Red Dead Redemption resists even more than eight years later

Red Dead Redemption goes a long way at the height of his name. Wearing the sand-filled boots of John Marston, an outlaw forced to chase away members of the gang he grew up with, Rockstar Games presents an ambitious vision of the open world from a Wild West point of view in 1911 It is here you will find that deadly duels are only part of the daily routine and that all sorts of stereotypical Western characters participate in the experiment. It's really a ride, even eight years after its release.

I have heard only praise Red Dead Redemption since its launch in 2010. It took me a long time to get my hands on a PlayStation 3 and, even then, I only played it for less than two hours. Do not mistake yourself. I'm a big fan of Rockstar's work, but I've always been overwhelmed by the magnitude of the Grand Theft Auto series and the rigorous gameplay of Manhunt. Red Dead Redemptionon the other hand, is distinguished by a personal story that follows a fascinating main character trapped between political interests and the security of his family.

A western world with some weeds

The story begins when John Marston only confronted his target with a gun and serious guts. He does not take long to be shot and left for dead. Bonnie MacFarlane, a farmer who lives on a ranch to help her father, rescues and outlaws the outlaw. This is the first of many allies that Marston meets during her travels and, like Rockstar, she has a whole series of missions surrounding her story. These usually involve completing favors that slowly and sometimes painfully reveal more information about the plot.

Missions include capturing wild horses, scaring crows from silos, raising cattle, and even going deep with Winchester guns, rifles and pistols on everything that goes on your way. Marston always says clearly his intentions. He is not there to help the community, to launch a revolution or to help the nearest tyrant. His actions boil down to one goal: to find the members of his former gang so that he can complete his work and return to his family.

Red Dead Redemption is an open world, and it has everything you can expect, like spaghetti westerns. You can watch hilarious animated movies, visit taverns to play poker or blackjack, and share a few rounds of Five Finger Fillet with farmers. There are more activities involved, like taking out contracts to capture bandits and taking part in town duels.

The random events of the game are meant to keep you on your guard. A person asking for help on the side of the road can be a preparation for a robbery with a group of bandits hiding behind the cart. And in some cases, you will have to catch a thief with your lasso or participate in a flight in return for a reduction in the premium.

The most memorable event I've had with Red Dead Redemption involved a woman held by the city guards while she attended the execution of her lover. His cries could be heard from blocks away. When I arrived on the scene, I stood there watching and wondering if it was up to me to stop the execution. Before I could make a decision, it was too late. The guards cleared the scene and mocked the victims as the woman ran inside and fell to the floor, crying next to the body.

At first, moments like these Red Dead Redemption live. This made me believe that these characters had difficulties outside of Marston's daily interactions with them. Unfortunately, these events are repeated, decreasing their impact to the point that I started to ignore them.

Another feature I did not like was the collection system. Although there is a lot of collectible flora and fauna in the game, the amount of flora and fauna makes it far too painful and will not distract me for a long time. You can also go to stores to trade skins and meat for weapons or drugs, but I only used them a few times. Once I had my hand on the bolt action shotgun and a double barrel shotgun, I realized I needed nothing else.

These are big cowboy boots

Red Dead Redemption adds to its complexity with a system of karma, but this time, it's in a good way. Divided between honor (measured by actions such as attacking civilians or robbery) and Fame (public recognition achieved by performing a variety of different tasks), both statutes grant different benefits and elements. depending on which path you choose to follow. While Honor can get you some discounts in stores, Fame can give you a bonus or enforce you. It is a system that gives meaning to every interaction with the world.

For an open world game released in 2010, Red Dead Redemption always feels massive. Each system is complex and the level of detail of everything around Marston is palpable. Fortunately, there is no shortage of features that would otherwise make the size of the game too heavy. You can save money by using an unlimited number of camp kits and even browse the map quickly.

It feels good to play too. Shooting works as expected and the weapons behave differently. However, I made permanent use of auto aiming, because of the unreliable frame rates I experienced on the PS3 that caused frustrating hiccups during big shootings. The highlight of the shooting game is undoubtedly the Dead Eye system, which allows you to slow down time and target multiple enemies for an epic shootout. In a dozen hours, I had to finish Red Dead Redemption, it never aged.

There are some bugs in Red Dead Redemptionbut I found them more comical than boring. In one case, while I was finishing a random event for a gang-threatened trader, I learned that Red Dead Redemption are unable if they are touched to the legs. As I triggered a live cutscene speaking to the targeted NPC, the bandit I thought I killed fired at him. Unfortunately for me and luckily for John, the bandit only attacked the merchant. But that left me stuck on the spot, with no way to escape, and so I had to reset the game. There were other bugs such as characters stuck in them. walls, but nothing as revolutionary as this endless cinematic.

Red Dead Redemption is most convincing when he focuses on the story of John Marston. And believe me, it's a bittersweet case. No one can deny all the terrible things that Marston and his band have done. It is a reality that reminds us constantly throughout the match. It is difficult to witness the rehabilitation of an outlaw, settled with his family on a farm, forced to face the result of his past actions. Although John may have left his old life and done everything to recover his family, he still struggles to cope with the people he once considered his only family.

It is a story of redemption that gets complicated as you go through the story. As you get closer to the final moments of the game, you begin to feel as if Marston does not deserve any of the cards he has received, even with the odds accumulated against him. It's a story that leaves mixed feelings, especially in the last moments.

Red Dead Redemption remains a game worthy of your time, even if you ignore all the shenanigans of the open world and play only in the main story. If you're not a fan of filming, his missions may be repetitive, but in the end, John Marston's story will keep you going. I can only hope that Red Dead Redemption 2 can live up to his legacy, even with his larger-than-life open world, our new protagonist, Arthur Morgan, still has big cowboy boots to fill.