Ellington

Never again will I laugh at the clichéd spaghetti westerns my uncle likes to watch. After playing "Red Dead Revolver," I think I might even start watching them myself. You take control of the bounty hunter Red, whose family was murdered by a group of outlaws. The game starts out as Red travels to a small town, somewhere in the West. He's ambushed by a murderous group of banditos, though they soon realize what a mistake they've made. A few days later, all that's left of the unfortunate marauders is being dragged in a cart to the local sheriff. From there out, the real story begins.

The gameplay in RDR is blazingly fast. It's a third-person shooter, but everything is so high speed it adds innovation. As a nice contrast, every once in a while, duels are initiated. After blowing away 40 or so enemies, a boss appears, and everything stops. You stare him down, hand close to your revolver. The cinematic bars dissipate, and motion begins again. Gunshots are heard, and the man across from you drops dead. You get a second to breathe … then some punk fires his rifle at you. Back to the fast lane.

Story-wise, RDR delivers. It's gritty and vacant of the trite wishy-washy moral lessons about love and believing in yourself. Red has a gun, and he can shoot it. But no magic bullet is going to save him from a guy with a cannon for an arm. The playable characters are the most ethnically diverse I've ever seen in a game. They cover a wide range of the archetypes from the Old West—a white male bounty hunter, a female ranch owner, an Indian warrior, a black soldier, an English trickshooter and a Mexican generalissimo.

I loved the graphics; they were realistic when it mattered and goofy when it didn't. They aren't top notch, and I can't tell if the haze that you see sometimes is there for effect or is just bad rendering, but overall they did the job. My biggest problem was the guns. In the inventory screen they look awesome, decorated and unique, but I swear there must have been one graphic for all the handguns in the game.

The music is fantastic. Words can't describe how upbeat and excellent the songs are. They really help you get into the brave new world aspect of the game. The sound works, too. Especially effective are the ricochet noises that serve as confirmation sounds.

Replay value is where Red Dead Revolver falls a bit short. The multiplayer is a joke; I couldn't play it for more than one round. After the game is beaten, a Bounty Hunter, or Challenge Mode is added, as well as a Hard Mode. These modes add a good chunk of time onto the game. After Hard Mode, you get Very Hard Mode and Red Wood Revolver Mode. If Hard is a slap to the face, Red Wood Revolver is a knife to the gut. You play as a mannequin who lights himself on fire to attack enemies. It's best not to ask.

Red Dead Revolver is an innovative and fun game to play. I strongly suggest it to anyone who likes third person shooters or western movies. If you don't like either, give it a try anyway. You may find it's more fun than you thought.