Red Dead Redemption Hands-on Preview

I’m not sure how or why, but for whatever reason, Red Dead Redemption makes me want to be a cowboy. Every time I see a new trailer or screenshot, a part of me dies a little inside, because it makes me realize how far taken away I am from the life of a gun-slinging, horse-riding cowboy. I’ve been thinking like this ever since I first saw the game in action, and I didn’t even get to play it myself. Then, after the second viewing, I made a promise to myself; I would be the toughest, roughest, bravest cowboy in the entire Western frontier. When I finally got a chance to go hands-on with Red Dead Redemption, it was as if my life was a waste. I’ve come to the conclusion that, yes, I was supposed to be a cowboy. Alongside my trusty horse and my satchel filled with ammunition and a rusty handgun, I was suddenly engulfed in the world of Red Dead Redemption. Yee-ha!

Red Dead Redemption can have that affect on you. It’s easy for me to say that, because I’ve been pulled in by its engaging landscape, taken away from my cosmopolitan lifestyle in dark and gloomy Melbourne. Even the smallest, most insignificant things in this Wild West have the potential to pull you in. It can’t be easy to create such a vast world and make it feel so alive. How many open-world games have we seen where the present-day virtual city is so void of action and ambience? How ironic is it that the Western plains of North America and the gleaming, hot sands of Mexico at the start of the 20th century in Red Dead Redemption offer more in terms of exploration and adventure than the so-called “bustling” and alive cities we so often see in other titles? This title definitely seems to have an infectious sensation to it, offering an experience that pulls you in. It’s difficult to put a finger on how it does, but it’s probably because of how intriguing and inviting the landscape is. Everything that you see in the distance - the small cave formed at the bottom of a cliff, or the tops of white buildings that make up a small Mexican town over the mountain – can be ventured and explored. Red Dead Redemption doesn’t just offer a city or a state. It offers a world. And it’s very, very wild.

Redemption takes place at the start of the 20th Century as technology is starting to seep in through society. Our main protagonist is John Marston, a former outlaw who has since given up his life of crime to start a small family. The game will begin in an area called the “Frontier” and progression through the map will be like that of earlier Rockstar free-roaming titles. You won’t be able to ride all over the large map right from the beginning, as a mission-progression system will be in place for you to unlock other areas of the large world. You’ll travel right through the West up towards the North Eastern plains, as well as down south towards Mexico and its sand-infested environments.

Everything you would have seen up to this point about the game looks great, and the trailers do a wonderful job of highlighting how much Rockstar’s Euphoria Motion Engine has improved since GTA IV. However, actually playing the game and seeing it in action first-hand shows how far developer Rockstar San Diego has gone to make this as genuine a Western experience as possible. Its sense of realism is fused together with over-the-top action that should ring true to fans of Wild West films.

As it’s being built on the same engine as GTA IV, Red Dead Redemption controls in much the same way as the aforementioned, albeit with a few new changes and additions. Pressing the right thumbstick while aiming accesses Deadeye, which allows you to slow down time for better accuracy while shooting. It’s button placement works well and is easily accessible, which is great considering how many times you’ll be using the feature. You can also whistle for your horse at any moment by pressing up on the d-pad.

I got a chance to play through two explosive missions, as well as watch through one at the start of the presentation as an introduction to the controls and the landscape. I was pleased to discover that checkpoints are introduced throughout missions, meaning that if you die at the very last moment before completing a mission, you’ll restart at the nearest checkpoint. This was introduced in Episodes from Liberty City and was well received, as it makes the longer, more difficult missions less tedious if (when?) you die.

Health regenerates, which might peeve some gamers. While you had to rely on health pick-ups and food in the GTA series to get your health back up, you need only take cover for a few seconds before Marston recovers. I can personally say that I think it’s a nice touch to the gameplay, as I sincerely believe that the combat has the potential to be more challenging than what we’ve seen in previous GTA titles. It’s actually a little bit more fitting to the landscape, as towns are often spread far apart and wild animals are plentiful but not overly easy to shoot down, so that defeats the idea of using them for health-regenerating food. In the two missions I played, I came under a lot of fire from enemies, and no matter how many times I took cover, I was always getting a few damaging hits. Furthermore, the weapons might not be very accurate, but they pack plenty of punch. They each have an aggressive roughness about them, and the way Marston reacts to getting hit by a bullet makes it feel like it penetrates deeply and has more of a damaging affect than any of the weapons in any GTA game. The health meter has actually been removed completely, replaced by the Deadeye meter that tells you how long you can use the feature for.

The aiming system seems to have been improved from GTA IV, with far less reliance on auto-aim and better overall accuracy. The weapons in Red Dead Redemption are obviously designed and fitted to the era, so the actual accuracy of each weapon is generally poor, even if you place the aiming crosshair over an enemy. But that’s more an implementation of weapon realism than an issue with the gameplay; the closer you are to an enemy, the more accurate the weapon is going to be. It’s easy for you to be accurate, yet it’s just a matter of knowing how close you need to be to an enemy for the weapon to be accurate. The gunplay thankfully works really well and is fun to play with, and alongside the Deadeye system, the overall combat gameplay is great to control. It’s smooth and accessible, and it’s obvious that it’s been slightly tweaked from GTA IV, while also trying to fall in line with realism to associate better with the era the game is set in.

The first mission I went hands on with was more of an introduction to the great covering system, while the second mission had me infiltrating a mine to steal a Gatling Gun. They were great missions to give me a feel for the controls, and the Gatling Gun mission gave me an opportunity to mess around with Deadeye and the cover system together. My only gripe with this experience is that I found that enemy markers appeared on the map HUD at the very last moment in some instances. This made it particularly difficult in the mine mission to anticipate an enemy around a corner.

The world of Red Dead Redemption is large, so there is a very big emphasis on exploration. Your horse is essentially your best mode of transportation, as walking across the land is far too time consuming. Rockstar San Diego has put a lot of effort into the design and controlling mechanics of the horses and it’s great that they control well and can be called at any moment while at any location. Being aware of your horse’s stamina is important, especially during missions, as they can throw you off if you run them into the ground. Tapping the A button will cause them to sprint, which in-turn burns stamina. While playing a mission that has you following another character on a horse, you’ll be able to ride at their exact speed once you move in close enough; once the stamina bar turns green, you need only hold down A in order for your horse to automatically keep pace.

After having played an hour or so of Red Dead Redemption, I came away feeling like I’d been in a Wild West gunfight. While the game might control like GTA IV, it moves away from that experience by implementing something we’re not used to in the form of a genuine cowboy experience. There’s more exploration to do, and the gameplay feels that little bit more fitting to the environment. Rockstar San Diego seems to have done a great job in distancing this title from Niko’s adventure, a challenge that is not as simple as it sounds. With implementing similar gameplay comes the risk of an experience that lacks originality, but the development team has delved deep into the history of the Wild West, hoping to give us an experience like no other.

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