“	A blazing arcade-style third person game fueled by precision gunplay, Red Dead Revolver is a classic tale of vengeance on the untamed frontier. The addictively fun, innovative combat scheme rewards accurate and ruthless elimination of backwater lowlifes. Ride down outlaws on horseback, fight bloody duels aboard trains, command stagecoaches and more in your quest for justice. Punctuated with dark humor and filled with the elements that make the Wild West so compelling, Red Dead Revolver's story is told through full motion cutscenes and breathtaking in-game visuals.	„
	—Official description [1]

Red Dead Revolver is a 2004 western-themed third-person shooter video game developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games.

Originally a concept developed by Japanese game company Capcom, Revolver was eventually picked up by Rockstar Games. Set in the 1880s, it follows the story of Red Harlow, a bounty hunter on a quest to avenge the deaths of his parents. The gameplay involves arcade-like elements and shooting mechanics, alongside a multiplayer mode called Showdown Mode.

Red Dead Revolver was released to mixed reviews, gaining praise for its western aesthetics, uniqueness among the third-person shooter genre and story, but criticism towards its outdated gameplay elements, repetitive action, and difficult learning curve. Despite the lukewarm reception, Revolver was used as an inspiration for a spiritual successor, 2010's Red Dead Redemption, and became the first installment of the Red Dead series.

It was originally released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox home consoles on May 4, 2004, and was re-released as a PS2 Classic for the PlayStation 3 on December 19, 2012, and the PlayStation 4 on October 11, 2016, alongside a trophy list; the PS4 version is backwards compatible with the PlayStation 5, released on November 8, 2020. In 2021, as part of Xbox’s backwards compatibility, Rockstar Games released Red Dead Revolver on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

Overview

The game's development stalled when it was dropped by Capcom. In 2002, Rockstar Games purchased the game and expanded on it. Changing from a supernatural American western to a Spaghetti Western allowed the developers to add more blood and over-the-top characters.

The lead character appears to be an amalgamation of various Western Clint Eastwood-inspired characters from assorted movies, particularly the Man with No Name character, with whom he shares many similar traits. The game reproduces a "grainy film" effect and uses music from many different Spaghetti Western soundtracks.

Story

In the 1870s, prospectors Nate Harlow (Kurt Rhoads) and Griff (Bert Pence) find gold in an area, called Bear Mountain, and celebrate, by crafting two identical revolvers, each taking one. When Griff is later captured by the Renegade Army, he convinces corrupt army general Javier Diego (Robert Jimenez) to spare his life, by offering to show him where the gold is hidden. Diego instructs his right-hand man, Colonel Daren (Dennis Ostermaier), to kill Nate and his family, in order to conceal the gold's location. Daren and a band of hired guns murder Nate and his Native American wife, Falling Star (Messeret Stroman), but their teenage son, Red (Jason Fuchs), escapes after shooting off Daren's left arm with his father's revolver, the heat from which burns a scorpion-shaped scar into his hand.

Twelve years later, Red (Robert Bogue) has become a ruthless bounty hunter. After slaughtering a gang of outlaws led by Bloody Tom (Christian Tanno), he takes their bodies to the town of Widows Patch, for the bounty on their heads. There, he is ambushed by Ugly Chris (Erick Devine) and his men, who control the town. Red kills the gang with the help of Sheriff O'Grady (Stephen Schnetzer), though the latter is wounded during the shootout. Red takes O'Grady to Brimstone, the nearest town with a doctor, foiling a train robbery on the way there. In Brimstone, Red meets local lawman Sheriff Bartlett (Gene Jones), who offers him several bounties on vicious outlaws plaguing the area. While claiming one such bounty, Red meets and befriends English trick-shootist Jack Swift (Gregg Martin). After being saved by Red, Jack personally guns down his treacherous former employer and his henchmen.

After eliminating all his targets, Red returns to Bartlett, who informs that the wagon train carrying his payment hasn't arrived yet. At the Brimstone Bank, Red overhears local rancher Annie Stoakes (Carrie Keranen), mentioning the gold his parents were killed over. Intrigued, he visits her at her ranch shortly after it is burned on the orders of Governor Griffon as retribution for Annie refusing to sell her property. Red offers to give her all his bounty money once he receives it in exchange for information on Bear Mountain, which Red learns is partially owned by Griffon. Later, at a saloon, Red overhears some thugs talking about Colonel Daren, and winds up killing them in a gunfight when they refuse to tell him more. Bartlett arrests Red, but quickly releases him upon learning he is Nate Harlow's son, and reveals the circumstances surrounding his parents' murder.

