15 years since the first Red Dead Redemption. We remember one of the main westerns in the gaming industry

On May 18, 2010, the first Red Dead Redemption was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The developers at Rockstar San Diego were expecting a game in the spirit of GTA, but in the Wild West, but in fact we were offered a full-fledged western with its own unique features. Moreover, it remains relevant even today. Details are in our article.

Video games about the Wild West are much less common than films. Off the top of my head, I can only remember the Desperados and Call of Juarez series, as well as GUN and Red Dead Revolver. The latter was developed by Rockstar San Diego, but it has no direct relation to the Red Dead Redemption dilogy. Meanwhile, it was there that the Dead Eye mechanic debuted, which allows you to briefly slow down time and make several accurate shots.

However, in our opinion, Red Dead Revolver has not stood the test of time. Today, GUN plays much better, which is also a western with GTA mechanics and horses instead of cars. Fans of first-person shooters can pay attention to Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood and Gunslinger, and connoisseurs of tactics — to Desperados 3.

For a long time, the development of Red Dead Revolver was led by the Japanese company Capcom. This left its mark on what the game turned out to be. However, thanks to it, Rockstar San Diego gained valuable experience that helped them in creating their own western.

Many Rockstar games are unofficial adaptations of famous films. For example, GTA: Vice City is largely based on the 1983 film Scarface. And the plot of Red Dead Redemption is reminiscent of the American western The Wild Bunch. The main character, John Marston, is forced to cooperate with the federal authorities and turn in members of the gang he once belonged to. In search of his former accomplices, he goes to Mexico, where he finds himself in the epicenter of the Civil War.

The story turned out to be extremely serious, dramatic and even gloomy. You shouldn't expect a happy ending from it, because John himself is also not a noble knight on a white horse. Lawyers have a number of claims against him for the deeds of days gone by.

The ending seems to be a beautiful end to the whole story. The only questions that remained were about John's past and his dealings with the Van der Linde gang. This is the topic of the second part of Red Dead Redemption, which is a prequel to the first.

Since 2007, many action games have used the mechanics of shooting from Gears of War with the active use of cover. Red Dead Redemption was no exception. However, there are additional nuances, such as the ability to fire from a horse or slow down time in order to choose which parts of the enemy's body your bullets will fly to in the active pause mode. Also worth noting are episodes with machine gun shooting, where you do not need to hide, but quickly hit targets.

When riding horses and carts, you have to take into account that the horse can get tired, so you should not drive as hard as you can. It is important to encourage him with light blows to the side, otherwise you will go too slowly. The mechanics require getting used to. Maintaining balance is especially important if you are going to participate in local horse racing.

Considering that we have a Wild West setting, these opportunities are not enough for a full-fledged game for several dozen hours with an open world. Therefore, the developers diversified the gameplay due to additional activities. You can hunt animals and birds, and then sell their skins and feathers, tame wild horses, play cards, participate in arm wrestling competitions and much more. As a result, if completing story missions tires you, you can always find something to do to your liking.

Red Dead Redemption is set in the early 20th century, when the Wild West era was coming to an end. Only small islands of lawlessness remained, which the government is already actively dealing with. Meanwhile, the game conveys a sense of adventure in a vast world filled with dangers, insidious bandits and scumbags ready for anything. In fact, the Rockstar San Diego project turned out to be not a GTA-like game, but a full-fledged adventure that is imbued with the spirit of adventurism and a thirst for discovery.

Red Dead Redemption is currently available on all current platforms, including PC and Nintendo Switch. If you've completed the second part, then the first one is a must-read, because it concludes the story of John and the entire Van Der Linde gang. Yes, it is simpler and shorter, but at the same time more intense than the sequel. The game can also be recommended to fans of Westerns who for some reason missed it at the time. The graphics are a bit outdatedarela, but the gameplay and plot are still captivating and can bring a lot of pleasure.

In addition, there is mod support on PC. With their help, you can improve the picture, make the interface like in the second part and generally customize the game for yourself.

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Have you played the first Red Dead Redemption? Share your opinions in the comments!