Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Review

Kid Safe: Low                     Game Quality: High

Genre: Open World Action/Adventure

-          This game takes place where choice is everything. Rather than providing a set story that a player has to follow, they are provided a world that they can explore and do as they wish with a focus similar to an action movie. Likewise, as players adventure through this title they will find alternate means of completing their tasks including battles, negotiation, and puzzle solving.

Internet Requirements: Moderate

-          This game features a moderate amount of online content. To begin, this game is downloadable content that can be acquired through purchase on the internet; however a hard copy is also sold in stores. That aside, the game, just as with Red Dead Redemption before it, boasts a modest online multiplayer mode where individuals may play with others through the internet. It should be noted that the hard copy sold in stores boasts extra multiplayer content through the "Liars and Cheaters" and "Legends and Killers" content that is included on disc.

Story Summary: In Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare, players once again hop into the well

worn boots of ex-outlaw John Marston, who we met in Red Dead Redemption. This title takes place during unaccounted time from the first title, roughly three quarters of the way through the main story. The game takes on a wonderful campy feel and generally embraces spooky pop-culture references like the "Haunted Mansion" at Disneyland and Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". Opening on a stormy night on the frontier, we find that the dead have begun to rise from their graves to consume the living and that a plague is spreading through the civilizations of the Old West that is turning regular folk into cannibalistic monsters with a thirst for human flesh. As Marston, you adventure across the entire world from the original game, which has now taken on a spooky, undead twist. You are on a mission to not only protect the settlers of the old west and find out why the dead are rising but hopefully find a cure for your wife and son who have become infected monsters themselves.

 

Kid Safe: Low

-          Foul Language: Moderate

o   Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare contains a moderate amount of Foul Language in the form of the following observed words: d*mn, s*it, h*ll, b*stard, and f*ck. It should be noted that this is a notable improvement to the "High" rating that Red Dead Redemption previously received, although I suppose it helps when the majority of characters that the player encounters are moaning and groaning monsters. While this title does feature some harsher language such as "f*ck", the cussing is kept to a rather impressive minimum given the horror element and the fact that an average individual would be screaming obscenities out of fear.

-          Violence and Gore: Very High - Not Recommended for Children

o   As would be expected with a zombie game, especially one from Rockstar studios, Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare has a very high level of Violence and Gore. The majority of enemies that players will run into are zombies and therefore corpses; many of them appearing heavily wounded, rotten, and oozing puss, blood, and organs. Likewise, players will witness cannibalistic attacks where zombies will attack living human beings who will scream in pain as they are quite literally eaten, usually spraying blood and leaving a pool of blood beneath them. To Undead Nightmare's credit, these scenes are not overly graphic, as very often zombies are simply seen over their victims with red spray shooting out rather than gruesome scenes of torn flesh and sinew.

o   Players will also run into living humans that they can kill as well as characters that were well established as previously living in the first game. Players may kill any living human they find, however that is not many; likewise there are several characters throughout the world who have gone insane and will attack Marston, thus forcing players to kill them. Likewise, multiple characters from the previous games (the reviewer counted six in total) become infected and zombified, forcing Marston to kill them. Killing zombies must often be done by shooting them in the head, resulting in the zombie's skull exploding in a spray of blood and viscera.

             

-          Sexually-Related Content: Low

o   Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare has relatively low sexually-related content with the exception of two points. The first item of note is that players will run into female zombies that are wearing corsets and lingerie; these items are non-revealing in terms of genitalia but are sexually suggestive. Secondly, there is a very odd (and unexplained) scene where there is a zombified prostitute that suggestively touches her body and rubs her breast when you approach her before running away hand in hand with another male zombie; this is the only zombie that ever shows this behavior.

-          Use of Drugs and Alcohol: Very Low

o   Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare features a single observed instance of alcoholic consumption in which the Marshall pours Marston a shot of whiskey while they are talking. Not shocking giving most barkeeps are probably slavering beasts at this time.

