Red Dead Revolver

Red Dead Revolver is a 2004 Western action-adventure game developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. The first entry in the Red Dead series, it was released for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in May 2004.[1] Set in the 1880s, during the American frontier, the game follows the story of bounty hunter Red Harlow as he attempts to exact revenge on those responsible for his parents' murder.

Red Dead Revolver
Developer(s)	Rockstar San Diego
Publisher(s)	Rockstar Games
Producer(s)	Stewart Spilkin
Designer(s)	Josh Needleman-Carlton
Programmer(s)	Michael Kelley
Artist(s)	Daren Bader Joseph Pileski Carlos Pedroza
Series	Red Dead
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2 Xbox
Release	NA: May 4, 2004 EU: May 28, 2004
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Angel Studios (later called Rockstar San Diego) began working on Red Dead Revolver under the oversight and funding of Japanese video game publisher Capcom in 2000,[2][3] and the game was announced by Capcom in March 2002.[4] It was originally intended to be a spiritual successor to Capcom's Gun.Smoke, a 1985 arcade shoot 'em up designed by Yoshiki Okamoto.[5] Red Dead Revolver's successor, Red Dead Redemption, was released in May 2010.

Gameplay

Red Dead Revolver is a third-person shooter and action-adventure game. It contains multiple levels which see players engage enemies in gunfights using a variety of weapons, ranging from handguns to shotguns and throwable weapons, such as hunting knives, molotov cocktails, and dynamite. More weapons can be purchased at the end of each level. Levels usually end with a boss fight, and each boss has a bounty on their head that is collected once they are killed. Each level uses a rating system that rewards players with unlockable content, such as new weapons or characters for the game's multiplayer component, depending on how well they completed specific objectives, such as the time taken to finish the level or weapon accuracy. Though the game lacks an open-world, players may freely explore the small town of Brimstone between levels, where they can interact with NPCs. Throughout the storyline, players assume the role of bounty hunter Red Harlow, though some levels offer control over other characters, such as English trick-shootist Jack Swift, rancher Annie Stoakes, Mexican Army General Diego, Red's Native American cousin Shadow Wolf, and an African American U.S. soldier known only as the "Buffalo Soldier." Each playable character has a unique signature weapon.

A game mechanic also present in future Red Dead games is "Dead Eye", a targeting system that is used in a bullet time-like manner, allowing the player to slow down time to place a precise shot or paint in multiple shots. When the targeting sequence ends, the player character automatically fires to all marked locations in extremely quick succession. The game also includes duels, which utilize Dead Eye and contain four stages: grabbing, where the player controls the character's hand and must direct it towards the weapon; drawing, where the player moves the right analog stick back up to remove the weapon from its holster once it has been grabbed; acquiring locks, where the right analog stick is used to move the crosshairs over the opponent's body and place several targets, which may be either yellow, dark red, or light red, depending on how critical that point is; and finally the shooting itself, where the player character automatically fires bullets in rapid succession and may either instantly kill the opponent, or simply damage them, in which case the player will be hit, though if it is not critical, they will quickly get up and may finish off the opponent using regular shooting.

The game also includes a local multiplayer component, which can be played by either one or two players, alongside two AIs. Here, the gameplay consists entirely of free-for-all battles, with the last man standing winning. Battles take place in maps from the single-player campaign, and both players and AIs use character models based on characters from the game's storyline, though there are also a few original ones.

Plot

Nate Harlow (Kurt Rhoads) and Griff (Bert Pence) find gold in an area called Bear Mountain and celebrate by building two unique revolvers. Griff is later captured by the Mexican army and sentenced to death, but convinces General Diego (Robert Jimenez) to spare him after offering him half of the gold in Bear Mountain. Diego later sends his right-hand man, Colonel Daren (Dennis Ostermaier), to kill Nate, the only other person who knows about Bear Mountain. Daren and his men kill Nate and his wife, Falling Star (Messeret Stroman), but their son Red (Jason Fuchs) escapes after shooting off Daren's left arm using his father's revolver.

