Red Dead Redemption

 Ever since I fell in love with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, I have wondered the same thing over and over: why don't they do this game, but with cowboys? There was Red Dead Revolver, a linear, level-based game with some great multiplayer, but it wasn't the godsend I had longed for. Then Gun came out, a non-Rockstar title, that I must admit I enjoyed, but it was had a major lack in character. It felt dry and sterile, and all of the time, downright cliché. 

A few years down the road, rumors of a Red Dead sequel start flying around, and soon enough there are a few cryptic screenshots, and the promise of open world gameplay. Yeah, it ended up being delayed, and the entire development was somewhere around 5 years, but man oh man, has it been worth the wait.

The opening cinematic, and first few moments of gameplay might trick you into thinking you are playing GTA4 in disguise. The decidedly "movie" feel of the cutscenes, the radar, and basic control are all more or less the same. The game is running on the same, if updated, engine for crying out loud. But to call it a GTA4 clone (albeit one with much improved graphics… I'm just going to let the graphics speak for themselves) would be a pretty big mistake, which becomes apparent once you continue playing for about 10 more minutes, especially once you pick up a gun. 

I'm just going to say it here and now: the shooting system in Redemption, in my opinion, is fantastic. The radial weapon selection system makes it really easy to change weapon classes, and individual weapons within classes, quickly and almost always painlessly. The semi auto-aim (should you choose to use it, it can be turned off altogether) is helpful without feeling too much like a crutch. While you can easily get pull a bead on someone, unless you manually nudge the reticle for a better shot, don't expect many one-hit kills. You can also easily break your lock altogether simply by manually moving your reticle away from them. It is also very effective to use a technique employed heavily in the call of duty series, where you "pop" in and out of iron sights to acquire new locks. There is no "switch target" button, so this method is really the only way to quickly maintain locks on multiple enemies. In practice it feels pretty natural, and more rewarding than just hitting a toggle lock button. Also, you can change which shoulder the camera rests over with the left and right dpad buttons. I didn't realize this until after I had beaten the game, so it's not a huge deal, but can be helpful in some situations.

And then there is the Dead Eye system. While the basic shooting mechanic is highly competent, leaps and bounds improved over GTA4's (even though I told you to ditch the comparison, it's going to happen no matter what so I may as well reference it where it seems somewhat appropriate), it is the Dead Eye system that really sells the belief that John Marston is one seriously badass guy. Press a button to slow time to a crawl, then place your shots (kill, or just wound? Up to you) then hit the trigger to unleash a furious flurry of death. It feels very rewarding to use, and while it can be extremely powerful, it's not always exactly an instant win button. You don't fully stop time, so if you are already hurting for health, it is possible to be killed while you re placing your shots if you are surrounded by 7 armed bandits all shooting in your direction. But is used intelligently, it can get you out of most pickles, and you'll feel awesome doing it.

Next up is movement. This is one of the area's where Redemption really reel you into the gameworld. Martson's basic movement animations are pretty darn good, and make him seem both badass AND human at the same time. His various running animations, from basic trot, to sprint, to his uphill run, are all realistic looking, rather than a robotic arm pumping disaster. His walking stair climb animation is also very convincing. Marston can also evade in 8 different directions during combat. And while he can slide into cover in various rather daring ways, they are cool in a more desperate, "believable" hero style. Think more John Mcclain, and less Neo. 

And traveling from place to place, you're going to need a mount, and RDR provides some killer horses. The mechanics of riding seemed a little strange to me at first, but after about 10 minutes of awkward ness, things started clicking, and i can say with confidence that it is a pretty slick system. It actually feels quite a bit like a more mature carrot-system from Ocarina of Time. You've probably heard this many times before, but the fact that you can, at the press a single button, match the speed of the NPC you are supposed to be following is a mechanic I am simply shocked has not been integrated more heavily into video games. It's SO simple, but SO helpful. Developers, take a note. Oh yeah, and the horse animation is pretty darn awesome.

I guess I might as well hit the story now. I won't give much away, but I enjoyed watching this story play out. I did feel that several story arch were simply cut off suddenly, never to be returned to again (which is sad, because they were some of my favorite characters). It felt good playing an, if not totally flawless, at least a trying-to-be good guy. While I like Nico Bellic just fine, he was also kind of a jaded jerk. Marston is also pretty jaded, but he also has a legitimate reason to be doing what he's doing. He's extremely likeable, and the way his story is slowly revealed is a nice touch. Yes, you're going to end up doing a lot of favors for people, and it will almost surely come off a bit derivative at times, but this is when you just sit back, remember that your playing with a 60 dollar toy, and enjoy the character interactions. You also may take notice that, really, most mission end up being shoot this or that guy. But the shooting mechanics are so good, that you really don't mind shooting another horde of bad guys, and the story context behind the shootouts help make them feel more different than they actually may be. In the end, while the story was about 20 ish hours long, I feel that it easily could have been twice that length, but I did enjoy it while it lasted.

