Red Dead Redemption Multiplayer

By Simon Parkin Published 1 June, 2010

Tight posse.

There's being down and out in the Wild West, and there's being down and out in the Wild West. John Marston, the protagonist around whom Red Dead Redemption's story revolves, may start the game wounded and homeless, but he is still a man with a purpose, a few friends, a handsome face and, most importantly, a narrative trajectory to climb up and out of poverty.

Conversely, the first time you set hoof in the multiplayer States, your character is an undesirable picked randomly from a clutch of lowly vagabonds, militiamen or Mexicans, your transport a plodding donkey, and your only weapon a rusty six-shooter. There's little doubt that now you are at dusty rock bottom.

But with destitution comes a rare type of freedom. While progressing through the single-player campaign is a case of patiently following the breadcrumb trail of capital letters laid down for you by Dan Houser and the other scriptwriters, here you really are left to your own devices, presented with a clutch of places and tasks to engage in, but with no promise of success beyond that of your own skill and ability. In that sense, Red Dead Redemption's multiplayer is where the game's real open world exists. When playing as John Marston you are only ever free to tell Rockstar's story; here, for the first time, you are free to write your own.

'Red Dead Redemption Multiplayer' Screenshot 1

In a technical achievement that boggles the mind, the game's slow-motion Dead Eye state is present in all multiplayer modes.

Neither approach - the set narrative or the free-form playpen - is wrong, of course. But as one of our concerns with the single-player game was that, in this world of endless horizons, freedom was curiously curtailed, to see the other half of the whole does makes Rockstar's vision seem more balanced and rounded.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to test Red Dead Redemption's multiplayer in the version of the game supplied for our review - hence this revisit. System link was available, but Rockstar's frugal dissemination of carefully protected copies of the game meant there was only one in our possession. Besides, the reality is that there are some things you just can't know until they fully exist. "As hopefully you can appreciate… there are unfortunately a few things that only really rear their heads once the game is on public servers and lots of players are online," wrote Rockstar last week concerning the bugs that have crawled out of their code since the game went live. Well, indeed.

'Red Dead Redemption Multiplayer' Screenshot 2

Abandoned camp fires in Free Roam mode allow you to restore your Dead Eye gauge fully. Otherwise, you'll need to amass kills for the privilege.

Select multiplayer from the main menu screen and you'll be deposited in Free Roam mode, a rock-for-rock replication of the single-player world, albeit one that can be inhabited by up to 16 players. Ostensibly, this acts as a giant lobby leading off to Deathmatches and Capture the Flag games. But there's far more to do here than merely access the other game modes.

It's in Free Roam mode that you can posse up with other players, sending invitations to anyone else on the server to join you and ride together. Once you have some backup, you're in a good position to engage in some of the structured play offered by Free Roam, taking on one of the eight bandit encampments scattered around the map. Here you'll face overwhelming numbers of outlaws as you try to flush them out, blow up their supplies or complete other tasks.

Aside from the loosely-structured play offered by Free Roam mode, you're also free to engage other players in battles around the world in even more loose terms, and it's here that the purely player-driven stories begin to emerge. For example, I engaged in a protracted 20-minute shoot-out with another player with a high wanted level who had climbed onto the roof of a bank, and from that position was terrorising the area. Climbing the side of the building and timing runs between cover in order to inch closer to his position was a taut, exhilarating experience, as memorable as any of the set-pieces laid before John Marston.

In another moment, a friend and I tracked a solitary player high into the snowy mountains, dismounted and found the spaghetti western turned Enemy at the Gates, as we sniped and flanked him from behind trees. At one point my companion, lining up a 20-metre headshot, was attacked from behind by a mountain lion, displeased at our disturbance of his hibernation.

These memorable moments, cultivated in the sandpit of Red Dead Redemption's endlessly compelling world, provide the unique, player-specific talking points largely missing from the set narrative of the single-player game. Only the restrictive 16-player cap grates, as you'll need to make a concerted effort to encounter other players when so few are scattered across such a huge expanse of land. Raise this and Red Dead Redemption's Free Roam mode would feel every inch the MMO.

'Red Dead Redemption Multiplayer' Screenshot 4

The hunting and gathering challenges from the single-player game are present in multiplayer variants, albeit with extra XP rewards.

