When Capcom announced they were going to shelve the promising Red Dead Revolver, it not only disappointed gamers like me but also action gamers who wouldn’t mind seeing a third-person action set in the wild west.  Well, thanks to the folks at Rockstar, they resurrected the title and added their own style we’re so fond of thanks to games like the Grand Theft Auto series and Max Payne.  So, Xbox gamers step out into the street and put that itchy trigger finger work because if you’re not fast enough you’ll be pushing up daisies come sundown.

Gamers step into the well-worn boots of Red, a man molded from the same clay as The Man With No Name (Clint Eastwood, for all you gamers who don’t know who I’m talking about), who just happens to have been robbed of his family at a young age by no good desperados.  As a result, Red grows up to be a bounty hunter, seeking out outlaws and doing away with them for money and to satisfy his need for bloody vengeance.  As Red’s story unfolds, we see him become something of a local hero, a contestant in a quick draw competition and the avenging angel of his parent’s real killers.  If this wasn’t enough, the story branches out to include five other characters that you’ll be playing.

Red Dead Revolver, unlike Atari’s flawed first-person shooter Dead Man’s Hand, is a third-person action game with a variety of gameplay features.  You’ll be able to move around the environment freely as you want, but the heart of the game is its gunfights and here’s where the game could get a little iffy.  Red draws his revolver with the left trigger and you have to hold it in order to fire it.  Quickly moving the right analog stick, a reticule pops up, which you can move in order to make more direct and lethal body shots.  It’s tricky, yes, but thanks to the tutorials at the beginning of the game, you’ll get the hang of it.  This actually isn’t at all as bad as it sounds since Red can switch weapons on the fly and take cover just as good as Bond does in James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing. 

It wouldn’t be a Western without showdowns and in this game you can expect a few gunslingers calling you out in the middle of the street.  Duels are handled differently than the slow-motion Max Payne-styled targeting feature known as Dead Eye (think of it as a less stylish Bullet Time).  There are four phases to a duel (e.g. grab, draw, lock and fire) and pulling it off successfully required plenty of patience and practice.  Get it right and you’ll be in for a rare treat since you have total control over where you’re going to shoot your opponent.  Still, this isn’t an easy feat to get right since you’ll go up against some pretty fast gunslingers later on in the game.

As I mentioned before, Red isn’t the only character you’ll be playing.  Our silent gunslinger meets up with a motley crew of interesting characters like Jack Swift, Annie Stokes, Diego, Shadow Wolf and the Buffalo Soldier.  Each character brings something new to the game and each has his or her own style of fighting as well as weapons of choice.  Annie, for example, is a great shot with her owl rifle while Shadow Wolf is deadly thanks to his flaming arrows.  And what western isn’t complete without horseback riding (and shooting) and climbing up on a moving train?  There’s also an assortment of classic western weapons you can purchase (you make big buck by bringing back dead outlaws at the end of each level) and there are plenty of things to unlock in this game.

The game also seems to forget about story altogether to concentrate on its many action sequences.  Those gamers expecting to be absorbed in a cool story of revenge will be a bit disappointed but those looking for loads of really thrilling action-packed events will find enough to satisfy.  There’s a level where Red is attempting to take control of a train hijacked by bandits so he’ll be attempting to make his way to the engineer while shooting bandits and jumping passing barriers.  Then again we find Red in a quick draw competition against the fast-as-lightening Mister Kelly and an assortment of other gunslingers.  This is definitely not a boring game.

Red Dead Revolver also offers a multiplayer mode that’s actually a lot of fun.  Up to four players can take each another on in Bounty Hunter, Sundown, High Noon and the Xbox exclusive multiplayer mode Coliseum. The action is split-screen and loads of fun thanks to the assortment of weapons and characters (the majority of which you unlock in the game’s Story mode).  Alas, there is no Xbox Live fun and this is odd since the game does allow you to log on and contact your friends on your list.  Still, you can’t go wrong with the multiplayer action in this game.