             

Game Quality: High

-          Graphics / Visuals: High

o   Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare makes up for some of its predecessor's faults and demonstrates a high level of visual and graphical quality. Using the already established landscapes from Red Dead Redemption, this title takes the already magnificent open-world of the Old West and repaints it for a more "spooky" setting. Whereas most of the original game was during bright, sunny days or moonlit, starry nights; Undead Nightmare has a far bleaker tone. The majority of the game seems to take place during dusk and night, with the occasional daybreak brightening the world; and the rolling hills and lands are almost always covered by a soft mist and fog that adds to the atmosphere of this game. Likewise, the horse mechanics return and are just as impressive as ever, boasting realistic equine movements which is rather uncommon in the current market. Finally, the subtle and realistic facial expressions continue to impress.

o   Sadly, Red Dead Redemption is still not without faults. We experienced several graphical glitches, most often with characters model. In one instance, we found that when you jump a certain distance from a ledge Marston will quite literally hover over to the ledge. In another instance we found a zombie that ran at us only to suddenly sink up to her waist into the ground graphics; snarling and eternally stuck. Likewise, while the facial expressions of characters are generally high quality, the lip synching still needs some works; as we experienced multiple situations where audio and graphics were not working together properly.

           

-          Audio: Very High

o   Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare features a very high quality of audio and sound. To begin, Rob Wietoff returns as John Marston along with a fair number of the original voice cast to share their talents in Undead Nightmare. The voice acting is, once again, spot-on; with each character providing properly emotive delivery and really lending weight to the drastic situation. Likewise, the already established ambient qualities return; lending realistic quality to the sound of this game across the board with everything from thundering footsteps to the soft rustle of tumbleweeds across an empty town. Lastly, the already impressive music has been reworked for Undead Redemption; with composers having mixed previously "rustic" cowboy music and adding a pleasantly spooky edge to them.

-          Gameplay / Playability: High

o   Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare displays a relatively high quality of gameplay and playability. For those who never played the original Red Dead Redemption: the game immediately starts off by fully explaining almost all of the controls before ever sending you into the vast hordes of the undead; with the exception of three zombies that help you learn the basics of shooting and hog tying. From there, Undead Nightmare retains its previously impressive third-person shooting mode while adding additional weapons for players to try out. From there, players also are able to use their slow-motion shooting (called Dead Eye) more frequently than the original game in order to help them against the vast amount of zombies they will be facing. Finally, characters are able to create new items including Blunderbuss ammunition out of the pieces of their slain enemies.

o   Undead Nightmare does suffer from some gameplay difficulties. The first problem is that horse wrangling, something used to catch the exclusive Four Horses of the Apocalypse, is never explained; the game relying on the fact that you played the first iteration of the game. This is a large problem as horse wrangling is especially difficult with the Four Horses and takes multiple steps in order to complete. Secondly, the shooting system for Red Dead Redemption is built for medium to long range engagement and not for the hand-to-hand combat that the undead bring to the table. Occasionally the gunplay gets buggy and does not work properly due to this fact.
          

-          Dollar-Value: Downloadable Content - Very High / Hard Copy - Moderate

o   This might seem like a very strange split, so allow me to explain. The downloadable version of Undead Nightmare is only $10 U.S., for this you will be receiving approximately 6 to 8 hours of brand new story-mode gameplay as well as several new online gameplay modes for playing in multiplayer with other people around the world. This is a phenomenal value and many games are charging $50 or $60 for the same amount of content. However, if you are buying the hard copy from stores, this content will cost you $30 U.S. because of the added "Liars and Cheaters" and "Legends and Killers" expansions packs. This is not quite the same value as the "Legends and Killers" expansion adds extra characters and places for characters to go to in the multiplayer free roam and the "Liars and Cheaters" extra characters, locations to go to, the ability to play poker and liar's dice online, and a new game mode. Generally these will be of no use if you do not use the internet often and will only be useful if you play Red Dead Redemption multiplayer extensively.

