I’m beginning to feel like the last kid on the block to move up to the new generation of consoles. My social media feeds are flooded with screen shots of Destiny on PS4 and not a week goes by that someone doesn’t announce their new XBOXOne or what-have-you. So this week we’re taking a look at a title that is one of the best of the previous generation and cheap like the budgie. Red Dead Redemption might be a top tier production but there’s so many copies in circulation that you can grab a new one for less than $20AUS.
Rockstar are best known for their sandbox crime epics in the GTA series, and this transfer from modern metropolis to the Old West could have been done with much less effort and been satisfactory. They went the extra yards with this sprawling adventure, filling it with detail, colourful characters and enough side quests to wave a cattle prod at. The characters in GTA were plenty memorable but they’re not the best developed avatars in the gaming world. John Marston is a much more interesting figure.
The heavily scarred former bandit had tried making his way as an honest farmer but when the feds decided they could make use of him he is thrust back into the bleak and violent frontier. Tasked with hunting down his old gang leader the long journey takes Marston across a myriad of gorgeous landscapes, filled with random encounters, wildlife to hunt and even flowers to gather.
Each of the towns spotted across the open world offers services and entertainment. Gambling with cards or dice, five finger fillet, horseshoes and more are fun distractions – more so than what most other sand box games supply. At first it might feel like a slower paced adventure without the standard high speed car chases that are popular in the genre, but your time riding a horse along the dusty trails will feel rich and rewarding. As it’s been said there is an endless amount of distractions from bandits to mountain lions to campfire stories that appear on the radar every few minutes. As an added bonus the graphics are absolutely amazing.
It still ranks as one of the best looking games out there. Not that the game is simply wandering around the desert…there is more than enough action to satisfy the most bloodthirsty of gamers. There’s a wide selection of firearms to fill out Marston’s holsters, and the ‘Dead-Eye’ system will make the player feel like a genuine quick-draw.
By the end of the game you’ve spent hours upon hours immersed in a brilliant Western, filled with action, character and some fun Easter Eggs. The story winds up with a small twist in the tale that, while not groundbreaking, does provide a satisfactory finale to the journey of Marston. And if you’re not satisfied there’s the zombie themed expansion.
