Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Redemption Review

For me, GTA was a fun series a few years ago, but I had dropped out of it since it seemed to be getting too repetitive & too similar. So, I was super-excited when I heard they were making Red Dead Redemption, but then disappointed when the release date kept getting pushed back. Thankfully it has been worth the wait!

The missions for the most part are good & action-packed. Generally they involve shooting a lot of bad guys, who are all displayed with red dots on your map. The red dots make it easy to find them/ count how many are left to shoot. A few of the Bonnie missions are dull, slow, boring and involve general farmhand stuff, but thankfully that's pretty early on in the game.

Something as mundane as riding around in the desert from town to town is actually fun. The scenery is beautiful and epic. I can waste hours just riding around the countryside helping people out, hunting down escaped prisoners, or hunting animals. The hunting aspect is surprisingly fun & addictive, and hunting is a very entertaining way to rack up some money if you need it.

Normally side games are lame and not-interesting, but here in RDR - Poker, Blackjack, Liar's Dice, Horseshoes, Arm Wrestling - are fun and pretty realistic. Liar's Dice is a game I'd never heard of before, but it's really fun, and I think would be a great drinking game with friends.

For my first play-through, I've been trying to be as honorable as possible, but occasionally an innocent bystander will get whacked (sorry about that). Another thing to note is that you can't use cheats in this game if you want to save & progress on the storyline. I haven't found the need, though, to cheat like in GTA with full ammo, full health, reduce wanted level, etc. If you are interested in the cheats, search online for more details.

For some people who complained that the targeting was difficult, if you double-tap the L2 button, the game does a great job of locking right on to the target - actually almost too good of a job. There is no overall easy/medium/hard Difficulty setting on this game. I'm generally so-so at video games, especially as I'm now in my 30's and can't devote hours-upon-hours to gaming like I did in college. Thankfully RDR is not a throw-down-the-controller-because-you're-so-angry difficulty. In fact, if you're a hardcore gamer, you might think it's too easy (?).

I haven't touched the online multi-player yet. The single player is so engrossing right now, and I'm generally not a fan of online shooters - and also because I suck at them. So if you are really into that genre, you're probably better off sticking to Call Of Duty or Battlefield 2. I assume most people aren't buying this game for multi-player though.

For a few of my negatives, the cut-scenes are slow-moving. The talking & overall flow of them just seems so s-l-o-w. I wish there was a double-time option for it. But you can skip them altogether, and then review the dialogue in the journal later if needed. Also, I wish you could just press select to get to the Map instead of having to go through Start -> Map. I've only had the game lock up on me once; once isn't bad, but glitch-free would be ideal.

Also, I'm a big fan of customizing your character, or better yet, creating your own guy altogether. I wish we'd have had that option in this game. As it is now, you can really only change your outfits as you unlock them. A huge Rollie Fingers mustache would be an awesome choice.

For the full price of admission, I am definitely getting my money's worth on Red Dead Redemption. It is literally hours-upon-hours of fun. I have been staying up way too late playing RDR, which unfortunately leads to a rough time going to work the next morning! Highly recommended.

Red Dead Redemption Feature

• The Dead Eye targeting mechanic, allowing the player to slow down time for shot accuracy, as well as ridable horses and more than 40 kinds of animals that you can hunt or be hunted by.
• Expansive open-world gameplay set in the final years of the American Wild West.
• Massive play area filled with NPCs, made up 3 unique regions composed of towns and outposts filled with characters with varying looks, accents, etc.
• Morality system based on honor and fame generated by the players actions throughout the game.
• Western themed mini-games including showdowns, gambling, hunting bounties, cattle herding and five finger fillet; and an assortment of period specific weapons.

Red Dead Redemption Overview

Red Dead Redemption is a Western epic, set at the turn of the 20th century when the lawless and chaotic badlands began to give way to the expanding reach of government and the spread of the Industrial Age. The story of former outlaw, John Marston, Red Dead Redemption takes players on a great adventure across the American frontier.

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 06, 2010 14:00:05

Brilliant - Rani M. Oliver -
This is a western fans dream game come true. If you love westerns or open world games without being a street thug like alot of Rockstar games then this is the game for you. Brilliant execution wonderful graphics and a fully realized world with unique people and places to see and meet. I can not recommend this game enough. A true masterpiece.

Wow. - A. Connors - Virginia, USA
I purchased a PS3 just to own this game. And I love every second of it!

5 out of 5 stars. This is a must play. - Arctura -
One decisive advantage that good video games have over good movies is the level of immersion. After playing an open-world game like Red Dead Redemption, it's difficult to imagine why anyone would want to sit down and watch an old Western flick on TV while full participation in all the Wild West's glory is possible.