Recommendations

-          Sadly, as previously mentioned, the Old West and Zombie related games both have issues producing any titles that are not M-rated. Good fallbacks still stand for now including games like "Resident Evil" for zombie games and "Infamous" for open-world games.

As always, should you have any questions or concerns., I continue to encourage you to contact us. I hope this guide has proved useful. Enjoy.

Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Redemption Review

Kid Friendly: Very Low                Game Quality: High

Genre: Open World Action/Adventure

-          (This game takes place where choice is everything. Rather than providing a set story that a player has to follow, they are provided a world that they can explore and do as they wish with a focus similar to an action movie.)

           

Internet Requirements: Moderate

-          (This game features a moderate amount of internet usage. While it does have a good deal of offline content that can be played without internet connection; this title also offers plenty of online content which includes a multiplayer-mode as well as extra levels and gameplay which may be bought and downloaded online.)

           

Story Summary: Red Dead Redemption is a breathtaking story of blood, violence, and redemption in the

 American Old West. The main character is John Marston, an ex-outlaw who has been

 captured and blackmailed by the newly formed FBI. With the agency holding his family

 hostage, Marston is forced to trek across the Old West to find his old gang mates and

 bring them to justice, dead or alive. On his journeys he meets a great number people;

 both equally savory and unsavory as he follows a trail of blood in an attempt to find

 peace.

Kid Safe: Very Low

-          Foul Language: High

o   This game features a large amount of foul language including f*ck, s*it, d*mn, c*nt, c*ck, and other words. Fascinatingly enough, the foul language does not often come from the main character, John Marston; who in fact very often presents himself in a very cordial and well-mannered fashion except when he is dealing with some of the more unsavory characters of the title. Instead, almost all of the foul language is found in the interactions with most of the other characters of the game; who generally are criminals, drunks, rapists, lunatics, etc.

-          Violence and Gore: High

o    This game features a great deal of violence and gore. Leaning towards realism, this game does not falter on many interactions that occurred in the American Old West. When playing this title, individuals will use firearms to shoot anyone they so choose in the world (however the story only focuses on killing criminals). These deaths will also reveal realistic sprays of blood followed by spasms and collapsing of a dead body. Aside from killing humans, an entire set of challenge levels encourage you to hunt, kill, and skin wild animals in the world; leaving their maimed bodies lying where they fell. Finally, there are some disturbing scenes where story-arc characters are brutally beaten and bloodied; namely a young woman by the name of Bonnie who, after being kidnapped from her home, is hung after been beaten and raped by a gang of men.

-          Sexually-Related Content: Very High - Not Recommended for Children

o   This game features a large variety of sexual content and nudity. There are multiple references to rape, sexual deviancy, sexual intercourse, as well as the presence of prostitutes in all towns. To begin, on more than several occasions, there will be discussion among criminals and the main characters about the forcible rape of women; one of the main examples being the previously mentioned Bonnie who was kidnapped from her home and found beaten and bloodied by a gang of men. Next, there are several references to bestiality (engaging in sexual activity with animals); one such example being a side mission you do for a gentleman who is missing his "lady". When you go to the location you find a young woman brushing a horse, only then do you find out the horse is the one the man is pining over. Upon returning the horse, you find out that he wishes to engage in bestiality with the mare; the young woman leaving you with the phrase "You probably don't want to watch what these two have planned together. Finally, there are blatant scenes of sexual intercourse; one such example showing a young man and woman, only half-clothed, having sex on a table; stopping when you walk in with the half-clothed woman running out.

-          Use of Drugs and Alcohol: High

o   This game features a large amount of drug and alcohol usage. To begin, you may at anytime go to a bar or saloon in game and continue to imbibe alcohol. In doing so, your vision gets progressively more blurred and your character begins to stumble about, bump into people, and appear generally intoxicated. Eventually you will collapse and black out. On top of this, there are more than a couple cut scenes where your character is scene smoking cigarettes extensively.

