Red Dead Redemption has Rockstar’s stamp of originality all over it: though you only play as one man, John Marston, you’ll meet a huge cast of outlaws, kind ranchers and the downright depraved as you explore the huge game world. Meet them all here, and see what you’ve got to look forward to in this part of our Red Dead Redemption review.
Read the rest of our Red Dead Redemption review:
Red Dead Redemption review
Red Dead Redemption review: Multiplayer
Red Dead Redemption review: Atmosphere and setting
We’ve broken down the incredible game setting in other sections of our Red Dead Redemption review, but the characters look every bit as convincing – for the most part. Though not nearly as bad as Fallout 3, the lip sync and talking animation is still a bit jarring, and nowhere near as smooth as that of the more stylized Final Fantasy 13. But one of Red Dead Redemption’s writers is Rockstar VP Dan Houser, the man behind many of the Grand Theft Auto games: what the characters lack in slightly unconvincing jaw jibber jabber, they make up for with what they say, do, and blow up.
John Marston
Your player. A reformed outlaw, he returns to Armadillo to track down his old gang at the behest of the hated federal government – though his reluctance hints at a darker motivation. At the outset, he’s actually one of our least favourite characters, and he feels like a century old version of Johnny Klebitz from The Lost And Damned, but the story soon changes how you look at him.
Bonnie MacFarlane
A female rancher in a man’s world. She takes Marston in at the beginning of the game when he’s left for dead by his old gang, nurses him better, and then shows you the controls of the game, teaching Marston how to ride, herd livestock and catch and break in horses. It’s Bonnie who teaches you how to lasso an animal – a skill you’ll find yourself using much more often to capture outlaws alive and bring them back to town, hog tied on the back of your horse.
Seth Briars
An animated and demented toothless low life who’s more at home with corpses than live human beings. He’s been driven mad by his lust for gold, and will only help Marston track down his old gang if you help him locate his lost treasure. Think a cross between Gollum and the crooks of Leone’s Man With No Name trilogy, and you get the idea.
Nigel West Dickens
A loquacious gentlemen of questionable integrity, Nigel West Dickens travels across the country of Red Dead Redemption peddling snake oil and conning locals into forking over their hard earned for a bottle of placebo. But West Dickens has a way with words, and more importantly, a way into the fort where Marston’s old gang is holed up. An early mission with Dickens gives you the ability to place targets on your enemies in Deadeye mode with your revolver, a useful skill for fending off bandits on horseback, and shooting guns out of the hands of duelists.
Professor Harold MacDougal
A Yale academic on forced leave in the West, MacDougal is a drug addict, and a hilarious fish out of water in the arid desert towns of Red Dead Redemption. Cue plenty of comedic pretension that’ll have you laughing more than anything DJ Kent Paul uttered in Grand Theft Auto. It’s testament to the impressive amount of thought put into the game that you’ll only find out what ultimately happens to the man by reading the game’s local paper – which is frankly funnier than anything found on the internet in Grand Theft Auto 4.
Read the rest of our Red Dead Redemption review:
Red Dead Redemption review
Red Dead Redemption review: Multiplayer
Red Dead Redemption review: Atmosphere and setting
