Description

Red Dead Redemption is a Western epic, set at the turn of the 20th century when the lawless and chaotic badlands began to give way to the expanding reach of government and the spread of the Industrial Age. The story of former outlaw, John Marston, Red Dead Redemption takes players on a great adventure across the American frontier.

Red Dead Redemption is an open-world, third-person, action-adventure game set at the tail end of the American West West era. Action takes place in the first few years of the twentieth century and revolves around the choices that the protagonist, former outlaw John Marston, is forced to make due to his blemished past. The game features a morality system assigning honor and fame points generated through the player's choices. It also features Wild West themed mini-games, new targeting and cover systems, extensive horse riding abilities, a wealth of period specific weapons and more than 40 huntable animals. Story Red Dead Redemption is a Western epic, set at the turn of the 20th century when the lawless and chaotic badlands began to give way to the expanding reach of government and the spread of the Industrial Age. A follow up to the 2004 hit Red Dead Revolver, this game tells the story of former outlaw John Marston, taking players on a great adventure across the American frontier. Choose to fight for honor or fame as former outlaw John Marston. View larger. Gameplay Red Dead Redemption is a third-person action-adventure game set a fictional open-world American Wild West environment for players to explore. Gameplay area types include frontier towns, rolling prairies teaming with wildlife, and perilous mountain passes - each packed with an endless flow of varied distractions. Along the way, players will experience the heat of gunfights and battles, meet a host of unique characters, struggle against the elements and animals of one of the world’s last remaining wildernesses, and ultimately pick their own precarious path through an epic story about the death of the Wild West and the gunslingers that inhabited it. In their travels throughout the territories of the gameworld players partake in a morality system built on honor and fame, where they gain or lose points in each area based on their actions. The game features an easy to use cover system, a variety of mounts and period specific weapons including a cattleman revolver, a mauser pistol, a repeater rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, a throwing knife, a lasso and more. Western themed mini-games are also available, including showdowns, gambling, hunting bounties, cattle herding and five finger fillet. Key Game Features Expansive open-world gameplay set in the final years of the American Wild West. Massive play area made up 3 unique regions composed of towns and outposts filled with characters with varying looks, accents, etc. Morality system based on honor and fame generated by the players actions throughout the game. Loads of unique non-player characters to interact with. Western themed mini-games including showdowns, gambling, hunting bounties, cattle herding and five finger fillet. An assortment of period specific weapons including a cattleman revolver, a mauser pistol, a repeater rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, a throwing knife, lasso and more. The Dead Eye targeting mechanic, allowing the player to slow down time for shot accuracy. Ridable horses and more than 40 kinds of animals that you can hunt or be hunted by. Additional Screenshots: Cover and targeting system. View larger. All the dangers of the period. View larger. Western themed mini-games. View larger. Realistic mounted combat. View larger.

Customer Reviews

 It's a good one! - Sep 01, 2010

If you like the Wild West as well as the gameplay of Grand Theft Auto, you HAVE to get this game!

 Can't believe this is 60$ - Sep 01, 2010

Graphics 5/5
Sound 4/5
Characters 3/5
Gameplay 2/5
Story 2/5


I'll start this off, I bought this to hold me till reach comes out. Everyone back in july and may were saying this game was great. Don't buy into the hype. I promise you if this wasn't made by rockstar it would've gotten horrible reviews. Everything about this game is good except WHAT TRULY MATTERS IN A GAME!

There is nothing to this games free world, no destruction, no chaos to create beyond textbook GTA stuff and almost no sense of freedom besides tapping A for 10 minutes then in the singleplayer the horses are slow enough as it is so during quests you will have to hold A so your horse follows your friends who have no sense of urgency.

Let me explain so a woman is about to get executed and you and a bunch of cops have to go save her. They're trotting there horses while this beautiful woman is about to be killed. So while you're forced to screw around or fail the mission someone who you're responsible for is going to die.

Singleplayer is not why you play a rockstar game, you play it to run around destroying stuff and causing havoc. Rockstar seems to think people play games like GTA for their story. The story of every GTA I ever played has been bland and boring.

