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Red Dead Revolver (PS2) Review
There has been a lack of western themed games for the gaming community. There hasn’t been much, but what is out there already is sort of, well, um, “displeasing.” Games like “Dead Man’s Hand” and “Mad Dog McCree” are nothing but trash compared to what developers could create nowadays. It’s surprising to see that with such modern day technology and graphics that no one would make a western game that is actually worth people’s time. A game that can help us respark the interest that movies and comic books have left off. Now a game of this caliber has finally arrived. Red Dead Revolver, developed by Rockstar Games, has given a little taste of the west to gamers everywhere.
The game of RDR has you control bounty hunter, Red Harlow. He’s a gun slinging fool, out on a quest to avenge his family’s death. On the road to his ultimate goal, he comes across a small town known only as Widows Patch. There, he dispatches several outlaws, and saves the sheriff. The sheriff then tells him to go to “Brimstone,” a basic frontier village that can help him with his bounty hunting. Once there, the Sheriff of Brimstone gives Red several missions to undertake that usually involve killing a certain person and collecting their bounty.
Throughout the main storyline of killing for cash, and bringing their heads in as proof, you also come across some interesting allies that certainly help you during combat, as well as moving the story along. At points, you even switch off with them, as they pursue their own goals, and end their own grudges. These characters are very unique as when you use them, they each have different special attacks, and their own unique weapons. It can be a little boring at times playing as Red, so by having you switch off at times really adds variety into the game.
RDR has a very straight forward style of play. You shoot, you run, you take cover, you reload, then you shoot some more. Depending on where you hit targets on the body depends on how much money you receive, which will have players aim for the head for the maximum amount of cash. I bet you’re wondering what you do with all of this money? Well, for one, you can buy new weapons, and upgrades to further help your killing sprees. You can also buy some other items which do other things, such as purchase new multiplayer characters, levels, and even pages to a informative journal that you can use for information.
The multiplayer is fun, and unique in some ways. Not only does it add bots to the game, it adds a system of “cards” that you can collect for items or power-ups. Say you go after the cards needed for a flush, when you get the hand; you receive a weapon such as “Flaming Revolvers” which set your enemies on fire after every shot. Depending on how rare a hand of cards is, the better the power-up, and so forth. Having to balance combat and card collecting is a unique way to alter the multiplayer experience without having to go off course from the western themes of the game. Another type of play is to have duels with the other characters in a square of up to four players. I’ll get more into dueling later, but let’s just say it’s another cool aspect of the game that shouldn’t be overlooked.
During the heavy combat areas of the game, Red, as well as his counterparts can use a certain unique ability that each character has. Red’s, is known none other then “Deadeye Mode.” Deadeye is somewhat like Rockstar’s famed “Bullet time” but with a twist. As the time slows down, you move the cursor around the enemy. As you do this, you can line up shots on one or multiple targets with the same weapon. Once you hit the fire button, Red fires all of his rounds that his gun can hold, at all of their respective targets for excessive damage. This can certainly help you out during times of need, as it can down most enemies. But that’s just Red’s special ability. Others include flaming arrows, explosive rounds, and a flare that can designate cannon strikes.
During parts of the game, as you slaughter outlaws and other undesirables, key targets can appear. Then you will be brought into a separate fight known as “dueling.” This is like the old “fastest draw in town” section of a Clint Eastwood movie. The tumbleweeds blowing across the dusty road, the sun at high noon. To win this, you have to pull down on the thumb stick, and then pull up. This draws and readies your gun. Then, you have to move the cursor across the enemy’s body. You have to line up shots, just like in deadeye mode, but instead, each place you shoot at has a different damage score. If you shoot someone in the hand, it obviously does less damage then a head shot. You have to be quick, and solid with your movements, or you will probably die before you can get another shot off. Sometimes, this can be difficult, and the AI always seems to be the quicker draw.
What I don’t like about this game is its difficulty. Let it be known now, that if people get frustrated easily, this is not a game for you. The game tries to add stealth missions and missions where you have to jump over obstacles. There’re just impossible. You can try hundreds of times trying to beat a level using strategy, powerful weapons, and agility, but in the end, sometimes it’s just luck that barely passes you on. Another con is the rather glitchy nature of the game. Your movements aren’t solid sometimes. At one point in the game, a boss that you are supposed to shoot at from a distance in the beginning, just falls off from his balcony position right at the start of the battle. Naturally, being unprepared for the close quarters combat so soon, you lose. Times like that can make you really angry. Believe me, I had first hand experience.
Read Dead Revolver is a game not to be put in the history books. It’s not a godly title, nor is it bargain bin worthy. It is just a game to be enjoyed for what it is. It difficulty can be overlooked by many but hated by a few. It makes up for it with its combat, multiplayer, and above average storyline. It is defiantly worthy of being the western title that many have waited for, but still, they could have done better.
Written by John Metz. Posted year 2004.
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Released on
May 3, 2004
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