Red Dead Redemption

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Epic but adult Western game is definitely not for kids.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Red Dead Redemption is a violent western game with very mature themes, and not suitable for kids or young teens. The action involves frequent gunfights that are both bloody and highly stylized. Players will also hunt and kill wild animals, then skin them with blood spattering the screen. Our hero, an ex-outlaw, is honest and good by design, but players can have him kill civilians (with a penalty in reputation) and take on criminal missions -- including drug running challenges -- if they choose. Tobacco and alcohol use occurs frequently, and their effects are made clear in the game. There is a sex scene in which a woman can be seen naked, and women in saloons are dressed provocatively. Foul language abounds in the dialogue, and players are at risk of being exposed to more should they try the online mode, which offers open voice communication. (Common Sense Media does not recommend online play with open voice communication to children under 12 years of age.)

  • This game glorifies Wild West violence and behavior stereotypical of outlaws of the era. If players stick with the spirit of the narrative, their characters’ aggression will be directed only at villains. But it is possible to take on criminal jobs and even shoot civilians, though there are penalties in the form of a more notorious reputation. Note, too, that while some of the main women in the game are liberal and intelligent, others are heavily sexualized.
  • Our hero is a reformed outlaw who is trying to pay for past crimes -- and save his wife and son, who are being held hostage by unscrupulous lawmen -- by hunting down the bandits he once rode with. He seems intelligent and honest by nature, though players have the option of directing him toward criminal activities. Regardless, he is a hard, violent man who plies his abilities with a gun to make his way through the world.
  • Three levels of difficulty affect the ease with which players can target enemies, helping ensure that players of all skill levels will be able to find their footing in the game fairly quickly. The controls are sometimes complex, but always tight.
  • Gunfights involving rifles, pistols, and slow motion effects occur frequently. Players can also engage in visceral melee fights with knives. Characters are shown hanged and lying dead in ditches. Blood can be seen spurting from wounds and gathering in puddles on the ground. You will see a hung man who is naked with his genitals cut off. Characters yelp in pain when injured. Players can also skin and gut animals they kill in the wild, with blood spattering the screen.
  • The game contains a scene in which a man and woman have sex, with the woman’s breasts clearly visible. Another scene involves women who are about to be raped by bandits, though the crime is stopped before it is committed. Women who seem to be harlots dressed in provocative attire loiter around some buildings. A painting showing the back side of a naked woman hangs in a saloon. A naked man can be seen hanging from a barn, his genitals cut off.Cartoons that are shown at the cinema depict sexual acts.
  • A broad swath of profanity is clearly audible throughout the game. Examples include “s--t,” “f--k,” “bitch,” “damn,” “bastard,” “hell,” and “piss.”
  • Not applicable.
  • Many of the game’s characters smoke and chew tobacco, and an article in a virtual newspaper discusses how frequent smoking can help stave off tuberculosis. Various kinds of liquor are on display in saloons, and the player’s character can order and become drunk on bourbon, which will cause him to stumble about and eventually fall down and pass out. Optional side missions involve couriering hard drugs, including opium.

What's it about?

The decidedly adult-oriented RED DEAD REDEMPTION, developed by the same people who make the Grand Theft Auto games, offers players an extraordinarily large, detailed, and authentic recreation of the Wild West circa 1911. Players take on the role of an ex-outlaw who must hunt down the bandits he once rode with in order to secure the safety of his wife and child, who have been taken hostage by corrupt lawmen. There are countless precursor and side missions for players to lose themselves in along the way, ranging from cattle herding and bronco busting to helping sheriffs round up or eliminate local thieves and murders. Strangers in need of help are everywhere, and there are also some criminal outfits that try to enlist the player’s help. An online mode provides the ability to freely roam the game’s massive world alone or with friends in the form of a posse. Players can also enter traditional deathmatch-style events.


Is it any good?

 

Few games aspire to the sort of scope achieved by Red Dead Redemption. The world players inhabit is breathtaking in its beauty, mind-boggling in its enormity, and almost incomprehensible in its level of authentic detail. Horses animate just like the real thing, clouds create shadows that roll over the landscape, faux newspapers contain complete articles and ads appropriate to the time and place, and characters chat with one another with marvellously authentic accents and dialects.

The things players can do in the game are even more impressive. Whether it’s living off the land by hunting and skinning wild animals, joining an armed posse to go save a homestead, or heading out onto the range to capture and break some wild stallions, there is never a dull moment or a shortage of activities. Adult gamers looking for something meaty, lengthy, and beautiful are in for a treat.

Online interaction: This game supports online play with open voice chat, which means players are free to use harsh language, exchange personal information, and share inappropriate ideas. Common Sense Media does not recommend online play for pre-teens.


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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about the use of violence in this game. Would the game been as fun without the extreme violence, sex, and cussing?

  • Families can also discuss Red Dead Redemption’s depiction of women. Many of the female characters in the game are shallow and appear to be little more than harlots, but a few are given legitimate and even liberal personalities.