Clearing bandit camps and tracking and killing other 'wanted' players earns your character experience points, which feed into a Modern Warfare-style ladder of levels and unlocks. As you increase your online level, so you unlock new modes of transport, weapons and avatars. As with Infinity Ward's hugely influential multiplayer structure, there are 50 ranks to climb, along with Prestige-style bonuses if you choose to start again from Level 1 once you reach the top.

While you'll gain handfuls of experience points in Free Roam mode, most levelling will be done in the combative modes proper: Deathmatch, Goldrush (in which you grab bags and return them to your base) and Hold Your Own, a variation on Capture the Flag. These are available for single players or teams and can be accessed at any time simply by hitting the back button and selecting one from a drop down menu.

'Red Dead Redemption Multiplayer' Screenshot 3

In Gold Rush mode it's possible to carry two bags of gold to a resource point at once, but at the risk of vastly reduced speed, leaving you open to attack.

Every competitive match starts with a Mexican stand-off, with the last man standing free to run off and take up a strategic position while the rest of the players respawn. Our fear was that the poor cover mechanic and snap-to-aim system would result in unsatisfying combat, but in reality each competitive mode is tight and rewarding, with thoughtfully-constructed maps (pulled from the main world) with excellent cover and choke points and design that encourages player flow around each.

The only complaint at the moment is that there aren't dedicated rooms for players using Expert Aim mode (which requires the player to track enemies with the analogue stick, rather than simply have the reticule stick to them) so everyone is better off using Casual Aim scheme for an advantage.

But with Rockstar's promise of Expert Aim-only rooms, new modes, maps and an extensive co-op campaign on the horizon, Red Dead Redemption's multiplayer is a triumph, bettering that of GTAIV in almost every regard (aside from breadth). Well-balanced between structured play and free-form playpen, the multiplayer offers a perfect counterpoint to the single-player story.

Picture of Simon.

About Simon Parkin

Simon Parkin is an author and journalist on video games. A regular contributor to Eurogamer since 2005, his work has also appeared in Edge, The Telegraph, Gamasutra and Boing Boing.

Read more articles from Simon by visiting the Simon Parkin archive page.

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Comments (54) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • jonsaan #1 2 years ago

    Great tag line. Very unPC. Well done! See, it's fun huh?

  • KillerMonkey #2 2 years ago

    "Great tag line. Very unPC. Well done! See, it's fun huh?"

    What do you mean with "Very unPC"?

  • LetsGo #3 2 years ago

    Am I the only one who gets stuck on the loading screen when trying to enter free roam?

  • Bradach #4 2 years ago

    good article. Having played the multiplayer i wholeheartedly agree with your comments.

  • djed #5 2 years ago

    Your compassion lined up a 20 meter head shot?

    Wow, the wild west is cruel.
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 13:59

  • hiddenranbir #6 2 years ago

    "At one point my compassion, lining up a 20-metre headshot, was attacked from behind by a mountain lion, displeased at our disturbance of his hibernation."

    Do you mean, 'my companion', or have I missed a beat?


    "Only the restrictive 16-player cap grates"

    I disagree. The fact there is a lot of wilderness is what makes the game world feel authentic. No MMO landscape feels vast or exhilarating when there are dozens of players hoarding around a certain region.
    Edited by 2 at 01/06/10 @ 14:01

  • menage #7 2 years ago

    I just dabbled in the MP, but I'm not convinced yet. I did get the kill a R* trophy on my second try.

    Free roam really is a mess sometimes. Just people shooting whatever.

  • magicpanda #8 2 years ago

    "Am I the only one who gets stuck on the loading screen when trying to enter free roam?"

    You are not alone. During the first few days I had a pretty faultless experience but I've not been able to connect to a multiplayer game for nearly a week now.

  • Oli Verified Reviews Editor, Eurogamer.net #9 2 years ago

    Haha. I have no doubt that Simon Parkin of all men could deliver a compassionate headshot. But I don't think that's what he meant. Apologies for the oversight - fixed.

  • Aeon #10 2 years ago

    Just a correction, there are Expert Aim only matches, they're called Hardcore matches and you unlock them by ranking up.

  • etherfiend #11 2 years ago

    Obviously connected to different sessions than I. Trying to clear out bandit hideouts only to get repeatedly hounded by a large posse or almost obsessive compulsive need by some to repeatedly kill players even when they tried to run or not fight back. When piping up in global chat about this I was swiftly reprimanded by the usual twaddle & smack talk I associate with FPS players, then told to go play on a private session if that was howI felt. Well I would have except in its infinite wisdom Rockstar decided to make most mp achievements public only, so not it isn't like I had a choice if I wanted to get some g's out of it too. Some sort of PvP flag/toggle should at least have been implemented for those such as myself who have little interest in pot-shotting passing players and just want to Free Roam for those challenges.

