Red Dead Revolver

Red Dead Revolver
Developer(s)	Rockstar San Diego Capcom
Publisher(s)	NA Rockstar Games JP Capcom
Designer(s)	Josh Needleman
Artist(s)	Carlos Pedroza Joseph Pileski
Writer(s)	Robert Bacon Casey Fahy David Ferris
Composer(s)	Mario Migliardi Bruno Nicolai Francesco De Masi Ennio Morricone
Series	Red Dead
Engine	RenderWare
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Xbox
Release date(s)	NA 20040503May 3, 2004 EU 20040611June 11, 2004 JP 20050526May 26, 2005
Genre(s)	Third-person action adventure, Western
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: M PEGI: 16
Media/distribution	Optical disc

Red Dead Revolver is a western third-person shooter video game published by Rockstar Games and developed by Rockstar San Diego. It was released in North America on May 4, 2004, for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

Originally developed by Capcom, borrowing elements from their 1985 title Gun.Smoke, the project was dropped in 2002.^[1] Subsequently, Rockstar Games purchased the game and expanded on it. Changing the feel from that of an American Western to a Spaghetti Western allowed the developers to add more blood and over-the-top characters. The game reproduces a "grainy film" effect and uses music from various Spaghetti Western films, including those composed by Ennio Morricone.

Story

The game takes place in the 1880s wild west. Nate Harlow and his partner "Griff" have found gold in Bear Mountain. To celebrate the find, they commission the creation of a pair of twin revolvers, distinctive for the scorpion inlay on the butt of each gun. Nate takes one and "Griff" takes the other.

"Griff" is later captured by the Mexican military and condemned to be shot as a spy. He offers to give the General, Javier Diego, half of the gold on Bear Mountain if he spares his life. Diego agrees. Later, the General sends Colonel Daren, his right-hand man, to kill Nate Harlow and his family. Daren shoots Nate and his wife, Falling Star. Nate's son, Red Harlow, manages to retrieve his father's gun from burning rubble and shoot Daren before he escapes, destroying Daren's arm in the process.

Years after his parents' death, Red becomes a bounty hunter. The game begins with him battling a gang led by Bloody Tom. Hoping to claim the bounty on the gang, he takes them prisoner to the town of Widow's Patch. In Widow's Patch, he is attacked by a gang lead by Ugly Chris. He and the sheriff of Widow's Patch (named O'Grady) are able to survive the attack, but the sheriff is badly wounded, and must travel to the town of Brimstone for a doctor.

After Red drops off O'Grady in Brimstone, the sheriff of Brimstone (named Bartlett) asks Red to take care of some criminals for him. This includes battling an evil circus with the aid of gunslinger Jack Swift. After all the bounties are taken care of, he asks for the bounty on the criminals' heads; he is told by Griffon, now the manager of the town bank, as well as governor of the territory, that the gold wagon has not arrived yet. He then learns that one of the townsfolk, Annie Stoakes, is in danger of losing her farm, and that Governor Griffon also owns the Bear Mountain gold mine. Remembering that his family was killed over that mine, he goes to talk to Stoakes to find more information. This leads him back to Sheriff Bartlett, where he discovers that General Diego and Colonel Daren are still alive and that there is a bounty on them. Red, with the aid of his friend Shadow Wolf, a member of his mother's tribe, attacks Diego's fort, where they manage to kill Daren. Red then decides to hit Diego where it hurts the most, and attacks and disables the train carrying his gold shipment north. In the ensuing firefight, Diego is mortally wounded. Diego offers Red anything he wants, any amount of money as he begs Red to spare his life. Red silently aims his pistol without replying and shoots him dead.

