Luckily there are a few releases that drop gamers into a Wild West setting, and Rockstar has just released one of the better ones. Red Dead Revolver puts players in the role of Red, a gunslinger whose parents were killed while he was still young. Now older, Red is on a quest to find those who murdered his family and earn a little money along the way as a bounty hunter. Throughout the story other playable characters are introduced, filling out the narrative.

The 27 chapters in Red Dead Revolver are set in pretty much every Wild West setting imaginable, from bar room brawls and stagecoach chases to old mines and Main Street shootouts. Virtually the only thing missing is herding cattle through a mountain pass. Even duels make an appearance periodically through the game. Each environment is quite detailed and portrays the brown, dusty setting well. Characters are also well kitted out, although they can appear quite blocky even in the cut-scenes.

Red Dead Revolver does not rely just on nostalgia for the pioneering days to get by. The gameplay is a lot of fun, and quite challenging. Much of the game involves various shootouts with groups of bandits. Most of these occur around natural objects or in buildings so learning to take cover is important. More often than not rushing into an area will result in dying and having to restart the level. Instead a more measured approach from behind objects is more rewarding. It is these types of gunfights that we enjoyed the most.

The types that weren't so satisfying were out in the open with little cover available, or where the enemy rushed about more so that taking cover could often lead to a bandit sneaking up from behind. These fights unfortunately degenerated into having the player strafe left and right while firing, and counting on not being hit to pass the level. Stodgy AI does not help the game either with most opponents standing out in the open while firing, or rushing up to the player to be shot. Many opponents have good aim though even when acting stupidly, and this is where the challenge arises.

Unfortunately the game is rather linear. It would have been nice to see some sort of exploration or choice of missions in the game. The scope of the Wild West offers a lot of scope for a more open style game, and we found this a little limiting. Also rather limiting are most of the missions, which are fairly linear and trade adventure for action to the point where each level almost feels like a Wild West deathmatch map. The scenery changes but the overall game stays the same.

The Xbox controls for Red Dead Revolver, while initially looking rather difficult, feel quite natural after a short time. The main controls other than movement occur using the shoulder triggers, with the left trigger drawing a weapon and the right for firing. There are some occasions where some sort of toggle control for drawing a weapon would have been useful instead of keeping the trigger depressed for much of the level, but this may have just made the control too cumbersome. The face buttons control the other movements, such as reloading, punching, jumping and taking cover.

Two special moves are also available. Deadeye can be performed in most gunfights and slows the action down Matrix-style, allowing the player to target several shots at once before firing them all off together. Duels appear throughout the game, against one or more opponents. For this just the right thumbstick and the right trigger are used. The thumbstick is used to move the aiming reticule over the opponent's body. This can prove quite difficult as quite a bit of lag has been set up on the reticule, and players will need a fair amount of practice to master this. Regardless, it is quite a neat feature and certainly provides challenge outside the regular game.

One of the highlights of Red Dead Revolver has to be the lively soundtrack. More traditional Wild West tunes have been mixed with more modern sounds to create an infectious aural backdrop to the main action. We would normally complain about the lack of a custom soundtrack feature on the Xbox, but in a game with music this good it would just be a wasted feature. Voice acting on the whole is pretty good, with quite a large cast of actors for this action-oriented title.

Red Dead Revolver is a reasonably long adventure, especially once restarts are factored in. In addition to the main story players can unlock a variety of special Showdown stages, for both single and multiplayer action. Once the main Story mode is completed there is still a bit to do, with two extra modes being opened up as well as the need to complete the normal game with an excellent ranking to unlock all the bonus items. These bonus items can range from extra health and weapons through to new characters and levels for the Showdown games.