Red Dead

I've always been a fan of the Western. Always. Loved the old "spaghetti" Westerns, especially the ones directed by Sergio Leone. You probably know them better as the ones with Clint Eastwood ... "A Fistful of Dollars," "For a Few Dollars More," and "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." And even the Leone-directed picture of "Once Upon a Time in the West," which didn't star Eastwood, but included tantalizing performances from Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda. Those movies are considered Western classics, something of a standard that every other Western movie should be compared to. Even though the Western genre has declined in the past few years, movies like the Eastwood-directed "Unforgiven," "Tombstone," and "3:10 to Yuma" have given us followers something to enjoy.

It probably a year ago that I started hearing about a Rockstar-developed and produced videogame called "Red Dead Redemption," which was going to be released on the PlayStation3 and the XBox 360. Rockstar Studios is more famous with their "Grand Theft Auto" series, but now they were putting their classic "sand-box" engine to use in the Western theme. Interesting, to say the least.

Professional critics were bragging up "RDR" since Day 1. But to me, the hype kind of flew under the radar. I'm not sure if Rockstar didn't want all the hype, build up a game, then only to have the actual players bash the game. Maybe it's ignorance on my part. Who knows? Hell, I didn't even know there was a prequel of sorts that was released on the PlayStation2, called "Red Dead Revolver."

But what makes "Redemption" so compelling to me is again, the strong interest in the Western. Besides the movies, it comes from a creative interest in which some old friends of mine wrote an old wagon trail novella in high school. That was followed up with an impressive sequel (I'm ashamed to say that I haven't read all of it) that follows the stories of a select few that arrived with the wagon train to the West Coast, only to find themselves in Mexico later on in the story. I even had recent discussions of creating a Western-type movie of sorts, but obviously nothing has panned out ... yet.

I purchased "Redemption" on May 18, the release date. Since I'm currently umemployed, I have basically LOTS OF TIME to play the game.

Putting in the game the first time, I'm met with a basic title screen. "Red Dead Redemption" in big red block letters on a black background, but underneath that, is a small sliver of your wilderness (this changes every time you re-start the game). I'm one for eye-candy and being lucky enough to have a hi-definition television, it's nothing short of mind-blowing.

The game starts with a pre-story of the character that you will control, who goes by the name of John Marston. He is escorted by a couple of gentlemen who see you get on a train ... all the while the credits roll. Nothing special yet.

Only then, you get off the train in a small abode called Armadillo and that's when you take over. Or the game takes you over, which way you look at it ... it's up to you. Again, having the strong interest of the Western, I couldn't help become slightly emotional at just how gorgeous Armadillo is. The attention to detail: the hitching posts and the water troughs for the horses, the newspaper man on the train platform, the different shops in town, the saloon, the card games ... I could go on. I'm walking down Armadillo in 1911 and it just felt amazing.

Time passes and the sun sets: the stars come out to play against the dusk of a Western sky, the coyotes begin to yelp and howl.

Now, let me begin to describe how expansive this universe is. I thought nothing would compare to the sheer bigness of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," but this is huge. Marston will start out in the West, in a place called "New Austin." I'm guessing that this is a border state with Mexico, comprising of elements of West Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Obviously, south of the river is Mexico. The last area to be unlocked is called "West Elizabeth," which would comprise of states like Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado. Each of these areas are stunning in detail, peppered with small towns, ghost towns, old camps and forts, and caves. And the hunting! Too much!

But anyway, I took off from a town in "west" Mexico, a larger town called Escalera and made way towards the east for the biggest town in the game called Blackwater, in West Elizabeth. Following the shortest path possible, it took me and my horse about 20 minutes (maybe even longer) to make that travel. It's huge.

"Redemption" has its storyline, but there are so many things to veer you off that course. You can become a "Legend of the West" by completing certain deeds to increase your rank in areas like Survivalist, Master Hunter, Sharpshooter, or Treasure Hunter. Then, there's the "Strangers" tasks ... people who ask you to do special favors. These can usually take a long period of time, incorporating all that there is to offer in "Redemption," whether you need to hunt certain animals (for furs) or collecting flowers (for a crazy, cooky guy living in the marshes). Next, there's the random people you meet on the trails who need your help or simply want to rob you of your horse (which is promptly put a bullet in the back of their head). Finally, DUELS. People just don't like you, so you're going to get challenged. And I've had my share of deaths.

I'm just scratching the surface. I'm nearing the end of the storyline, but I've completed much more than that. I'm guessing I've already put in 40 hours and I've got a couple of storyline-related trophies to go. But I'm working on increasing my ranking for the "Legend of the West" (currently having a bugger with trying to kill two cougars with just a knife) and collecting bounties ... plus playing my new favorite games, like Texas Hold 'Em and Liar's Dice.

Buy it. Live it. Just have some fun. Hopefully this'll create some motivation to complete our own personal projects: a new story, a new movie ... perhaps?