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Reviewed by Downtown Jimmy
May 27th 2004
Introduction:Despite Atari's Dead Mans Hand, Western videogames have become a thing of the past. Rockstar Games adds another to the list of greats like Gunsmoke, anyone? You will enjoy this twist on a classic Western tale of revenge.
The Game:Red Dead Revolver (R.D.R) in its foundation is a 3 rd person action game based more around gunfights then exploring, but there are other elements mixed in. The game is driven by sections of story which gives the action sequences more substance. The levels are pretty straight forward and for the majority of time you will be gunning down all the bad guys until the boss, it's simple and fun. If you're looking for deep meaning and role-playing elements you're in the wrong place.
In Red Dead Revolver you play Red, think young Clint Eastwood who is on the warpath revenging his murdered parents. Red's story revolves around classic Western clichés where he meets new characters along the way and ultimately gets his revenge. Red takes his gun-slinging skills on the road of adventure and proves his skills against the toughest hombres of the time.
A great thing about R.D.R. is that you're not just stuck with a six shooting side arms, you also get to use rifles, knifes, dynamite and more. When each level begins you have to select three weapons you will bring with you, and each weapon will have its own unique stats consisting of range, damage and reload speed. Each aspect is important since its not commando you will be ducking and reloading allot.
R.D.R spices up the gameplay and takes the spot light off a Red at times while you get to run through other levels as other characters through the game. The other characters all connect to the story and all have unique skills. It doesn't make a huge impact on the game, but playing as the other character spices up things for brief times. My favorite additional character is the American native, Shadow Wolf and sharp dressed, duel shot Jack Swift.
My only grips with R.D.R. is its lack of Xbox Live gameplay, and its short story mode depending on how fast your trigger is. I found the games difficulty was set just right, I couldn't just blaze through the levels but it didn't seem overly difficult. You might want to replay R.D.R to make sure you gather all the unlockable journal items or to use a different selection of weapons, so the short 15-20hr story mode doesn't seem like such a downfall. Overall Red Dead Revolver is a quality action shooter which should make any gamer happy.
Graphics & Sound:The graphics are done well in R.D.R with a lot of special particle effects and other screen tricks to make this game feel like you're watching an old cowboy movie as well as playing a game. The character models are good, and Red is as stylistic as cowboys come. R.D.R. also does an excellent job recreating the environments of the old Wild West and has some inspiring levels, such as the train ride.
R.D.R excels in the sound department adding superb old western inspired soundtrack overtop of some good sounding samples. The weapons sound great in R.D.R and they added some extra little things like the sounds of stray bullets off rocks. All the voice overs are classic and help return the player to the old west. The soundtrack is near perfect in Red Dead Revolver, and Red has to be a student of Max Payne's gritty dialog class.
Innovation:Rockstar's western shooter is similar to other 3rd person action games, but there are some special features which are fresh. One of the coolest features in R.D.R. is the "Deadeye" feature which re enacts the one on one showdowns in slow motion. In deadeye mode you have a limited amount of slowed time to draw, aim and fire up to six shots. Then the action speeds up to normal time and the duel goes down placing all the shots you made full speed. The classic old western showdown couldn't have been done better.
Mojo:Red Dead Revolver has done a first in videogame history as I am aware. They have added new characters that I haven't seen in a game before, the Evil Cowboy Circus Clowns! Creepy Mojo for the laughing cowboy clowns. Rockstar does a great job spicing up a standard western story with some special moments and just like their other characters like Max and Tommy, Red have charisma that could carry him on for a couple more runs.
Lowdown:Red Dead Revolver is a solid action game set in the old west. This game is definitely worth a rental or purchase. The lack of multiplayer and short story mode are the only drawbacks in otherwise an excellent game.
Gameplay: 8, Graphics/Sound: 8, Innovation: 8, Mojo: 7. Final: 8 |