    Ultimately I found multiplayer a terrible bore and bereft of many things that I enjoyed about the single player. The impending arrival of co-op missions may make me pick up the game again but having dealt with the single player to 100% completion the game now offers very little appeal.

  • Miths #12 2 years ago

    Maybe I should actually give multiplayer a try (at least once I'm through the remaining 50% of singleplayer). GTA4 multiplayer completely failed to get me hooked, and what I've been reading about RDR MP - at least outside of this article - hasn't really managed to spark my interest either, but I guess it's worth checking out.

    Is it true that in free roam the game world is completely devoid of any NPCs outside of those involved in missions? As much as I enjoy the lonely wilderness in RDR, passing NPCs on horses and in coaches on your way between destinations does add a very welcome feeling of life to the game. Just as I'm having a hard time imagining Armadillo as a ghost town.

  • Odessa #13 2 years ago

    I am stuck too in the loading screen, but only if i go fromthe start screen (if i am in singleplayer game its working). And i get an error message while entering Multiplayer: You have network problems, you will be transferred to free roam?!?!?

  • klem578 #14 2 years ago

    Dear Eurogamer you can already play expert aiming-only matches , they unlock at lvl 15.

    Also, like other gentlemen have already mentioned , the public free-roam in this is just a grief-a-thon , sorry but...

    While the Single player in this may well be a 9/10 the MP unfortunately is almost a mess due to bad world-sync (blame lag), glitchy "get stuck in almost every piece of the geometry" affair , shonky aiming speed/mechanics and so on so forth.

    R* along with many other companies have to learn that not every element of the single player translates well into the multiplayer part.

    Again , the single player is sublime so...

  • tossetaz #15 2 years ago

    I'm still busy with the single player wich I love so much!!

    I still need a couple of outfits and bounty missions before I can tick of 100% and head onto the happy hunting grounds but I sure am looking forward too it!

  • tossetaz #16 2 years ago

    I think Simon were referring to expert aim only in public free roam which R* said they are considering adding.

  • geeza2020 #17 2 years ago

    I havent had any glitches or lag in the servers i have played on. The first time i tried to connect to Free Roam it failed and i was sent back to the main menu, but since then i have connected every time. I also quite like having a few less NPC's around, it gives the game more of a lonely feeling, but i will admit that the griefing can be annoying. Although the satisfaction of burying a throwing knife into one of the griefers faces is an excellent feeling :)

  • Zerobob #18 2 years ago

    Amazon, or Royal Mail, finally decided to deliver my copy today. Hugely looking forward to playing this when I get in after work....and probably well into the night.

    Expert aim only rooms aside, if R* managed to up the number of players in multiplayer to 32, even 50 odd, that would really make the multiplayer game. Still, it's good that R* have announced a host of extras for the game already.

  • KillerMonkey #19 2 years ago

    Valid questions are getting negged now? That's great guys, censor that sick filth!

  • Soton4084 #20 2 years ago

    I played multiplayer last night and I have to say, I wasn't that impressed. It says upto 16 players, but I ended up with only one other player on my map who repeated tried killing me. Although to be fair, I did eventually find my way into a small posse and we did a few of the hideouts which were fun. The multiplayer is nowhere near as good as the one in Uncharted 2 though. I shall give it some more time until I fully dismiss it, but at the moment I'm enjoying the single player.

  • afghan_jones #21 2 years ago

    Free roam is highly frustrating if you want to actually do the gang hideouts or the Free Roam achievements as the griefing is nonstop. Would at least like the removal of player positions on the map and radar unless they are local, removal of fast travel and a randomised respawn as currently even if you kill the griefers they just pop right back up. Its a right pain.

  • Stratix #22 2 years ago

    Gonna give it a 9/10 now then?

  • Grievous1976 #23 2 years ago

    MP can be very random at times, some rooms are full whilst others are barren with only 1 or 2 players at best, although riding after them to get my own back after being shot at from afar many times is a laugh especially when they are low in rank. Ha Ha
    First time i tried to get the infamous 1000$ bounty only to be shot in the back by a so called friend who was sat waitng picking us all off one by one. NOT amused!