Visually, Red Dead Revolver lacks that Xbox graphical polish that would have made this a really stunning game.  The environments are nicely detailed to authenticity and the towns and interiors are just wonderful.  Yet it’s the characters that really don’t shine as bright as it should since nobody really moves naturally nor have a natural-looking face. You’ll also run into several bad guys that look like clones of one another.  Red himself looks great from afar but up close during cut scenes he lacks the facial details that go with his gritty voice.  Still, there are plenty of great effects in the game, most notably the gunfire and the blood.

The sound, on the other hand, fairs a lot better than the visuals and offers up a killer soundtrack, decent enough voice acting and perfect sound effects.  We’ll start with the score that borrows its musical inspiration from classic spaghetti westerns that made Clint Eastwood famous.  The score works perfectly in setting the right mood for a game filled to the brim with action sequences and cool gunslinger showdowns.  The voice acting is also decent and mostly everyone sounds the way you’d expect him or her to sound in this game.  And to top it all off, the sound effects bring with it the authentic sounds of old revolvers and rifle shots.  This is good stuff, all right.

Red Dead Revolver is a decent action western with a lot of heart and plenty of action so its few flaws can be forgivable.  Yes I wish the game ran more smoothly and boy did I wish that Rockstar had cleaned up its visuals, but you have to love a game that keeps you on your toes and tries to offer fresh new features to each level.  Plus the game have some pretty fun multiplayer modes to tear through with your friends.  If you’re looking for an entertaining Western, forget Dead Man’s Hand and turn your attention to Red Dead Revolver. 

Gameplay: 7.2
Red has plenty of tricks up his sleeve and he implements them throughout the game . . . only not as smoothly as we all want.  The Dead Eye feature is great so expect a lot of cool gun tricks during intense gunfights.  Duels are also great, although they certainly require an abundance of patience and even more practice.  The game also seems to place little emphasis on story so don’t expect much of one in the game’s main Story mode.

Graphics: 7.5
Red Dead Revolver isn’t the prettiest of games and this is something of a tragedy since Rockstar has a lineup of visually pleasing games.  This is not to say that the graphics completely suck since the environments (hell, even the main menu) look authentic to the time period.  Each location has enough detail and charm to work well; it’s just the characters that don’t look as impressive.  The facial features, for instance, needed lots of work.

Sound: 8.0
The Sergio Leone-inspired music is an audible treat and is even more amazing during duels or showdowns in some dusty old town.  As far as the voice acting is concerned, Red has this gritty tone that will surely remind you of Clint while the assortment of characters you come across are actually pretty good.  Its the sound effects that really win this one and while the sounds of Red spinning the cylinder of his revolver, nothing sounds better than the sound of spurs jingling as you step out to face your enemies.  Yee Haw this is good stuff.

Difficulty: Medium
Story mode seems to push story aside to keep the action going and this might suit those that already know where the predictable story is headed anyway.  There are many challenging moments in this game that will have you dying faster than a bug smacking into the windshield of a moving car and the fact that there is no save points during a level, you’ll be replaying a lot the much harder moments.  Duels, especially the more advanced ones, will also provide a lot of challenge so expect to die a lot in this game.

Concept: 7.5
You have to love a game with plenty of treats to unlock and Red Dead Revolver allows you to unlock them by completing a level (score high and you get weapon upgrades as well as extras used in the game’s multiplayer mode) or purchasing them with the bounties you’ve collected.  Gamers will also enjoy playing as five other characters and (my personal favorite) riding on horseback to catch a moving train.  Complete the game once and you unlock Bounty Hunter mode (which is basically Story mode but with a time limit like the New York Minute mode in Max Payne).

Multiplayer: 8.0
So there’s no Xbox Live multiplayer action but the multiplayer modes found here are fun enough to be played with up to four players.  Seen in split-screen fashion, there are four multiplayer modes in all and this is pretty good considering the fact that the Xbox gets Coliseum mode.  Of the bunch, Sundown is the game’s deathmatch mode and High Noon its cool dueling game.  Make no mistake--multiplayer mode is where the intense action is most enjoyable.

Overall: 7.5
Well, gunslingers, Red Dead Revolver isn’t perfect but it’s one of the most entertaining action games set in the Wild West this year.  While the game needed its rough spots smoothed out, it offers enough gameplay variety to keep things interesting.  If you’re in the mood for a Western, give this one a shot . . . it might just surprise you.