GameGuide

It’s the turn of the centuary in America, and the Wild West is starting to get tamed. Technology is creeping and and Law Men are making outlaws a thing of the past. So what’s an ex outlaw like your self supposed to do? Settle down with a wife and child. Life isn’t so bad, you start to enjoy the simpler things in life. That is until one day you get a visit from some shadowy government figures who threaten your wife and child and ‘encourage’ you to wok for them, hunting down and killing every member of the posse you used to ride with. Finding them won’t be easy, it’ been a while, and Rockstar have created a massive environment – their biggest yet – for you to explore, so you’re going to need help. It seems however that everyone who might be able to help you, needs help with something first, so to save your wife and child, you’re going to be doing a lot of work for a lot of people. It’s going to take some time, but it will be worth it. And it does involve riding horses and shooting people, so it’s not all bad… 

Well that’s the lowdown that Rockstar gave whilst introducing me to Red Dead Redemption on Monday afternoon. It was a slightly nervous meeting – Red Dead is a game I’ve been frothing at the mouth with anticipation since the first videos started to surface – and after a demonstration of the game, I was going to get some hands on time. Looking at an early build of the game (from December last year) I was impressed with the visual quality. The barren southern land (there are three distinctly different areas to explore in Red Dead Redemption) showed off the raw power of Rockstar’s graphics engine, with some amazing vistas, the colours and mood changing as the sun set in the sky. But it was more than just great lighting effects, you could see the detail of the distant hills and suddenly realised that you had never seen draw distances quite as spectacular in a game before, and this wasn’t even the finished, polished product. It’s no wonder Rockstar were keen to give media hands on time with the game, once again they seem to be onto a winner.

During my all too brief hands on time with Red Dead I got to saddle up and explore New Austin, where I help the local sherif, resulting in my participating in a shoot-out before being directed by my Rockstar host to the location of a rescue mission – on route to the rescue mission I come across another shootout and have the opportunity to keep going or pick sides and help out – all without the mood breaking pop-up option boxes that spoil so many other games – I chose the good side and kill some more outlaws earning myself some more honour points – then it was on to the rescue mission and finally I had to shoot my way into a mine shaft and escape on a mine cart.

The stunning graphics, open world game play where random encounters spice things up, and the sheer enjoyment of pretending to be a gun for hire in the Old West would have been enough for me. But Rockstar have added little details, like treasure maps for those of us who enjoy scouring every inch of this massive land, and bounty hunts for those who want a little more excitement – and money. We’ve been told that everything you can buy has an effect on the game, and this isn’t limited to the usual gun upgrades. But the most impressive thing is the fluidity of the game. I never had to wait for anything to load. When you creep up close enough to someone to shoot them point blank you get a little animation of your character executing them, but this flows so well that it doesn’t impede the playability of the game, rather it blows your mind as to how seamless the experience was. The same goes for cut scenes that lend a film like experience to the game, with some superb voice acting and seemingly with no load times what so ever.

My time with Red Dead Redemption came to an end all to soon – I Could have spent the rest of the day exploring and helping people out. But that will now have to wait for Red Dead Redemption’s May 21st release. I’m eager to get back in the saddle and see how New Austin looks after a couple more months of polish, I want to see what the other territories look like, I want to wrestle a grizzly bear with nothing but my knife. The possibilities seem to be endless, and I’m eager to see just how far the world of Red Dead Redemption extends, and what awaits me and my trusty steed.