When Rockstar San Diego released “Red Dead Redemption” – the second instalment of the “Red Dead” franchise – in 2010, nobody expected it to be a hit. The intention behind the game’s development was never to make it a broad commercial success like Rockstar North’s “Grand Theft Auto” series. After all, it was a niche game in a niche genre telling a story not about glorious destruction enveloped in a satire of the American dream, but one of the death of the Old West and the heroes and villains that once made it what it was. John Marston wasn’t your typical Rockstar protagonist. He didn’t set out to get rich, or to become some kind of kingpin or crime – all he wanted was to complete that one last job he was forced into by the government before retiring on a farm with his family and just fading out of existence alongside the world he represented. No, this was not a game ever meant to spawn a franchise. It was a game meant to prove that Rockstar San Diego, much like their Northern big brothers, were capable of crafting a masterpiece. And boy, did they prove it! “Red Dead Redemption” won over 30 awards from various publications and was nominated for just as many, and while I don’t have the sales numbers for it, I’m willing to bet it sold extremely well, especially after it was made playable on the Xbox One, which saw an increase in sales by over 6000%.
It was, without a doubt, the best Wild West game ever made, with a meticulous amount of detail being put into every aspect of it. Anything that you’d want to do on the Frontier is there! Want to engage in duels and shootouts? Obviously, that’s a big part of it. Want to tame wild stallions? Go for it! Hunting and taming animals? Yep! Getting into a bar and ordering a cheap whiskey? Uh-huh! Hunting bounties based on Wanted posters? Yes! Hell, you can even be a dastardly villain and tie a damsel to the train tracks if you so desire, the world’s your oyster! One of my favorite activities in the game was definitely playing card games like poker and blackjack, which was awesomely realized and very satisfying! Most people believe that online blackjack is only fun when played for real money, and while I do agree with that to some extent, I think that betting your online currency (which you had to work hard for and could spend on other stuff, like in real life) on a game of cards still made things pretty tense!
Fans have been clamoring for a new “Red Dead” for more than six years now, and it seems like their wish will finally come true, if some cryptic tweets by Rockstar’s Twitter account are to be believed! It all started with the surprise, out-of-nowhere release of “Red Dead Revolver” (the first game in the “Red Dead” franchise) on PS4, and just a few days later, we got a picture with Rockstar’s logo on a red background. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what that was hinting at (clue’s in the name, people), but in case you were wondering, not long afterwards Rockstar released another image – one of several cowboys walking in front of a Western sunset. Now, it’s all but confirmed – “Red Dead Revengeance”, or however the hell the new game is going to be called, is coming out soon! My personal guess is that it’s going to be a prequel (I mean, “Redemption” was all about the end of the Old West in the early 20th century, so there’s really no place to go from there), but in any case, we’re probably going to learn more at the next gaming event. My guess would be December’s PSX, but don’t quote me on that.