Developer - Rockstar North / Rockstar San Diego
Publisher - Rockstar Games
Available On - XBOX 360 / Playstation 3
Reviewed On - XBOX 360

Red Dead Redemption is the latest next-gen blockbuster from world renowned studio Rockstar Games. Set in the Wild West, it tells the tale of a man once an outlaw trying to raise a family and build a life through difficult historic times. Players traverse through the wide open plains of the Wild West all sculpted in Rockstar’s own Euphoria engine previously seen in Grand Theft Auto. Now let’s get the obvious out of the way first. Red Dead Redemption demands a comparison against Grand Theft Auto; they’re both games set in an open world sandbox environment where players travel from mission to mission as they please. They’re both filled with end game content and side missions, robust multiplayer and thick narrative and on the most basic level play similarly.

This is where all comparisons to GTA end. After completing RDR I’ve realized only a fool would compare the two, RDR offers such a vastly different and superior outing in nearly every way it supersedes GTA and destroys other competition. Not only is it better, but RDR tries different things to GTA and therefore plays differently. Transport, weapons, missions, characters, story, pacing and general engine polish here is far beyond anything seen in GTA so let’s get that out of the way first. OK?

John Marston is our seminal anti-hero. Turning his back on the outlaw ways of the past John has built a family, farm and a home by honest means until the law intervenes to make John do their dirty work. Seems John can’t escape his past, as he’s called in to take down his previous gang members and past friends while his family are held hostage. Forced into a thick plot of justice and betrayal, things soon thicken as John becomes everyone’s whipping boy from the US to Mexico.

Missions vary in structure but you can usually bet some gun slinging and a lot of horse riding will come into play. A lot of the missions are similar to GTA as John becomes an errand boy for nearly everyone, it’s a little out of character how he so willingly performs the duties of strangers but each mission is usually on track towards the main story.

Outside of the story missions there’s a lot to do in Red Dead Redemption with gang hideouts, horse breaking, cattle rustling, gambling and stranger missions being just part of the variety of content available. There’s also a large set of challenges to complete that involves all different game types. The gang hideouts are particularly fun as players invade an occupied fort eliminating every enemy and securing the area. Then there’s the less fun games such as cow herding, a slow and tedious chore that is regrettably mandatory in the main story.

Each of the missions have a genuine robust Wild West feel to them, and when you combine the historic representation with a polished open world and masterful soundtrack it creates an incredibly immersive experience. Music is used sparingly throughout the game, most wide open horseback rides have little sound except for the chirps and rustling of natural wildlife that feels very authentic. A progressive day/night cycle can create all sorts of stylistic riding into the sunset scenes and the horses themselves are a technological feat. Horses are animated superbly; with incredible attention to detail in movement they can event react to certain situations realistically.

Red Dead Redemption has a robust multiplayer component. Join any online server and you’ll be immediately dropped into Free Roam where a separate pack of challenges are available from the single player. Free Roam acts as a lobby with some open world content, it’s a good platform for players to gather together and organize a structured game type or take on a gang hideout.

The multiplayer games include the standard options of deathmatch and team deathmatch as well as some fun modes such as Bag Grab where players scatter collecting and dropping off bags of loot. The multiplayer modes are quite fun, but the engine just doesn’t have the precise shooting mechanics or setup for serious online competition. Auto-aim is on by default, and has a huge effect on gameplay allowing players to easily lock-on and mow down anyone running in a horizontal line. This ruins most of the professional competition to the game, it’s just too easy and requires little skill to aim. There’s still a lot of fun to have online, especially with the unique Standoffs at the beginning of every game where players wait for a counter and pistol duel just like in the Old West.

There’s a lot to do in Red Dead Redemption and it’s all within one of the most polished open world games to date. The experience is convincing and gripping throughout, with solid voice acting backing a great cast of fascinating characters each with a unique story of the Wild West to tell. At first I thought the setting would hold me back from enjoying this as much as GTA, I’ll admit I do tend to prefer the cityscapes; but it didn’t take long for me to get gripped and immersed from start to end and beyond with end game content and multiplayer. Red Dead Redemption is an accomplishment and worthy addition to any gamers library.

Red Dead Redemption

96%

The Good -

• Immersive and authentic open world

• Thick story and narrative

• Mass of content

The Bad –

• Auto-aim ruins multiplayer

• Some challenges can tend to grind