Exclusive interview: Red Dead Revolver

Tell us about the different animals you can ride in the game... Is there a difference between the way in which, say, a horse and a bison will behave when you ride them?
Well, the horse is faster and more manoeuvrable. When you are on a bison or bull, you feel more out-of-control and it's a little harder to target but it's much easier to run people down.

Can you tell us about the special abilities that each of the six characters have?
I'll let you discover most of them on your own but Shadow Wolf's fire arrow and General Diego's artillery-marker flare rifle are two of my faves.

How does the gameplay differ between the different levels and characters?
Every level was hand-built with nothing re-used from level to level, so each is a unique experience. There are lots of straight-up gunfights, there are sniper duels, protection missions, destruction missions, interceptions, one-on-one boss battles, cooperative combat, duelling contests, bounty hunting and more

.

Tell us about some of the upgrades and bonus items you can buy/unlock.
Well, for example, most of the weapons can be upgraded. You can upgrade your health and Dead Eye power, buy thrown weapons (like fire bottles, poison bottles, Bowie knives and dynamite), unlock over 40 different multiplayer characters, access over a dozen multiplayer levels and open up info in a journal packed with artwork and biographical information on the characters, story and weapons.

The control system is quite interesting in that the controls differ depending on whether your gun is holstered or not - how did you come up with this system and why do you think it works?
We did it for two reasons: first to give more options to the player on how they interact with the environment. Second, we found that what people want to do when they are in the heat of combat is a little different than what they want to do when their guns are holstered. Ultimately, it allowed us to add some additional gameplay elements that we couldn't have otherwise.

How big a part does the storyline play?
A huge part. It puts the actions of the player characters in a context that allows them to have deeper, more emotional experience than just mashing a button until the credits play. Just like the music, the graphics and the sound effects, it creates a different world that players can lose themselves in.

What aspects of the game give it depth and replay value?
We give the player so many options on how they want to fight - close-up, long distance, using cover, using Dead Eye, duelling. It's easy to just get in there and shoot people but it takes time to master the various techniques we offer the player. Add to that the hundreds of unlockables and the multiplayer modes and I think people are going to be very happy with the amount of gameplay they get.

What's your personal favourite aspect of Red Dead Revolver?
The fact that, despite having worked on the game for several years, I can still fire it up, get lost in it and even discover new ways to play and have fun.

Red Dead Revolver will be released for PS2 and Xbox on 28 May