This review was written by Chad Sapieha
Adult
May 16, 2011
 
Suprisingly Toned Down
Please Note That This Is Mainly A Content Review And Gives Little Insight Into The Actual Game Itself. I Recommend IGN For A Good Review. Game Highlights: Ok so the setting is pretty basic, it's the wild west. You play as John Marston, a former criminal gang member gone good in order to save his family who have been taken hostage by the men he once used to be in the gang with. It's cliche, but it works. Just like all Rockstar games the story is superb and the line up of characters in fantastic. The lead character is very likeable and you find people throughout the game you love, some you hate, others who are just plain barmy. Aside from the missions is, of curse, the free roam. you can wander around a HUGE map, full of quests, people to save, bars, poker, shops, realistic towns and loads more. It's heavily realistic, and great fun, however this is mainly a content review so I recommend IGN if you want a proper game review. Content: There are so many reviews on here full of rubbish, and even the Common Sense Media write up was poor. Here's what the game REALLY contains: Violence: Not a big deal, this is jsut like every other shooter, ther eisn't much blood, no decapitation, jsut shooting. Normal really. Language: Ah, I can't believe the reviews AND Common Sense missed out a big chunk in the language part. Yes the game contains some f-bombs dropped, not too frequent, yet not infrequent. It also contains lower classed language (example: s**t), however what other people missed as well as Common Sense is that the game also contains a couple of uses of VERY Strong language (example: c**t). It's only a couple of uses in just ONE scene, however it is used. The scene, however, can be skipped. Sex: There is one sex scene that includes a man an woman on a table. the womans breasts are clearly visible. The scene lasts 5 seconds and can be skipped. There are also prostitutes who walk around towns, asking you if you would like some "fun", however it is impossible to take part in any sexual activity. Verict: This game is suprisingly toned down for a Rockstar game and I personally think that due to the fact that the swearing/sexual scenes can be skipped, as well as the fact that the rest of the game isn't nearly that bad, then 14-15 was a good age.

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Parent of 16 year old
July 1, 2010
 
all poosible worries can be turned off in the main menu
this game instsantly goes from a M rated game to a T rated game because you can turn all the bad stuff off and other than that the violence really isnt that bad at all

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Parent
January 31, 2011
 
My kids love the game
My kids love the game i have a 10 year old and a thirteen year old and they both know all the swears and you can turn off the bad cut scenes so this game is good

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Teen, 17 years old
April 24, 2011
 
Common sense?
Not for kids? Really? I'm sure if you want your parents to hate you and have them grow up a sad, lonely life you won't let them play this. Red Dead is phenomenal. Yes, there is sex. Yes, there is violence. No, that doesn't mean kids should not be allowed to play it. The breasts are there for a split-second, (and by now, if your kid is about 13, I'm sure he's seen them before.) The story is great, and I'm sure kids 10 and up can find great use with this game. Anyone that thinks otherwise has no 'common sense.'

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Kid, 12 years old
January 1, 2011
 
Violent older kid game.
Red Dead Redemption is a great game. It is not as bad as Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare, but is is still very violent. There is a awful gunfight at a farm were you see a man hanging with his wee cut off. Two guys try to rape a woman, but it does not happen. You can be a bad guy or a good guy. There are many random people walking around, and if you are a bad guy you can shoot the peeps. If you are a good guy than you don't shoot them. There is a saloon where gals walk around in strange outfits. There is plenty of sex too. Some guys get really drunk at the bar and attack lady's for no reason. You can stop them though, but if you don't you might just walk by a bloody female corpse. Some of the lady's in the saloons or bar say stuff when you or another man walk buy like: "A man like you needs woman like me", and "Do you a have a little time to spare on the table with me". Also plenty of drugs.

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Teen, 17 years old
May 20, 2010
 
The sexual situations are not as big of a problem as it may seem.
Red Dead Redemption is a great game and the sexual situations are not that large of a problem. As long as you explain to your child that it is wrong to objectify women, it also helps that the player cannot chose to engage in any sexual acts. The main character even mentions that he is a married man and, "this aint' his thing no more" when confronted by a scantily dressed woman in a bar.

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Parent of 13 and 19 year old
May 31, 2010
 
Good for any kid who understands that the main character is a wrong-doer
Honestly this game is intended to be fun, not to send bad messeges. Most of the people who just say that kids of a certain age shouldn't play a game just lump all kids based on age group. parents have to realize that kids can be mature enough before they are adults. I have an 11 year old who plays this game, and i will admit, it is raunchy and violent, BUT he understands that it is just a game, and shouldn't be taken literaly. furthermore it actually is a VERY acurate depiction of the old west (I checked)

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Teen, 14 years old
June 22, 2010
 
I positively love this game and think it is definitely the best game of the entire year by far. It's an epic, free roam game and can be funny or suspenseful at times. It is definitely not for kids due to a strong sex scene, nudity, extreme profanity, and nonstop intense graphic violence, and even some drug use where a man injects numerous amounts of cocaine into himself, but this is during 1911 when they just found out that cocaine was bad for you. Great game overall.

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Teen, 15 years old
August 13, 2010
 
For everyone to experience
I love this game finished it and still lets you play after you finished it. The sex scene does have nudity you CANNOT turn off the nudity but the sex scene is in "The Gates Of El Perdiso" I didnt even watch it but just at the touch of the A button or x button for Ps3 the cutscene will just disapear. Other than that great game and very educational and pushes the player to do challenges for rewards or treasure hunting and you learn about horses like hungerian half breds and tells you how the government was in the wild west and thats a game all on its own luckily you if you have ps3 network or xbox live you get basicly a second game that doesnt have nudity no story line and still lets you hunt do challenges play with friends unlock guns characters mounts and is great if you dont want your child to see or hear any harmful things and ALSO conversations can get pretty colerful on multiplayer so just talk with your friends or people you really KNOW a game for anyone to experience (i didnt even watch the bad cutscene)

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Parent of 15 year old
July 26, 2010
 
Great mature teenagers
This is a great game for teens 13+. My only concern with the game is the sexual content, which my son showed me can easily skipped by pressing a single button. If you're worried about the languadge, then dont be this can easily turned off just as easy as it was to skip the nudity scene. As long as you think your teen is mature enough for it, it would be a great game for them.

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This review was written by Chad Sapieha
Platforms:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Available online?Available online
Genre:Action/Adventure
Developer:Rockstar Games
Release date:May 18, 2010
Price:$59.99
ESRB rating:M for Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs

This review was written by Chad Sapieha

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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