red dead redemption
Latest
Rockstar store updated with Red Dead Redemption merch
If you're looking to recreate some of the parlor games played in Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar's store has been updated to include a wide variety of instruments you can use to do so with the utmost authenticity. Now available on the store are a handful of "Collector's Packs," which include Rockstar-branded playing cards, dice, TNT-shaped candles and "Eradicator Soap," which promises to be "Tough on Blood and Manure." We certainly hope those two aren't frequently a problem for you. There are also a few new shirts from Redemption and, of course, copies of the game itself available on the storefront. Sadly, there's no option to purchase Donkey-Lady action figures, but maybe we'll get those in a later batch of merchandise. [Thanks, Reinhart]
The Daily Grind: Go west young man
Well, my wandering game eye is at it again, this time casting lustful glances over at the single-player space, and more specifically Rockstar's recently released Red Dead Redemption. Many of you are no doubt joining me in taking a bit of a break from MMOs to spend some time in the sprawling frontier sandbox, and I'm wondering if I'm the only one who thinks such a setting is fertile ground for the AAA MMORPG treatment. I say AAA because an indie game based on the early American frontier has been languishing in lack-of-funding hell for seven years now, and it makes me sad to think that no established company has the gumption to pony up for a massive excursion to the land of six shooters and well-worn cowpokes. With Rockstar's game tearing up the sales charts, there is clearly an interest in the subject matter, and toodling around in the game's free-roam mode brings to mind all kinds of interesting possibilities for something new in our favorite genre. So, what say you Massively readers? Why not the Old West? While we're at it, if Bioware can make the genre jump, why not Rockstar?
Red Dead Redemption Avatar gear moseys on over to Xbox Live
Does Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption not satiate your need for rough and tumble cowboy stuff? Relax a spell, friend. We'd like to tell you about some new Xbox Live Avatar items now available for download. You'll find several full outfits are on offer, including the John Marston uniform above and the Walton Gang outfit in the bottom-right corner for the boys, while the fairer gender gains access to Bonnie McFarlane's in-game getup, as well as an Armadillo Woman ensemble -- each full outfit will set you back 320. If you're a bit short on coin (what did we tell you about spending all your time playing poker in the saloon?), there are cheaper fashions available -- including T-shirts with various characters and sayings on them and some hats. There's even a lasso prop your virtual self can play with. Xbox.com: Add Red Dead Redemption Avatar gear to your Xbox 360 download queue
Rockstar hopes to solve Red Dead Redemption UK shortage by this weekend
Our poor, transatlantic pals living in the UK have been wracked with a pretty significant retail shortage of Rockstar's latest open-world opus, Red Dead Redemption. Fortunately, Rockstar Games UK boss Neil Stephen (the man so nice, they named him twice) has told VG247 that Take-Two has been working with UK retail outlets to remedy the supply issues, stating, "we believe the situation should be resolved by this weekend, so we'd like to thank everyone involved for their part in this." We're guessing Rockstar's solution to the shortages was to locate the rumored sunken cargo ship which dragged a few crates of the game to the bottom of the briny deep. If that's the case, we hope UK gamers enjoy finally getting their hands on copies of the game, and all of the barnacles therein.
Red Dead Redemption machinima film airing on Fox this Saturday
This Saturday at midnight (ET), Fox will air a 30-minute short film made from Red Dead Redemption. That's right -- this film was created using in-game assets. And it's not just any old basement machinima -- it's been directed by John Hillcoat (The Road) and, according to Rockstar's description, "reimagines" protagonist John Marston's, uh, redemption, as he pursues that prickly Bill Williamson. Sounds interesting enough -- just so long as it doesn't interrupt MADtv. That's still on, right?
