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Red Dead Redemption

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Red Dead Redemption
Developer(s)Rockstar San Diego
Rockstar North
Publisher(s)Rockstar Games
Director(s)Ted Carson (technical)
Josh Bass (art)
Daren Bader (art)
Producer(s)Steve Martin
David Kunkler
Josh Needleman
John Ricchio
Designer(s)Christian Cantamessa (lead)
Leslie Benzies
Alan Blaine
Silas Morse
Artist(s)Nick Trifunovic (lead)
George Davis
Writer(s)Dan Houser
Michael Unsworth
Christian Cantamessa
Composer(s)Bill Elm
Woody Jackson
Various artists
SeriesRed Dead
EngineRAGE[2]
Euphoria[2]
Platform(s)PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre(s)Sandbox, third-person shooter, action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Red Dead Redemption is a sandbox-style action-adventure western video game, developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. It was for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in May 2010.[1] It is a spiritual successor[3] to 2004's Red Dead Revolver.

The game takes place in the year 1911 in the American Old West territory and follows John Marston, a former outlaw, while he sets out to hunt down his former gang members.

Upon its release, Red Dead Redemption was met with almost universal critical acclaim with a 95/100 on both review aggregate websites Metacritic and GameRankings, making it one of the highest rated video games for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on both websites.

Gameplay

Red Dead Redemption gives the player a large open world environment allowing the player to explore. Players on foot can walk, talk, kick chickens, shoot, kill, ride, run, hunt, interact with the environment, and combat enemies with firearms. Different breeds of horses are the main forms of transportation. Swimming is not an option, as the protagonist John Marston cannot swim - he will drown if he ventures too far into the water.[4]

As well as following the main storyline, players can take part in random events they encounter as they explore the West. These include public hangings, ambushes, pleas for assistance, stranger encounters, drive-bys, and dangerous animal attacks. For example, if a group of people ride into town firing guns in the air, the player can kill them, and will receive a bonus of honour and fame. Players can also take part in optional side activities ranging from standoffs, gambling, and hunting animals for pelts, meat and other various items.

Red Dead Redemption makes use of a morality system where players have the ability to gain positive or negative 'honor'. Some of the ways to gain positive honor include taking an outlaw alive instead of killing him, or saving a kidnapped innocent. Negative honor can be gained for committing crimes including killing or robbing civilians. This works along with another system, 'fame,' showing and governing how people react based on Marston's honor status.[5]

John Marston takes cover before an incoming horse carriage.

Combat and gunplay are major parts of the game. Gunfights in Red Dead Redemption are conducted using a third-person system. The player can take cover, target a specific person, blindfire, and free aim. Individual body parts can also be targeted, in order to take targets down non-lethally, who can then be lassoed and "hogtied" to capture individuals alive. When the player shoots an enemy, the game engine uniquely creates the AI reactions and movements. John Marston has an arsenal of period-accurate weapons to choose from; these include revolvers, pistols, lever or bolt-action rifles, knives, explosives, lassos, mounted gatling guns, shotguns, and cannons.[6]

A combat feature that Marston can utilize is the "Dead-Eye" targeting system. "Dead-Eye" is used in a bullet time-like manner, allowing the player to slow down time to place a precise shot or paint in multiple shots on the body parts of one or multiple enemies. When the targeting sequence ends, Marston will fire in extremely quick succession on targeted people and objects.

Adopted from the Grand Theft Auto series, Red Dead Redemption has a modified wanted system. When committing a crime such as killing civilians near other people, some will run to the nearest police station as witnesses. The player can bribe them or kill them before they reach the station. If a crime is committed near a police officer, the wanted meter immediately appears along with a bounty count where it increases with more crimes committed.

To evade law enforcement in pursuit, John Marston must escape a circular zone until the wanted meter disappears. Despite the chase being aborted, John is placed with a bounty which will cause bounty hunters to come after him in the wilderness. The police will continue to challenge him again unless he pays his bounty at a telegraph station or presents a pardon letter. When arrested, John pays off his bounty and is then released. If the player does not have enough money to pay back, the police will assign bounty hunting activities.

Multiplayer

Red Dead Redemption includes online multiplayer with a maximum of 16 players per session. Every multiplayer game, both free-for-all and team based, will begin with a Mexican standoff. Survivors of the standoff will be able to move to any part of the battlefield in preparation for respawning enemies. Crates in the environment will contain extra weapons, ammo, as well as recharge Dead-Eye powers, which has all the features of the single player version except for slow motion. Players can level up and complete weapon challenges giving rewards such as new character models, golden weapon skins, and new mount breeds.[7]

Both regular and team versions of Shootout mode follows a traditional deathmatch scenario where players or teams must accumulate the most kills. Many Capture the Flag variants are also available. Hold Your Own is a traditional capture the flag, where each team has their own bag of gold to defend from the enemy team. Grab The Bag has both teams attacking one bag placed in a section of the map. Gold Rush is a free-for-all variant, trying to grab and keep as many bags, spawned all across the map, as possible.

