Cowboy justice

by ERIK LEIJON

Just so there’s no confusion, Red Dead Redemption (X360, PS3/Rockstar, Rockstar San Diego) wouldn’t win a gun duel at 10 paces against its elder sibling Grand Theft Auto 4. But this western-themed Rockstar epic does more than simply replace hijacked cars with horses.

A sandbox adventure set in the dying days of the Wild West, Red Dead Redemption borrows from Grand Theft Auto in terms of mission selection, open worlds and extensive dialogue. They also similarly tackle broad concepts about American life through a liveable, breathable world. In this case, early 20th-century townsfolk living along the vast expanse bordering Mexico sound an awful lot like whiny neo-Tea Partiers, mistrustful of all things government and clinging to the old values of a society being swallowed by modernity.

The story is a revenge caper about a former outlaw fighting to protect his family, and along the way the facially scarred gunslinger abides by a twisted code of honour that involves excessive politeness and do-goodery, but also shooting innocent people and looting their bodies.

Missions begin by interacting with non-player characters and then saddling up, riding across the game’s large map and finally engaging in a shootout with whoever’s waiting at your final destination.

Because of the sparseness of the desert, there are long stretches where hero John Marston travels on horseback, engaging in banter with a multitude of colourful temporary sidekicks. These scenes of limited gameplay and considerable chit-chat take up a good portion of the proceedings, and define the game as a character-driven one.

There is stuff to do in the desert, like shoot fauna, pick flowers and help strangers, but the terrain is largely tumbleweed and cacti, and cities are very spread out (eventually crossing the border, to all those interested in learning Spanish curse words).

Even during the more blustery gunfights, neither story nor action in the Wild West gets particularly intense. Still, the lawlessness of the land allows Marston greater freedom to act without reprisal. Shooting prostitutes in the face and lassoing strangers will affect your “honour” points gauge, which alters how characters interact with you. Gambling plays a huge part of the superfluous quests (give Liar’s Dice a whirl), and some of the more setting-specific missions include herding cattle and quick duels. At its core, Red Dead Redemption looks and plays a lot like a period piece version of Grand Theft Auto. But it moves at its own unhurried pace, and the massive, inhospitable frontier gives it a downbeat Tex-Mex flavour you won’t find elsewhere.

PSP quickies

The weather has been so delightful lately, I swept the cobwebs off my patio furniture and engaged in some long overdue portable gaming. Unfortunately, the ghastly Iron Man 2 (PSP/Sega, High Voltage) nearly caused me to run back inside and board up the windows.

The game is built around one pretty decent idea: the small yet mobile Iron Man flying circles around enormously large bosses, but in between each of these battles exists boring third-person street brawling in bland environments against unoriginal enemies.

I also can’t in good conscience tell fans of all things Japan to pick up the latest in the Naruto anime fighting game saga, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 (PSP/NamcoBandai, CyberConnect2), a colourful cartoony brawler with a laundry list of characters and simple controls. Naruto should make for a good 2D fighter, yet for some reason Naruto games always include a lot of needless fluff, in this case side-scrolling levels. A note for UMD-supporting PSP owners: you will be forced to install the 427 MB game onto your PSP’s memory stick, which is a pain