It isn't too often that I go out and buy a game the day it comes out, but Red Dead Redemption by Rockstar Games was an exception. Well, actually I was working so my wife was nice enough to go by GameStop at midnight and pick it up for me. So far I have not been disappointed by this game. Red Dead Redemption is a sandbox-style action-adventure western video game with role-playing elements developed by Rockstar San Diego, published by Rockstar Games and released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in May 2010. It is a spiritual successor to 2004's Red Dead Revolver, but it is a much better game. Rockstar hit the nail on the head with Red Dead Redemption.

The game is set in the fictional American Old West territory and follows John Marston, a former outlaw, while he tries to free his wife and son, taken by government agents, by capturing and killing his former gang members.

Red Dead Redemption is an open-world, third-person, action-adventure game set at the tail end of the American West West era. Action takes place in the first few years of the twentieth century and revolves around the choices that the protagonist, former outlaw John Marston, is forced to make due to his blemished past. The game features a morality system assigning honor and fame points generated through the player's choices. It also features Wild West themed mini-games, new targeting and cover systems, extensive horse riding abilities, a wealth of period specific weapons and more than 40 huntable animals.

Story

Red Dead Redemption is a Western epic, set at the turn of the 20th century when the lawless and chaotic badlands began to give way to the expanding reach of government and the spread of the Industrial Age. A follow up to the 2004 hit Red Dead Revolver, this game tells the story of former outlaw John Marston, taking players on a great adventure across the American frontier.

Gameplay

Red Dead Redemption is a third-person action-adventure game set a fictional open-world American Wild West environment for players to explore. Gameplay area types include frontier towns, rolling prairies teaming with wildlife, and perilous mountain passes - each packed with an endless flow of varied distractions. Along the way, players will experience the heat of gunfights and battles, meet a host of unique characters, struggle against the elements and animals of one of the world’s last remaining wildernesses, and ultimately pick their own precarious path through an epic story about the death of the Wild West and the gunslingers that inhabited it. In their travels throughout the territories of the gameworld players partake in a morality system built on honor and fame, where they gain or lose points in each area based on their actions.

Red Dead Redemption Video Preview

Ride out to the Wild West with us to get an advance look at Red Dead Redemption.

The game features an easy to use cover system, a variety of mounts and period specific weapons including a cattleman revolver, a mauser pistol, a repeater rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, a throwing knife, a lasso and more. Western themed mini-games are also available, including showdowns, gambling, hunting bounties, cattle herding and five finger fillet.

Key Game Features

• Expansive open-world gameplay set in the final years of the American Wild West.
• Massive play area made up 3 unique regions composed of towns and outposts filled with characters with varying looks, accents, etc.
• Morality system based on honor and fame generated by the players actions throughout the game.
• Loads of unique non-player characters to interact with.
• Western themed mini-games including showdowns, gambling, hunting bounties, cattle herding and five finger fillet.
• An assortment of period specific weapons including a cattleman revolver, a mauser pistol, a repeater rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, a throwing knife, lasso and more.
• The Dead Eye targeting mechanic, allowing the player to slow down time for shot accuracy.
• Ridable horses and more than 40 kinds of animals that you can hunt or be hunted by.

Read Dead Redemption DLC

Rockstar Games announced four packs of add-on downloadable content will be released for PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE over the next few months, starting with the ‘Legends and Killers’ Pack at the beginning of August and culminating with the Red Dead Redemption ‘Undead Nightmare’ Pack this fall. These packs follow the recent release of the Free ‘Outlaws to The End’ Co-Op Mission Pack, which is available now on PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE.