Go help this guy shoot some people, go steal this, rape these women etc cookie cutter

The multiplayer is a joke too.

If you seriously think you'll like this game buy it. I played it till the end and can't stand this game. It is an insult to good gaming, it's boring, lacks an escape from reality and has no replay value. Sorry I don't want to play poker for replay value.

I'd give this game a generous 6/10. But honestly it sucks. Save your money for battlefield or reach or something that is actually fun.

 Looks like the West is still wild! - Sep 01, 2010

I waited a long time to finally play RDR. The opening scene sucked me in. I watched and waited for my chance to take control of the character and explore the land.
If there is one thing Rockstar games does right, its attention to detail. No other open world / sandbox genre has ever been able to compete with Rockstars attention to the minor details that bring the world around you to life.
If your a fan of GTA , I wont go and say you will love this game. It plays out in a similar control scheme but its completely different environment. You need to go into knowing that it's the year 1910 and you're going to be seeing a lot of open land and wild animals, all from the back of your horse or carriage. No cars included.
When the game does throw action your way, it's always a welcome break from the slow haze of the desert environment. My only gripe is the game is pretty lengthy. By lengthy, I mean the missions alone needed to complete the main story. You still have all the additional side quests and challenges, but the core game is long. This may not be a bad thing for some, but for me, I did tend to get a little bored with the missions at times because they do become a little repetitive and cumbersome. Plenty of other little things you can do to break up your day is play cards and gamble, complete challenges and meet strangers, or hunt animals to make some extra money.

So then ... what saves the game from its filler missions plague? The story. It has a great cast of characters, each voiced by excellent voice actors. Everyone seems to have personality, and this brings the story to life. So if your tired of playing, I can bet that your not as tired of the story and you'll want to finish it. So don't give up, its worth making it to the end. ( Its not over until the credits roll, just remember that! )
Multiplayer is created to be a whole separate experience in itself. Now, after all the hours of single player you may not want to dive in to multiplayer but that's ok. You can level up, complete quests and challenges and download a free mission pack to complete with friends. Its a lot of fun if you have some buddies to play with. It certainly adds some extended play after the single player campaign is through. I do recommend finishing single player first. You don't want to spoil the excitements of visiting new areas by already exploring them in multiplayer. For me, opening new areas was part of wanting to keep moving forward. It pays off to wait.
In the end, a really great game. It could have certainly been scaled down in length. So it loses some points for the filler missions. Oh and you remember in GTA III how you couldn't swim? Well Mr Marston cant either.
With multiplayer, you have some pretty high replay value. The enemy physics when shot and wounded are the best I have seen in a game so far. If your a fan of westerns, there's absolutely no reason you shouldn't give this game a chance. Its not for everybody, but everybody should give it a chance.

 A must-have Game - Aug 31, 2010

This is a good game for someone who loves getting involved and being in the game. Unlike other games that have silly missions this is a life story and its fun.

The graphics are great and the storyline is awesome!! I love them guns!!

 One of the best games everf - Aug 31, 2010

This game is very well done and highly addictive. Despite the few bugs, it is very fun and makes you feel like you are in the old west. Attention to detail is amazing. The story is fabulous and online play continues the fun after you've beat the game in single player. John Marston is the most badass cowboy ever. You have to buy this game!

 Great game play - Aug 29, 2010

Bought this game as a present for my son. He gives the game high marks.

 The Cowboy Way - Aug 28, 2010

A lot of fun... doesn't quite match the open world experience of the Fallout or Oblivion titles. The game allows you to travel all over the map (once opened by finishing chapters), but lacks the amount of locations to explore found in Fallout or Oblivion. Storyline is solid and John Marston is a fun character to play.

 Very pretty, but as empty and hollow as a wasteland - Aug 28, 2010

Short Review:

Red Dead Redemption has incredible graphics and fantastic audio, which adds up to create an unparalleled atmosphere that makes you feel like you're really in the wild west. But the missions and story are mostly boring and forgettable, with pointless side quests, and glitches horrible enough to essentially ruin the game.

Long Review:

Note: This review is spoiler free with regards to the game's story.