12 years later, sometime during the 1880s, Red (Robert Bogue) works as a ruthless bounty hunter. After killing an outlaw gang led by "Bloody Tom" (Christian Tanno), he takes their bodies to the town of Widows Patch in the hopes of claiming the bounty on their heads, only to be attacked by a rival gang, led by "Ugly Chris" (Erick Devine). With the help of Sheriff O'Grady (Stephen Schnetzer), Red kills them, but O'Grady is badly wounded, so Red takes him to Brimstone, the nearest town with a doctor, foiling a train robbery on the way there. After Red drops O'Grady off, Brimstone's Sheriff Bartlett (Gene Jones) asks for assistance in dealing with several gangs terrorizing the area. Red first deals with an evil traveling circus, aided by English trick-shootist and former circus member Jack Swift (Gregg Martin), before going on to kill other well-known gang leaders. After defeating all the gangs, Red returns to Bartlett to claim the bounties on their heads, only to learn the gold wagon hasn't yet arrived. At Brimstone's bank, Red learns that Governor Griffon owns part of Bear Mountain and meets local rancher Annie Stoakes (Carrie Keranen), who is in danger of losing her farm to Griffon. Recalling that his family was killed over that very mine, Red goes to discuss the issue with Annie, whose farm had just been destroyed by Griffon's men, so Red promises to give her the money from his bounties.

Shortly after, Red goes to a saloon to question some local thugs on the whereabouts of the gold wagon. When they refuse to talk, a fight ensues, leading to Red being arrested by Bartlett, though he releases him upon learning Red is Nate's son and reveals to him that General Diego and Colonel Daren are still alive and court bound. Red then goes on to destroy Diego's supply wagon, but is captured by Daren and forced to work at Bear Mountain as slave labor. While imprisoned, Red befriends a U.S. soldier known only as "Buffalo Soldier" (Benton Greene), before the pair are rescued by Red's Native American cousin Shadow Wolf (Chaske Spencer). While Red and Shadow Wolf attack Diego's fort and kill Daren, though Shadow Wolf is mortally wounded, Buffalo makes his way to Brimstone to inform Governor Griffon of Diego's operations, only for Griffon to reveal he is working alongside Diego and have Buffalo imprisoned once again. Eventually, Red tracks down and destroys Diego's train carrying the gold, before finally killing him, despite Diego's attempt to bargain for his life.

Later, Red takes part in Brimstone's yearly quick-draw competition, where he reunites with Annie and Jack, both competing as well. When Red defeats all his opponents, a frustrated Griffon pits him against four time champion Mr. Kelley (Joseph Melendez) and reveals himself as Griff, Nate's old partner who sold him out. After killing Kelley, Red goes to face Griffon at his mansion with the aid of Annie, Jack and Bartlett. Though Jack is killed during the fight, Annie saves the Buffalo Soldier, while Red ultimately engages Griffon in a duel and emerges victorious, finally avenging his family's death. Afterwards, Bartlett thanks Red for all the good he has done for the people of Brimstone and offers to pay him the gold he is owed, while also advising him to flee the town, as murdering an official is a high offence. Red tells Bartlett to give the gold to Annie in order to rebuild her farm and help Buffalo, thus honoring the promise he made to her, before leaving with Griffon's revolver, claiming that "It never was about the money."

Development

The project originally stemmed from Angel Studios and Capcom's partnership on the Resident Evil 2 port for the Nintendo 64. Capcom's Yoshiki Okamoto then approached Angel Studios with the idea for an original intellectual property entitled S.W.A.T. It later adopted a Western theme at Okamoto's recommendation, redefining the acronym as "Spaghetti Western Action Team".[6] It was intended to be a spiritual successor to Capcom's Gun.Smoke, a 1985 arcade shoot 'em up originally designed by Yoshiki Okamoto.[5] Angel Studios began work on the game with Capcom's oversight and funding in 2000, and the latter announced the game in March 2002.[7][8] Its development was troubled, partially due to cultural differences between the two companies, and the game remained unplayable.[6]

In November 2002, Take-Two Interactive, parent company of Rockstar Games, announced that they had acquired Angel Studios, with it being moved to the Rockstar Games label and being renamed Rockstar San Diego.[9][10] Following the purchase, Rockstar Games executives reviewed projects in development at the studio, so to sort out what was worth keeping.[11] Dan Houser, creative director at Rockstar Games, remarked that the game "looked very good" and caught the review team's eyes, despite it being in an unplayable state.[11] The troubled development led to that unplayable state of the game, with it missing both the 2002 European Computer Trade Show and the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo,[12][13] Okamoto then left Capcom,[6] which eventually cancelled the title in August 2003.[14] However, Rockstar Games acquired the rights to Red Dead Revolver the following December,[15][16] and let Rockstar San Diego go on to develop what would become the first installment in the acclaimed Red Dead series.[11]