Red Dead Redemption, Split/Second debut on UK charts
Rockstar's dusty western, Red Dead Redemption, has taken the top spot on the UK software sales charts -- Take-Two's first multiplatform title to do so since Bioshock 2, according to Chart-Track. it's also the first top multiplatform title for Rockstar since the debut of GTA IV way back in 2008. That's not to say there weren't other highlights in this week's dog and pony show. Coming in second was 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, while Ubisoft's Just Dance managed to move to the beat of third. Black Rock Studios' Split/Second also managed to make an appearance at the fifth spot, while European developer Remedy Entertainment's psychological thriller, Alan Wake, was pushed back into the shadows down to the eighth spot -- a major drop from its previous second place spot last week. Source - Red Dead Redemption takes top spot on GFK Chart-Track Source - GFK Chart-Track's top-selling titles for the week ending May 22
Review: Red Dead Redemption (single-player)
Although Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar San Diego's long-awaited open-world game, may look nothing like GTA IV, the two easily invite comparison. Like GTA IV, Red Dead Redemption is an incredibly powerful, polished sandbox game. But, it also carries many of the same flaws as its Liberty City counterpart. While set in drastically different periods, the similarities between these two games cannot be ignored: from gameplay mechanics to mission design to narrative direction. While not cosmetically apparent, even the premises of these two titles are strikingly similar: both are about ex-criminals in new lands attempting to forge new lives for themselves. Both characters are dragged back into murder and vengeance; and both John Marston and Niko Bellic are forced to do odd jobs for odd characters in order to accomplish their goals. It's these odd jobs that make up the majority of Red Dead Redemption's core gameplay, which is a mixed bag. Most of the missions involve going from Point A to Point B, shooting enemies along the way, and it won't be long before you start to ask yourself the same question Marston asks: "Why am I doing this?" RDR has a number of explosive moments. As John, you'll hijack a moving train, engage in duels and race away in a mine cart. But too much of the game is devoted to herding cows, shopping and shooting hats -- odd jobs indeed for a bloody murderer. To say that RDR sometimes loses its focus is an understatement. %Gallery-43816%
Red Dead Redemption a 'surprise' hit for GameStop
During an investors call today, GameStop executive VP of Merchandise and Markerting Tony Bartel mentioned that the company's recent earnings had been boosted by a title that apparently wasn't expected to be such a powerhouse. "Red Dead Redemption has been one of the very positive surprises," Bartel explained. "It probably has outperformed as large as any title has so far year-to-date." (Redemption was released this week, so presumably Bartel is largely referring to pre-order figures.) As we see it, this could mean one of two things: Either Red Dead Redemption is doing outrageously, phenomenally well, or GameStop didn't expect a game made by Rockstar, which had a marketing budget of a hojillion dollars, to have much sales power. Considering the company isn't run by baboons, we doubt it's the latter.
Red Dead Redemption system link problems patched
Much like a surreptitious gaggle of programming ninjas, Rockstar recently swooped into the code of your copy of Red Dead Redemption for Xbox 360, and remedied a problem you likely didn't know you had. Apparently, players who attempted to play the game's multiplayer component over system link were having some trouble doing so. In like, the first nine hours the game was available. Rockstar Tweeted yesterday that a patch had been put into place which fixes the System Link snafu, so if you you were one of the eight people who attempted to use that feature between yesterday morning and yesterday evening, then it's now safe to go give it another shot. Also, here's a great, informative article about the Internet. Yeah, apparently it's this new thing that lets you play games with your friends without having to suffer their actual physical adjacence.
Metareview: Red Dead Redemption
As you'd imagine, Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption ain't the depiction of the west your daddy used to see on Bonanza every week. It's a violent, immoral west and, if the reviews below are to be believed, it actually makes for a pretty darn good game. And here we thought Mad Dog McCree was the most dastardly dude the high plains had to offer. 1UP (A): "This is simply a beautiful game, and it's provided more than a few moments where I completely forgot where the hell I was supposed to be going while riding over golden hills at sunset or through the desert in the middle of a nighttime lightning storm. It doesn't quite convey the loneliness of the real empty spaces, but does compress the essence of all the varieties of land and weather native to those parts into a few hundred miles ride." GamePro (5/5): "Although this is said of almost every single new Rockstar product, Red Dead Redemption is arguably their best effort to date, if only because it distills all of the lessons they've learned from their previous titles into an engaging, expansive, and enthralling world. But the best part of Rockstar's open-world oater is its honest and open appreciation for the iconic Western genre." Game Informer (97.5/100): "To succeed where other Western games have failed, Red Dead Redemption deftly recreates a sandbox playground of a tumultuous historical period swept away by technological progress. The game perfectly captures the expansiveness of frontier life and the gritty gunplay of spaghetti westerns, rightfully earning its place alongside the great Western films and the best Rockstar games." IGN (97/100): "Red Dead Redemption is a must-play game. Rockstar has taken the Western to new heights and created one of the deepest, most fun, and most gorgeous games around. You can expect the occasional bug or visual hiccup, but you can also expect a fantastic game that offers the Western experience we've all been waiting for. Red Dead Redemption is a complete game in every sense -- both the single player and multiplayer modes are excellent -- and still manages to offer an attention to detail you rarely see from a game of this scope." Edge (90/100): "If the story leads us through well-trodden territory – blending The Good, The Bad And The Ugly's adventurous sweep with Unforgiven's morality, as played by Deadwood's perverts and bigots – the greater game is more digitised Westworld: an impeccable example of world building begging to be interrupted with a bullet. As one character notes: "I dreamt of documenting the last days of the old west. The romance, the honour, the nobility! But it turns out it's just people killing each other." There's no shame in that." %Gallery-43816% Source - Metacritic (Xbox 360) Source - Metacritic (PS3)
Red Dead Redemption gets exclusive content on PS3
Although its official release date is May 18th, some retailers are selling early copies of Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption. To the surprise of the few that hijacked an early copy, the PS3 version includes exclusive content, marked by a special sticker pasted on the box. According to the packaging, it includes "PlayStation 3 exclusive content" like "Solomon's Folly Gang Hideout" and the "Walton Gang Outfit." There is no sticker on the Xbox 360 version. We're surprised neither Rockstar Games nor Sony have yet to announce this potentially platform-deciding detail; thankfully, there's still time to change your pre-order, for those of you that absolutely need to ride around the Wild West wearing a top hat. Assuming, of course, you haven't already purchased the game from your local street date-breaking store. [Thanks, MLC!]
