I spent some hours playing through the beginning of Red Dead Redemption’s single player campaign on Xbox 360 last night. There’s an early watershed moment within most games that marks the point where you decide whether you will love the game you’re playing, or shelf it for eternity. Red Dead Redemption has one of these moments, though it took me about two hours to get there.
My initial moments of freedom in the game world were revealing. Being overly mindful of the Niko Bellic-isms of Grand Theft Auto IV, I spent a solid 5 minutes on the train station platform when you first gain control of the character, throwing John Marston into every move possible. It was clear from the get-go that Marston responds to player input in a much more satisfying manner than Niko Bellic ever did. That tell-tale Euphoria Engine weightiness is still there, and will still result in the occasional breakdown, but now there is an immediacy of response to Marston’s actions. The helpless nature in which Niko Bellic would get stuck in corners appears to be for the most part lifted and exorcised. Transitioning from swagger to jog feels less like awkward puppetry and more like one-for-one control-matching. So, thank the lord for that.
Moving from the train station into the town of Armadillo, it became quite clear to me that Rockstar isn’t simply good at making realistic city environments, they are plain experts at making convincing game worlds, period. Walking past the saloon, I heard the sounds of a vaudevillian piano ever so softly, emanating from somewhere inside, beyond the swinging doors. Townsfolk went about their business. An undertaker was staking up coffins on the front of his building. As I walked past the saloon, a drunk fell off the porch and into the dust of the main thoroughfare, and prostitutes hung over the railings, hollering at passers-by. Truly, truly convincing levels of immersion are being wielded for our enjoyment here. Well, that is until the occasional physics glitch brings the fourth wall down and momentarily breaks the spell.
Outside of town, the countryside is alive with the sounds of crickets, coyotes and birds. I found my travels between the early mission locales to be actually rather relaxing, right up until the muted thumps of distant gunfire and excited yells spooked my horse. Roving bandits are common, and I certainly took it upon myself to bring a few of them to justice.
The music is a lot less prominent than I expected it to be. I had built up an expectation of it in my mind whereby the action and dramatic-view shots would be punctuated by bombastic trumpets and yelling Mariachi singers. The reality - thankfully - is a lot more measured, and subtly demonstrates a self-confidence that I felt was echoed throughout the other facets of the game. Nothing here is on-the-nose. Nothing here is pastiche or parody. There are clear reference points to the genre and television shows like Deadwood. Rockstar wholly owns this experience.
Going back to the game’s score for a moment, I got the impression that the soundtrack accompanied me in one form or another for almost all of my game time. It is so well-crafted and appropriate that I felt it enhanced my enjoyment of being in the environment. I’m a lover of videogaming music - just ask my sobbing wife - and the only example of music elevating gameplay to new heights in this way has been the Halo franchise. Wandering through McFarlane’s Ranch - your base for the opening few hours - to the accompaniment of an echoey whistler placed me in the world with John Marston in a way I have rarely experienced before.
At several points in my session, all the dynamic and random game components came together in masterful ways. After a completing a side-quest that left me in the middle of the wilderness at night, I slowly made my way back into the now-sleeping town of Armadillo. I walked down the main street towards the Sheriff’s office when all of a sudden I heard gunfire, galloping horses, and a whole lot of hooting and hawing. I turned around just in time to see a gang of outlaws riding through town, dragging a hogtied captive behind them. I let them pass, and just watched them disappear out of town and out of sight. After leaving the saloon during the day, I noticed all the townsfolk around me suddenly cry in fear and run away. It didn’t take me long to realize that a man was assaulting a prostitute outside the saloon’s entrance. I simply strolled up to him and shot him in the back. Cowardly, but effective.
I can’t go any further without mentioning the voice acting. There is no game available right now that has voice acting anywhere close to the caliber on display in Red Dead Redemption. If you thought Grand Theft Auto IV’s cast of voice actors was inspired, prepare to be surprised again. I haven’t heard any character in any game voiced so authentically and charismatically as Armadillo’s Sheriff. John Marston himself has possibly the best grizzled cowboy voice I’ve ever heard, but the Sheriff conveys such an authentic air of weariness and authority you’d swear he’s being voiced by the real-life version of himself. Unbelievable and magical stuff.
There is so much more I could cover, but that is best left for the full review. Just understand that toward the end of my first few hours with the game, I paused momentarily and realized I had that satisfying feeling I only get when I know I’m about to embark on a very special adventure. This is normally a feeling reserved for Zelda games and few others, but I got it here. There is a weapon XP upgrade system. There is a clothing system that tasks you with finding cloth samples from various locations to construct new garments. There is a hunting system with an informal trophy-gathering mechanic. There has to be so much more, because these are just the things I experienced in those first hours. This is a game-world filled to the brim with main quests, side quests,and a hundred short-term and long-term game loops. And I know it will keep me engaged and interested for many, many days to come.