Having all but conquered city based free roaming games, it's no surprise that Rockstar would eventually brand out to try and allow players to conquer other areas, this time taking us back to the turn of the century Wild West, essentially creating Grand Theft Horse. Instead of fast motorcycles and flashy cars, you have horses and stagecoaches. And while it sounds like an awesome and unique idea, we get an end product that's very pretty and incredibly atmospheric, but is packed with boring missions and glitches so severe, it at times ruins the game completely.

Red Dead Redemption follows former outlaw John Marston as he heads across the lands of New Austin, the last holdout of the wild west on the Mexican border. His mission is simple: His lovely wife and young son have been kidnapped and held hostage by the government, and if he wants to get them back and get a clean break from his former life, he has to hunt down and take out the members of his old gang.

Taking on the role of John, you run around in a massive open ended world where you can go virtually anywhere you want to. Every western cliche is here, including ramshackle old frontier towns, cactus, giant stone monoliths, forests filled with bears, adobe houses, and even tumbleweeds. Like every other free roam game, you run around this world to find missions to complete, and thus advance the story. It's an incredibly beautiful world, as unlike Liberty/Vice/Stilwater city, there are no skyscrapers, no malls, or giant buildings. Everything here is turn of the century technology, with the biggest building being only two stories tall. As a result, the world feels massive and virtually endless. You feel like a tiny ant in the middle of a very large and untamed world, and gives the game an epic feel that very few games can match.

However, Red Dead Redemption has the huge problem of feeling mostly pointless. Almost all the missions follow this pattern:

1. Get on a horse and ride halfway across the map with a partner.
2. Listen to said partner deliver expositional dialogue to advance the plot.
3. Reach destination.
4. Kill everyone.
5. Watch as partner rides off, abandoning you.
6. Spend several minutes riding to the other side of the map to get your next mission, grumbling at how slow you're going.

As a result, most of the missions are very forgettable. There are a few exceptions, such as fort assaults, boat rides, etc. but for the most part, the missions do very little to distinguish themselves. As a result, it feels like you're just slogging through mission after mission, wondering when things are going to get interesting. Thankfully, the third act of the game does reverse this trend, as there are a few creative and clever missions that are interesting to play through, but it's essentially too little, too late.

Outside of the story, there are a good amount of side missions, where you can become a bounty hunter and track down criminals, help random strangers out, go hunting for treasure, collect flowers, hunt animals, etc. but after a while, I realized that these quests are, in effect, pointless. You mainly get money and fame/honor for doing them, but you get plenty of money from the story missions, and the fame/honor has barely any effect on the gameplay in general. You can unlock rewards (such as riding stagecoaches for free), but it takes a long time to do so, and is not worth the effort. I personally stopped doing all the diversions and side missions halfway through the game, because it felt like a waste of time.

Red Dead's story, like the missions, moves at a near glacial pace. While the core story will make you want to keep going to find out if John rescues his family or not, it takes forever to get there. The story contains a ton of fat that could be cut out, from characters who add nothing to the main plot, to virtually everything in Mexico, which has little to no impact on the main story. It isn't until the third act that there's a sense of real danger and threat, and the drama picks up. However, it's made worse by the fact that Red Dead makes one of THE worst mistakes a story can make...after the climax, it just doesn't end. You feel like you've reached the end of the game, only to find that it keeps going and going and going and going. After an hour of playing pointless, tutorial like missions, I lost my patience and wondered when the hell the game was going to end. As a result, when the ending FINALLY comes, I didn't care at all about what happened.

Then there's the game's many bugs and glitches: If you hunt around on the internet, you'll come across humorous videos of people flying like birds, midgets acting like cougars, talking coyotes, etc. However, those videos don't tell you about some of the other, more infuriating bugs. Among the ones I experienced:

*In one mission, I assisted a group of people in taking over a fortress. Afterwards, I went exploring and opened a standard chest to get some money. Then an informant was running away from me, and seconds later, I was wanted for...something, and EVERYONE I had just helped to infiltrate the fortress was trying to kill me.
*Half my inventory would randomly vanish, ruining hours of hunting and searching for goods.
*I save a woman from being raped, and kill her captor. A guy starts shooting at me, so I kill him in self defense. For some reason, my honor goes down.
*I rent a room (AKA save/respawn point) in a new town, get involved in a duel and get killed, and get respawned several miles away in some OTHER town.
*John is being attacked by wolves. I aim and pull the trigger, but John refuses to shoot his fully loaded gun and is torn to shreds.
*I run through a town, when the sheriff, for no reason whatsoever, shoots and kills me.
*The game crashes, making me loose most of my progress.

