FIVE reasons to love Red Dead Redemption The Wide Open West Though Rockstar gets the credit for spawning the open-world craze, at this point I've seen all the metropolises I can handle. It is, in all honesty, starting to feel a little "been there, done that." But a wide open West is quite a different beast. For the most part, videogame Westerns have been shackled to linear level design that focused on stylish gunplay, but lacked the atmospheric elements of the Wild West. If Rockstar nails the landscape and social aspects of its three Western locales (the frontier, Old Mexico and the Northern territories), then exploration is going to be something very unique and exciting as compared to other open-world games. In a way, the West was like the world of Fallout. It's a place of isolation. But unlike Bethesda's dystopian world, the West is moving from a savage place towards one of civility (or at least refined savagery). Red Dead's story takes place at the turn of the century, as the West is confronted with the birth of modern industry. The setting is only going to help create the proper sense of desperation that swept across the outlaws of the Old West in its final years. In some ways, the themes may be very similar to those of GTA IV. Hopefully, Rockstar can pull it off. I'd Like a Side of Spaghetti with My Western I've seen my fair share of Westerns, but no subset of the genre appealed to me more than Spaghetti Westerns. It's a perfect fit for a game, because the exaggerated style of these films allows for hats to be shot off an enemy's head and the gun blown out of their hand. The stories in these movies don't suffer. Clint Eastwood's "Man with No Name" trilogy is a perfect example of three classic Western tales filled with betrayal, surprises, villainy and anti-heroism. I'd be pretty shocked to learn that these films (and others like them) didn't have a major influence of the Grand Theft Auto series as a whole, let alone Red Dead Redemption. And yes, with the Deadeye Mode (aka bullet time) you can target just about anything on an enemy. Natural Motion Horses Red Dead Redemption may be set in the West, but its technology shares a lot with GTA IV. As with the latest GTA title, Redemption uses Rockstar's RAGE engine and Natural Motion's amazing Euphoria technology. What's that all mean? No pre-canned animations. And the ability for the body to react to bullets and other unexpected collisions. One of my biggest problems with past videogame Westerns were the horses. They never looked quite right and riding them always seemed unnatural. But with Euphoria, the horses will move and react to changes in the terrain and collisions. Riders will be thrown by sudden stops and characters should tumble off horses more organically than the pre-determined animations of the past. Let's just hope legs can get caught in stirrups and wounded enemies will be dragged behind their rides. Duels There's not much I can say about one-on-one gunfights, since Rockstar hasn't shown that off to anybody. So I can't exactly say I love what they are doing (maybe I will, but who the heck knows how a duel will work). Still, I am excited about the very prospect of duels when you consider that the previously mentioned technology and the Spaghetti Western aspects should make for some really cool moments. The real trick will be if Rockstar can nail the high level of tension that precedes just about every duel in movie history. Notoriety Red Dead Redemption doesn't feature a traditional morality system like Fallout. To my knowledge, you won't have the option to be the good (Gary Cooper), the bad (Deadwood's Swearengen) or the morally ambiguous (Eastwood's Blondie). The story is going to drive you where you need to go without the kind of branching paths seen in some other games. That's fine by me. What is interesting is how the "wanted level" works. You can be evil if you want. Go shoot up a whole damned town if it makes you happy. But the worse you are, the more heavily the law will come down on you. Wanted posters will appear in town, posses will be formed. And unlike GTA IV, where getting free of the search radius resets your wanted level, in Red Dead Redemption, people have longer memories. Shot up a bunch of churchgoers? Head back to that same town soon after and people are going to remember your face. Bad things are going to happen. While it's going to take a very long play test to see how well the notoriety system works, what I know about it so far sounds very promising. And for the record, everyone wants to be the Man with No Name. So if Red Dead Redemption keeps your character's morality in the grey, more power to Rockstar. