To Dream of an Undead Nightmare

To create an entirely new campaign wrapped in the utility of a DLC is a daunting task, even for an astounding studio like Rockstar.  Creating a living, breathing world of monsters that delivers one of the best, if not the best, stories from an expansion is even more difficult, but Rockstar’s done it with the stand-alone zombie western Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare.

When first entering Undead Nightmare, I was dropped-off exactly at the midpoint of the original Red Dead Redemption game, enjoying the easy life set for me from the first game.  Though to know what happened before is helpful in grasping some of the relationships the characters have with each other, Rockstar delivers enough ambiguity to keep the relative histories vague for new players, while retaining the entertaining nostalgia veteran players have from the first game.  So armed with this inside knowledge, I begin.

Immediately, the game is filled with hair-raising action, as John Marston (the protagonist of RDRUM) battles his friends and family in his nightwear.  To uncover why his loved ones are attempting to maul him, he sets off to find associates from his past for a cure.  However, it is soon discovered that the undead are stampeding (ok, ‘shambling’) all over the western frontier.  This began a long and beautifully crafted campaign for my next 10 or so hours.

Initially, the world is quite unforgiving.  Hordes of undead soak ammo like sponges to water.  I found myself madly fleeing through the crowds to snag a bullet or 2 from foes finally laid to rest, all the while kiting a mob behind me.  Many times I got surrounded, eaten and beaten to a pulp in mere seconds of melee.  Even after more powerful and efficient guns are found late-game, with ammunition no longer a major crutch of play, it was easy to become stunned into bloody submission by being pulled off my horse, run-over by bullish zombies, and utterly engulfed in a throng of putrid, violent limbs.  Certain perks and steeds help Marston on his way, but no matter the unique brutality of some weapons exclusive to RDRUM, zombies don’t care if their buddies vaporize next to them, as long as the player ends as the main course.

 Galloping through New Austin, I was exposed to many branching theories as to why the world was in chaos.  The uniqueness of the ‘why’ Armageddon’s happening really speaks to Rockstar’s insight into the disorganization that may occur in society, and lends to a believable backdrop of the stereotypical zombie apocalypse scenarios modern culture holds.  Included are some tragically comedic breaks in the pressure of the plague, but those may be Undead Nightmare’s weakest points.  Some of the ‘humor’ is over-done in a way that almost caused me to feel bored, or made it apparent that the situation was beyond ridiculous.  There are points in the game where John Marston could easily save those he knows from undead consumption, but chooses not too; instead, neither ending their suffering before they die, or ending their damnation as undead.  This was not a flavor I am used to from Red Dead Redemption, thus is the only real deviation from the norm that partially subtracts from the game’s experience.

Overall, this one-disk, stand-alone game was truly a blast to play.  Having barreled through 100% completion, I feel that the West has been won, despite the hocus-pocus dealings of its inhabitants.  I can’t say that there is a plethora of stuff to do after completing the main story, but the things to do won’t make you feel worse toward the game in any way.  And heck, it is always fun to expunge zombies with explosive cannons!  So, especially concerning that this holiday season is coming up, I suggest nabbing this good game for no more than $15, even if the parent game, Red Dead Redemption, hasn’t been played (though, if it hasn’t, GO OUT AND PLAY IT NOW!!!).

But, before I go, here is something new I am going to try after all posts from now on: my ‘critique!’  Let me know how if this works, and take care.

• + Use of zombies plays to cultural stereotypes, instead of trying to hide the fact of how cliché it is.
• + A model of how to construct an apocalypse in history usually reserved for modern times.
• + Varied, one-of-a-kind weapons with quite pleasing effects of destruction.
• + Nostalgic enough for familiar players; ambiguous enough for new players.
• - Not much to do after the story is completed.
• A fix: Include an exclusive end-game monster or series of clean-up quests to keep the player engaged.
• - Overused, sometimes misplaced, humor situations that seem unrelated to the fiction of the world.
• A fix: Lend some of the classic RDR investment by the player into the cut scenes, so as to keep the gamer concerned, even if not providing as much tension.