Red leaves to exact revenge on Diego, but is captured by Daren after destroying one of their supply trains. While imprisoned and forced to work as a slave mining gold, Red befriends a fellow captive referred to only as the "Buffalo Soldier" (Benton Greene), before the pair are rescued by Red's Native American cousin Shadow Wolf (Chaske Spencer). After escaping from the mines, Red and Shadow Wolf storm Diego's camp and kill Daren, though Shadow Wolf is mortally wounded during the battle. Diego then tries to escape via armored train, but Red chases him down and kills him. Meanwhile, Buffalo Soldier travels to Brimstone to seek Governor Griffon's help, only for the governor to reveal his affiliation with Diego and order Buffalo imprisoned.

Later, Red, Annie, and Jack participate in Brimstone's yearly quick-draw competition, hosted by Griffon and Bartlett. Griffon manipulates the competition to ensure Red is killed, but the latter defeats all his opponents. Enraged, Griffon pulls out his revolver to kill Red himself, but the latter notices the weapon is identical to his own revolver, and deduces Griffon is actually his father's traitorous partner Griff. As Griffon makes his escape, he orders his henchman, Mr. Kelley (Joseph Melendez), to kill Red. After dealing with Kelley, Red storms Griffon's mansion alongside Annie, Jack and Bartlett. After cutting their way through the governor's bodyguards, Jack sacrifices himself to buy Red enough time to kill Griffon in a duel, while Annie finds and rescues Buffalo Soldier. His family finally avenged, Red thanks his allies for their help, and is offered the gold that he is owed by Bartlett, who thanks him for all the good he has done for Brimstone. Honouring his promise to Annie, Red tells the sheriff to give the gold to her and Buffalo Soldier, and leaves with Griffon's revolver, saying that “it was never about the money."

Gameplay

The game allows the purchase of goods at local town stores. Goods range from general store items, which unlock extras, to guns and multiplayer characters. Each individual character has a unique ability which can be activated after so many kills or a certain amount of time. For example, Jack Swift can quickly empty his guns on a single target and Buffalo Soldier can impale men with a flare from a rifle. Guns can be purchased at stores and are chosen before each mission. The game offers a wide selection of shotguns, rifles, thrown weapons, and, of course, revolvers. Weapon repair plays a minor role.

There are four difficulty levels available for the single-player campaign.

Multiplayer

Main article: Showdown Mode

Cheats

Main article: Cheats in Revolver

Contents

• Weapons
• Missions
• Characters

Journal

Main article: Sheriff Bartlett's Journal

Soundtrack

Main article: Red Dead Revolver Soundtrack

History

Development

The game was originally under development at Capcom and had a very different gameplay style. According to Hamish Brown, Capcom's game was "uber-arcade," and "It even had a character who could fly."^[2] Rockstar decided near the end of development of Revolver that an open world environment was "the only way to do this subject matter justice."^[3]

Release History

Red Dead Revolver was released in North America on May 4, 2004, for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox; in PAL regions on June 11, 2004, and on May 26, 2004, in Japan.

On December 19, 2012, Rockstar announced that the game had been added to the PlayStation Store as a downloadable "PS2 Classic" for use on the PS3. Since 2016, the game has been available for purchase on the PlayStation 4.

On November 15th 2021, as part of Xbox’s 20th anniversary, Rockstar released Red Dead Revolver to the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S as part of Xbox’s backwards compatibility with original Xbox games, allowing anyone who owns a Red Dead Revolver Xbox disc or who purchased the game on the marketplace to play the game on a Xbox One or Series X

Reception

The game received mixed to favorable reviews. It holds 75% on GameRankings, and 74 on Metacritic. IGN gave the PS2 version a 7/10 and 7.5/10 to the Xbox version. Reviewers praised the game for its plot and unique style, but the game received criticism for its gameplay, graphics (IGN noticed that the Xbox's version has better graphics than the PS2 version), and sound. 1Up gave the game a "C" score.

Red Dead Revolver was included as one of the titles in the 2010 book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die, alongside its sequel and other games published by Rockstar Games, such as Grand Theft Auto.

Sequel

Rumors of a sequel began to circulate around 2005, when Rockstar showed a video of an Old West horseback rider. This ran on early PlayStation 3 hardware. The project was only known as the "Old West Project".

Although not a direct sequel, on February 4, 2009, Red Dead Redemption was announced for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Said game was released on May 18, 2010, in North America, May 20, 2010, in Australia and May 21, 2010, in Europe.

Setting

Universe

The entire story of Red Dead Revolver takes place in the Revolver Universe, a continuity separate from the Red Dead Redemption canon. However, some events from the previous universe are acknowledged through Easter eggs, like campfire interactions, for fans of the 2004 title.^[4] The world of Red Dead Revolver shares several parallels with the America seen in the Red Dead Redemption series, even featuring its own parodies of historical events that occurred in the Wild West. Red Dead Revolver remains the only title set in this universe, as the franchise was eventually rebooted to explore new narratives and themes within an open-world Western setting.

