Genre: Action-Adventure
Year: 2010
Developed by: Rockstar San Diego
Published by: Rockstar Games
Platforms: PS3, XBOX 360, Switch, PS4
#78
Feeling Like: Far Away
Ask anybody who’s played Red Dead Redemption what their favorite moment was, and a large majority will instantly say the ride into Mexico. It’s not often that the introduction of a new area takes center stage, particularly when it’s stacked up against an amazing story, unforgettable characters and a sweeping landscape that is unparalleled in the open world genre. But the relief after a particularly intense gunfight on a river combined with “Far Away” is an ethereal experience. It’s the only time the song plays in the entire game and if you hop off your horse, the music stops. That immersion break would ruin a terrific experience, but thankfully that didn’t happen to me. I just rode and rode, swinging the camera around to marvel at the incredibly detailed world Rockstar had made. Eventually, others start to ride alongside you and you’ll come along to what amounts to civilization. But for those precious few minutes, you get to hear a song that would’ve sounded right at home in a spaghetti western. And to keep you company, it’s just sand and dust and the sound of your horse galloping. It’s one of the best examples of music the industry has pumped out to date.
Red Dead Redemption was a landmark game when it launched, and is still considered one of the best stories in gaming. I’ve never been a massive fan of Rockstar’s gameplay; the shooting feels too loose and there are too many systems at play. But when it comes to inhabiting digital worlds and getting lost in a compelling story with cinematic moments and incredible characters, few do it as well as Rockstar.
The authenticity is peerless. This feels as much a period piece as any TV show or movie that’s portrayed the wild west. The costumes, the dialogue and the cadence with which people speak all feel true to the environment. There isn’t a single time I felt that 2010’s values or perceptions were being artificially stamped onto the 1911 setting. Everybody says “sir” or “ma’am” and tips their hat. The visuals are stunning, the way the sunset slashes over the golden hills is breathtakingly beautiful. Or how wagons rattle around, or vultures circle the air above you, or how the sparse the landscape feels at times. It’s an A+ the whole way through.
While I wasn’t in love with the gameplay, I sure was with the story. John Marston is an intriguing character, an outlaw trying to redeem his ways. That’s in direct conflict with the challenge presented to John; the FBI has kidnapped his family and has forced John to take down the remaining members of his former gang. They string him along the entire time. Each time I thought, “ok NOW I’m done, right? Can I have my life back?” But the authorities are nearly just as bad as any bandit on the trail. There are very few good guys in Red Dead Redemption.
You find yourself recruiting allies, defeating your former friends and getting mixed up in a conflict in Mexico before finally catching up to Dutch Van Der Linde, your former mentor and leader. Dutch is one of gaming’s all-time best characters, though he doesn’t shine nearly as much here as in the prequel/sequel Red Dead Redemption 2. His failings to lead a new group of men and women, all the while keeping the delusional facade that it’s all part of his plan, is a a tragedy to see unfold. But I couldn’t look away. The focus on writing and performances is incredibly strong and I was always compelled to keep going just to see what would happened next.
Despite John’s willingness to reform and start a new life, the government won’t just let him disappear. He’s a useful tool, one they discard when the job’s done. Upon completing everything the agents want, you return him back to his home with wife and son in tow. After some relaxing mini-games and missions appropriate for a ranch (catching stray horses, talking with your family, plotting improvements with Uncle), you’re ambushed by the government. After sending your family ahead of you, your plan is to slow them down. It goes about as well as Dutch’s machinations.
They lied to him! Ack, those bastards! They promised John a quiet life and a clean record if he did their dirty work. When you pry open the barn doors, you’re met with an impossible obstacle – more than a dozen armed enemies, pointing their guns right at you. In a cruel, yet brilliant twist, the game shifts immediately to your dead-eye ability making you think you have a chance at taking them all down. After highlighting a few for an instant shot, you’re immediately met with an onslaught of gunfire. No chance. You die, gunned down like a dog – betrayed by the most smarmy, corrupt lawmen you could conceive.
Oh, I was mad! I mourned for John, yet reveled in the narrative choice. This truly was a gritty western that committed fully to its theme. You can’t ever escape justice, once you cross that line can you ever be redeemed? It’s an immensely satisfying epilogue, when you eventually gain control of John’s son, now older, as he embarks on a quest for vengeance against those that wronged his father. Despite John never wanting this life for Jack, the cycle of violence is complete when Jack catches Agent Ross, now retired, fishing. I’ve never been more fired up to take somebody down in a duel. I’d have sniped him from a mile away, if the game gave me the option. Or tied him to the railroad tracks.
I didn’t even engage in the multiplayer, or the critically acclaimed DLC “Undead Nightmare” and Red Dead Redemption is STILL worthy of spot #78, or higher. There’s a psychotic amount of content in the game, I’ve barely mentioned how you can defend a stagecoach from an impending attack, or gamble at the saloon, or pick flowers, or hunt down bounties, or help nearby townsfolk, or choose to be the most evil son of a bitch the American frontier has ever seen.
I’ll usually indulge in a few side missions from time to time, but when it comes to open world games, I’m more interested in the story and world building. There’s a massive playground here to play in, but I was too compelled by the main story to wander off track for long. Red Dead Redemption 2 is bloated and likely too big for its britches, but I enjoyed it even more. It’s too late for the prequel/sequel to end up on the 500, but it gets an honorary spot along with the original Red Dead Redemption here. There aren’t many video games that can go toe to toe with genre titans like Deadwood or Open Range, but Red Dead Redemption is one of them.
The 500 