Wanted: Red Dead Redemption

It's fairly rare that I'll be that excited about a video game that I'll want to purchase it on its release date. After seeing a recent trailer for Red Dead Redemption I think this will be one of those games.


Looking back over the last 12 months, I've only bought one game for my Xbox 360 and that was Modern Warfare 2. This was a game I had to have on its release date. There have been other games released over the last year that I've wanted to get, for example, Assassins Creed 2, Bioshock 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Blood Bowl. However in these cases I've been able to keep my yearning under control to wait until they've dropped in price somewhat. I may pick up a couple of these later in the year, perhaps at some Xmas sales.

With Red Dead Redemption I think I'm just going to have to have it on its day of release. And it's not just because I'm a fan of the Old West, it's because it has been designed by Rockstar Games. This is the video game developer and publisher of the Grand Theft Auto series. I had a lot of fun with the story, characters and gameplay of GTA IV and I reckon they'll exceed their previous efforts with Red Dead Redemption.

Check out the trailers:

On 6 May 2009, the debut trailer became available for viewing.




The second trailer released 1 December 2009 - "My Name is John Marston" gives information about the central character of the story.



Another trailer, "Gameplay Series: Introduction," was released during the second week of December 2009. It featured almost four minutes of in-game footage, including a detailed description of the game and events players will come across when experiencing the final version. This includes such activities as an example of using the lasso rope, hunting and emphasis on the graphical presentation of the landscape.



"Gameplay Series: Weapons and Death" was released on 28 January 2010. It again displayed four minutes of game footage, detailing the numerous weapons and shooting physics.



"The Law" was released on 11 February 2010. It highlighted different character personalities, including: Leigh Johnson, the Marshal, The Deputies, and Agent Edgar Ross.



"The Women - Sinners, Saints, and Survivors" was released on 24 February 2010. The video featured several of the female characters from the game, though no names were given. A soft piano interlude proceeded the harsher Morricone-style music of the other trailers, showing off a different side of the games soundtrack.



A new trailer has just been released on 17 March 2010, titled 'Gameplay Series: Life in the West'. This trailer shows that players can set up camp at the end of a day, or join a camp with others and exchange tales of the current happenings in the game. The trailer also reveals that different breeds of horses will be available to the player, each one having different strengths and weaknesses.




Red Dead Redemption will be released in North America on 18 May 2010 and in Europe and Australia on 21 May 2010. I can't wait.