Platforming week came to a halt, mainly due to laziness, but it was also tough to write up decent posts because I was very distracted. It's hard to believe a new game could keep me from playing great platforming games, but it finally happened. I actually got hooked on a game that's nearly new enough to be considered, "relevant." I got sucked into the old west with Red Dead Redemption.
I'd like to give a little background before I delve into this one. For starters, the "Red Dead" name was not new to me at all. I had played Red Dead Revolver years before and enjoyed it as a fun, decent 3rd person shooter with an amazing soundtrack. When I first heard that Red Dead Redemption was going to be a sandbox game, I was skeptical to say the least. I just couldn't quite picture it in my head. I was excited to see the game getting nothing but positive reviews, but I had to see it for myself.
Before I knew it, I was herding cattle, breaking horses, hunting wildlife, and hogtying banditos. I'm not usually one to go for side-quests, but Red Dead Redemption is crafty and had no trouble pulling me away from the main story missions. I would ride towards my destination, and suddenly I would notice a question mark on the map. "Well, I might as well check out the stranger mission," I'd say to myself, and suddenly I was caught up in that instead of arriving at my original destination. Aside from the strangers' missions, there's also a wide variety of random happenings. These are far less involved, but distracted me from the main quest regularly. I might be headed for the next story mission, but as soon as I heard that person yelling that someone had stolen their horse, I started chasing after the thief, swinging my lasso. Because the side-missions tended to be along the way, I couldn't help but get caught up in them. Rather than just being these distant things that are out there for you eventually, side-missions usually met you head on and were in your face. If a side-quest is in some distant optional location, I tend to ignore it completely, but when it's right there in front of me, it's much harder for me to turn down an extra mission.
As is the trend of later GTA games, Red Dead Redemption has a more serious tone than say, GTA III or Vice City. With Red Dead Redemption, however, I mind it much less, as the game makes me think of Westerns, which I tend to think of as being more serious than comical. Generally speaking, I'm much more in favor of the lighthearted nature of the old GTA games, but in this case, I feel the serious nature is warranted. That's not to say the game has no sense of humor, as you'll meet some peculiar characters on your journey that offer comic relief. Not to mention the rampant use of the famous "Wilhelm scream," which, while usually giving me a laugh, also feels quite fitting for a western shoot-out.
Talking about sound brings to mind the game's music. Years earlier, Red Dead Revolver made me fall in love with the soundtracks of Westerns. From the game's title sequence featuring, "Lo Chiamavano King," to the triumphant finale with "Ballata per un pistolero," Red Dead Revolver had a fantastic assortment of songs taken straight from real spaghetti Westerns. (By the way, while those may seem very foreign, there's a good chance you've heard "Ballata per un pistolero" before.) Red Dead Redemption, on the other hand, has a soundtrack almost entirely comprised of original compositions by Bill Elm and Woody Jackson. What's there is excellent, but I almost would like to have seen a little more music in the game. That said, I did enjoy the more subdued, ambient music while riding across the frontier. I'm just being picky.
I have to be picky though, because I really don't have too many other problems with the game. I wasn't keen on the inability to swim, but I wasn't too bothered by it. I just felt they could have given some kind of warning system. Granted, you're not going to be wading through water frequently, but it seems odd that the second you tread too deep, you die instantly. Otherwise, occasionally I came across a visual glitch or two, but in a game as complicated and intricate as Red Dead Redemption, these are easily forgivable. I did, however, find myself unable to complete a mission without restarting. It happened only once, but a horse died under a wagon being driven by a computer character. The wagon couldn't drive over the carcass and I was unable to take the reigns and try to move it, so my only option was to restart the mission. It seems like a fairly uncommon problem, however, and with how much this game has to offer, it was easy for me to overlook.
Speaking of "restarting missions," I haven't played GTA IV, so I'm not entirely sure about its mechanics, but I'm damn sure that in the old GTA games, if you died, you lost ALL of your weapons, and some of your money to boot. In other words, for me, this meant re-loading my last save whenever I died. Red Dead Redemption really doesn't punish you for dying. If in a mission, you'll simply restart from the last checkpoint. Outside of a mission, dying will simply put you back at the last save point you used. This eliminates frustrating deaths where you feel as though you lose a lot of progress.
Minor complaints aside, it all boils down to an excellent sandbox experience with a lot to offer and what must be the best Western-themed video game the market has to offer. I remember thinking, back when I played Red Dead Revolver the first time, "The Western seems like such an obvious and perfect choice for a video game, why aren't there more Western-themed games?" While I do still hope more games will try out the genre, they're going to have a hell of a time living up to Red Dead Redemption. Then again, most sandbox games will too. Good luck fellow contenders for "Best game of 2010." You're going to need it.
Cougars bro, COUGARS!
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