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Things You Need to Know About Red Dead Redemption We take a look at Rockstar's cowboy 'em-up in action and get very excited indeed. We recently had the pleasure of checking out Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption - the spiritual sequel to 2004's Red Dead Revolver - and early signs suggests this could be a classic. Rather than sticking to the rigid structure of the original, Rockstar are set to give you a sprawling landscape to roam around, which is full of towns, bandits and animals. Think GTAIV but with less buildings and you're about there. So take a look at the facts that we garnered from our first-look demo... 1. You play as John Marston We presumed the lead would be Red from the original Red Dead Revolver, but it isn't. John Marston's your man. He’s voiceless in the demo (voice talent will be confirmed later) but his body language and the scars on his face – almost identical to Red’s – suggests he’s a no-nonsense, badass. Marston’s background is similar to Rockstar’s other anti-hero, Niko Bellic from GTAIV. He’s a reformed outlaw who used to run with a notorious gang. He’s settled down with his family but all of a sudden The Bureau – who are later to become the FBI – turn up and deliver a horrific ultimatum. From here John’s life is thrust back into his previous dark ways. 2. It's HUGE Four times as big as GTAIV's Liberty City to be exact. Our demo highlighted the vastness perfectly as John trotted from town to town over huge expanses of dusty desert, but that doesn’t mean there’s much to do (see 6). It’s split into three areas - the Frontier, the Plains and even Mexico. There’s a train line that runs through the entire map too. We’re expecting to be able to ride it between different areas in a similar way to the subway system in GTAIV. One of the missions even involves racing along side a locomotive and protecting it from incoming attacks. 3. It uses RAGE and Euphoria Physics A tweaked version of the GTAIV engine is being used in Red Dead Redemption. As such the combat and movement feels very familiar, in a good way, obviously. So John will brush past folk in a realistic pushing motion and the people who are unlucky enough to be on the end of his six-shooter bullet will collapse according to where they’re hit. The highlight of this comes in a stagecoach mission. It’s a classic on-rails jaunt as you ride shotgun for a merchant that’s just fleeced some bandits. You can blast them off their horses (which, we’ll add, are beautifully animated) but to demonstrate the physics a few steeds were popped in the head to show how their riders were thrown off. It’s a bit like blowing a tyre in GTA except horsy will crumple rather than swerve about. Nasty. 4. There'll be plenty of minigames These games are a source of income for John. We’re expecting poker and other card-based gambling games but the one we’ve seen is something completely different. Five Finger Filet is where you get a knife then stab the gaps between your fingers. Like that thing you used to do in school with a compass to impress your mates. It’s a case of hitting the correct buttons as they flash on-screen. Miss the prompt and you’ll carve into your hand. Ouch. 5. There are loads of animals We’ve seen cougars, vultures and rabbits so far, but apparently there’ll be armadillos, wolves and bears in Red Dead Redemption too. Not only will you be able to hunt these beasts and sell their hides but the ecology system in the game means bigger animals will actively hunt smaller ones. Should be interesting watching a scrap between a grizzly and a pack of wolves. 6. Random Events are a nice touch Wander through the seemingly barren lands and you’ll witness hangings, poor saps being dragged around by outlaws or even people being chased by cougars, screaming for help. These aren’t just eye-candy either, no sir, you can interact with these situations for rewards or kudos from certain characters. One surprising event we come across is a lady in her underwear wailing for help near her over-turned stagecoach. As John approaches, a gang of bandits run out to try and cut him up. It’s a setup. This lawless land will test your moral fibre just like GTAIV does. 7. There's a new Dead Eye mode You’ll still be able to slow down time and target six specific areas for a quick-fire blast but this is now exclusive to pistols. The other Dead Eye mode enables a more traditional bullet-time where you can use rifles and shotguns to pick off gringos with the added bonus of slowing time. 8. You can become a Wanted Man Act a fool too much in Red Dead Redemption and the locals will become hostile toward you. As yet, we’ve not seen any fisticuffs involving angry citizens but Wanted posters will pop up in towns with your face on. We’re anticipating the ability to hunt wrong-doers down just like you could when using GTAIV’s Most Wanted police computer. 9. The Wild West changes at night There’s a full night/day cycle in here. When the sun sets you’ll see campfires illuminating the wastelands. There’s talk of being able to sit down with these campers who’ll tell tales of different things, including the actions of Red. Nice. It’ll no doubt be an eerie experience at night too, especially with the danger of wolf or bear attacks in the darkness. 10. There are online multiplayer modes We know there will be an online presence in Red Dead Redemption (we saw it on the debug menu) but sadly, Rockstar won’t be showing anything for a while. Still, a huge battle between cowboys and, umm, Native Americans is an exciting prospect. 