Like Grand Theft Auto IV's free mode, Red Dead Redemption has its own free roaming mode. All players in the server can form and join player parties, named "posses", of up to eight players and taking part in activities such as attacking computer-controlled gang hideouts or other player posses, go hunting, and create in-server matches.[8]

Plot

Set in the year 1911, John Marston, a retired outlaw formerly of a gang led by Dutch van der Linde, is taken away from his wife Abigail and his son Jack by government agents. The agents tell John that his family will be safely returned to him if he hunts down and kills the remaining lead members of his former gang. Left with no choice, John travels to the county of New Austin to capture or kill one of his old friends, Bill Williamson, who now runs his own gang of bandits out of Fort Mercer. John confronts Williamson at the fort, only to be shot and left for dead outside the fort. A rancher, Bonnie MacFarlane, finds him wounded, and brings him to a doctor to be treated.

After recovering from his wounds several days later, John begins repaying the MacFarlanes for their help. At the same time, he recruits help for a plan to attack Fort Mercer. Along with US Marshal Leigh Johnson, con man Nigel West Dickens, grave robber Seth and drunken arms dealer Irish, John uses a Trojan Horse strategy to breach the fort and massacre Williamson's gang, only to find that Williamson had already fled to Mexico to seek help from Javier Escuela, another member of John's old gang. Irish agrees to take John into Mexico over the river border so he can continue his search.

In Mexico, John is forced to work with Mexican Army Colonel Agustin Allende and Captain Vincente de Santa, as well as the revolutionaries in the area led by Abraham Reyes (based on Mexican revolutionary Francisco I. Madero). Allende promises to deliver Escuela and Williamson to John, but soon betrays and has de Santa execute John for working with the revolutionaries and killing Allende's men with elder gunslinger and childhood inspiration Landon Ricketts. After escaping execution, John sides with the rebels who help kill de Santa and successfully get John to Escuela. Following Escuela's capture or death, John joins Reyes and his men for an assault on Allende's villa, not only culminating in the deaths of Allende and Williamson, but also John's rebel friend Luisa as well when she attempts to save Reyes. Reyes takes control of the surrounding Mexican counties, and vows to march onto the capitol with his rebel army. John, meanwhile, returns to the city of Blackwater to meet with his government contact, Edgar Ross.

Much to his dismay, Ross will not let John return to his family until Dutch van der Linde, who has emerged from hiding, has been killed. While Dutch and his men wage war on the United States Army in the area, John has several run-ins with Dutch who manages to elude capture each time. John eventually joins Ross and a group of U.S. soldiers in an assault on Dutch's hideout. John follows the outlaws to their base, and confronts Dutch on a cliff. Dutch ultimately chooses to commit suicide, falling to his death. Before dying Dutch, however, warns John that the government will always find another "monster" to justify their pay.

John is released from his deal with the government, and returns to his family at his ranch. After some time spent getting the farm up and running again, John is forced to repel the army when Ross betrays him, leading a surprise attack on the property and killing John's friend, Uncle. John manages to get Abigail and Jack out safely but is shot dead by soldiers after sacrificing himself to allow his family a life of normalcy. Jack and Abigail then return to the ranch, finding John dead and the soldiers gone.

Three years later, after the death of Abigail, an older Jack stands at his parents' graves before tracking a retired Edgar Ross. After receiving a tip from a government agent in Blackwater, Jack ultimately discovers Ross hunting on a riverbed in Mexico. The two decide to have a lethal duel to settle matters once and for all with Jack emerging victorious.

After defeating Ross, Jack receives the latest edition of the newspaper, detailing the outcomes of some of the individuals that aided his father three years ago. Irish accidentally shot himself dead in the town of Thieves' Landing, Marshal Leigh Johnson retires from service vowing never to return to Armadillo, Landon Ricketts dies of old age, Seth became wealthy after finally finding the treasure he sought, and Abraham Reyes was considered a "tyrant" after overthrowing the Mexican government and becoming president.