In Red Dead, you play the character John Marston, a reformed outlaw who is forced by the federal government to travel across the fictional territory of New Austin, and Mexico, to hunt down his former partners in crime. In addition to Red Dead's incredible attention to detail, which will now serve as the new benchmark for all future open-world games, the game finds the most success in its storytelling. The story of Red Dead is easy to follow, yet Rockstar Games infuses enough drama, suspense, action, and yes, some very dark satire in one complete package, thereby successfully creating a 50-hour plus experience without a single dull moment. Now that's impressive.

What impresses me even more than the storyline is that Red Dead does not try to preach the idea of a clear dividing line between the "good guys" and the "bad guys." Rather, the game leaves it up to the player to make (numerous) morally ambiguous choices, and endure the consequences along the way. Like real life, every action carries consequences; some intended and some unintended. This aspect of Red Dead makes it intensely realistic, and it really helps create an emotional bond between the player and the character.

Finally, I found playing Red Dead to be an almost metaphysical experience. While John Marston sought redemption, his redemption ironically led to the destruction of everything he cared about, and also sowed the seeds of a bloody revenge plot that transcended generations. Through our reluctant hero's eyes, I came to understand why some believe that you can't escape fate, that things just have to end a certain way. This view of the world, while tragic, has a strange, almost romantic, appeal to me. I was never a fan of the predestined school of thought before, but Red Dead somehow made a fan out of me. So, my hats off to the developer, this game really represents the pinnacle of fiction writing and storytelling, and it thoroughly demonstrates that video game is now a major art form, competing, and overtaking cinematography in almost every way.

5 out of 5 stars. This is a must play.

What happens when you spend 70 million to develop a game? - M. McSpadden - Phoenix, AZ United States
The result is an extremely high quality game that must be played. If you don't play this game you will be missing out I'm telling you. I don't need to tell you how fun it is just buy the game.

Red Dead Redemption Specifications

Red Dead Redemption is an open-world, third-person, action-adventure game set at the tail end of the American West West era. Action takes place in the first few years of the twentieth century and revolves around the choices that the protagonist, former outlaw John Marston, is forced to make due to his blemished past. The game features a morality system assigning honor and fame points generated through the player's choices. It also features Wild West themed mini-games, new targeting and cover systems, extensive horse riding abilities, a wealth of period specific weapons and more than 40 huntable animals. Story Red Dead Redemption is a Western epic, set at the turn of the 20th century when the lawless and chaotic badlands began to give way to the expanding reach of government and the spread of the Industrial Age. A follow up to the 2004 hit Red Dead Revolver, this game tells the story of former outlaw John Marston, taking players on a great adventure across the American frontier. Choose to fight for honor or fame as former outlaw John Marston. View larger. Gameplay Red Dead Redemption is a third-person action-adventure game set a fictional open-world American Wild West environment for players to explore. Gameplay area types include frontier towns, rolling prairies teaming with wildlife, and perilous mountain passes - each packed with an endless flow of varied distractions. Along the way, players will experience the heat of gunfights and battles, meet a host of unique characters, struggle against the elements and animals of one of the world’s last remaining wildernesses, and ultimately pick their own precarious path through an epic story about the death of the Wild West and the gunslingers that inhabited it. In their travels throughout the territories of the gameworld players partake in a morality system built on honor and fame, where they gain or lose points in each area based on their actions. The game features an easy to use cover system, a variety of mounts and period specific weapons including a cattleman revolver, a mauser pistol, a repeater rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, a throwing knife, a lasso and more. Western themed mini-games are also available, including showdowns, gambling, hunting bounties, cattle herding and five finger fillet. Key Game Features Expansive open-world gameplay set in the final years of the American Wild West. Massive play area made up 3 unique regions composed of towns and outposts filled with characters with varying looks, accents, etc. Morality system based on honor and fame generated by the players actions throughout the game. Loads of unique non-player characters to interact with. Western themed mini-games including showdowns, gambling, hunting bounties, cattle herding and five finger fillet. An assortment of period specific weapons including a cattleman revolver, a mauser pistol, a repeater rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, a throwing knife, lasso and more. The Dead Eye targeting mechanic, allowing the player to slow down time for shot accuracy. Ridable horses and more than 40 kinds of animals that you can hunt or be hunted by. Additional Screenshots: Cover and targeting system. View larger. All the dangers of the period. View larger. Western themed mini-games. View larger. Realistic mounted combat. View larger.