It's sad really...my first impressions of Red Dead Redemption were fantastic, but the more and more I played, I realized I just wasn't having any fun, and was starting to despise the game for how slow it was going, and how so many things felt pointless and annoying. Add in how short and badly done the tutorials are (they appear on screen for about fifteen seconds, then vanish, often taking place in real time), John's annoying personality (he acts like Forrest Gump in a cowboy outfit, and I got the impression he was mildly retarded), and with the glitches, my annoyance turned to disgust.

In the end, while Red Dead Redemption is incredibly beautiful and very atmospheric, the story needs much editing and trimming, the missions are forgettable, the annoying characters will get on your nerves, the ending goes on longer then "The Return of the King" and the glitches will annoy you to no end. I personally think Red Dead Redemption is yet another over-hyped game that turns out to be, at best, mediocre, and at worst, infuriating.

 Am I the only one who thinks this game is boring? - Aug 27, 2010

First off, this game has great looking scenery, and realistic landscapes which gives it a great overall look and feel. Second, the voice acting is also terrific and draws you into the game, and gives it a very naturalistic feel. Unfortunately, the gameplay itself is not as well executed. The individual missions are pretty similar, and there's not much incentive to accomplish them since you aren't really trying to accomplish any goal that you're aware of at least. There are some vague allusions to fame and redemptive characteristics that you're trying to build up, but no really exciting weapons or other goals that you're trying to accomplish. The individual missions are disjointed, and at least the first fifteen or so that I've played left me sort of empty after completing them. In fact, several times I wasn't sure that I'd even completed a task because there was no narrative afterwards indicating what i'd done. There isn't much interaction available with your surroundings -- you can't talk to anyone, or do much except shoot them or tie them up with your rope.

The worst part of the game though is the sparse map with large expanses that you need to travel alone on your horse in order to get to the next mission. I feel like most of the game is spent with the "A" button held down so my horse keeps galloping through the empty plains. I'm going to keep playing a little longer to see if there's anything else worth doing, but so far (after about 20 hours) I'm pretty disappointed and bored.

 Husband loves it :) - Aug 26, 2010

I purchased this game for my husband. He rented it and really enjoyed playing it, so I wanted to purchase it for him. My local stores are selling this game for $59.99 and I watched it on Amazon for acouple of weeks and was able to get it for $42.99.
I think this game it too much yuck for my child to watch while daddy is playing but it is fine when daddy is in his "man cave."

 BORING!!! - Aug 26, 2010

The commercials on TV and the video game geeks at Game Stop hyped this game up to be the s**t and since It was from the same people who made Grand Theft Auto I thought this game would be good. NOPE, first you start off at some womens house I can't even remember her name but you do all kind of chores for her like cattling sheep, killing snakes, rounding up cows and racing horses (if you go to fast on the horse it will throw you off it's back) It takes forever to get into the real story and you do about 20 missions without really even getting into the story. I gave up on this game because I could be playing or doing something else with my time rather than living on a farm.

 A must buy! - Aug 25, 2010

Rockstar continues the tradition and in this game in particular surpasses my expectations with a beutiful, deep, game. With minor errors and bugs, that become insignificant due to the quality of the overall experience. Also has a good multiplayer.