The Daily Grind: Pre-order now!
Pre-ordering has become something of an epidemic in the gaming industry. Whether you're looking to plunk down five bucks at Gamestop several weeks in advance of Red Dead Redemption or pay for the full enchilada on Amazon and wait for them to ship you a box on launch day, companies large and small have taken to offering their goods up for sale before they're really for sale. MMORPGs aren't left out of course. Currently the darling of the pre-order ball is Realtime Worlds' All Points Bulletin, simply by virtue of being the next big genre release. Along with the early payments, players are generally rewarded with some sort of in-game trinket. Age of Conan's first expansion, launched this week, offered up a Loyal Kappa and Ravager of Jhi pet duo to those who pre-ordered Rise of the Godslayer. Both of these items, while aesthetically cool, are completely unnecessary (they function as fairly weak combat pets and buffers), mainly because Funcom is following the unwritten gaming rule that states thou shalt not provide early adopters any kind of real advantage. Along with the pets, early Godslayer customers were given a bewildering array of expansion upgrade packages to choose from, each featuring different items designed to temporarily boost XP, ease the transition for newbs, or just make their avatars look that much cooler. Whether all of this is a good thing is up for debate. On the one hand, it's clear that players love any chance to acquire new shinies, even if it means paying a little extra. On the other hand, it can be argued that pre-ordering allows MMORPG makers to deliver unfinished games due to pre-existing demand and blind faith from fans. What say you, dear readers? Yay or nay on MMORPG pre-orders?
Red Dead Redemption to get Rockstar Social Club exclusive challenges and more
Rockstar Games has unveiled how it will be using the Rockstar Social Club service for Red Dead Redemption, and cowboys (and girls) looking for a little extra horsin' around won't be disappointed. The Social Club is offering achievements and challenges on top of the game, so, for example, one early mission that has you horsedragging an outlaw around will have a target time, and Social Club members who beat that time will get access to a special "Guns Blazing" cheat that gives your shots the chance to light enemies on fire. There will also be game-wide challenges, including one later this month that will require everyone playing the game to hit a certain amount of money raised, with an Xbox Live or PlayStation Home avatar T-shirt as a prize. There will also be community news, multiplayer events, special leaderboards and lots of stats tracked on the Social Club website. 100% completion is even "exclusively" in the Social Club, so presumably the only way you'll be able to know that you've done everything the West has to offer is to log on with a Rockstar Games account and find out. Kind of peculiar that information isn't in the game itself, no? At least signing up for the Social Club is free, so if you're planning to ride the plains next week, might as well do it now.
Red Dead Redemption looks 'revolutionary' in new trailer
We want everyone to be in the right frame of mind when watching this new Red Dead Redemption trailer, so first we'd ask that you to watch this gameplay clip from Mad Dog McCree. Now, had you told us back in 1990 that this is where we'd be in 20 years, we're not sure we could have handled it. A Western-themed game with digital characters, and not real FMV actors? Are you insane, sir? Alas, here we are, as the digital John Marston somehow finds himself embroiled in revolution. The trailer doesn't explain exactly who is revolting from what (it sounds a bit like the Mexican Revolution, which began around the time Redemption takes place), but it does look like train heists will be involved, so we're completely down.
Red Dead Redemption getting free co-op DLC this June
Post-release downloadable content is a certainty for nearly every major game this generation. However, it's not often you see DLC as significant as this being promised for free. Rockstar Games has announced a new expansion pack, coming this June to Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, for the yet-to-be-released Red Dead Redemption. The "Outlaws to the End" Co-Op Mission Pack will feature six multiplayer missions and be compatible with 2-4 players. The free download will also add Trophies and Achievements for players to unlock. (For details on some of the missions, click past the break.) In addition to the free co-op mode, Rockstar Games plans on offering two additional downloadable content updates "over the summer." It's unlikely that these offerings will be free, however, as the press release carefully notes "pricing" will be announced in the future.
Red Dead Redemption Achievements aren't horsing around
Up until about 15 minutes ago, our excitement for Red Dead Redemption was limited to our ability to create online posses in the game's open-world multiplayer mode. Thanks to a certain listing in the title's recently released Achievement (and, presumably, Trophy) list, however, our fascination has radically shifted. The listing in question? "What About Hand Grenades," which is unlocked when the player throws their first ringer in a round of horseshoes. We've posted the full list of Achivements after the jump, though we seriously doubt we'll unlock anything other than the one mentioned above. How are we supposed to embark on frontier adventures when there are horseshoes to be played?