Later, during a quick-draw competition called the Battle Royale, which Annie Stoakes and Jack Swift both compete in, Red learns that Griffon sold out his parents to General Diego. Governor Griffon orders Red to be killed by quick-draw champion Mr. Kelley, but Red kills Kelley and pursues Griffon to his mansion, accompanied by Annie and Jack. There, Red shoots Griffon in a quick-draw showdown. For having killed Griffon, the sheriff offers to pay Red the gold he is owed. Red refuses, taking Griffon's Scorpion revolver instead. Red tells Bartlett "it never was about the money."

Characters

• Red Harlow -- The main protagonist of Red Dead Revolver. His father, Nate Harlow, and his mother, Falling Star, a Native American woman, were both murdered by Colonel Daren, General Diego's henchman, years before the main storyline of the game begins. After his parents' murder, Red became a bounty hunter, capturing or killing criminals for money. He eventually finds out the names of the men who are behind the death of his parents and seeks to make them pay.

• Jack Swift -- A gentleman gunslinger who Red befriends on one of his bounty missions. Jack specializes in dual-wielding twin revolvers that he shoots with amazing speed and accuracy.

• Annie Stoakes -- A young woman struggling to maintain her ranch in the face of pressure from the bank, and violent attacks from a hostile outside group that wants her to sell the property. Annie is a highly skilled sharpshooter, specializing in using her rifle to make long-distance shots.

• Shadow Wolf -- Shadow Wolf is Red's cousin, from the same Native American tribe as his mother, Falling Star. Shadow Wolf and his tribe live on the slopes of Bear Mountain, and are facing violent pressure from Governor Griffon and General Diego to vacate the land because of the duo's gold mine. Shadow Wolf is a master of both the knife and the bow, and can shoot fire arrows at his enemies to set them aflame.

• Buffalo Soldier -- An unnamed African American cavalryman, "Buffalo Soldier" serves in the U.S. Army, protecting stage coach shipments from hostile Apaches. He is imprisoned by Griffon and Diego before being freed by Red. "Buffalo Soldier" can fire explosive musket rounds that can take out large groups of enemies.

• Sheriff Bartlett -- Bartlett is the local sheriff of Brimstone, responsible for maintaining law and order. He is the one who gives Red his initial bounty missions and assists Red in his quest for justice.

• General Diego -- General Javier Diego is a former Mexican general, now a renegade outlaw who commands his own private army of mercenaries and maintains control of his own fort in rural Mexico, near the U.S. border. Years before the game's main storyline, he captures Griffon, Nate Harlow's prospecting partner, during a battle with U.S. troops attempting to shut down his smuggling route north into the United States. Griffon offers Diego Nate's share of the gold mine in exchange for his life. Diego sends his henchman, Colonel Daren, and a group of his men to assassinate the Harlow family. Only Red escapes the massacre. Diego is currently partners with the now Governor Griffon, responsible for maintaining the gold mine at Bear Mountain and transporting the gold north to Griffon on his own private train.

• Colonel Daren -- Diego's henchman and right-hand man. Daren was the man who personally killed Red's family. During the massacre, Red manages to shoot Daren in the arm with Red's father's powerful Scorpion revolver, damaging it to the extent that it had to be amputated. Years later, when Red encounters Daren again in a firefight at Diego's fort, he discovers that Daren has replaced the arm with a powerful cannon.

• Governor Griffon -- Governor Griffon is the current governor of the U.S. territory where the game's events take place. Years before the game's main storyline, Griffon betrayed Red's father Nate Harlow by offering General Diego Nate's share of the Bear Mountain gold lode in exchange for his life, and told Diego where he could find Nate. Years later, he is the most powerful man in the territory, owner of the Brimstone bank and expansive landowner. He is the man responsible for attempting to drive Annie Stoakes off her land, as well as colluding with Diego to drive Shadow Wolf's people from their land on Bear Mountain.

• Mr. Kelley -- A nefarious gunfighter employed by Governor Griffon. Kelley has won the Brimstone Battle Royale multiple years running, always outgunning his opponent. When Red enters the Battle Royale, Griffin rigs the competition so that Red is forced to face Kelley in the final showdown.