Development and marketing

A trailer of the project was sent to a select number of people at a Sony conference in 2005, promoting the release of the PlayStation 3 system. The trailer was a tech demo of RAGE set in a western setting referred to as Old West Project and a direct sequel to Red Dead Revolver. The trailer circulated throughout the internet.[9] In the April edition of Game Informer, Red Dead Redemption was listed as being for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.[10]

On February 3, 2009, Rockstar Games announced the first official trailer.[11][12] Resulting trailers showcased numerous characters, gameplay features, and multiplayer modes that will be featured in the final release. The game was featured on NASCAR driver Joey Logano's #20 Toyota Camry in the Nationwide Series running of the O'Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 17, 2010. In North America, television network Fox plans to present a half-hour in-game special directed by John Hillcoat on May 29, 2010.[13]

In North America, GameStop and Rockstar collaborated on a pre-order bonus in which customers could vote for one of three outfits that Marston could unlock in the game. Each outfit came with a different bonus. For example, the "Deadly Assassin" outfit allows Marston to regenerate slow-mo "Dead-Eye" targeting twice as fast. The "Savvy Merchant" would halve the purchasing price of ammunition and guns and double the selling price for ammunition and guns. The "Expert Hunter" would double the amount of money the player could get from selling hides of animals. Voting was open to all, but only those who pre-ordered the game through Gamestop will receive the winning outfit, The Deadly Assassin.[14]. However, Rockstar announced that in an upcoming patch to fix several issues players are experiencing, they will release the other two outfits for all users free of charge.[15]

Along with the GameStop pre-order special, there are several other pre-order bonuses through other game store chains throughout North America, Europe, and Australia. These are the "War Horse" and the "Golden Guns".[16] The War Horse is a black horse with a white mane, tail and markings considered "rare" as well as being "faster" and having "more health" than any other horse in the game.[17] The golden guns reward increases fame with each kill, allowing users to progress much quicker up the ladder of fame.[17] The official online Rockstar Games store, the Rockstar Warehouse, offers a Red Dead Redemption T-shirt as the pre-order bonus. A limited edition version of Red Dead Redemption has been announced. With some countries receiving the Golden Guns and the War Horse, all will contain the Deadly Assassin outfit along with the original soundtrack.[18][19] Exclusive additional content such as a new gang hideout and a outfit from one of the game's gangs, is available for the PlayStation 3 version of the game.[20] In addition for the PlayStation 3 version, certain trophies in the game unlock rewards for PlayStation Home, PlayStation 3's online social gaming network.[21] On May 29 at midnight Fox aired a 30-minute short film made from ingame assets and directed by John Hillcoat.[22]

Downloadable content

Rockstar announced that on June 22, 2010 they will release free downloadable content known as Outlaws to the End. The content will include six new cooperative side missions ranging from raiding a mine and stealing the gold to riding down a river to secure a town's weapon cache. New multiplayer rewards as well as new trophies/achievements are also included.[23]

Soundtrack

Untitled

Red Dead Redemption Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack of video game music from the game Red Dead Redemption. The music was mainly composed by Friends of Dean Martinez member Bill Elm and ex-member Woody Jackson along with additional contributions from various musicians including Swedish folk musician José González.

All music is composed by Bill Elm and Woody Jackson, except where noted

Red Dead Redemption Original Soundtrack (75:18)
No.TitleLength
1."Born Unto Trouble"3:12
2."The Shootist"4:17
3."Dead End Alley"2:06
4."Horseplay"3:15
5."Luz y Sombra"5:19
6."El Club De Los Cuerpos"6:24
7."Estancia"2:02
8."(Theme From) Red Dead Redemption"5:38
9."Triggernometry"5:24
10."Gunplay"1:28
11."Redemption In Dub"2:10
12."Muertos Rojos (aka The Gunslinger's Lament)"5:51
13."The Outlaw's Return"6:54
14."Exodus In America"4:59
15."Already Dead"1:31
16."Far Away" (José González)4:40
17."Compass (Red Dead On Arrival Version)" (Jamie Lidell)2:59
18."Deadman's Gun" (Ashtar Command)4:15
19."Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie" (William Elliot Whitmore)2:24

Reception

The game has been met with universal critical acclaim, with much praise given to the presentation of the open world, story, and soundtrack. The game has received a 95/100 on both Metacritic and GameRankings. On Metacritic, it is the 5th best rated Xbox 360 game of all time and the 3rd best rated PlayStation 3 game of all time. On GameRankings both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game are on the "All-Time Best" video game list.

The New York Times said, "The leading edge of interactive media has a new face." In conclusion they rejoiced "In the more than 1,100 articles I have written for this newspaper since 1996, I have never before called anything a tour de force. Yet there is no more succinct and appropriate way to describe Red Dead Redemption."[37]

IGN heaped praise on the game giving it a 9.7/10 saying "what is most impressive about this sandbox is how fun it is to simply hop on a horse and take off across the prairie." In conclusion they exclaimed "Red Dead Redemption is a must-play game. Rockstar has taken the Western to new heights and created one of the deepest, most fun, and most gorgeous games around. You can expect the occasional bug or visual hiccup, but you can also expect a fantastic game that offers the Western experience we've all been waiting for."[38] GameSpot awarded the game 9.5/10 and said that it "raises the bar for open world action games".[35]

