by
Ted Kritsonis
Faze Video Game Editor

Ah yes, the wild, wild west. After a year of being in limbo, Red Dead Revolver finally saw its release, loaded with an interesting concept and a lot of guns. The background story sees Red witness the murder of his family at the hands of Mexican General Diego and his bandits. Swearing revenge, Red takes up arms as a bounty hunter and makes it his life mission to bring the General to justice.

At first glance, Red Dead Revolver has some beautiful views of the Old West, though there are several instances where the towns look too much like ghost towns, and distant objects are sorely lacking in detail.

The shooting mechanics, meanwhile, make this game very close to a full-fledged arcade shooter. The “Dead-Eye” system is pretty much Max Payne-style bullet time, while the “Duel” recreates the classic gun duel battles that have always characterized the Old West. Though the Duel is an exciting aspect to the game, you can’t always control when it happens, which can really leave you in a bind during a firefight that you might otherwise be able to win in a duel.

Adding to the action, there are five more playable characters, as well as bar fights and horse riding. You can even hijack a stagecoach and jump onto a train. These action sequences were supposed to provide a more well-rounded action game, but unfortunately, they don’t deliver as promised. There’s little to no imagination in many of them, and you’ll be left wondering whether you’re playing a methodical third-person sim, or a guns blazing arcade shooter. There’s nothing wrong with trying to meld the two together, but it just doesn’t work well in Red Dead Revolver.

Publisher:
Rockstar

Platform:
Xbox

Rating: 6/10