Reception

Reception

Review scores Publication Score PS2 Xbox Edge N/A 8/10[17] EGM 4.83/10[18] 4.83/10[18] Eurogamer N/A 6/10[19] Famitsu 31/40[20] 31/40[21] Game Informer 8/10[22] 8/10[22] GamePro [23] [23] GameRevolution C−[24] C−[24] GameSpot 7.3/10[25] 7.3/10[25] GameSpy [26] [27] GameZone 7.2/10[28] 7.5/10[29] IGN 7/10[30] 7.5/10[31] OPM (US) [32] N/A OXM (US) N/A 8.4/10[33] Entertainment Weekly C[34] C[34] The Times [35] [35] Aggregate score Metacritic 73/100[36] 74/100[37]

Red Dead Revolver received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[36][37] In Japan, where the game was ported and published by Capcom on May 25, 2005, almost two years after the company had cancelled the title, Famitsu gave it a score of 31 out of 40.[20][21]

The Times gave it four stars out of five, saying that it "has a strong, coherent storyline that whisks Red from novice gunslinger to competent bounty hunter in what proves to be the mother of all shooting practice games."[35] Maxim similarly gave it four stars out of five, saying that "Show-offs can even stealthily duck behind cover and shoot at foes' feet to make 'em jig like Michael Flatley sans Ritalin."[38] However, Entertainment Weekly gave it a C and said that "The game misses its mark: Instead of the gritty, scrub-brush humor of a Sergio Leone pic, Revolver feels like a rootin'-tootin' Disneyland ride."[34]

In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.[39]

Sales

According to market research firm The NPD Group, Red Dead Revolver sold 140,000 units during June 2004 and had lifetime sales of 920,000 by July 2010.[40][41]

Sequels

Main articles: Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2

See also: Red Dead

The first glimpse at a sequel was in 2005 when Rockstar showed a teaser at a Sony press conference. The successor to Red Dead Revolver, Red Dead Redemption, was officially announced for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2009.[42][43] After a few delays in release dates,[44][45] it was finally released on May 18, 2010 in North America, and on May 21, 2010 in Europe and Australia to critical acclaim, with many reviewers praising the game's gameplay and technical improvements over its predecessor.[46]

Red Dead Redemption 2 was confirmed by Rockstar in October 2016, and was released on October 26, 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.[47] It was released for Microsoft Windows on November 5, 2019.[48]

References

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3. Niizumi, Hirohiko (July 22, 2003). "Capcom no longer sponsoring Red Dead Revolver". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
4. IGN staff (March 22, 2002). "Capcom Unveils Four Major Games". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
5. Parish, Jeremy (October 26, 2016). "Red Dead Redemption's Curious 8-Bit Origin Story". USgamer. Gamer Network.
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9. Gamasutra staff (November 20, 2002). "Take-Two Adds Angel to its Rockstar Roster". Gamasutra. UBM plc. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
10. IGN staff (November 20, 2002). "Take-Two Buys Angel Studios". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
11. Robinson, Martin (February 22, 2010). "The Revolution of Red Dead". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
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14. GameSpot staff (August 12, 2003). "Capcom cancels Red Dead Revolver and Dead Phoenix". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
15. Calvert, Justin (December 18, 2003). "Rockstar rescues Red Dead Revolver". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
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29. Zacarias, Eduardo (May 11, 2004). "Red Dead Revolver - XB - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
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39. Mott, Tony (2010). 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. London: Quintessence Editions Ltd. p. 584. ISBN 978-1-74173-076-0.
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42. Stewart, Kemuel (February 4, 2009). "Confirmed: Red Dead Revolver Gets Sequel". GamerCenterOnline. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
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44. Yoon, Andrew (May 26, 2009). "Mafia II and Red Dead Redemption delayed to fiscal 2010". Engadget (Joystiq). Oath Inc. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
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Further reading

• Hester, Blake (October 17, 2018). "How the Red Dead franchise began". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved October 21, 2018.

External links

• Official website