of random events? That's right, one of the most emphasized elements of Redemption's gameplay has been the random events. In short, these are events which appear at any give moment when the player is near. They can ranged from anything from executions, robberies, escaped criminals, rescuing a innocent person, and ambushes. How the player chooses to handle these events can have a few effects: you could pass right on by as if nothing had ever happened or you can take action and earn yourself some thanks, some cash, and an honor/fame boost.
Still not satisfied? Well there are a number of challenges w/10 ranks (Hunting, Sharpshooting, Treasure Hunting, and Survivalist) that can be completed for special items and effects, up to 15 different outfits that can be unlocked, 19 Stranger side missions to do, 7 gang hideouts to run through, about 27 weapons to buy or unlock, newspapers to read, drinks to be drunk...oh and 57 story missions to accomplish each about twice as long as an entire GTA IV mission (or damn near close to it).
So I've given you insight to how much stuff is in the game but what do I think of it all? It's brilliant! Rockstar has in fact given us something really special here. Not only is there a lot to do but you'll find yourself wanting to do it. Did I bother getting a 100% completion in GTA IV? No. Did I in Redemption? Yes. Why? Because everything in this game is fun. From scouring the dark forests for monstrous bears to enjoying a nice game of poker with 5 other NPCs everything about this game is fun. On top of that it's well made and nearly every single story mission is detailed, exciting, and enjoyable. You know that bank heist mission in GTA IV? How that one really stuck out from the others? Well that's what a majority of the story missions in Redemption are like.
Now onto the Multiplayer. Now I never played the MP in GTA IV so this is my first time ever playing a free roam game online. At first I wasn't too thrilled with it to be totally honest. The very first time I played in a total of about twenty minutes I was dropped out of games and the online Free Roam five times. Why? I don't know. Faulty servers, bad connections who knows, but it didn't impress me - even more so when I tried again the next day and the same thing happened over and over again. Finally for a few days straight I was able to connect to the MP with no troubles - effectively giving me enough time to really take it all in. The MP features an online Free Roam mode, a number of match-style games, and unlockable characters/weapons/titles/challenges/etc.
The MP Free Roam is probably the most questionable of the online features to me. Truth be told I wasn't very impressed playing in there alone and with friends. Simply put, Public Free Roam allows a number of players to move about the game world as they wish. Everything that's there in the SP is in there with the exception of stores, trains, stagecoaches, and mini games. Instead the world features a transport system and gang hideout missions which can be accomplished by yourself or with a posse of friends. There are also many challenges which the player will unlock that can be completed in Free Roam - these are more or less like the challenges in SP having to do with hunting and collecting plants but there are also a large number of other challenges to accomplish. Achieving these challenges may be more trouble than they're worth though given the hunting and plant collecting ones will have you scouring the game world for your prey in a animal/plant pool that seems to be less than half of what appears in the SP. The wildlife isn't the only population which seems to be reduced though b/c it also appears as though most of the NPCs are gone leaving the Free Roam world feeling a little empty if the server doesn't happen to be filled.
The player matches on the other hand are great fun. For now there are only a few game modes: a traditional FFA/Team deathmatch (called Shootout) and another mode called Gold Rush which will have either teams or every player individually running around the map trying to be the first to collect 10 bags of gold as they appear in waves. The maps are locations found in the MP/SP game world and work pretty well in all the matches. The games are fast paced and great fun, the only problem seems to be a few balance issues when it comes to higher level players and their more powerful guns. If this is the case I have yet to really see it happen as each game I've played has been fairly balanced and anyone with a powerful weapon can be easily overcome by picking up one of the many weapons spread all over the map.
Overall, Redemption's gameplay is certainly a step up for the genre of open-world. There's a lot of different things to do and you'll find yourself actually wanting to do them. The singleplayer is really where this game shines but the organized matches in MP certainly make it worth checking out.
Gameplay = 9/10
Audio:
Well, this is one of the very few titles I have the pleasure of talking about in this category at length. When you think about it most games don't actually take too much time in crafting their soundtracks or worrying about things of that nature but when a title really works hard on theirs it certainly shines through. I can proudly state that not only do I own Redemption's soundtrack but I also have listened to it multiple times and will continue to do so.
The work which Bill Elm and Woody Jackson have done should be praised. The score for this game is finely crafted and more than appropriate. The use of a couple of songs by other artists was also a nice touch and their use in the game was more than amazing (if you've played the game than you know what I'm talking about).