Game Quality: High

-          Graphics / Visuals: Moderate

o   The graphics and visuals for this title are generally of very high quality. The game portrays a very realistic depiction of the desert including: blowing dusty winds, camouflaged animals running about in the brush, mountains off in the distance, the dirty, grainy look of a town that has been resting in a desert area, etc. Likewise, this title bolsters an impressive physics engine for all of the units and characters; allowing them to flow very realistically, rationing their weight here and there as they move around in the world. I would like to make a special note for the design of horses which, being an equestrian myself, acted rather and moved very much like real horses (something that is rarely done well in most games).

o   However, for as impressive as the graphics generally are, there are some rather sufficient flaws as well; as this game is absolutely riddled with glitches and errors that tend to effect gameplay. On one occasion I returned to my horse to find him floating in the air with his hitch as his only tether to the world, as though gravity were turned off. On yet another occasion, when picking up an individual up off the ground, they suddenly were stuck in the environment and my character was acting as if he was carrying something that wasn't there. Sadly, a large number of very similar stories have been reported across multiple gamers.

-          Audio: High

o   The audio, much like the graphics, are of a generally high quality. The music and sound add incredible ambiance to the gameplay, altering the mood of the scenes quite drastically. When traveling on horseback, the overbearing sound of hoof beats will be the primary sound with your partner's voice tapering up and down with it based on where he is riding in relation to you. Indeed, other times music will take over with a soft acoustic playing as you walk through town, only to be dominated suddenly by a quick and frantic tune as bandits stir up travel in the saloon in front of you. Not only this, but the game features recognized actors and voice actors including Kevin Glikmann, Spider Madison, and Ben Davis.

o   Once again however, like the graphics, this title suffers from audio glitches as well. These faults were generally only found in the voice acting and sound bites rather than the music. Occasionally a sound bite would break, causing an odd, audible squeaking or popping noise. Likewise, once or twice I watched as a character's lips moved and produced no sound, only to hear it a second later due to poor lip synching. Luckily, unlike the graphical difficulties, these were far and few between.

-          Gameplay / Playability: High

o   This game tends to have a rather high playability that add to an intense and immersive feel to the game. To begin, the open world is absolutely huge, featuring one of the largest environments that Team Rockstar (the developers) have ever put into a title. This allows players the freedom to go to and explore an entirely fleshed out world with citizens, businesses, homes, families, and anything else they could imagine. On top of this, many cities feature mini-games that players can enjoy including poker, blackjack, liar's dice, horseshoes, and other such games. A player can literally burn hours just on these alone.

o   However, the open world is as much a blessing as a curse. Generally a player is expected to ride everywhere in the world in real-time, spending almost as much time trying to get to a mission or level as they do actually playing it. A player may even be deterred from playing solely due to the length of time it takes to get around and complete missions. While the game does offer two means of skipping this, the stagecoach and the fast travel system, it does nothing to encourage their usage. The stagecoach costs in-game money to spend. Likewise, I was never even made aware of the fast travel system by the game and had to be informed outside of the title by someone who found it by accident.

-          Dollar Value: High

o   All in all, this game is generally of a high dollar value. It offers a truly expansive world and story that can take well over 30 hours to complete if you only stick to the single player mission. From there, this title also offers a robust online experience where individuals may play online multiplayer with other players around the world and other battle each other several different modes. On top of this, the game already bolsters a list of new missions and levels that can be purchased and downloaded online to increase the amount of gameplay you have available. If you are alright with the intense amount of adult-oriented content and the occasional graphical glitch, this game features almost triple the amount of content than most games on the market for the same price.

Recommendations:

-          If the adult content is unacceptable, several other games may be right up your alley. If you are looking for a title with an intense, action oriented story, you may wish to check out Uncharted for the PS3. Likewise, Infamous bolsters a strong open-world environment with a superhero overtone. Sadly, the Old West has yet to be produced in a kid friendly manner and lacks any games under an M rating.

Finally, I apologize for the length of this review however the sheer size led to the size of the review
itself. It even caused me to rework the design of my reviews in several ways. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.