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 Post subject: PS3 - Red Dead Redemption
PostPosted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 10:37 pm 
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Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 6:34 pm
Posts: 1451
Location: Ely, Cambs. UK
XBL Gamertag: Nubnos
PSN ID: Nubnos
Steam ID: patch_cbl_staff
Title: Red Dead Redemption
Genre: Open-World 3rd Person Action
Developer: Rockstar San Diego
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Ratings: BBFC - 18, ESRB - M
Formats: PS3, Xbox360

Synopsis:
John Marston is out for some revenge. Having been left for dead during Red Dead Revolver by his associates, he is left to the hands of the federal government, who in the mean time, have been busying themselves kidnapping Jack and Abigail, Marston's son and wife. Figuring Marston as being the best route to bringing the rest of the gang to justice, they force John into service with his family as the payout.

John then tracks Bill Williamson to the almost derelict Fort Mercer, where he confronts him. Bill extends the warmest welcome that the Wild West has to offer, and shoot John outside the fort. Left for dead a second time, he is then miraculously discovered by Bonnie MacFarlane, a local rancher, who brings John back to her ranch, and tends to his wounds. After a week, John has an immense feeling of indebtedness to Bonnie, and helps out around the ranch, all while piecing together a team for a second assault on Fort Mercer, to finally bring Bill down.

Fort Mercer has been assaulted, and Bill is nowhere to be seen, although Irish (a local drunken arms dealer) has information that Bill fled to Mexico some time between the initial confrontation, and the second assault, in order to seek the aid of Javier Escuella, another of the "old gang". He agrees to help John cross the border, and the real manhunt begins.


Red Dead Redemption can be summed up with a phrase; GTA4 meets the Wild West. While Rockstar North produced the GTA series, you can't help but get the sense that there's more than just coincidence that the two games are so interconnected. That being said, don't expect any fancy cars, or special modes of transport here. All horses and not many cars. In fact, the only cars you get to ride in are all driven by a pair of government agents, and are probably slower than the sickest horse you can find in the game.

As a proper open-world game, Red Dead Redemption is one of the games that you can either spend a lifetime on, or blast through. Story-wise, expect somewhere close to 15-20 hours, depending on how you choose to get around, and how much of the completely optional (and very boring) guided transit seconds you want to skip. Just completing the story missions requires a massive amount of time, with no real quick method of getting between towns (Yes, there's a taxi, but the loading screens are huge, and they're only honestly a godsend when going from one end of a country to the other) you're forced onto the trails for significant amounts of time. Wonderful if you love horses, but not so if you're susceptible to saddle sores.

Gameplay is very quick and cinematic, with gunfights erupting every now and again, posses rolling into town, guns blazing in the air. Every shot fired comes from a period-acceptable weapon, and kills are done in the traditional Western film style (ie limbs flailing around), people falling off of balconies, Gatling-machine weapons are as hideously inaccurate as you'd expect, and the Marmite (you either love it or hate it) style "wanted" system from GTA is very much in full swing. The local law will be alerted to your crimes by locals who witnessed it, and either went un-bribed or un-shot. Do something to an officer, and expect all hell to break loose for a while. Even after ditching the deputies, if your bounty is high enough, then bounty hunters will pick up the chase, or even a posse will gather up and give chase. Kill or surrender and the game carries on regardless.

Missions to drive the story on are given by a few designated people, who for some reason, aren't available all hours of the day, which gives for some serious frustration when you're trying to get shit done. Complete a few missions per person, and you eventually unlock a mission that sends you to another section of the map. Rinse and repeat a few times, and you're done.
What adds a lot of icing onto the cake are random events. These can be anything from a posse rolling into town, guns blazing, to a shopkeeper who has been robbed. Horse thieves are present and correct as well, with either an NPC getting jacked, or in a few cases, you actually stop to help a stranger, and they steal your horse from you. Wild animals spawn completely at random, and will attack you in a huge number of places (and are actually more lethal than an entire group of armed gringos shooting at your face...), the list just keeps going on.

