Red Dead

Red Dead is a western action-adventure video game series developed by Rockstar San Diego, published by Rockstar Games and distributed by Take-Two Interactive. The first game titled Red Dead Revolver was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox on May 3, 2004 in North America, June 11, 2004 in Europe and May 26, 2005 in Japan. The second game titled Red Dead Redemption was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on May 18, 2010 in North America, May 21, 2010 in Europe and Australia and October 7, 2010 in Japan. A downloadable content pack for Red Dead Redemption titled Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare was released on October 26, 2010.

Games

Red Dead Revolver

Set in the 1880s, the game follows bounty hunter Red Harlow, as he uncovers the plot that killed his parents and exacts revenge. Originally developed by Capcom, borrowing elements from their 1985 title Gun.Smoke, the Revolver 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.

Red Dead Redemption

Most of Redemption's story takes place in the year 1911, during the decline of the American Old West. The game follows John Marston, a former outlaw, while he sets out to hunt down his former gang members. Marston's wife and son are taken hostage by the government in ransom for his services as a bounty hunter. Having no other choice, he sets out to bring his three former gang members to justice. Upon its release, Red Dead Redemption was met with high critical acclaim, averaging 95% on both review aggregate websites Metacritic and GameRankings, making it one of the highest rated video games for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on both websites. It won several "Game of the Year" awards. Reviewers praised the visuals, music, acting, open world gameplay and the story. As of September 2011, the game has sold over 12.5 million total copies.^[2] A Game of the Year edition containing all additional content was released in October 2011.^[3]

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare

Undead Nightmare follows the exploits of John Marston, as he searches for a cure for an infectious zombie plague that has swept across the American Old West. A standalone disc titled Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Collection which does not require the original Red Dead Redemption game to be played, was released on November 22, 2010 in North America and November 26, 2010 in Europe. The disc includes three DLC packs: Legends and Killers, Liars and Cheats & Undead Nightmare Pack.

Reception

The Red Dead series, particularly the second game, is critically acclaimed. Red Dead Redemption won numerous awards, including Game of the Year by GameSpy and GameSpot, and is considered to be one of the greatest games of all time.

As of August 2015, the Red Dead franchise has shipped over 14 million units worldwide.^[8]

References