Red Dead Redemption first impressions

PlayStation.com climbs into the saddle of Rockstar Games' take on the spaghetti western.

It's 1908 and the Wild West is changing. The lawless days of the American Frontier are all but over while, to the South, the Mexican Revolution is about to melt into civil war.

In Red Dead Redemption, you control John Marston, a relic from those bad old days. A reformed outlaw, his family is threatened by officials and he is forced to aid in the capture of his old gang. There begins a tale of desperation and revenge in a world where the only thing worth trusting is the speed of your trigger finger.

It's an open world action game, much like the Grand Theft Auto series which is also developed by Rockstar Games. However, here you don't have the metropolis of Liberty City as your playground - much of the environment is barren so the developer has gone to great lengths to ensure there's plenty to do across the vast, rural game world.

While you can ride on horseback for miles and not see another person, you're rarely alone. Various animals lurk in the rocks and the trees, ranging from snakes, to coyotes, to grizzly bears. They look and behave realistically, so a lone wolf might run if you walk towards it but a pack is more likely to attack you.

You'll also encounter randomly generated events, such as shoot-outs between outlaws and officials, out in the wilderness. In this instance, you can choose which side to fight for; taking out the lawbreakers might boost your Morality score, while fighting the law will have its own rewards. Morality ensures that each murderous rampage and saloon brawl has a consequence. It works a little like inFamous, released in 2009 on PlayStation 3, in that people react to you differently in the street depending on how mischievous you have been, and each path yields its own rewards.

The developer is striving to ensure that there's plenty to do out there in the desert, mountains and ghost towns. If you see a cliff or mountain on the horizon, chances are you can climb it and there will be something there waiting for you, be it a new gun or a deserted building. Exploration is at the centre of Red Dead Redemption. However, missions are what drive the story forward and they are action-packed.

One sees you infiltrate a mine, blasting away enemies with an array of weapons before hanging from the side of a speeding mine cart, using your free arm to fire your revolver. A second mission has you riding out on horseback to a heavily defended house where a woman is held hostage. If you burst into the room quickly enough to save her then your Morality score receives a boost.

There's so much to talk about from only briefly seeing Red Dead Redemption. There are the beautifully animated horses; people going about their days in the towns, working during the day and hitting the bar at sundown; the lively saloons with their volatile customers and fun mini-games; and stumbling across a campfire to hear people telling stories of your exploits earlier in the game, much like the radio news bulletins in Grand Theft Auto.

With a beautiful game world, plenty to see and do and the level of production value that Rockstar Games is renowned for, it's one to watch in 2010. Stay tuned for more updates ahead of the game's release.