 DO NO BELIEVE THE HYPE, ITS A SNOOZE FEST IN THE WEST - Aug 25, 2010

Okay, so after reading all the stellar reviews on here, Game Informer AND online, I thought I was going to be in for a thrill ride like that of Fallout 3. Boy, was I way, way off. I wisely waited and took in feedback from my friends who had purchased the game. After three weeks, none of them were exactly raving about the game. I was surprised. They loaned me the game and I thought for sure that they were not describing the game to its fullest. Well, was I wrong. First the positives. The graphics are amazing. The music and the sound effects are first rate, so no complaints there. Now the negatives. It's such an accurate depiction of the old west that it's just down right boring. Riding to get to each town is just so boring. Sure you shoot some birds, skin a few animals, whoo hoo. Then you even stop to pick a few flowers. Gee how exciting. So when I encoutered some battles, I thought this would be fun. But instead, I just feel as though I was going through the motions. The storylines were not even interesting. Helping a crooked salesman ride back through town while being shot at? Getting some medicine for that religious woman? Wasn't even exciting. Most of the time, I felt as though as I was wondering around the wild with no goals at all. C'mon, racing to see who is faster on the horse? Why do I care?? I realize that if they had bandits jumping out of every corner rock, it wouldn't be realistic. Then what really got to me was the chronolgy. It says it takes place in 1910, but it feels older. Why 1910? Why not the late 1890's? It just didn't make any sense to me to have it at the beginning of the century when automobiles were starting to come around and the majority of the population was already using the train. The game certainly feels older than 1910. So I don't know. This game was just one big snooze fest. I'd rather play Cliff Diving Monkeys online. At least that game was exciting. This is one big snooze fest in the west. Save your money people and just rent this one.

 Best game of the year 2010 - Aug 24, 2010

I bought this game for my 13 year-old son (or,er, actually myself - it's "M" rated) in May, and here we are three months later still not finished the main single player campaign (there are endless and fun distractions.) The graphics are realistically awesome to the point where you literally ARE transported into the old West (with some modern day gore and language) becoming part of the story.

You can play the game honorably; completing the missions, saving people in distress, and only killing the bad guys. Or you can play the game as a roaming ruthless outlaw, with each version having its own consequences (it's made by the same company that did Grand Theft Auto). I was immensely relieved to discover my son (having played hours and hours on his own) taking the `good' path and achieving the highest honor rating possible. His dad, on the other hand, was not so honorable. There were a couple of scumbag unarmed villains I had to shoot even though they were already captured and hogtied.

I've always loved Western movies and am grateful for the care and attention that went into this production to actually put me IN one.

 immersive world - Aug 24, 2010

Despite the popularity of the Grand Theft Auto series, I always avoided those games because I found that getting my kicks by doing drive-bys was a little too sole-less, even by video game standards. However, I'd always hoped that Rockstar would make a game that was a little less damning to my conscience. RedDead Redemption is that game and it is amazing! While you could argue that there is no difference in racking a up a massive body county in the early 20th century West vs. late 20th century Southern California ghettos, for some reason my wife and I find this game really enjoyable. Plus there a ton of non-violent activities to indulge in, like poker, liar's dice and arm wrestling. Treasure hunting with an old, faded map is also fantastic and the game is so beautifully rendered that just enjoying the sunset swept vistas is a joy. This is also the first game that I've ever played that so perfectly captures the beauty of nature that it inspires me to spend more time outside hiking/backpacking and enjoying the fresh air when I'm not stuck at home playing games.
It isn't the most challenging game in the world (as many sour-puss reviewers have pointed out), but that is not the point. This is supposed to be an immersive experience and the story and acting is fantastic. The multiplayer (particularly with a buddy) is also great and I highly recommend the free downloadable co-op packs.

 Not sure why all the long reviews for this game - Aug 24, 2010

Simply put, it's Grand Theft Auto in the old west and like GTA, it's awesome.

 Master piece, excellent western triller - Aug 24, 2010

I really recomend this game, if you are a western's fan you'll like this game too, is full of fun, good mission, excellente online tournaments...

