Editorials

Why You Should Be Excited For Red Dead Redemption

It has come to my attention that there isn’t enough hype surrounding the upcoming Western adventure Red Dead Redemption, so I am here to inform you all why you should be looking forward to this gem. For those who don’t know, Red Dead Redemption is the sequel to 2004’s Red Dead Revolver which had a reasonably well reception. Red Dead Redemption will be released next month (May 18th in the US) for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, those who love open world games such as Grand Theft Auto should be anticipating this game, and here are a couple reasons why.

It’s Made By Rockstar

Yep! Red Dead Redemption is being brought to you by the same people behind Grand Theft Auto. Not only that, but the game will use the same engine that Grand Theft Auto IV used. Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) is the game created by Rockstar San Diego with contributions from Rockstar North. If they are using the same engine used in Grand Theft Auto IV and Midnight Club: Los Angeles; not only can we expect the game to play well, but also if they make improvements to the engine during the development of Red Dead Redemption it can only mean good things for future projects.

The Game Is Packed With Nothing But Greatness

From what I have seen and read up on, this game is going to be so rewarding for those who love to explore open world games. The map is going to be huge, split into three main regions, which will each be bigger than Grand Theft Auto IV’s Liberty City. As a bad ass cowboy you will be able to explore the whole region, using horses to navigate to different settlements. When exploring different settlements you can either wreak havoc along the way, or take part in dozens of side tasks. With these types of games it really feels like you’re in control of your own destiny. You decide whether you just want to follow the main plot, or become a well respected individual by completing all of the side quests. It’s hard for me to explain in much depth just how much this game has to offer, so look at this fact sheet to get an idea of just how much there is in this game.

It’s Basically A Showcase Of What Can Be Done On The Next Grand Theft Auto

Since Grand Theft Auto 3 blew up on the Playstation 2/PC last generation, there has been a flood of open world sandbox games appearing in gaming. But let’s be real with ourselves, to the majority Grand Theft Auto is the only one that matters. Everybody is always anticipating the next addition to the Grand Theft Auto series; it is a franchise that may never suffer from lack of interest. Since Red Dead Redemption is being developed from the same people who bring you the Grand Theft Auto franchise, you can expect to see wonderful new features that will no doubt make their way to the next GTA. Many people thought Grand Theft Auto IV was lacking on features, well Red Dead Redemption is damn near GTA in Western form. So just imagine how many influences from this game will be apparent in the next Grand Theft Auto IV. Not only are Rockstar putting out another classic game, but I think they are also testing the waters to see how far they can push it with their top earner.

It’s Something Fresh

We’ve seen games set in the future, the past, the present and post apocalyptic settings, and although the whole cowboy era fits in with the past, there haven’t been a whole lot of Western games on the market. Don’t get me wrong, over the past couple of years there has definitely been a few. However there has been far too little for us to get sick of it. So while we have been over saturated with many generic themes, Red Dead Redemption offers something fresh, in an interesting fashion. Red Dead Redemption isn’t just another Western, it’s a Western done with style.

So there you have it, I hope my words of wisdom are enough to create some more interest for this game. I feel this is going to be something epic, and this is coming from somebody who has never been interested in Westerns before. Though I have never felt the urge to watch a Western film on TV, I think actually interacting with the world will be far more exciting. Make sure you look out for this game when it arrives on May 18th in the US, and May 21st in Europe. For now look out for any new info we may have available, such as trailers and write ups. We will also have a review up around the time of the games release.

Don’t forget to check out that fact sheet on the IGN forums, to get an idea of how huge this game really is going to be.