  • RichyRichh77 #24 2 years ago

    A good opportunity missed in my opinion. I was truly looking forward to the Free Roam element after watching the trailers but felt let down when I actually got online with a group of friends. The posse element was good fun until stumbling across another posse and the simple act of fast travelling to one of the gang hideouts turned into a tiresome tit-for-tat session as 1 or 2 of our group who hadn't ported got constantly shot with opposing posse members camping on spawn points - yawn.

    Accessing Free Roam alone was laughable, catch sight of another player dot on your map and almost without doubt get embroiled in yet another tit-for-tat shoot out. As stated by others I thought there would be a PvP flag or designated PvP areas to prevent this boring, repetitive situation from happening but sadly not.

    Add to that the truly awful lag that makes the Deathmatch shootouts utterly unplayable and I doubt I'll bother again until the co-op DLC is released.

    I also nearly forgot the truly ridiculous friendly fire that means if you're stood too close to a team mate and want to gun down a NPC/opposing team player you start screaming at your screen as your character merrily melees them to death just because they're the closest target even though your aiming well away from them! :(
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 15:45

  • I\'mListening #25 2 years ago

    So are we going to get a 'complete' review now EG?

  • Hog-lumps #26 2 years ago

    @ Aeon Just a correction, there are Expert Aim only matches, they're called Hardcore matches and you unlock them by ranking up.

    Does an expert aim free roam mode unlock? I find I keep getting 'griefed' when I spawn by auto-aim peeps and it's harder to defend oneself with expert aim :(

  • TheJuriel #27 2 years ago

    The lack of Expert mode access right away is such a fuck-you. I haven't bothered enough with the lame auto-targeting to get up to Expert matches yet. And Free Roam without Expert targeting limit is just inane, as anyone you meet can ride-by shoot you the second they see you.

  • TheLittlestHobo #28 2 years ago

    KillerMonkey: Valid questions are getting negged now? That's great guys, censor that sick filth! i

    MrMonkey you must be new in these parts. Folks round here have their own way of doing things. They like what you said they press "+", they don't like what you said they press "-". Now sure I've heard you perfumed city types talk of the proper way of using them buttons; to ignore spam or filter out trolls, whatever that is. But you see our comments-folk 'aint got no use for proper and I suggest If you are of a mind to be wanting to do such things, you just turn around and mosey on back to your high falutin' friends, 'cause we don't take too kindly to folks poking their nose into our business. *Puts hand on gun*

  • TheJuriel #29 2 years ago

    Free Roam's feel is pretty gutted by the low amount of NPCs and wildlife present. It's like walking around a ghost world.

    Where you occasionally meet another soul, who shoots you to get +10 XP.

  • Hog-lumps #30 2 years ago

    @ Thelittlesthobo *Puts hand on gun*

    "Puts paw on hand gun" surely? ;)

  • Whizzo #31 2 years ago

    I just wish that all the free roam achievements had been possible in private games as the chances of getting into a public session without idiots buggering it up is fairly low.

  • Hog-lumps #32 2 years ago

    @ Whizzo

    Unless I'm mistaken, I think you can start a private free roam mode if all you are after are the achievements?

  • Whizzo #33 2 years ago

    You can't get the achievements in a non-public game, which is my point.

  • Drpwnage #34 2 years ago

    Agree with all the MP comments here, was rather looking forward to RDR MP as GTAIV MP was a blast on the more uncoventional game modes. Free roam is fun for 10 mins as you repeatedly shoot your mate's horse in the face, the actual MP game modes are the usual deathmatch / team DM and capture the flag variations, rather dull overall.

    I tried a few of the Free roam tasks, but found it as dull as WoW, wandering around looking for a particular plant / animal for 20 minutes then getting shot in the back the moment you find it.

  • Hog-lumps #35 2 years ago

    ^

    Ah OK, as you were then.

    :)

    Edit: message meant for whizzo
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 16:24

  • Whizzo #36 2 years ago

    A posse holding off the entire Mexican army from El Presidio is excellent fun, everyone should try it at least once.

    You'll believe a man can fly when you hit him with a cannon ball. His horse too.

    The challenges can be completed in private games at least so if you want to do some hunting or finding plants without being shot in the back by some muppet you can start one up and invite some friends along.
    Edited by 2 at 01/06/10 @ 16:27

  • dingo75 #37 2 years ago

    Well I think you can't get achievements in private matches due to people that would exploit that to farm them.
    Like TF2 achievement servers.

  • Hog-lumps #38 2 years ago

    Yeah sorry Dingo75, got confused between achievements and challenges which are 2 seperate things as whizzo points out.

