Red Dead Redemption: Exploring the Wild West
Find buried treasure, hunt down cannibals, cheat at poker and sock a mountain lion in the kisser. Now that's how the West was really won.
May 13, 2010
by Hilary Goldstein
View all 16 videos »
Even a hundred years ago, the West was a wild land, yet to be fully tamed by man. Coyotes ventured into towns at night to steal chickens from their coops, bandits roamed the vast expanse, robbing homesteaders and other hopeful newcomers to the West, while Marshalls did their best to bring order to an area that had existed in chaos for decades. This is the world of Red Dead Redemption. And as fans of Rockstar's GTA series have come to expect, the world is wide open and ripe for exploration.
It doesn't matter if you've decided to be a cold-blooded outlaw or a champion of the people, there is plenty to see and do in the sprawling world of Red Dead Redemption.
While you'll want to complete a few of the early missions to unlock some basic tools of the trade (in particular, your lasso), you won't have to follow the storyline for long before it's safe to wander off into the wild. In fact, I spent six hours avoiding the main missions altogether and I still had plenty to do just by venturing out on my own. It didn't even matter that two of the three territories in Red Dead are locked until you progress to certain parts of the story. The world is so big and so full of distractions that you can easily invest ten hours without thinking much at all about progressing the storyline of main character John Marston.
Red Dead is full of side quests. There are really two different kinds. There are a number of structured quests, things built into the world in very specific places. They play out as mini-stories, usually comprised of a series of short missions. One eerie side quest has Marston set out in search of a lost boy. You find the boy in the hills, at least what's left of him. Just a shoe and a piece of his leg. Only he wasn't eaten by a coyote. Apparently someone mistook him for Soilent Green. Yes, there are cannibals in Red Dead Redemption. They like to nom on little boys.
While there are plenty of these types of bonus missions, the more common set of side quests are random encounters. In town or while out exploring, you'll hear gunshots or cries for help. You can always move on, and ignore whatever's happening, but where's the fun in that? I was flagged down by someone whose friend was being lynched. I rushed to the rescue, killed the bad men, then tried to play it Clint Eastwood cool by shooting the rope that was hanging the poor man. Only, I missed with the first shot. And the dumb sonofa_____ died on me. Another time I was asked to help rescue a man's daughter who was being held hostage by some bandits. I thought I'd killed every enemy in town, so when I opened the door to free her, it took me a moment to realize the man standing beside her wasn't one of the gunslingers who'd assisted me. A second's hesitation was all he needed to put a bullet in the back of her head.
Ma'am, I am here for my lasso.
Even in towns, people aren't safe. I heard a woman arguing with a man. It seemed pretty heated. Sure enough, on the porch of a bordello, a surly customer and a whore were screaming at one another. As I tried to remember how to switch to my fists so I could show this jerk some manners, he pulled out a knife and stabbed the woman repeatedly in the stomach. In fact, he followed her to the ground and kept stabbing.
The West is a _____*ed up place.
Not every encounter involves violence. I stumbled onto a few campsites where I could rest my weary rump on a log and listen to a yarn over a campfire. Of course, if you're a jerk, you can just toss a stick of dynamite at the camp and watch everyone die.
I found myself drawn to hunting. There are roughly 40 different species to hunt in Red Dead, including bears, mountain lions, vultures and buffalo. Killing not only satisfies my bloodlust, but is associated with a series of shooting and hunting challenges--kill a certain number of birds, collect skins from a specific animal, etc. Complete these challenges and you gain experience, which up your level of fame and can unlock some new goods in stores. Plus, it's fun. I'd never hunt in real life. I'm all PETA'd up in this piece, but I'll make bears extinct in a game if I can. Just be careful. Mountain lions will mess you up. They'll kill your horse and before you have time to realize what just happened, they'll rip right into you. This game really needs proper hunting tools--like bazookas.
Better search this dude for buried treasure.
Aside from challenges, you can sell animal skins and feathers at shops for cash. There's a simple, but working economy in Red Dead. The closer a town is to the resource, the less a shopkeeper is going to offer for it. If there are buffalo walking 20 feet from the shop, no one's going to feel the need to pay top dollar. But take those buffalo skins down south, where they haven't seen tatanka in a decade, and you can make some real cash.
If skinning animals isn't your thing, you can spend your time hunting treasure. This is a great way to spend an afternoon. Treasure maps look just like they might have a hundred years ago, if videogame designers were around back then. When you find a map, it will only give hints at where to go to get the loot. My first map had the drawing of a bunch of big rocks with a noose penciled in at the top. (Good thing there aren't many rocks out West.) Later, I stumbled upon a place called Hanging Rock. I looked at the map. Then at the rocks. Then at the map. Then at the rocks. Sure enough, my treasure was there.
Treasure hunting rewards those who start using landmarks to navigate the world. Sure enough, the next time I found a map, I realized I recognized the bluff depicted. "Oh yeah, that's where I accidentally rode my horse off and died."
Watch enough Westerns and you'll know that finding treasure, watching hookers get stabbed on the street, and skinning mountain lions is only part of life in America's wildlands. There's also plenty to do in towns. And by plenty, I mean gambling. Depending on the town, there are different ways to lose your money. You can play a game of horseshoes, try out liar's dice, even give a shot at five finger fillet. But the most interesting is poker.
It ain't cheatin' if you don't get caught.
Poker is the real deal. Play long enough and you'll start noticing that different players have different tendencies. Pick up on these and you'll have a better chance of catching their bluff. Or you can give yourself the upper hand by purchasing the Elegant Suit from a shop. This outfit isn't just for looking fine. It allows you to pocket an extra card, which you can attempt to slip into the game when needed. Just be careful. There's a little mini-game involved to avoid tipping your hand. If you're caught cheating, your opponent will stop being friendly and challenge you to a duel. Defend your honor (pretend you have some!) and shoot that sucker dead in the street.
There are plenty of other ways to enjoy Red Dead Redemption without touching the main storyline. My goal when I sat down for a day of RDR was to play as few missions as possible and spend the bulk of my time wandering the world and finding trouble. There's a lot to see and a lot to do. I didn't go into everything that's out there, waiting for curious adventurers. You can discover those on your own when Red Dead hits store shelves later this month.