Place

The exact state in which the events of the game take place is never explicitly mentioned, as characters only refer to the area as The Territory. However, it can be inferred that Brimstone is located somewhere in the Southwest. The Pan-Atlantic Railroad Company is described as the region's western express, with its express line passing a mile outside of Brimstone.^[5] Additionally, General Diego smuggled weapons through a bridge bordering Mexico in the Rio Grande, which aligns with locations like Texas or New Mexico. Further references to the Southwest include the item description of a lasso that once belonged to the frontiersman Longhorn Luke and Billy Cougar referring to himself as "the fastest gun north of the Rio Grande."

Time

The game's chronology remains unclear, as the developers intentionally incorporated influences from various periods of the Old West to create a broader, less time-specific setting. Weapon designs and architectural styles reflect elements from the 1850s through the 1880s. However, certain details suggest a timeframe specifically within the 1880s.

• Sheriff Bartlett notes in his journal that Brimstone's first settlers arrived nearly 40 years ago, suggesting that the town was founded sometime in the 1840s or 1850s.^[6]
• "Young Red appears to be in his early teens based on his voice and appearance in the Prologue, suggesting that he was born sometime in the 1860s.
• Sheriff Bartlett, during the ending cutscene of "Saloon Fight", states that the events of "The Traitor" and "Bull’s Eye" occurred "about 12 years" prior to the main story, placing them in the mid-1870s. Furthermore, his journal confirms his participation in the Battle of Rio Grande, where General Diego annihilated his troop, blew up the bridge, and captured the survivors.
• The Bayonet Rifle and Old Pistol were adopted by the U.S. Army in the 1870s (1873 and 1875, respectively), implying they were manufactured around that time. Both weapons were already in service by the time the Prologue takes place.
• In the mission "The Cemetery", the player can find a tombstone with the name "Black Bart" engraved on it. Black Bart was an actual stagecoach robber of the American Old West who was born in 1829 and later died in 1888 of old age. This could set the game slightly after his death, likely in 1889. Though worth noting that this is merely a reference to a real-life historical figure.
• Based on the postmark on a letter Natalie sent to Mr. Kelley from New Orleans, the town's Battle Royale takes place around May. She is first encountered by the player at the Brimstone Saloon shortly before the competition begins.^[7]
• The map used for the game's fictional "Twelve States" is an actual 1882 edition of a Progress Map of the U.S. Geographical Surveys, confirming that Rockstar San Diego intended the game to be set in the 1880s.^[8]
• Chris Bailey is a Revolver character and level boss featured in Red Dead Redemption: Multiplayer. One of his optional taunts reads, "What do you think this is? The goddamn 1880s?"—a nod to the time period in which Red Dead Revolver is set.^[9]
• Jack Swift, in the Redemption Multiplayer, claims to know the Marquess of Queensberry Rules, a widely accepted code in boxing. These rules were written and published in the late 1860s, suggesting that Swift learned boxing during his youth, possibly while attending Sandhurst.

Due to these factors, it is possible that Red Dead Revolver takes place in May of a specific year in the late 1880s.

Trivia

• Red Dead Revolver is the first Rockstar Games title that allows players to switch protagonists between missions as they progress through the campaign.
• The final missions of Red Dead Revolver bear a striking resemblance to GTA: Vice City, where Tommy Vercetti faces off against Lance Vance in a massive shootout on the rooftop of a mansion.
• In an episode of the American Medical drama House, M.D., Zach apologizes to his girlfriend Colleen for "tricking her into agreeing on a bet" after losing a game of rope jumping. He says "I gave Madison a Red Dead Revolver cheat code so she'd hit your foot with the rope".
• All references to Red Dead Revolver characters and its storyline are one of the many examples of Rockstar Games turning three-dimensional characters into "mythical characters from a bygone era" after the series' reboot with the release of Red Dead Redemption in 2010 - a similar case to that of the Grand Theft Auto franchise.^[10]
  • Red Harlow, Jack Swift, Annie Stoakes and Shadow Wolf being brought back through campfire interactions, along with the dialogue between Jack and John Marston in "John Marston and Son", is an obvious double meaning referencing the fact that the Revolver canon is over and the characters in this universe are complete different entities, who may or may not have existed in the past.
  • Mentions of Grove Street Families in the HD Universe are similar to Red Dead Revolver lore and characters being treated as folklore and legends in the Red Dead Redemption universe.

Gallery

External links

• Capcom's First version of the game
• Capcom's Red Dead Revolver Site
• Official Red Dead Revolver Site
• Red Dead.Net - A1 Fansite for the Red Dead Series

References

Related Content

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