RED DEAD REDEMPTION – Review

RED DEAD REDEMPTION is a videogame developed by Rockstar San Diego and Rockstar North, published by Rockstar Games for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The Xbox 360 version was played for the purpose of this review. It was directed by JOSH BASS, DAREN BADER and TED CARSTON.

Before I begin, there are 3 things you should know.

The first one is that I find the GTA games to be a painful experience, consisting of controlling characters I don’t care about, doing stuff I don’t want for people I hate. The second thing is that I’m a big fan of Westerns, which must have been very annoying for my roommates as I discoursed about every single tiny movie influence I could spot in Red Dead Redemption, from John Marston’s duster outfit, straight out of Once Upon a Time in the West, to the plot itself, lifted from The Proposition. The third one is that I really like how most Rockstar games come with an actual map enclosed with the game box. Not only is it a testament for the amount of polish Rockstar adds to its games, but also helps the game be more immersive– as it begins to “embrace” my real life when, for instance, I use that map to plan my next moves instead of eating my dinner.

Moving on. Red Dead Redemption is a good game. It contains some moments that are pretty close to greatness and the amount of care put into this game is almost palpable (Well, actually, it IS palpable! There is that map after all!). Unfortunately, however, it still suffers from issues like pacing, ludonarrative dissonance, flat characters, lack of focus, clutter and noise. There are also some control issues (e.g.: occasionally, turning your horse will feel like you are back to Resident Evil‘s “tank controls” days), but who cares about those, right? However, one thing is for certain: Red Dead Redemption is certainly the best western game out there right now – though I am certain it will be later passed by better western games.

Redemption is a Misnomer

That’s right, I’m denouncing the critic’s (and many-a-player’s) darling. There is nothing Redemptive about Red Dead Redemption. Here’s why.

As you probably know, RDR gives players control over John Marston, a man who is living during a time of utter change in the United States. The days of the cowboys and the wild west are fading, and in its place we see the insidious nature of centralized government and cities. Though savage, the days that John Marston lived through in his youth were days were concepts like honor and integrity were central to the American ethos. You lived and died like a man, because that’s how the world worked.

What we see during the game, though, is that the bureaucracies and practices of “civilization” are probably more savage than the older days of America ever could be. As a testament to this, Marston is forced by the government to return to his old life–which he had abandoned in the wake of having a family. So, off he goes to do various spoilery things…a time during which he reminds you, at every point that he can, that even though he’s being forced to commit heinous acts by the government, that he’s really a changed man at heart. He is, as the title might have suggested, seeking redemption.

The game is an open world sandbox, and comparisons to GTA are spot on. You’re free to do what you want, in this open world, though your “choices” always come down to do I kill this person or not? I appreciate the ability to choose what I do in any given situation as much as the next person–I mean, I champion games like Dragon Age and Fallout every chance I get. Still, I think the fact that you’re given a chance to choose what Marston does undermines the entire point of the game: Redemption. It’s in the title! Should I really have the opportunity to kill an entire town, to hogtie a whore and lay her on train tracks?

Why do you have the option to be evil? It shouldn’t be an option. It doesn’t serve a function. If John Marston was actually looking for redemption, then they should have restricted our choices. I can’t kill a town and then cry about how I’m a changed man the next scene.

People have told me that it still works, though–I mean, a man like John Marston has probably committed bigger evils than we are capable of during the game, no? That being said, someone like him can’t just turn around and all of a sudden embody that changed man in a heartbeat. He’s sure to slip into his old habits, and, with the things the government has asked him to do, it’s probably easier to get rid of any internal conflict by attempting to embody the psychological and moral makeup of a natural-born killer. Right?

Wait. Hold your horses.