DLC with some braaaiiiiins
Much of the downloadable content currently released for Redded has been extra fluff for the multiplayer, which for those who are grinding it out on the internet is great. The redded multiplayer experience however isn’t all that engaging, so I was wondering when they were finally give us a fresh crack at the single-player whip. After completing this little foray into John Marston’s own zompocalypse why no-one has really blended the Western and Zombie genre together before now is utterly perplexing. From the atmospheric setting to the weapons the two compliment each marvellously and Undead Nightmare proved a humorous and entertaining distraction over the Halloween period.
Stepping back into the spurred boots of reformed Gunslinger John Marston the game opens with suitably camp B-Movie overtones. From the sonorous voice-over to voyeuristic camera shots and knowing dialogue the game injects some much needed flippancy to the sometimes nihilistic proceedings of the original game. Though a somewhat unlovable protagonist, John Marston is your typical Rockstar hero possessed of a sardonic wit and prone to caustic one-liners. The story missions provide most of the humour in a game that simultaneously satirises and pays homage to the genre.Though it isn’t required of you to have played the original, it adds another level of depth to revisit old friends and see how they come to terms with the sudden return of the recently deceased, “I’d like to say he died doing what he loved. But pa never was one for chewing on dead folks.” Interactions with fellow survivors are lathered with typical Rockstar satire as everyone from British Homosexual Catholics, Federal Government and the Mexicans are blamed for the plague.
Much like how Danny Boyle re-imagined our favourite flesh-eaters as things that run with the speed of Linford Christie rather than shuffle at the pace of a pensioner so has Valve creators of Left 4 Dead canonised the concept of Zombie sub-species. Their various iterations of zombie sub-types, charging fatsoes to skinny spitting things have been somewhat shamelessly been adapted by Rockstar. However they make a welcome addition to the hordes of shopkeepers, whores, miners and cowboys that stumble moronically around the prairie. Dollars have been replaced with bullets in this world gone mad, and they initially come few and far between making the first few hours suitably tense and difficult as you try and pull off difficult headshots. This atmosphere is re-enforced with a haunting re-tooling of the beautiful original score. The environment too reflects the nature of the game as the landscape is swathed with an omnipresent fog until the areas become cleansed of the infestation. The often cute mammal and birdlife has been replaced with flittering bats and savage undead versions of wolves, bears and cougar. These aesthetic and game-play touches though minor nevertheless manage to make the experience feel fresh without the need to make unnecessary overhauls.
Unfortunately the difficult curve is somewhat unbalanced as the initial challenge of fighting off even five zombies gives way as outlandish and powerful weapons such as dynamite and blunderbuss become available. However for those of you after a challenge, or those finding a level too difficult this can be tailored simply by changing the aiming options from casual to expert. Casual instantly locking you onto a zombie cranium while expert will have you wishing that you hadn’t wasted bullets helping out someone else! Unfortunately as before once you finish the game you can no longer play as John Marston, his replacement being less pleasing on the eye and ear. In RDR Redemption it was his whiny son jack whose Johnny Depp style bum-fluff left a lot to be desired, whereas hereyou return as a zombie Marston which after the intial thrill gets a little tiresome. Still a small personal gripe.
From missions involving wiping out the last Sasquatch to lassoing the burning Horse of the Apocalypse, War Undead Nightmare is full of charmingly spooky moments. The experience was a redded vet like myself, but nevertheless the price of 800 Microsoft points or £7 will hardly break the bank. Thought it would make for a shallow single-player experience, Undead Nightmare makes for great DLC.
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