Red Dead Redemption Impressions

Well, it's long overdue, but I think I've finally played enough of both Red Dead Redemption and ModNation Racers to give, not a review, but at least an in-progress impression. I was going to do the same with Alan Wake, but it turns out that I beat it, so we'll just make that a review.

So! Let's kick this pig!

RED DEAD REDEMPTION

Red Dead Redemption, or Grand Theft Horse according to Yahtzee, is the latest game from Rockstar Studios, pioneers of, you guessed it, the GTA series. Set in 1911 during the fall of the Old West, the game follows John Marston as he tracks down some of his old gang buddies to bring them to justice. The game very literally is GTA in the Old West. Marston is free to mosey through the wilderness, picking flowers, hunting for treasure, murdering defenseless animals, and in town he can stop in for a drink at the local saloon, play Poker, Blackjack, Liar's Dice, and other games, and just generally do whatever. And while the usual Rockstar controversy is present, what with Marston being able to introduce a man's face to his Sawed-Off Shotgun before lassoing a hooker, dragging her through town, hogtying her and leaving her on the train tracks, Marston is unlike Rockstar's previous protagonists. He's nice.

Marston has morals and opinions, and says hello to little old ladies in town, before the player forces him to murder them. It's an interesting dynamic. Marston firmly believes in justice, and recognizes he is not a good person, hence his quest for redemption (O, I see wat u did thar, Rockstar). The game is certainly good, with a large amount of things to see and do, excellent graphics a great soundtrack, and fantastic voice acting on all counts, it is not without it's flaws.

Firstly, the game is enormous. It takes quite a long time to travel across the game map, and since the game likes placing your mission start and then mission objective on opposite sides of the map, you'll be doing quite a lot of riding. Thankfully, there is a fast travel system in place, but it's not particularly effective, being usable only at certain times, depositing you further than necessary from your destination, and somehow always taking up enough time that the mission I wanted is now not available until sometime later. Secondly, while the vast landscape is beautiful and interesting, it is not interesting for long. Rockstar has been touted as filling it's world with many things to see and do, and has received much praise for it's random encounters. But these encounters are not only random, they are sparse. Not only that, they tend to become predictable. (As an aside, if anyone flags you down by the side of the road, shoot them. They are horse thieves.) [And if anyone flags you down by a broken wagon, shoot them, and their friends hiding behind the wagon. They are wagon thieves]

Some encounters aren't even marked, which makes it more difficult. Several times in Mexico I would see a man being chased by two other men, taking potshots as they went. One side was clearly the law. The other had to be outlaws. But which Mexican was the bad Mexican? So I shot them all. The game did not approve. Another time I happened upon a hanging, and shot the rope and killed the men around it before realizing that instead of shooting the rope, I had shot the hanging woman's face instead. Her husband was most displeased. So I did the only thing I could. I shot him, too. Now they won't be alone.

The game also seems very set on you doing things it's own way. One mission tasked me with defending a train from rebels using a Gatling gun. I despise the Gatling gun. It is slow and inaccurate. So after two attempts, both ending in death and much raging, I jumped atop the engine and sniped each rebel with my Springfield. We made it safely, despite the General's screamed protests that, without me personally manning that gun, we were all doomed. Another mission had me hiding dynamite on a road to ambush a convoy. My plan was to lay them in a straight line, and once the convoy reached the furthest explosive, blow them all in sequence to ensure none survived.  The game seemed to disagree. It seemed to think blowing the explosives in the exact center would do the most damage.

My plan;
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x          x         x          x        x 
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The game's plan
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                   xxxxx                           
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Despite my companion's screams that I had blown them too soon, and was consequently an "Idiota" only one dazed soldier survived the blasts. Jared; 1 | Red Dead; 0

Now, hunting is certainly a fun and rewarding pastime, but even when you're not actively seeking to murder every last critter in the country side, the wildlife is still present. Annoyingly so. Wandering in the wilderness, I spotted a plant I needed to collect. The moment I grabbed it, a mountain lion came screaming in from nowhere, flew over me, and killed my horse. I turned and shot it, exacting sweet revenge for my now departed horse, whom I had named Phillip. My grim task completed, I turned around and was immediately decked by ANOTHER mountain lion, who proceeded to snack upon my face. Just recently I was wandering in the forest when suddenly a pack of wolves killed my new horse, Clyde, and then attempted to nom upon my kneecaps. My shotgun soon persuaded them that it was a bad idea. The wildlife simply can't leave you alone, no matter how much of it you introduce to your firearms. Apparently John Marston is delicious. As an aside, I have since stopped naming my horses.

My last gripe concerns the game not really teaching you much. Oh sure, they give you the basic idea, but only once. I have agreed to several duels during my time in the West, and the game taught me how to do it once. Since then, I have had no idea what I'm doing. Consequently, I tend to die a lot, especially since I am attempting to play the righteous path, and try to shoot their gun out of their hand rather than their face out of their head.

One duel in particular caused me to retry approximately 15 times, before I killed him by accident. His weird draw pattern moved his gun over his crotch, and, as it turned out, I hadn't shot his gun. But it brings up an interesting point. This game truly does make you responsible for the consequences of your actions. You feel personally vested in the goings on of the story, and, in instances like the one described above, genuine remorse. Sure he was an evil man, but I hadn't intended to kill him. I had planned to disarm him and bring him to the Sheriff, so that he may answer for his crimes. Instead, I shot him in the dick. For a moment, I was no better than he was.

Wow, this went on a while, didn't it? Methinks that I shall save the ModNation and Alan Wake impression/review for next time. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a train to catch. And then rob.