11. It's as gritty as you like We’ve not seen any dismemberment yet, but the slow-mo shots are like watching that bit at the beginning of Robocop – y’know where Murphy gets filled with bullets? – but there's plenty to suggest a rather unpleasant environment. One mission we watch involves a woman being hung. You have to race to her aid and cut her down but the sight of her feet kicking out is grim. We’ve also seen a bloke being ravaged by cougars and people being dragged behind horses. Coupled with the roaming tumbleweed, moody soundtrack (which isn’t confirmed but sounds amazing) and merciless bandits, you’ve never been to a place quite like this. 12. John can use a lasso For stringing up foes or simply snagging an animal to skin. And for the cowboy who likes to get up close and personal, he'll also be able to use axes and knives too. No word on brutal scalpings yet though. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Red Dead Redemption When you hear the name Rockstar, you instantly think of the granny-grenading, cop-killing, car-jacking crime-a-thon that is GTA. Take out the skyscrapers, hip-hop and chicken shops, rewind the clock a few hundred years, and you've got Red Dead Redemption. Rockstar says it is "every bit as ambitious as GTA IV". A bold claim to say the least. We sat through three missions of the upcoming shooter, and here's what we thought. The Good What impressed us most about Red Dead Redemption was Rockstar's effort to make the open and seemingly baron lands of the Wild West a real and believable place. Procedural events: At any moment in time you might encounter a seemingly random event happening in the game, completely separate of your activity. We saw a bunch of hoodlums dragging some poor soul through the desert with his feet tied to a horse. We saw a man stranded in the wilderness asking for help and another bloke being chased and shot at. They're like the random fights you see in GTA, but with more story and depth attached to them. You can get involved or just ignore them, but they add an extra layer of life to the world. They seem like something you could get pretty wound up in though. Reputation: You can go on a murder frenzy in GTA, but losing your stars is all you need to do to return your rep to normal. In the Wild West the townsfolk respond to you as you build up a reputation based on your actions, especially in procedural events. Help someone out, see him in a bar later and he'll greet you fondly. The game will also have a fully robust law enforcement system in place, so if you do go on a shooting spree, marshal law will be down on your ass. Dead Eye: This is a special move that slows time to allow you to tee up some much needed headshots when the heat's on. There are two types of Dead Eye - one that simply slows time and lets you shoot once to the head, the other allows you to pre-aim six shots which are let off in rapid succession. The Bad When we say 'bad' we don't really mean BAD. But nothing else would work, you see? But here are a few of our hopes for the final game. Mission variety: A criticism often made of GTA is that the missions are too similar. We saw three missions - one which had us shooting up a town to rescue a hostage, one protecting a merchant perched on a horse and cart, and another protecting a train on horse back. So shooting, shooting and more shooting. Will there be more variety in missions? Rockstar said yes, but wouldn't go into specifics. Getting around: Issues surrounding getting where you need to go were solved in GTA IV with taxis. But we're not sure about riding a virtual horse for minutes at a time. You can jump on a steam train or grab a horse and cart, but we reckon there needs to be an instant travel option in the final game. Plot: This game needs a dark and dirty plot to keep us interested but Rockstar won't say what the story is with the mess your character's in. He's been told to do something - by a shady government-led group called the Bureau - and he really doesn't want to do it. Rockstar would only say the story is "dark" and that it's not some trivial career-based game to become a sheriff. The Ugly The Wild West was an ugly place. Largely baron wastelands and run-down towns with sweaty, bearded men shooting each other in the face. From what we've seen so far RDD does a good job in recreating this lawless version of the USA. Landscapes: Empty wastelands can feel a bit boring. But active wildlife hunting each other and procedural events, along with day and night cycles, bring them to life. The title features three major areas: Plains, Frontier and Mexico, and Rockstar says there will be a great deal of variety in the game's environments. Character detail: The level of detail in the main character and others we saw on screen was impressive. Their clothes are fully featured, with torn pockets and dusty sleeves flapping in the wind. Instead of the magical spawning guns of GTA, you can see your man's arsenal strapped to his back, ammo included. RDR uses the same facial animation tech as GTA, so characters are guaranteed to emote just as lifelike. Hybrid Rage and Euphoria engines: Red Dead uses a hybrid version of the Rage engine, on which the last GTA ran. This one's customised to better deal with rural environments, and you can tell - go to an elevated spot and your view stretches for miles. Impressive stuff. The Euphoria physics engine has also been given a few tweaks to render the horses and other animals accurately. Rockstar demoed that by shooting a few horses in the FACE - and yep, they fell pretty realistically (not that we'd know). We'll be sure to test it on the wolves, rabbits, foxes and other animals in the game when we get our hands on a more complete version further down the line. And a nice shotgun.