Whether or not you are left completely satisfied with the story (and it's polarizing conclusion), there is a CRAPLOAD of stuff to do when your not unraveling the Martson yarn. Feel like mercilessly hunting every animal you see? Well there's a whole lot of them, and each one is incredibly shootable, and you can then take meat, feathers, tusks, or whatever else from them to sell for cash monies. Feel like picking flowers? Go right ahead, there a good 15 different varieties to find around the gameworld. Or you could go bounty hunting, attacking a criminals hideout, taking down their henchmen, and then deciding whether to kill the bounty, or take him in alive for another cash bonus. You can go seek out rare wild horse breeds and break them to claim them as your own. You can go get drunk, push a wench down a flight of stairs, and get into a bar fight with that shifty looking guy in the corner. Or you can gamble your earnings away at poker, blackjack, Arm wresting, Five finger fillet, Liars dice, or Horseshoes. All of these or surprisingly unique and strategic, and not even arm wrestling is a straight button mash fest. Duels are also available, either by walking around until someone challenges you, or by getting caught cheating at poker. The dueling mechanics aren't explained super well by the game, but once you get it, it will become pretty addicting. Sadly, there is no horse or chariot racing, even though there is more than one story mission involving racing. A weird choice, but possibly an area left open for DLC. Who knows. 

You can also take legit side missions from "strangers". These come in a pretty large variety. The only one I will single out is "flowers for a lady" which is found near McFarlene's Ranch (your first safe house). It may seem like a really mundane task, but finish it. The end of that mission was probably the most shocking thing that has happened to me in the game. So crazy.

THEN, there are the spontaneous missions that just pop up in the game world. Hold up, hangings, robbery, fights, shootouts, chases, animal attacks, set ups, domestic abuse, and more. You can choose to just ignore them, but completing them will add to your fame, and possibly honor meters, that play into how NPCs react to you. Or, you know, murder an entire town and get a huge bounty on your head. Just watch your back for the cops and posses that will continually pursue you, even if you temporarily evade them.

There are even more things to do in RDR, but you get the gist. Now let's talk multiplayer. Oh yes, Multiplayer. Think, once again, GTA4's open world lobby system. Now think of it the way you wished it had been. Now place that idea into RDR, and that's what you've got. Its much easier to actually locate and join people in the area they are in, You are actually rewarded for working together in the gameworld, and the transition from freeroam lobby to standard matches is much easier to understand. The level progression system is much more transparent, and it seems like you are unlocking things at a steadier pace, and not waiting forever for some crummy skin. The aiming systems and pretty much every gameplay mechanic transfers over to multiplayer in tact and working well. I only wish that you could play the gambling games with friends, but alas, for one reason or another, that is not an option. Darn.

The final thing I'm going to touch on is the game physics. Again, like GTA4, RDR uses a mix of Euphoria and Rockstar's own RAGE engine to power the game and its physics. And I gotta say, the physics are really something you need to experience for yourself. I Was blown away by the physics in GTA4, but these leave them in the dust. Shoot a guy in the foot, and he will stumble as he tries to keep his footing, then collapse, GRABBING HIS FOOT WHERE YOU SHOT HIM. If he gets up, he'll limp on that foot. Shoot the other one out, and he'll crawl. Shoot a shoulder, and watch them spin through the air. Shoot him in the stomach, and watch him slowly crumble to the ground after clutching at anything for support on the way down. Shoot a guy of his horse, and you'll seem him get throw off, and hopefully get his foot stuck in the reins, and then you can watch his own mount finish him off by slamming him into a boulder, or toss him off a cliff. Shoot the horse instead, and watch the horse buckle to the ground as the rider flies forward through the air. Push someone, and watch the throw themselves at a wall or table to catch themselves. GTA did a lot of these things, but RDR's physics does so with a much weightier, even exaggerated, feel. Sure some of it looks a little too wacky, but it's always entertaining, and frankly almost dare you not to pick out a helpless citizen and simply mess with them, just to see how they react with the world. Because of the "unscripted" nature of things, yes, you will run into some wonky physics glitches, or some npc pathfinding troubles, but by and large, this is a darn slick running game.

This is a big, beautiful game, and it is a blast to play. Could it have been better? Of course, what game couldn't? But as far as western themed games go, this is by far the best I have ever played, and arguably the most fun open world game I've played. I cannot recommend this game enough. Stop reading this and go buy it. I'm actually surprised you read the whole thing. Congratulations! Now go shoot some liver-bellied scoundrels, partner.