The upcoming downloadable content includes:

Legends and Killers Pack (Releasing beginning of August 2010)

New active map locations, characters and more:

• 9 New Multiplayer map locations — more than doubling the amount of territories in the Multiplayer Competitive modes
• 8 New Multiplayer characters— play as characters from Red Dead Revolver
• Introducing a new projectile weapon: the Tomahawk, with corresponding Challenges for single player and multiplayer
• New Achievements/Trophies
• Pricing: $9.99 (PlayStation Network), 800 Microsoft Points (Xbox LIVE)

Liars and Cheats Pack

New Competitive Modes, Multiplayer Mini-games in Free Roam, and more:

• ‘Attack and Defend’ Multiplayer Competitive Mode and Challenges
• New Multiplayer Horse Races complete with mounted combat
• Play as the heroes and villains of Red Dead Redemption as well as 8 additional multiplayer characters
• Multiplayer versions of Liars Dice and Poker from the single-player game
• Introducing a new weapon: the Explosive Rifle, with associated Challenges available in single-player and multiplayer
• New Achievements/Trophies
• Release date TBC
• Pricing: $9.99 (PlayStation Network), 800 Microsoft Points (Xbox LIVE)

Free Roam Pack

Delve deeper into the world of Red Dead Redemption with new Modes, Challenges and Gang Hideouts to discover:

• Additional Free Roam Challenges
• New action areas and defensive placements
• Posse Scoring / Posse Leaderboards
• New ‘anti-griefing’ measures in Free Roam
• Release date and pricing TBC

Undead Nightmare Pack

Ghost towns and cemeteries come alive in a West gone horribly wrong:

• Brand new single player adventure, Challenges and quests
• 8 New Multiplayer Zombie characters
• Additional animals unleashed in the world
• New Dynamic events
• More details to follow...
• Release date TBC
• Pricing: $9.99 (PlayStation Network), 800 Microsoft Points (Xbox LIVE)

More details on these upcoming packs and other updates will be revealed closer to each release.

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Red Dead Redemption Videos

Red Dead Redemption - Times are Changing Cutscene

John and an old friend marvel at newfangled technology.

Red Dead Redemption Official Launch Trailer

Looks like things are about to get settled once and for all in this launch trailer for Red Dead Redemption.

Red Dead Redemption - Waves of Bandits Gameplay Movie

The Old Man's Top 5

	# 1: ★★★★★ Red Dead Redemption is an open-world, third-person, action-adventure game set at the tail end of the American West West era. Action takes place in the first few years of the twentieth century and revolves around the choices that the protagonist, former outlaw John Marston, is forced to make due to his blemished past.
	# 2: ★★★★★ Follow-up game to 2007's critically acclaimed Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, the PlayStation 3 exclusive Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a continuation of the adventures of Nathan Drake, a fortune-hunter with a shady reputation and an even shadier past. Chock full of all the action, adventure, cinematic story elements and beautiful graphics that set the first game apart, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves adds deep online multiplayer options, including co-op and competitive campaigns, and a whole new supporting cast of characters.
	# 3: ★★★★★ Modern Warfare 2 is a first-person tactical shooter and the sixth entry in the popular Call of Duty series. True to its name and following the lead of its predecessor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, it places players in modern combat settings, as opposed to the WWII environments of the earlier Call of Duty games. This modern approach brings with it new weapons, action and options. Coupled with a variety of gameplay modes including single player, multiplayer and the co-op Special Ops Mode, it is destined to be one of the most popular games of 2009 and a worthy addition to the Call of Duty series.
	# 4: ★★★★★ Get ready to plunge into the lush and deadly world of the Italian Renaissance, an era of arts, riches and murderous conspiracy. Assassin's Creed II introduces you to Ezio, a new assassin carrying on the deadly lineage of his forebears. Confront an epic tale of power and corruption as you hone your assassin's art, wielding weapons and instruments designed by the legendary Leonardo da Vinci himself in this gripping and deadly sequel.
	# 5: ★★★★★ The third game in the Fallout series, Fallout 3 is a singleplayer action role-playing game (RPG) set in a post-apocalyptic Washington DC. Combining the horrific insanity of the Cold War era theory of mutually assured destruction gone terribly wrong, with the kitschy naivety of American 1950s nuclear propaganda, Fallout 3 will satisfy both players familiar with the popular first two games in its series as well as those coming to the franchise for the first time.

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