Red Dead Redemption

Preview from Yug - Thursday, 29 April 2010 @ 3:54pm

Good ... Bad ... I’m the guy with the gun.

Even though I own a bar filled with multiplayer games, I rarely choose the competitive games to play in my own time, preferring the more story and character driven cinematic types. Red Dead Redemption is definitely on that list, and at the top of my ‘games I want to desperately play’ category as well. So in the same way that I loved Grand Theft Auto IV but wasn’t all that interested in the multiplayer side of things, my feelings have been the same towards Red Dead Redemption.

All that changed with a Mexican standoff.

A Mexican stand off against Joaby from GameArena.

Sure, there were 8 journalists from around Australia in this particular multiplayer session, but the long standing bond between AustralianGamer and GameArena and the positioning of myself and Joaby on opposite sides of the room (I say deliberately) meant that shit was about to get real ... high noon style.

It’s a beautiful thing, at the beginning of every multiplayer match, all players stand in a circle waiting for the words DRAW to flash up on the screen, with the last man standing suddenly having the advantage thanks to the fact they didn’t die. It’s something I’ve never experienced in a video game before, and it’s genuinely surprising that it’s never been done.

So there I am, aiming my six shooter straight at Joabys hairy face ... DRAW!! ... a crescendo of gunfire flashes at the same time, journalists dropping to my left and right in a hail of bullets. After the first shots have been fired, it’s probably a smart move to find cover and pick the remaining players off – but this time I charge straight at Joaby, and I imagine my avatar is yelling a battle cry as the final headshot takes him down!

"It’s something I’ve never experienced in a video game before, and it’s genuinely surprising that it’s never been done'"


I make special point of this moment because it is the only time in the 4 hours I played where I actually beat Joaby ... or pretty much anyone for that matter. But this is my preview, and I’ll take whatever I can get.

Reach for the skies!

After the initial stand off’s, we had the chance to play a bunch of separate multiplayer game modes.

Shootout is your standard deathmatch mode, while a gang shootout is the equivalent of team deathmatch. Hold your own is a team based capture the flag, with the flag in this case being a bag of gold. Gold Rush was perhaps the most interesting and fun game type, a small level that featured multiple bags of gold scattered around the level and listed on your map, the goal being to get as many bags back to the various drop points before the time runs out. You move slower while carrying a bag of gold however, and a bag usually gets dropped multiple times due to the fact those carrying them suddenly become more attractive targets – leading to many shouts of ‘you bastard!’ as you’re shot in the back *just* before reaching a drop point.

The levels range from small and intimate towns dominated by rooftop snipers to wide expansive plains with canons and Gatling guns, where you’ll find your skills in aiming while riding horseback put to the test.

Wide open levels require a trusty steed

Outside of these specific game types is the option to simply enter into the Red Dead open world with a bunch of other players, to either team up and complete specific missions as a posse, or run around killing each other (guess what most of the journalists preferred to do). I’m a fan of any game that promotes co-op, and the fact that the open world nature of the game doesn’t force it down anyones throat makes the experience much more organic.

My only issue at this point was with the auto targeting, which can be turned on or off for matches, but while on seems to make it too easy to kill another player, turning the game into a match of ‘whoever sees you first wins’. A minor complaint in an overall experience that certainly makes the multiplayer side of Red Dead Redemption much more attractive.

Then again, with all my attention on the Mana Bar these days, maybe I’m just keen to see some Mexican Stand Off’s happening at the bar ... who’s with me?