Red Dead Redemption

To start this review, I just want to say, Red Dead Redemption is one of the best movies I have ever seen… and no, I didn’t make a mistake saying that.

Like my Skate 3 review, I will be putting this into 3 sections. Story, Multiplayer, and Gameplay/Audio/graphics.

Story

If there’s one thing that I very much dislike about Red Dead Redemption, it’s that I haven’t found a way to replay the singleplayer! While after you beat it you can still free roam around in SP, I miss playing the missions. I want to go more in depth with some things that intrigued me, like some stranger missions, as I want to find out who they are and why they’re there. (Stranger missions are optional and have nothing to do directly with the story.) A big thing I like in the singleplayer is Honor and Fame. The more moral things you do give you more honor, and if you do things… less moral you will lose honor. The more honor you have, the better people will treat you. Fame is essentially similar, but it’s the more things you do that are well known, you will become more famous, which gives benefits of less bounty, etc.

The story of this game is fabulous. A big reason I didn’t enjoy the GTA4 or Assassins Creed 2 story too much is because the story takes so many twists and sometimes pointless turns, you really don’t know who the villain is. The story of RDR is simple. You are hired by this new secret government organization to Capture or kill your former gangmates who had left you to die. It’s a deep emotional feeling, because there are doubts about what John Marston is doing. At times it feels like he wants Redemption for the sins he committed in the gang, and at times it feels like he’s a sob that couldn’t care less. Marston’s character can really connect to you, and im not really sure exactly why. It could be for some of the heroics he does, or for that he’s trying to save his family too, and maybe it’s the choices he’s making, the ideals he has. He’s on a journey to redeem his sins for his family. The journey to find your ex gangmates is a long journey across the Wild West in decay.

The game is broken into 4 parts. The first two are large parts, and then two smaller parts. The game isn’t officially broken into that, but that’s how it feels. The first “part” you’re in America, in order to get help to take down one of your former gangmates, Bill Williamson. You meet many interesting people along the way, like Ranchers, Salesmen, and Crazies, all signs of the dying west that was once so great. The second part takes you into Mexico with the same simple task, in the middle of a Revolution. You help both the Rebeldes and the General out even though they are fighting each other, as your mission is to find your ex-gangmates and people on both sides can help. You meet equally interesting people as in America on both sides of the revolution. It seems John Marston gets deeper involved into the Revolution than he wanted, even fighting in the final battle, but it does end up to help his mission. I’m not going to tell you what the final smaller two “parts” are because I do not want to spoil anything. John Marston’s journey is a truly moving experience, and the people he meets and everything together gets to you. You really feel for the west and John Marston. The story is excellently crafted by Rockstar; it is a truly moving journey that you will NEVER forget.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer in Red Dead Redemption is groundbreaking, but it doesn’t come close to living up to the singleplayer. The multiplayer is fun; really fun actually. But it doesn’t feel the same as the storyline, and you may be a bit disappointed playing it for the first time after beating the story. But it’s still really, really fun. There’s an amazing mode that you will play a lot. It’s called Free Roam. You play with 15 others and you are able to explore the entire map that was in the Singleplayer. It may seem like you may never find anyone else, but that’s actually not true, I was surprised too. You can join posses with randoms in the game with you, and go around on your horses and engage in firefights with other posses or maybe lone wolves. You can even engage with huge AI gangs in gang hideouts for large amounts of XP. It’s crazy fun. One thing I like to do is go to a city with my posse and kill people to get a big posse up, and fight the incoming cops. You can go hunting in the northeast of the map, where there are bears and other dangerous animals. It’s not easy to kill a bear, but it’s so fun to go hunting. There’s just so many things to do and explore in free roam, so many activities.

If you’re a fan of Call of Duty or Halo, don’t worry; there are things in multiplayer for you. There are also Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch, and capture the “bag” modes, and much more to do in multiplayer. They aren’t as addicting or fun as Call of Duty or free roam, but they’re still fun, and some of the locations you will be fighting in are great. You can even suggest/start a game right from free roam, and all the others in your free roam session will see the invite and join. My favorite part about these deathmatch modes is the beginning, where you basically start off in a showdown with the other gang, and it’s like a 6v6 duel to start the game off. When I say gang I mean that in every game, depending on the local, you are either a gang from the gang, rebels from Mexico, us army, Mexican army, etc. Customization in RDR is awesome. In multiplayer, there is a ranking system that co-exists, and you get XP for getting kills and challenges in both. When you level up you unlock new characters to play and better horses to ride. The characters you can be in free roam range from the US army, gangs from the game, cattle rustlers, and more. It’s funny to see a posse of an Army man a Rebelde and a Cattle Rustler as a posse. Multiplayer is an awesome experience like no other, and the open world is a perfect place for Free Roam.

Gameplay, Audio, & Graphics

The voice acting in Red Dead Redemption is spot on. Every character is acted amazingly. The voices are incredible, and it makes the game even more enjoyable hearing all the creative and different voices. The music is also spot on, fitting to many of the moments and chases. A new system in RDR is Dead Eye, which basically slows time down and you can pick your targets for a fast takedown. It’s a pretty fun feature, and it comes in handy when facing large amounts of gang members. Sometimes the running and controlling a horse’s movement is difficult and glitchy, but it doesn’t really affect the game. Riding a horse is loads of fun, especially when you’re riding across the beautiful countryside.

The graphics are incredible. Aside from a few minor glitches and mess-ups, the graphics are spot on. The map is very diverse and beautiful. From snow-capped mountains and forests, to the clay mountains in Mexico, to the fields of America, this game is absolutely breathtaking. Some of the scenery is amazing. One of my favorite parts of this game is when you’re AFK but aren’t at the pause menu. Once you don’t touch any buttons for a few minutes, the game will show a scenic view of what’s behind or near you, without you in the picture. My favorite one was probably a scenic view of some clay mountains while I was in Mexico, as the sunset. It was no doubt one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Rockstar did an amazing job. And yes I know I’m running out of adjectives, because it’s pretty much indescribable.

Rockstar has created a masterpiece of a game, an unforgettable game in my eyes. The map is amazing and beautiful. The storyline is incredible. The multiplayer is addicting. What more could you ask for? The voice acting and music are incredible. Aside from a few glitches or difficulty moving this game is perfect.

I have to give it a

9.8/10

Its few flaws do not stop it from being a great game.