  • butler` #39 2 years ago

    The hefty auto aim mechanic is a blessing and a curse.

  • KillerMonkey #40 2 years ago

    TheLittlestHobo: "MrMonkey you must be new in these parts. Folks round here have their own way of doing things. They like what you said they press "+", they don't like what you said they press "-". Now sure I've heard you perfumed city types talk of the proper way of using them buttons; to ignore spam or filter out trolls, whatever that is. But you see our comments-folk 'aint got no use for proper and I suggest If you are of a mind to be wanting to do such things, you just turn around and mosey on back to your high falutin' friends, 'cause we don't take too kindly to folks poking their nose into our business. *Puts hand on gun*"

    This gets a good, hearty "lol" from me.

    It's the sad truth, though. Often, instead of posting a reply discussing what people disagree on, it's all negnegnegneg.
    Even sadder is that there was nothing to disagree with in my post. It was a simple, honest question. :S

  • iago71 #41 2 years ago

    I havent played in any public games yet but have had some really great fun playing in private matches.

    I think I'll have a look and see what all this reported mayhem is like!

  • pancho #42 2 years ago

    @zandergrin

    There are snowy mountains in single player too!

  • mukki #43 2 years ago

    haha you just had to sure that tag line!

    :)

  • alan_stealth #44 2 years ago

    I think its a joke that a site like this, in desperate aim to get a review out in league with all the other websites, and before the game hit the shops - would push out "half a game" review.
    The online play is a massive part of the game, and extends its playability, so how Eurogamer in all its wisdom could just review the singleplayer.
    Is it any wonder that your review score came in so "controversially" lower than any other site.
    It's pathetic.
    I used to come here because I was sick of Gamespot's americanised attitude, but this place is no better.

    For the record, and I think this goes for many of us, I'd rather read a review of a full game, judged on its full merits - even on the day of release, rather than half assed review a few days early.
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 20:56

  • alan_stealth #45 2 years ago

    And for all the people whining about how chaotic it is sometimes.
    I think that adds to the whole Wild Wild West experience.
    I've been in rooms where everyones capping everyone, and when everyones just doing there own thing.
    It is annoying to get picked on by a band of players, but just switch up rooms if its that bad.
    I wouldn't say its a fault of the game.
    People are idiots wherever you go, and sometimes being that idiot is just as much fun.

    And for the record, I've never had lag, glitch or anything like that, and I've put 20+ hours into multiplayer, possibly more.
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 20:57

  • MrsPacMan #46 2 years ago

    Alan_stealth is that idiot

    And... it's a shame about the PS3 version
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 21:48

  • Davemanz #47 2 years ago

    There's no slow-motion on the Dead Eye in multiplayer. And there have been expert-aiming only matches from the start.

  • TheJuriel #48 2 years ago

    Hahah, oh, Alan_stealth... what a big kidder.

    Online play is a badly-planned little extra thrown in for kicks, not anything critical to the title in the form it exists now.

    Don't be butthurt over the game scoring 'only' an 8. Having played the game, it's about an accurate score - it's a good game, but also tiredly sticking to the usual GTA format.

  • Harmonica #49 2 years ago

    It's done the GTA format better than anything so far, though.

  • magicpanda #50 2 years ago

    If anyone is having problems and unable to connect to multiplayer I may have a fix.

    In my case I would connect to multiplayer, get kicked from the first free roam and end up on an endless loading screen.

    I just deleted my multiplayer save game and now it works flawlessly. The downside is I lost all my multi player progress and ranks.
    It might also be relevant that I ran a connection test from my Xbox but my money is on the save game delete being the fix.

    Gang shootouts are epic.

  • Retro_ #51 2 years ago

    Don't forget that you can Vote to kick people out of the game, if that person gets enough votes, the game boots them. From the multiplayer list, click against the persons name and 'vote to kick' or something like that, tbh I've only voted one person out who was a right pain. If you are in a posse ( a tight one ;) ) just ask the others to do the same.

  • Harmonica #52 2 years ago

    Yeah, and people use it in deathmatch games to boot the other team out :/

  • actionfitz #53 2 years ago

    Yeah i've been stuck on the loading screen to Free roam every time ive tried it this week.
    hope they fix it before I run out of single player.

  • Harmonica #54 2 years ago

    It's not a problem at their end, probably. Free roam has been working since release fine for most people.

    Clear your cache.