Rumor: GameCrazy closing all remaining stores
[Effluent Suburbia] After a handful of reports from several current GameCrazy employees and about a dozen calls to GameCrazy outlets across the country, we believe that the retailer will in fact be shuttering its remaining 250 or so locations in the coming weeks. Speaking with one such GC employee in central Pennsylvania, we were told, "Movie Gallery as a whole [GameCrazy's parent company] yesterday filed for Chapter 7, which indicates that the whole company is going through liquidation. I was in on the conference call yesterday ... it looks like this week and the week after they're going to go through finding a liquidation company to buy [the remaining products]. It's going to be business as usual for the next two weeks, we'll see our releases for the next two weeks, but we'll likely be closed by the end of June." The alleged bankruptcy filing has yet to appear on Movie Gallery's stock page or in the SEC database. We've attempted to gain official word from corporate, but the company refuses to acknowledge whether the chain is closing. Whether there was any internal documentation, one employee told us, "Unfortunately, there aren't any new memos on the intranet related to it... the last one was on 4-21 ("Important Closing Store Update"), and then there were a few on 4-20 ("Select In-Store Programs Cease" and "Letter from Roger Dunlap - Closing Store Announcement") and one on 4-19 ("Special Order Games Department Closing") The newest stuff was on the conference call yesterday, which I wasn't apart of." That said, our past experience with GameCrazy has shown that when several employees tell identical stories about store closures across multiple states, they're not likely colluding on an elaborate ruse. Additionally, we were told by an employee that "after the 18th [of May], we're done with pre-orders." He also encouraged customers with pre-orders to come in and pick up any deposits they've placed on games being released any time beyond the immediate future. If you're a current GameCrazy employee with information you'd like to share, we'd love to hear from you. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
UK: Download Red Dead trailer, get 400 MS Points
When it comes to effective marketing strategies, it's kind of hard to beat "give away free money." It looks like that's exactly what Rockstar is doing in the UK, as any Xbox Live Gold or Silver member that downloads the Read Dead Redemption "Multiplayer Free Roam" trailer from Xbox Live between April 26 and May 10 will receive some free goodies. Specifically, grabbing the trailer will net you a token to download a Red Dead Redemption dashboard theme and -- more importantly -- 400 Microsoft Points for free. The points and token will be sent to the associated Live ID email address used to download the trailer within four to six weeks. It's worth noting that the points expire on December 31, 2010, so don't plan on hoarding them. Also, the promotion is limited to the first 5,000 downloads (amounting to $25,000 in free money, incidentally). We're not sure how high the hype for Red Dead Redemption is in the UK, but we get the feeling this trailer is going to be pretty popular. Full details here.
Cowboy up with Red Dead Redemption's multiplayer modes
Honestly, Rockstar didn't even really need to do anything new with the multiplayer in Red Dead Redemption -- we would have been happy to simply see our childhood cowboy shoot-em-up battles reenacted in shiny HD. But it looks like they went ahead and surprised us anyway. As you can see in the new trailer above, every battle starts out with a Mexican standoff, with the winner getting a head start on the map. The reworked Dead Eye system is available in multiplayer, too, letting you paint targets and then unleash a hail of gunfire. And bringing in old-school cannons and a turncrank gatling gun is a nice, old (olde?) Western touch, too. All of those tools are available across multiple modes, including normal and team deathmatch, and a few capture-the-flag variations based on bags of gold: Hold Your Own is standard CTF (on a large scale in some maps), Gold Rush gives multiple bags to chase around, and Grab the Bag has everyone going after just one. All of the modes grant progression across weapons challenges, with golden guns serving as the ultimate reward. And here we thought it was fun just chasing the other kids around the living room pointing our fingers at each other.
Red Dead Redemption adds 'Casual' and 'Expert' difficulties
Was Grand Theft Auto IV mind-numbingly easy for you? Or controller-throwingly frustrating? Rockstar is attempting to scale the difficulty of its next open-world game, Red Dead Redemption, to accommodate players of all abilities. "We've implemented levels of difficulty into the game that employ different types of auto-aiming," a new Rockstar Games blog post explains. "Casual mode gives you a full auto-aim system (and faster regenerating health). Normal mode features snap-to-target with precise aiming using the right stick. Expert mode implements free aim with no lock-on at all." According to the post, this is actually the first time Rockstar has implemented multiple difficulty settings in its open world games. It's certainly an interesting approach to take: changing the actual method of gameplay, versus simply scaling enemy and player health. Will it be successful, though? Even Rockstar seems uncertain: "We will be interested to see what people think having played with each option."