 Fair review after 100% finishing the game. - Aug 24, 2010

The first thing you should know is that this game is fun. you will be able to roam around doing challenges that are enjoyable "Hunting .. Treasure Hunting .. shooting etc." The story mode isnt the best out there but its diverse and the story itself is great - predictable - but great. the online multiplayer is addicting specially the COOP mode (require downloading a free DLC)

PROS:
+ addicting game "challenges, free roaming"
+ great story (Ending)
+ 6 cool minigames
+ killing people is fun
+ Amazing graphics
+ online multiplayer and coop
+ DLC

CONS:
- some glitches (not game killer for me)
- kinda frustrating at some missions/challenges

 Excelente, bien dinamico, no te puedes equivocar - Aug 24, 2010

Excelente Juego, super dkinamico tienenes que realiar la mision y regresar, puedes jugar poker para obtener dinero extra, las graficas excelentes, puedes ir y venir, montar caballo carreta etc, modo en linea muy bueno.

 My boys love it - Aug 23, 2010

This game is loved by my two teenage boys. The old western theme is wonderful with plenty of free roaming. As a mother, on the other hand I didn't care for some of the scenes such as the bar with the women hanging around in the saloon. Some of the language was bad but that's in every game now a days. Although I don't care for the game, there are ways to play that avoid a lot of the bad parts (or what I think is bad)and still make the game a lot of fun to play. As long as you take the time to set some ground rules of what to avoid and where to play in the game it becomes more teenage user friendly. If you're an adult and use to playing rated M games then you shouldn't have any problems.

 Among the Best I have ever Played - Aug 23, 2010

Title says it all and the reviews speak for themselves.. With a gift certificate I got this game on Amazon for $25 and I think it is worth the $300 you would pay for a new console. This was one of about 7 new games I bought when I purchased my new and first nextgen console (xbox 360) a month ago. I've about finished the campaign and there are very few cons I can think going against this game.. there are occasional bugs that pop up with the AI, but the game as a whole is so incredibly impressive overall that it is really barely noticable. To be honest, the game is actually pretty tasteful in comparison to GTA (and for a Rockstar game), which I found suprising. Of course there are some exceptions to that, but the setting and story set it apart from other rockstar and western games considerably. As if the Campaign wasn't awesome enough, the multiplayer for this game is just amazing and as fun as any game I have played online ever. Better still is that the online expereince caters to just about everyone, from the very experienced to the total noobs. If you are even remotely interested in this game / enjoyed Grand Theft Auto at all, I absolutely recommend it. You won't regret it.

 Main Plot was fun, Trophy Hunting got tedious - Aug 23, 2010

This game is set in a western setting and has some of the flavor of a Clint Eastwood film. The plot involves revenging former gang members and federal agents. The mountains, deserts, and rivers are rendered well with a nice musical score for various locations and plots.

Pros:
There is complete freedom to move about the countryside. Controls for the most part worked well. Mini games such as horseshoes, poker, black jack, see how many times you can stab your hand, were in general pretty fun and entertaining. Some minor strategy was required such as where to place yourself for best results in sniping your targets. The main game plot provided a few weeks of entertainment. Reaching 100% complete took more than a solid month to complete.

Cons:
The main plot requires you to perform certain missions that can be very frustrating. To finish the game completely you need to accomplish certain tasks like clearing out a number of hideouts in a day, kill a number of bear with a knife, and a whole bunch of other stuff that detracts from the game a lot. These were put in place to lengthen the game and to earn trophies (like I really care). The inability to save anywhere. Checkpoints had to be reached.
There were a lot of times I needed to go to the web to get hints on how to accomplish certain tasks. There are quite a few bugs in this game.

Overall Score: 65/100

 Best game I've played in a loooong time - Aug 23, 2010

Incredible. I hadn't had this much fun playing a video game in a long time.
I simply could not stop playing. The main story is very interesting and you want to know what happens next, the side missions give the game some extra cool twists.
Plus, the graphics are perfect, there is no other way to decribe them.
I highly recommend this game and I've only played the single player, I've yet to play on-line.
If you're thinking about buying it, trust me, you will get your money's worth.
Simply amazing!

 Awesome! - Aug 23, 2010

Having never played a Grand Theft Auto game I was a little skeptical. I never buy games with out first playing a demo or renting them first. I bought this game based on the wonderful reviews I read on it, and it is awesome. So much to do a so much fun. Definitely worth a buy.

 game review - Aug 22, 2010

This game was recommended and is lots of fun. I would encourage others to play as well.