#clips
You know, Red Dead Redemption could be the worst game of the year, and I think I'd still enjoy it. It's predecessor, Red Dead Revolver was pretty awful, and I loved it. Why? Because Rockstar just "get" Westerns, that's why. More »
#coverstory
This is the third time we've posted a completely different version of the official box art for Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption. Hopefully it'll also be the last, but we're not promising anything. More »
Rockstar sent along videos showcasing each of the Red Dead Redemption pre-orders currently available, and we just can't decide which one to go with -- they all look so good. You can see all three of them over on the game's website. Pre-ordering from Amazon, you'll remember, will get you a Golden Guns pack, pre-ordering the game at GameStop will nab you the fan-selected Deadly Assassin Outfit and ordering the game from Best Buy will get you the War Horse, which you can see in the video above.
Wait a minute -- we just decided. We're totally going with the horsie. His name will be Roger and we will hug him and feed him and dodge explosions and shoot bad guys from his back and it will be the awesomest. Roger is the best horse ever. He's tougher than any other horse!
Based on all the movies and old shows we've seen, we feel like we know how it was in the old west: people sat around all day, drank whiskey from unmarked bottles, hit up the brothel when they had some spare cash and did their best not to get in Clint Eastwood's way. Pretty cut and dry, right?
Well, Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption paints a different picture of the west, one filled with picturesque landscapes and small towns, where clusters of folk tried to earn a living and make a life. A place in the grip of the Industrial Revolution, an uncertain time of transition from the old lawless ways of the west to the modern comforts and progress enjoyed by Americans in the east.
This recreation of life back then isn't just for show, however -- players will be able to go all Ted Nugent on it and hunt and skin animals, selling their hides to merchants for valuable goods or services. There's also the job of ranch protector, should you wish to guard the land from potential night-time rustlers. You can even herd cattle and fight a mountain lion or two, if the idea of mowing down countless NPCs puts a hitch in your giddy-up.
#rockstar
Forgoing the usual subject matter of horses and landscapes, the latest set of screenshots for Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption instead focuses on the game's cast of supporting characters. More »
#survivalguide
Western game Red Dead Redemption has been delayed from April to May. Those looking to bid their time productively with cowboys, read on. More »
#preorderbonus
The results are in for Rockstar's choose your own Red Dead Redemption preorder outfit, but you're not getting your Deadly Assassin just by entering a code. This here's the Wild West, and you're gonna have to jump through some hoops. More »
#cowboys
Western game Red Dead Redemption was originally supposed to get in the saddle this April, but has been kicked off its horse and won't be riding into stores until May. More »
As part of its latest financial results report today, Take-Two delayed Red Dead Redemption by several weeks. Previously scheduled to arrive on April 27, the game is now slated to release in North America on May 18 and internationally on May 21. The announcement doesn't specify a reason for the move, though it's worth pointing out that the new date moves Red Dead Redemption out of the publisher's fiscal Q2 (February-April) and into its third quarter (beginning May 1). [Update: During an investor call corresponding with the financial report, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick clarified that the delay was issued to extend the game's pre-release marketing period.]
Take-Two also notes that financial guidance for its fiscal 2010 has been adjusted to take the date change into account. While Read Dead Redemption was at the center of a controversy concerning developer Rockstar San Diego, a barrage of recent media assets and confirmation of retail pre-order bonuses seems to indicate that development is on track.
#rockstar
While speaking to investors, Take-Two CEO Ben Feder said Red Dead Redemption had been delayed because of "optimal" release schedules. Developers Rockstar say something a little different. More »
#delayofgame
Rockstar's Western follow-up Red Dead Redemption, originally slated for release in late April in North America, has been pushed back to mid-May. More »
#rockstar
A deputy, a teacher, a snake-oil salesman. Five more screenshots from Rockstar introduce you to some of those you'll meet on your western travels in Red Ded Redemption, due out at the end of April. More »
Rockstar has an exclusive -- wait, how can Rockstar have the exclusive on its own game? Anyway, there's a set of screens for Read Dead Redemption over at Rockstar's site.
