Retro Review

The Corona got you locked up without much to entertain you? Then why not indulge in a bit of retro gaming?

It's both cheap and entertaining with plenty of online stores still delivering to addresses near you. You'll find some excellent deals in the UK in the form of CEX or if you like you're merchandise new then Amazon is a good shout. Currently one man's 'retro' is another man's 'current gen' but there's plenty of games many 'next gen' gamers have missed out on. The Western genre of gaming is fairly new I think and it's only recently we have had an increase in quality. If you're old enough to remember the point and click 'Desperado's' for PC then you know it was a long time before a Clint Eastwood type character went into 3-D virtual world.

Another title Western fans might remember is 'Gun' which I originally played on the X Box. That game made the Western open world and while 'Red Dead Revolver' made the gaming Westerns cinematic; it wasn't until Red Dead Redemption that we had a Western game of epic proportions. Most of the quality Western games are third person shooter with elements of role play. Don't get me wrong there a good few first person shooter games in the genre but I think you'll find most fans like what Rockstar Games have to offer. '

Rockstar Games (the makers of Grand Theft Auto) basically made an open world Western location set in 1911. It's set on a part of the border between America and Mexico in a time of a Mexican Civil war. The area is huge and there are various settlements through out the world to explore. Some are your typical Western towns with a Saloon, gun store and brothel. Others are Mexican peasant villages, military forts and farmer's homesteads. You play the character of John Marston who's on the hunt for members of his old gang for the federal government. That agency kind of has him by the balls as they make him do their dirty work with the threat of holding his wife and son in custody. It plays a lot like Grand Theft Auto but in the Wild West as you'll procure horses instead of cars and use old style weapons instead of the high tech stuff. The old style weapons are awesome though and the age doesn't make them less appealing either. One problem players might have is that it isn't exactly obvious which weapon is better than the other. It was pretty obvious in Grand Theft Auto but I don't think this will detract from the player's enjoyment of the game. You'll under take various missions and pull favours for the local factions of the area in order to find your old gang. The world is so interactive though that random events will appear and it's your choice how to handle such situations. These can include carriage robberies to kidnappings or it might just be someone challenging you to a scavenger hunt. It's fantastic and Rockstar have included enough extra content for at least 30 hours gameplay.

You'll get the most out of the game if you fully immerse yourself in the Wild West culture. In between main story missions go and have a game of 'Texas Hold 'Em' at the local saloon; I whole heartedly recommend it. There's a morality meter as well which determines whether you're treat like a hero or a villain. It's good because it allows the player to play as the cowboy they wish to be. The action is challenging but easy to get use to as Rockstar have applied a 'soft lock' to the gameplay allowing you to easily find enemies and to make you feel like a sharp shooter. I believe you can switch this off though if you prefer your gun fights to be more challenging. It's easy to utilise cover and evade being shot with the rolling action and keeps the action at a fast pace. The online world is excellent too but you'll need to be an X Box Live member to enjoy it. I believe the PS3 owners don't have to pay for the privilege unlike X Box 360 users. Although you can't design your own online avatar, there's a lot of choice of characters so you shouldn't come across your twin in the world too quickly.

The online world in Red Dead Redemption is hazardous though so don't expect your neighbour players not to shoot first and ask questions later. With Red Dead Redemption 2 breaking record sales it might be hard to find this title cheap but if you do prepare for an immersive experience. I give this game a perfect score, prepare to be absorbed by a full interactive Wild West with lots of gun fights to feed your gaming appetite.

5 out of 5.