TGS 2002: Hands-onRed Dead Revolver

Capcom is showing off and updated version of its spaghetti western-styled action game, Red Dead Revolver, at the Tokyo Game Show. The game has a few different scenarios, as well as a training mode and one-on-one multiplayer.

Like Devil May Cry, Red Dead Revolver is definitely shooting for a very stylish presentation. The game is intentionally blurry in a few spots, and oftentimes it feels like you're watching the game through a dirty window. While this doesn't sound particularly like a good thing, in practice it lends a gritty, grimy look to the game that actually works in its favor. The game also makes nice use of dramatic zooming techniques, which zoom your viewpoint up to the action when you draw your revolver and point it at an enemy. Also adding to the graphical effects is a fairly nice use of blood. While most of the world has a dingy gray look to it, the blood, which sprays out of your enemies quite nicely after a head shot, stands out rather sharply.

The game's control and camera leave a little bit to be desired at this point. The camera is very focused on showing you things that are fairly far away, and the aim stick turns your viewpoint rather slowly. As such, it's easy to change direction with the left stick and have no idea what your immediate surroundings are. A camera view that is pulled a little further behind the lead character might be a better choice.

Controlling your cowboy is fairly easy, with the exception of the aforementioned camera confusion. L1 draws your pistol and points it at enemies, while R1 shoots. You can execute a super attack of sorts, called "tough" mode, by holding down R1 and R2. This causes multiple target points to appear on various foes, and hammering away on the trigger will hit all of those points. You can only enter the mode a limited number of times, as it is governed by a meter that slowly refills.

Multiplayer mode splits the screen and puts two-players against each other. The control and action remains mostly the same, though the higher intelligence of a human opponent makes the combat quite a bit more interesting. The framerate appears to remain stable throughout the splitscreen mode.

Red Dead Revolver is scheduled to be released in the US and Japan later on this year. Be sure to check out the new trailer we've posted for a better sense of the game's distinct look and feel.