The screens take a noticeable departure from the usual media we've seen coming from the game, trading in the requisite gunplay and horseback riding for brief bios on some of the world's inhabitants. Above, you can see Nigel West Dickens, the kindly old gentleman who promises to cure what ails you through one of his many tonics. Is there anything that drinking didn't fix back in the old west?
So mosey on down to Rockstar's site to see all them thar screens if you please, cowpoke.
It'll be another 12 years before they get the right to vote, but in Red Dead Redemption, the womenfolk will have their say in how the West was run.
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Now, we know what you're thinking. "Oh, Rockstar's released a trailer featuring the female protagonists in Red Dead Redemption. We're guessing there's a scantily-clad burlesque dancer with a heart of gold, a scantily-clad cowgirl with a heart of gold and a fiery, scantily-clad revolutionista with a heart of gold." Well, you're awfully close -- just replace all three instances of "scantily-clad" with "completely badass," and you're a bit closer to the truth.
Check out the trailer above to see Red Dead Redemption's reasonably-dressed femme fatales spit some sass and shoot some dudes.
You're going to watch the above trailer (dubbed "The Law") for Rockstar's upcoming Red Dead Redemption regardless of what we say about it here, so we thought we'd try a little experiment: Don't watch it! That's right, don't watch it ... instead, close your eyes and just listen to it. The voice acting oscillates between excellent and simply serviceable and the dialogue sounds historically appropriate; but the music ... the music is where this trailer sets itself apart. It's like Ennio Morricone himself took the gig. So sling your poncho over your shoulder, close your eyes, and pull the trigger on that play button.
Red Dead Redemption's many, many pre-order bonuses are now detailed on the game's official website, and we can't imagine anyone will be prepared for the barrage of options listed when you click that link. No less than eight different pre-order bonuses, split between ten different US and UK retailers have been dreamed up by marketing. In typical Rockstar fashion, the practice of "exclusive" bonus content has become excessive bonus content.
Among the options listed are the "Golden Guns Weapon Pack" (more "Fame" per kill), from Amazon, which also comes with a $10 Amazon gift card; the "War Horse," a steed that Rockstar claims can't be bested by any other horse in the game, only available from Best Buy and HMV; and the "Deadly Assassin Outfit" from UK retailer Game (and maybe GameStop, if the getup wins the vote -- uh-huh, there's a pre-order vote). So yeah, we're going with the Amazon option, too.
We've already seen John Marston get himself into a whole mess of different being a cowboy-related situations before Red Dead Redemption's impending April release date, but today's are (as you might imagine) just a bit different. That's right, folks -- this time he's got a lasso. Rather than employing the ubiquitous Old West tool in cow wrangling, though, Marston drops some rope-based justice on fools and horses alike (okay okay -- we suppose it's possible there are also some fool horses). Peep the five new screens below in our hi-res gallery.
Rockstar has released the second in its Red Dead Redemption gameplay video series. The new video, titled "Weapons & Death," deals with the various weapons found in the game. The game includes pretty much everything one would expect in a Wild West shooter, ranging from rifles to revolvers to Gatling guns and even dynamite. Unsurprisingly, Red Dead Redemption takes advantage of Rockstar's RAGE engine as well as NaturalMotion's Euphoria physics engine. The end result is unique character reactions to in-game actions like, say, getting shot in the gut.
The video also details the Dead Eye targeting system, which allows players to slow down gameplay and paint targets. It behaves similarly to the "mark and execute" system in Splinter Cell: Conviction, which lets players mark several targets and take them down in rapid succession. It all looks very nifty and, thanks to the same classy narrator from the first video, it still feels educational. Remember that when your significant other / mother / teacher chastises you for playing too much. You're not just shooting cowpokes, you're learning about the Wild West.
