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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"There are two kinds of game, my friend...", 13 Jun 2004
By A Customer
Those which are fun and those which aren't! RDR is definitely the former. The game grabs you by the collar and doesn't let go, except very occasionally. The style and precision in the construction in the game is apparent as soon as it loads up on your PS2- whether its the rotating revolver chambers showing a save or load or the authentic spaghetti western music (most of which appears to have been taken from movies, by the looks of the manual- which explains why it often seems very familiar!). The game uses almost exclusively in-game graphics for its cut scenes and intros (certainly the attract mode screens are): all of which have a very atmospheric muzz over them- whether its sun glare or scratches on the `film'. All of which adds, strangely, to RDR's charm and atmosphere.The graphics are fantastic, but rely heavily on the brightness setting being correct: too dark and you can't see a thing, too bright and the characters look pasted on. Get the balance right and the whole thing is a dream- foliage waves in the breeze, rocks gleam white in the desert sun. A favourite is the general store, which is in almost total darkness due to the blazing sun outside. Each character, whether player or non-,is distinctive and often slightly comical: this game must feature the most initimidating facial hair in any console game! The player characters are suitably charismatic: monosyllabic Red being only just different enough from the Man With No Name... the others are equally strong, and mostly more verbose. Wether its two pistol trick-shooter Enlish Jack, rifle toting Annie Stokes or General Diego (I haven't cleared his level yet). Whilst all use the same controls their special moves are highly distinctive (even though both Red and Jack use the Dead Eye Zone, it works slightly differently for each). they also vary in speed and agility. The stature of the General has to be seen to be believed...! The controls are relatively intuitive, althought there is occasionally a little lag on some button pushes- most confusing initially is that to shoot you need to draw your gun and then fire. This feels more realistic, though, and means you don't often shoot when you don't want to... it does mean you sometimes don't shoot when you do want to, however! Occasionally movement feels a little ropey, but only because the environments are fully 3D and sometimes the camera will disappear into a wall or whatever: or sometimes zoom in annoyingly closely to your avatar during that level. The game plays like a dream, although it is a little "hmmm" in feel at first whilst you're learning the controls- for the first training level (and to a lesser degree the second) you bumble around blindly popping shells into the darkness. By the time you clear the cover training and are heading to a proper mission all is different and you will always look cool. Shooting is satisfying and whilst you and the opposition can soak large amounts of damage there are good stun effects when you or they get shot- shootists also react differently when different body parts are hit. Reloading makes you a sitting duck and virtually requires that you take cover before you run out of shells- making use of cover fire is a great strategy that actually works in a game for once. The available moves are large: running, walking, jumping, diving, creeping, popping in and out of cover. All are well animated and work great in the context of the game. A set of context-sensitive controls exist for quick-draw duels. These are tense and satisfying- and not overused. Also present is an RPG style upgrade system for increasing health, Dead Eye time and buying bigger and better guns- this also allows you to acquire more characters for the multiplayer modes (which can be played 1 player vs bots). This is adequate but doesn't really add much to the game, although it does boost the atmosphere somewhat and give some nicely rendered locations to look at in the town, On the downside the game is one note only- its storyline is quite engaging following in the predictable revenge theme, and the game is more so: fight after fight after fight. There are exceptions to this, and some truly inventive set pieces to be seen- in this regard RDR is firmly in the old-school of gaming. Its fun first and foremost. If you like shooting games of any genre you should love this. Personal favourite levels so far include the mountain chase- brilliant strong light and need to use cover, combined with loooong rifle targets, and the first (only? I don't know yet) Annie Stokes level- the music is great (feels somewhat Kill Bill...) and the action is tremendous...and unusual. The game is also very funny and certainly tongue in cheek. Absolutely recommended: the game is as you'd expect., very violent and features a lot of digitised redness- but it can't really be called explicit. Whether it warrants a 16 rating is probably for parents to decide- certainly the game is no more bloody than most westerns. Great fun- although the game is a single note game the note is varied a lot with some very amuzing and enjoyable results (a bar-room brawl for example)- well worth a look by any fan of westerns or shooting games. Great fun!
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