Combat is a bit of a special case. It's unbelievably cover-based, as you're just a man taking on entire gangs at a time. The odds average about 20 to 1 at the best of times. Because of this, you get some very heavy tools on your side. Bullet time is present and correct, in the form of the Dead Eye mode. This essentially slows down time, giving you huge amounts of time to react to masses of guys appearing out of nowhere. At predetermined points in the story, you unlock some more Dead Eye features, mainly the ability to queue up shots, and unleash entire clips of ammo at a group, killing almost all of them at the same time.
Other than that, the game has the bane of everyone with some skill at aiming.... Snap auto-aim. Point the crosshair in the general direction of someone, let go of the aim button and press it again, and it'll snap to the nearest enemy's chest. Combine that with some fast trigger action, and you can massacre an entire fort of enemies, even without adding in Dead Eye mode. There are seriously some missions where you can kill the entire attacking force before they even get a single shot off by mastering this function. Right at the end of the game as well, just when you'd expect combat to get harder...

Graphics are sadly lacking a little, but given the lack of loading screens, or even rendering hitches, this can be forgiven. Get in a high place, and you can see for miles around. Only really Marsden's character model is in any kind of high resolution, which makes sense, as you're going to be staring at his bandolier for a long time.

Obviously, being an open world game, the story in Red Dead Redemption just really doesn't hold up to much scrutiny. Marsden gets betrayed a few times during the game, not only by his former gang-mates, but also by "the man" (Yes, I'm talking about Uncle Sam) both right during the opening cinematic, and at some point much later on. Loyalties fly all over the place, and the morality system doesn't really make any impact upon the outcome of the game. But then again, open worlds aren't known for their riveting story...

What Red Dead Redemption most definitely is not is a game that you can blast through like Flash on speed. Missions are spread widely, and the time restrictions force you to take things at a slower pace. What it is, is a game for you to lose yourself in. Get a dream about being a cowboy, and Red Dead Redemption will have you there in an instant.

What does need a very special mention is the replay factor in this. Now, I've done the storyline (and believe me, I kind of saw the ending coming from about half way through the story), and despite the usual "Oh, you pressed Start... here, have a trophy" that you get from a lot of games now, I've done about 10% of the trophy data. There's an unbelievable amount of stuff to do in this game, from gambling to ranching, trading to bounty hunting. Hell, you can even hold an entire train hostage, and go for laps around the area. Replay factor for this is completely through the roof, and out of the atmosphere. If you get a telescope, you might just see it passing Jupiter at the moment. Several DLC packs, and even a multiplayer mode for each of them just add more stuff to do with this.

Time for some scores!

Graphics: A bit of a let down, with the disparity between Marsden's model, and everything else being painfully apparent, but a bit made up for being able to see for miles. B-

Gameplay: Open world style, endless tasks, and rolling plains all give some serious immersion. Heavily let down by the overly simplified combat system. B+

Replay: Open world again, masses of tasks to do, from the mundane to the insane. Forced time hurdles shove you off of the beaten path to find something else to do, and you usually end up missing the next time bracket as well. Huge expanses of land to cover, and some very specific trophies demand a massive amount of time to fulfill, and then you've got a number of DLC packs to attempt as well. A+

Overall: Read Dead Redemption is the man's man of sequels. It takes on a number of loosened ends, tidies them all up nicely with bullet knots, and even explains in a few cases what went on in the previous game. Huge amounts of things to do, and some very timely musical interjections keep things rolling on well. Rather heavily let down by the ridiculously simple combat system, and somewhat obvious ending, but overall a very solid game to have, especially for fans of Red Dead Revolver. A

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Reviews:
Supreme Commander 2 <-- A sequel with a lot to live up to. Does it command everything, or take orders?
Fight Night Champion (PS3) <-- Nubnos comes back from the canvas, and goes in swinging.
James Bond 007 - Blood Stone (PS3) <-- Do try to return this in one piece, 007...

Upcoming Reviews: <-- Add to the list!
Dragon Age 2 (PS3) <- OMG YU SO ADDICTIVE?! *In Progress!*
Ratchet and Clank 4 (PS3)


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