Red Dead Redemption: Gameplay Footage Revealed

We’ll be honest; we were going to tell you how impressive our latest demo of Red Dead Redemption played out with hundreds of words. We were going to explain how the chaotic adventures of John Marston were shaping up very nicely indeed and explain how the Wanted missions work.

But at the 11th hour, Rockstar delivered this epic video of the first in-game footage of Red Dead Redemption and suddenly our words became surplus to requirements. Arse.

So here for your visual pleasure is the debut gameplay action from Rockstar’s soon-to-be-a-classic, Red Dead Redemption. And because we couldn't bear to strangle all our words, below it is a handy list of things we’ve seen that aren’t shown in the trailer. Enjoy.

- You can ride the donkeys as well as horses. Think of them as the equivalent of GTAIV’s mopeds.

- If a passing gringo manages to horse-jack John Marston, you can whistle your steed and it will buck them out of the saddle and return to you.

- The three areas that make up Red Dead Redemption’s universe are called New Austin, Nuevo Parasio and West Elizabeth. Each has a very different feel and look to them. Oh, and it’s bigger than GTAIV’s Liberty City.

- Campsite’s act as save points. You can upgrade these with better tents and more. Sadly, not with gas-powered BBQs or portable TVs.

- Your Wanted level is similar to GTAs. Cause too much damage and deaths and posses will form to hunt you down. You then have to escape their field of view by galloping away or gunning the chasing pack down.

- You can pay off the bounty on your head by visiting a sheriff’s office with the required cash. There’s also a chance to earn a pardon letter by doing good deeds to balance your killing spree.

- There are close quarters mega-kills. See 2:58 in the trailer for an example. In our demo, we see John stick a rifle under a foe’s chin, squeeze the trigger and dispatch of him in a pulpy fountain of blood.

In summary, Red Dead Redemption is shaping up very nicely indeed and we can't wait to get our hands on it as soon as possible. Check out the new screens here. Still to come: a hands-on, the multiplayer modes and the inevitable Super Review.