Moving on, the sound effects for this game are great. So great in fact that when you're hunting you can actually stop and listen and identify what animal may be lurking around that pile of rocks up ahead or might be behind that hill. The voice work in the game is also brilliant - at first I didn't really think John Marston's appearance fit his voice actor but over time he proved me wrong with how great of a job he did.
I can wholeheartedly give this game an Audio score of
Audio = 5/5
Replay Value:
You bet there's replay value. There's so much that you can miss in this game that you'll actually want to take the time to do, or do over again. You may even want to just play through the story missions again b/c of how good they are. Also, in June they're releasing a set of co-op missions that will add more playtime and in the future I have no doubt that they'll release expansions for this game much like they did with GTA IV. Thus, I wouldn't be so hasty to sell off your completed copy of Redemption quite yet in order to buy Alpha Protocol.
Replay Value = 5/5
Story/Plot:
This is a area in which Rockstar seems to be improving on. Grand Theft Auto IV actually had quite a story to it and featured a plethora of interesting characters and Redemption is no different if not better. The one thing which Niko's story failed to do (at least for me) was connect with the audience emotionally...Redemption actually manages to do that with vivid characters which in some ways everyone can relate to.
In short, the story takes place in 1911 when the Wild West was beginning to be tamed by modern culture and civilization spreading from the American eastcoast. Cowboys, bandits, revolvers, and high noon duels were becoming a thing of the past. Amidst this an ex-outlaw named John Marston has been forced to track down his old gang and bring them to justice - if John doesn't do his job and do it well his family will suffer the consequences. John's journey takes him all over the game world as he meets up with many different characters and takes part in many different situations.
I'll say this about the game's story: there were a few instances where I was actually moved by what was happening in the game. If a game can do that to me...then it's certainly earned this...
Story/Plot = 10/10
Conclusion:
What's left to say about the game? I think it's become more than obvious that I loved it and by looking around at the TWC many others would have to agree with me. Red Dead Redemption is a fantastic game filled with many things to do. On top of the sheer fun of running around in the Wild West the game has an emotional and well structured story that is certainly a new thing for Rockstar (and I like it). If you have the money - GET THIS GAME. You will not regret it. Hopefully for those of you who don't own an Xbox 360 or a PS3 we'll be seeing a PC port within a year.
Final Score = 39/40 or 97%
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Great review, I had a week's holiday last week and played this non-stop, and at least an hour a night since then.
The Dead-Eye slow mo involving rapid gunfire and enemies flying from horses, blood spurting, hats and weapons in the air, is so stylish at times it seems like art.
And I'm glad John Marston can't screw prostitutes and instead says ''I'm a married man....'' I'm kind of over Rockstar permitting the BJ from a pro then kill her thing, that's just nasty.
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Anagennese, the Rise of the Black Hand
MacMillan doesn't compensate for variable humidity,wind speed and direction or the coriolis effect. Mother nature compensates for where Macmillan's crosshairs are.
Nice review. The ending of RRD was extremely moving I think it was the only game I have ever played that brought me to tears. That final twist is also very surprising.
does this play like that older game Revolver? as in very arcade like with hollywood reloads? Or is it a bit more realistic?
I've never played Revolver so I don't know. The tone isn't very arcadey which is a shift that Rockstar made with their GTA series when IV came out so I'm just going to assume that, in a way, Redemption is more "realistic" than Revolver. Though it does still retain a Hollywood feel to it.
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Still can't compare to Gamespot's or IGN's 2-page long reviews.
Still, it's true that this review is very well organized, structured and informative
Out of sheer boredom I just checked gamespots review and it's as long as this one. Just contains more pictures and vids that take more room and smaller(thinner? Whatever) paragraphs. But basically they're as long.
I'm bored.
“The human eye is a wonderful device. With a little effort, it can fail to see even the most glaring injustice.”
VOP why don't you have your own review site? GET ONE NOWZ
Haha, I know right...well the best thing I have now is a blog I started up a few weeks ago. The link is right there in my sig below.
I'm trying to get reviews out for some of the latest games but I also do some older titles as well. I've got Red Dead Redemption, Alan Wake, Alpha Protocol, and Mass Effect 2 on there right now plus some rants and raves.
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Red Dead Redemption
Originally Posted by scheuch13
