Red Dead Revolver

It’s tough to sell a Western game to a wide audience. Westerns are generally filled with great action, but their timeframe narrows the audience, especially in today’s future-driven world. Given that, it seems risky to release a game based on the Wild, Wild West in todayss market, which is so heavily driven by fantasy worlds and new-age techno-savvy hulabaloo. Of course, when the company releasing said western game just so happens to be the company behind Grand Theft Auto, one tends to give that western title a second glance at the very least. In this case, that second glance may well lead to the discovery of gold in them thar hills.

Red Dead Revolver is the latest offering from Rockstar, makers of the mother-and-senator-infuriating series, Grand Theft Auto. Based on this alone, gamers are sure to have increased expectations, regardless of the game’s content. Despite Rockstar having several titles aside from the GTA brand, gamers want more of that bloody rampage that spawned the latest outrage towards video game violence. It’s not just the violence that gamers have become enamored with, but the atmosphere in which said violence takes place. When it comes to atmosphere, it may not be the streets of Liberty or Vice City, but Rockstar certainly delivers with Red Dead Revolver.

GAMEPLAY

From the moment the game loads, Red Dead Revolver transports you into what can more or less be described as a western cinema experience. This may not seem like much of a revelation, but there is much more than the gameplay that is influenced by the western theme. Indeed, the entire game is presented as an old western movie. From the cheesy yet entirely appropriate “son seeking revenge against bandits for killing his family” plot right down to the cutscenes that have visual imperfections implemented to give the game an appearance that is all the more authentic as an old western film. The presentation is certainly an effective expression of Rockstar’s desire to work within the western genre. If nothing else, you can’t help but applaud Rockstar for making a game that so clearly honors the genre which defines it.

While such emphasis placed on presentation is nice, it’s hardly noteworthy without gameplay with which to substantiate the presentation. Red Dead Revolver is by and large a third person shooter (with some elements of platform gaming) that operates at a faster pace than nearly every western film ever created. You’ll control Red as he travels across the west defining his infamy as a noted bounty hunter. As you gain notoriety, you will be cutting through hundreds of bad guys, including your typical Cowboys and Indians, along with a host of circus freaks and midget clowns. Along the way you’ll find yourself in such classic western situations as preventing against bandits on horses who try to hijack a train, and of course, a duel. This all helps to fill out the game and makes for a reasonably fun experience.

Battling through the motley crew of baddies will afford you the opportunity to talk with the locals and in particular, shop keepers who have various weapons and other assorted items that unlock other portions of the game. Whether it be a bottle of whiskey that adds a new chapter to your journal, or unlocking a new multiplayer character or level, the world of Red Dead Revolver is full of items for you to accrue. These items aren’t free, however. In order to earn the money to purchase the aforementioned goods, you’ll have to be quick on the trigger. As you battle with numerous foes, you’ll have several options as to how you’ll lay them out. Aside from your choice of melee, short range, and long range attacks, you can also choose which appendage to shoot your foe in. Depending on where you shoot your opponents, and how many shots you can chain together, you will earn more “combo” money. The big money is with the big bounties, and as such each chapter will conclude with you doing battle with a boss of sorts. To help you dispose of these tougher foes, you have a bullet time-esque effect called “deadeye” which allows you to slow down the action and take better aim at your enemies. Using your deadeye capability as well as all other available means of combat, you’ll look to carry out a particular bounty quickly enough with enough accuracy, and come under as little fire as possible in order to earn a nice cash reward (as well as a few additional unlockable items).

As you progress in your quest for vengeance, you’ll encounter numerous characters that have as itchy a trigger finger as Red. You will meet up with such characters as Jack Swift, a marksman from England; Annie Stoakes, a rancher down on her luck; General Diego, a Mexican army leader engaged in battle against the North; and Shadow Wolf, a Native American warrior. Each character will have their own side missions they must complete, which puts you in control of each character. These missions offer some new aspects to the gameplay; you can ride bulls as Annie, you have to take out cannons as General Diego, but the goal is the same: kill the bad guys and the subsequent boss. While this provides a change of pace, none of these side-quests stray a great deal from the core gameplay, for better or worse.


Red Dead Revolver’s story mode is more well-defined than you might expect. However, as nice a surprise it is that the story progresses rather well, the gameplay leaves a bit to be desired. At no point is the gameplay critically flawed. The gameplay is, however, an exercise in tedium. Chapter after chapter, you will sling guns against countless bandits, an event that requires very little strategy. If you can operate an analog stick and both controller triggers simultaneously, you can go very far in Red Dead Revolver. This is not entirely bad, as some levels will inundate you with so many bad guys that a required thought process would only lend itself to your failure. Still, the combat could certainly stand to be more robust. Fortunately, Red Dead Revolver features a multiplayer mode in which you can play against up to three of your friends or three bots in a game of deathmatch…with a twist. When a player is killed, they drop a card. Picking up the cards will award you with various power ups or weapons depending on the hand you collect. Card values are assigned at random, and collecting each card refills your health, but each card is a different color associated with a different power up. Unfortunately, despite the idea that this innovative style of multiplayer combat could be fun, the matches end entirely too quickly and cannot be altered to increase their duration. One can’t help but wonder how much more fun the multiplayer mode could be if Xbox Live functionality were a part of the game, but it’s hard to imagine this incredibly short multiplayer mode working well on Xbox Live, anyhow.

