Original post on 1up

~

This third person shooter from Rockstar Games had all the ingredients to become a massive hit: great graphics, gorgeous environments, smooth controls, the by-now-obligatory “bullet-time” mechanics, and absolutely brilliant sound effects and music (think of that old-school “PEW POWW!” Western gunshot-ricochet-sound plus the classic Ennio Morricone theme songs with the whistling). Anyone who was into those Sergio Leone Italian “Spaghetti Western” flicks in the 60s with Clint Eastwood would love this game, yet strangely and undeservedly it seems to fall into the more obscure category of Rockstar titles (State of Emergency, Midnight Club, Smuggler’s Run… you know, THOSE ones).

Plot

Fairly typical: the “out for revenge” story you’d expect of the genre. You played as Red Harlow, a clear Clint Eastwood-inspired lead character whose prospector parents were killed by the evil Governor after the discovery of large amounts of gold. Red was meant to have been murdered too but manages to escape, and 12 years later he’s back in town for revenge. And don’t we all love a good revenge story, come on admit it, even those dodgy Charles Bronson ones.

Controls

Movement in the game was controlled with the use of the two analogue sticks: the left one to move and the right stick to aim, very simple and effective and reminiscent of the controls for the GTA games and The Warriors. The aforementioned “bullet-time” feature was called “Dead-Eye” and needed to be charged up, after which it allowed you to fire several times after quickly placing multiple targets on your enemies’ bodies as time slowed down momentarily.

Presentation

As with most Rockstar Games, the presentation of this title was top-class. The levels had you navigating through the typical environments: saloons, dead-quiet country towns with rolling tumbleweeds, mining sites, on a moving train etc. Upon completion of levels you would also receive cash rewards for gunning down wanted criminals, money which could then be spent on new weapons (of course including the classic red sticks of dynamite) and weapon repairs. Shoot-outs with multiple enemies were a lot of fun too as you dodged and rolled around trying to look as cool as possible before realising that John Woo hasn’t yet done a Western film (if he did, would that then be called a “Rice Western?”. Something to think about).

Conclusion

Perhaps at the end of the day this game suffered because of the quality and controversy coming out of Rockstar at the time: it’s release was sandwiched in between Manhunt and GTA San Andreas after all. But, like all reviews really, you simply have to play this game to get the most out of it. Try to track it down for PS2 or XBox as it should be quite cheap and, if possible, try to balance your play by watching those Leone movies A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (most memorable whistled theme song EVER) for the true classic Western experience. Clint Eastwood FTW!!