GameSpy gave it 5/5 stars saying "With Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar succeeds in creating one of the most impressive open worlds I've ever seen in a game, and it's telling that — even after playing for over 30 hours — all I want to do is get back on my horse and gallop back into the wilderness."[33] VideoGamer gave it a 10/10 exclaiming "The game itself is absolutely spectacular... The sheer quality of Red Dead Redemption is evident right from the word go." They also said "it's a magnificent piece of work that everybody should play."[39]

Eurogamer awarded Red Dead Redemption an 8/10, stating that it "successfully re-clothes the Grand Theft Auto framework in an exciting, distinct and expertly realised scenario".[40]

The Australian video game talk show Good Game's two reviewers gave the game a 9.5/10 and 10/10.[41]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Red Dead Redemption Delayed". IGN. 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  2. ^ a b "Yee Haw'–OXCGN's Day with Red Dead: Redemption at Rockstar". OXCGN. 2009-05-29. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  3. ^ "Asked & Answered: Red Dead Redemption Multiplayer Posses, Episodes from Liberty City, and Much More". RockstarGames.com.
  4. ^ "Rockstar Games Presents Red Dead Redemption - News". RockstarGames.com. 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  5. ^ Cocker, Guy (2010-01-28). "Red Dead Redemption Hands-On - Xbox 360 Previews at GameSpot". Gamespot.com. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  6. ^ "Rockstar Games Presents Red Dead Redemption". RockstarGames.com. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  7. ^ "Red Dead Redemption's online 'Multiplayer Free Roam' revealed". Joystiq. 2010-04-08. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  8. ^ "Multiplayer in Red Dead Redemption". RockstarGames.com. 2010-04-08. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  9. ^ "Red Dead Redemption 2005 Teaser". RockstarWatch.net. 2007-05-26. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  10. ^ "Red Dead Redemption PC". GameInformer. 2010-04-15. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
  11. ^ Aj Collins (2009-02-04). "Red Dead Redemption Announced". RockstarWatch.net. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  12. ^ Stewart, Kemuel (2009-02-04). "Confirmed: Red Dead Revolver Gets Sequel". GamerCenterOnline. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  13. ^ "FOX to show half-hour Red Dead Redemption special on May 29". Aeropause Games. 2010-04-29. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  14. ^ "Red Dead Redemption". Gamestop.com. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  15. ^ http://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/6061/red_dead_redemption_title_update_coming_next_week.article
  16. ^ "Rockstar Games Presents Red Dead Redemption". RockstarGames.com. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  17. ^ a b "Online Stores - GAME Australia". Game.com.au. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  18. ^ "Red Dead Redemption Limited Edition - Playstation 3 - EB Games Australia". Ebgames.com.au. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  19. ^ "Red Dead Redemption - Playstation 3". Gamestop.com. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  20. ^ "Red Dead Redemption PS3 lands exclusive content". N4G. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
  21. ^ Locust_Star (2010-05-05). "This Week in PlayStation Home: UNCHARTED 2 Space, MW2 Play Session, Items for Red Dead Redemption, & more". Sony Computer Entertainment America. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  22. ^ Red Dead Redemption machinima film airing on Fox this Saturday
  23. ^ "Red Dead Redemption DLC details - the Outlaws to the End co-op mission pack coming in June as free download". Rockstar Games San Diego. 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  24. ^ "Game Rankings Red Dead Redemption". Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
  25. ^ "Metacritic Red Dead Redemption". Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  26. ^ "Red Dead Redemption Review". 1UP.com. 2010-05-17. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  27. ^ "Review: Red Dead Redemption Review". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. 2010-05-17. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  28. ^ "Review: Red Dead Redemption". Edge Online. 2010-05-17. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
  29. ^ "Game Informer review scores". Nintendoeverything.com. 2010-05-07. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  30. ^ "Red Dead Redemption Review". G4tv.com. 2010-05-17. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
  31. ^ "Red Dead Redemption review from GamePro". GamePro.com. 2010-05-07. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  32. ^ "The First Red Dead Redemption Review Scores Are Out". Softsailor.com. 2010-05-09. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  33. ^ a b "Red Dead Redemption review from GameSpy". GameSpy. 2010-05-19. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  34. ^ "News: Red Dead Redemption Video Game, Review HD". GameTrailers. 2010-05-17. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  35. ^ a b Red Dead Redemption Review
  36. ^ Brudvig, Erik (2010-05-17). "Red Dead Redemption Review - Xbox 360 Review at IGN". IGN. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  37. ^ "Way Down Deep in the Wild, Wild West". New York Times.
  38. ^ "Red Dead Redemption Review". IGN.
  39. ^ "Red Dead Redemption review VideoGamer". VideoGamer. 2010-05-19. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  40. ^ "Red Dead Redemption Review". EuroGamer. 2010-05-17.
  41. ^ "Good Game stories - Red Dead Redemption". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2010-05-31.

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