GRAPHICS

As previously mentioned, Red Dead Revolver is presented as an authentic Western film. Grainy imperfections and drab colors are the standard throughout the game, which really benefits the ability of the game to immerse the gamer in the Wild, Wild West. This is, however, the highlight of the game’s graphics. From a technical standpoint, the game runs well. The framerate is constant and smooth, which is nice considering the amount of action that tends to take place at any given moment. In contrast, the artistic elements of the game fail to impress. The graphics appear basic, even for the Playstation 2 version of the game. At this late stage in the Xbox life cycle, such underdeveloped graphics are simply not acceptable. Character models are generic, save the aforementioned bosses and additional playable characters. Level designs are as you would imagine they should be in a Western-themed game, however the majority of the levels are small and really don’t offer any interesting aspects to the western motif. Sure, there are desert wastelands, ghost towns, and the like, but nothing comes close to standing out as a well-developed setting for a battle. This is a case of graphics hindering the overall gaming experience, as the ho-hum level design in conjunction with the monotonous gameplay stifle the chances of the game having much replay value.

SOUND

One of the most impressive aspects of Red Dead Revolver is the voice acting. Keeping on par with Rockstar’s usual high quality of voice acting, the majority of the characters in Red Dead Revolver deliver their lines with the proper inflection and conviction. There are a few lesser bad guys who tend to sound over the top, but considering the game is inspired by Spaghetti Westerns, it was only to be expected and really doesn’t hurt the game at all. Red might night sound as menacing as you’d imagine a bounty hunter seeking revenge to sound, but just because he sounds differently from what would be expected does not mean his voice acting isn’t done well. Still, it could have been improved.

Even better than the voice acting, is the musical score in Red Dead Revolver. It goes without saying at this point that the score plays well into the Western motif of the game. Not only are the various tracks throughout the game well tailored to the genre, but the songs are particularly catchy. Each song tells a tale of the situation ongoing; from the somber music following Red’s parents being murdered, to the upbeat tinkling of the ivory when you enter the local saloon, each situation is well represented with melody and harmony. In contrast to the bland appearance of the levels, the musical score increases the replay value as each new area offers something new and catchy for players to enjoy.

OVERALL

At its core, Red Dead Revolver is a tribute to the Western film genre. The simplistic gameplay does reasonably represent the development of the majority of Western films however that doesn’t excuse it as a shortcoming in the game. Along these lines, it is inexcusable that the multiplayer mode is so underdeveloped. It is as if Rockstar came up with a nice innovation for a multiplayer mode and forgot (or simply didn’t care) to complete the programming of it. This flaw is further magnified as a result of the large onus placed on you to unlock new characters and levels for the multiplayer game. However, while these things are frustrating, they are somewhat numbed due to the aforementioned impressive presentation as well as the well composed soundtrack. Adding all of these elements together yields an action game that offers nothing less than a fun gaming experience that ultimately leaves you wanting more after a rather short period of time. Considering, however, that this game was at one time cancelled from production entirely, it’s refreshing to see a license that was forsaken turn out as well as Red Dead Revolver has.


Favorite Moment: Getting into the game and noticing the attention to detail in the Western presentation, from the grainy imperfections throughout cut-scenes to the finely crafted score and above par voice acting.

Forgettable Moment: The multiplayer in the game is over far too quickly to be considered as a viable gameplay option.

BREAKDOWN

Graphics: This hardly looks like an Xbox game. While the framerate is constant, characters and scenery looks entirely unrefined and at times downright bad. Too many of the generic bad guys look…well, generic, as do the level designs. Fortunately the visual presentation of the game is of the highest quality.

Control: Shooting is clunky, requiring you to keep you gun drawn with the left trigger while firing with the right trigger. Each character control like they are robotic. On the plus side, it’s aiming accuracy is very forgiving.

Sound: By far the most appealing aspect of the game. The score is robust and tells a story of its own, while the voice acting is well done, even if at times it can be over the top.

Gameplay: The simple and fun gameplay isn’t helped by the repetitive missions and relatively limited choice of weapons. It’s fun while it lasts, which unfortunately isn’t long enough.

Replay Value: The lack of a refined multiplayer mode in conjunction with the repetitive story mode severely limits the replay value of Red Dead Revolver. It’s fun, but only for a brief period of time

Overall: Red Dead Revolver is a fun representation of the Western genre that doesn’t have the fuel to keep its fire blazing for long enough to consider it a worthy purchase.