At first I expected this game to be almost a carbon-copy of Grand Theft Auto, replacing the towering buildings with quaint wooden houses, the trendy bars and clubs with saloons and the hookers with... Well, hookers.
But really, in essence, Red Dead Redemption was much more.
The best comparison would be with GTA4, and although I've never completed GTA4 (I got to the final Island about a year back with a mate before getting bored and moving onto Saints Row 2 [a truly fantastic game]) I would say RDR comes out on top.
The similarities between Niko Bellic and John Marston are by the book- characters from a foreign land (one geographically, the other chronologically) torn between doing good or bad- often forced into doing bad deeds due to the sinister past that they endeavour to leave behind. Each character is also bland enough for the player to project themselves onto- something which makes these games hugely enjoyable. The first difference that struck me, however, was how much more captivated I was by RDR then I ever was for GTA (4, or any of the predecessors).
At first there seems to be a wealth of things to do in RDR- play poker, blackjack, liars dice, hunt, sell animal pelts, pick flowers, train horses, take hostages, kill innocent people, protect the weak, duel, collect bounties, inane challenges involving shooting birds, hunting animals and saving/robbing carriages etc...
But soon enough you realise that that's basically all there is. Sure, there are various challenges and yes you can watch a cartoon and get drunk- but really there's not much to it. What really captivates you is the mentality of being a cowboy.
In GTA you can kill as many hookers as you like, have high speed chases down the street, eat a burger at a humorously tongue-in-cheek restaurant, but after an hour or so you can get bored of this... The mentality of a gangster is too cheap. A cowboy, however, is something different. There's a certain amount of freedom attached to the term “cowboy”- something that is instantly appealing to almost everyone.
One aspect of the game that was lampooned by people who doubted the game before its release was the hunting. I'd like to say that it's something that you don't have to do throughout the game but I'd be lying. Aside from being the best source of income (a commodity that is basically redundant by the end of the game from the amount of animals that you'll undoubtedly kill) it was also a key aspect of a cowboys life. This means that there are missions that indeed call for the slaughter of animals (a rare choice of target given the frenzy of pro-human killing games out there.)
The life of a cowboy in the game seems almost lackadaisical at times. I often found myself simply killing hours hunting deer at sunset, picking flowers under the light of the stars and herding buffalo come sun-rise. It is, at times, a very relaxing game.
A big buzz around games in the new generation has focused on the “morality choice” systems- games which make you decide whether you're good or bad. Most games, often against their original intentions, often boil down to Hitler-hailing evil or God-gobbling good. The morality choices in RDR, however, don't have a real bearing on the story, and therefore becomes an actual choice of morality. That said, the higher your honour (granted though good deeds) the more discount you have at shops, therefore you often feel inclined to do the good thing- something I think makes the morality system truly work. Instead of blowing open a hookers head because it's funny you realise that there are real consequences to those actions- and if you're willing to live up to those, then have fun! And if not? Then you can still have the same amount of enjoyment. A good example of this is in duelling. You can either gun down your foe with great skill and blood-shed, before looting his body and gaining some soiled cash, OR you can disarm your foe by shooting his gun (and maybe shoot off his hat for added enjoyment) to gain some honour. Either way, your fame will go up.
The story itself starts as something quite generic- the government have captured your wife and son in order to coerce you into hunting down and killing your old gang members. It works for a while to simply move along the plot- get you from A to B nicely. However, somewhere along the line I found myself actually caring for this family I've never met, and hating the captors I've never seen. The story telling it something quite impressive, something that works perfectly with the type of game-play it's complementing.
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
This segment talks about the ending. I'll clearly mark when it's over, so don't read these bits in italics...
SPOILER
This segment talks about the ending. I'll clearly mark when it's over, so don't read these bits in italics...
The ending for me was another spectacular moment of the game. While protecting your family on the farm, John Marston is gunned down in cold blood by the very same government officials that hired him. At first I couldn't believe it. I opened up the wiki page just to make sure it wasn't because I fucked up in some way... It wasn't. He was supposed to die.
Then as the image looms over his grave, we are transported a few years later, after the son you struggled to bond with has grown up into a young image of yourself.
At first- I was gutted. I didn't want to be this young impersonator- a shadow of the man I've grown attached to, with his feeble beard and wussy voice... Eugh.
And then you embark on your final mission- to seek vengeance upon your fathers killer. Although it was a short mission, I quickly became the son- writhe with anger over the death of John Marston, desperate for revenge.
Then, after a short duel, the deed was done. And I was relieved. The credits rolled, and I felt for-filled.
END OF SPOILER
END OF SPOILER
END OF SPOILER
END OF SPOILER
END OF SPOILER
So, in essence, I thoroughly enjoyed the game. Sure, it does seem to be lacking at times (like when you have to tediously round cattle or tame horses) and there could be a bit more (like a real reason to herd cattle or tame horses... Or pick flowers most of the time) but it's a fantastic game. I've yet to play it online, but I've heard it's equally as fantastic.
Critics always say that games must stand on their own single player before even consulting multi-player and I must say- this game stands strong.
...Unless you're on a horse in cougar country- then you're fucked.
--Biznitch
