Red Dead Revolver (Xbox) is a stylish third-person action game from the champagne-drinking devs at Rockstar Games. The game is a revenge story where players take on the role of Red as he seeks out the killers of his father. Through 27 chapters you'll shoot pistols and shotguns, ride horses, smash banditos with glass bottles, pierce villains with flaming arrows and much more. While Red takes center stage for the majority of the game, players also get the chance to jump into the boots of a number of different characters both peripheral and vital to the overall plot such as; rifle-wielding rancher, Annie Stoakes, sharp-dressed Englishman, Jack Swift and the evil General Diego.

Most of the levels are straight ahead shootouts with creatively designed baddies but that's not all that's on offer in this dirty, dusty gamescape. Variety is the spice of life in Red Dead Revolver and players will have the chance to try their hands at a wealth of different stages including a jailbreak in a mining cave, an Indian attack while riding a coach filled with dynamite and a hot lead and fisticuffs battle along the topside of a thundering train.

Oh, and duels. Let's not forget the sweaty-browed, slow-motion shootouts (usually mano a mano) where you must quickly flick the right thumbstick back then forward to draw your pistol then click the trigger as you sweep the aiming cursor across your enemy. Time and aim just right and your foe is felled in a satisfying Peckinpahesque puff of gunsmoke, blood and spit.

While the game forces you into a strict linear path, there are opportunities to wander around a small, authentic-feeling frontier town and chat with local townsfolk. Some of these exchanges are quite humorous and worth the conversation time (they help to flesh out the somewhat skinny plot, too).

A number of businesses are available in town, such as the General Store and Gun Shop, and you'll want to purchase any new weapons and upgrades you can afford. A huge range of unlockable multiplayer characters, maps and journal pages come up for sale as well — grab them all. It's a fun diversion and adds to the replay value immensely.

Upon beating the game you'll unlock Hard and Bounty Hunter modes. Hard is just like it sounds, while Bounty Hunter tasks you with achieving specific goals in each chapter; headshots only or kill all the townsfolk within 60 seconds, etc.

It must be noted that all is not perfect in the land of dead revolvers; there were two or three chapters that I found overly difficult and I almost threw my controller at the screen on a few occasions. I found that setting the game aside and coming back later always seemed to clear the air and I found my way past sticky parts (General Diego's bridge escapade I'm looking at you!)

Additionally, the game did feel a bit short, I beat it in something like 10 to 12 hours, but I wouldn't say I felt cheated. I began another play-through the next day, excited to unlock more multiplayer features. Some of the character models are very low res and certainly could have used an infusion of polys or a smathering of bump mapping. All-in-all, minor quibbles.

Multiplayer offers lots of frantic fun, with a good number of small to medium-sized maps and a large roster of characters to play as and against. As always, splitscreen mode is slightly annoying but works fine against a single opponent. Four-player match-ups are to be avoided as it's just too difficult to tell what the heck is going on with the limited view afforded.

Still, you'll have a right good ol' time chasing down your buddy (or AI opponents) and blasting them into oblivion. There are card-based rules attached to the multiplayer Showdown mode (players drop different cards as they are killed and receive varying power-ups and weapons with each victory) but gameplay still boils down to simple Deathmatch. No complaints there really. The characters all move distinctly, spout humorous one-liners and utilize different weapons. Good stuff.

I found my time with Red Dead Revolver to be a revelation. I need more Western-based games pronto! Red Dead Revolver 2 certainly — and even better — an authentic Old West RPG with serious overtones and 100 hours of gameplay. Any takers out there in devland? I can only hope. A massively multiplayer title would be most welcome as well. There are two titles I know of in pre-production stage — Frontier 1859 and Wild West Sim — let's hope they see the light of day.

In summation lil' pardners, Red Dead Revolver is really just a series of arcade-style set-pieces wrapped up in a Western-flavored shell. Fortunately, this concoction is cooked to near-perfection with tasty Wild West spices and loads of flair to spare. Eat up pilgrims!