There are also numerous minor characters throughout the game, both friendly and unfriendly. Unlike in many other games, many of Red Dead Revolver's enemies have their own unique name, look, and personality, and their personal histories can be read about in the game's journal.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	(Xbox) 74.87%[2] (PS2) 74.59%[3]
Metacritic	(Xbox) 74/100[4] (PS2) 73/100[5]
Review scores
Publication	Score

Red Dead Revolver received mostly mixed reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the Xbox version 74.87% and 74/100^[2][4] and the PlayStation 2 version 74.59% and 73/100.^[3][5] As of July 2, 2010, It has sold 920,000 copies according to Joystiq.^[6]

In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.^[7]

Sequel

Main article: Red Dead Redemption

Rumors of a sequel began circulating in 2005 when Rockstar showed a video of an Old West horseback rider running on early PlayStation 3 hardware. Rockstar was fairly secretive with a game in the works, simply known as "Old West Project".

On February 4, 2009, Red Dead Redemption, a spiritual successor to "Revolver," was announced for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 for a Q4 2009 release.^[8][9] It was later delayed until the first half of fiscal 2010, which spans November 2009 through April 2010 .^[10] On November 27, it was announced that Red Dead Redemption would see a U.S. release date of April 27, 2010.^[11] On March 3, 2010, Take-Two Interactive announced Red Dead Redemption had been delayed to May 18, 2010, on which it was released in the US and 21 May in Europe and Australia.^[12]

References

1. ^ Staff (2003-08-12). "Capcom cancels Red Dead Revolver and Dead Phoenix". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6073294.html. Retrieved 2011-04-11. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Red Dead Revolver (Xbox) reviews at". GameRankings. 2011-08-18. http://www.gamerankings.com/xbox/919424-red-dead-revolver/index.html. Retrieved 2011-08-18. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Red Dead Revolver (PlayStation 2) reviews at". GameRankings. 2011-08-18. http://www.gamerankings.com/ps2/560967-red-dead-revolver/index.html. Retrieved 2011-08-18. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Red Dead Revolver (Xbox) reviews at". Metacritic. 2011-08-18. http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox/red-dead-revolver. Retrieved 2011-08-18. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Red Dead Revolver (PlayStation 2) reviews at". Metacritic. 2011-08-18. http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-2/red-dead-revolver. Retrieved 2011-08-18. 
6. ^ Alexander Sliwinski (2010-07-02). "NPD on the Red Dead, Alan Wake, and Split/Second retail showdown". Joystiq. http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/02/npd-on-the-red-dead-alan-wake-and-split-second-retail-showdown. Retrieved 2011-04-11. 
7. ^ Mott, Tony (2010). 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. London: Quintessence Editions Ltd.. p. 584. ISBN 9781741730760. 
8. ^ Stewart, Kemuel (2009-02-04). "Confirmed: Red Dead Revolver Gets Sequel". GamerCenterOnline. http://www.gamercenteronline.net/2009/02/04/confrimed-red-dead-revolver-gets-sequel/. Retrieved 2009-02-04. 
9. ^ Jason Dobson (2009-02-04). "Rockstar goes west with Red Dead Redemption". Joystiq. http://www.joystiq.com/2009/02/04/rockstar-goes-west-with-red-dead-redemption. Retrieved 2011-04-11. 
10. ^ Andrew Yoon (2010-05-26). "Mafia II and Red Dead Redemption delayed to fiscal 2010". Joystiq. http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/26/mafia-ii-and-red-dead-redemption-delayed-to-fiscal-2010. Retrieved 2011-04-11. 
11. ^ "Red Dead Redemption Release Date Now Official". IGN. http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/104/1049857p1.html. Retrieved 2009-11-26. 
12. ^ "Red Dead Redemption Delayed". IGN. 2010-03-03. http://ps3.ign.com/articles/107/1073864p1.html. Retrieved 2010-03-03. 

External links

• Official website