While the original Red Dead Redemption was a dark, raw, often toe-curlingly brutal experience, compilation expansion Undead Nightmare is a light-hearted take on Rockstars Wild West swashbuckling, but without sacrificing the games Hollywood-style production values or stellar storytelling.
Based in the aftermath of a zombie infestation, Undead Nightmare sees hero John Marston crossing the same dusty landscapes he explored in the original game. This time, though, its crawling with reanimated corpses, zombie animals and panicking cowpokes trying to protect their homesteads. New weapons such as holy water, zombie bait and a blunderbuss you can load with severed body parts add extra energy to the combat, while fantasy rides based on the Four Horses of the Apocalypse make the exploration more fun and lively, making this an outrageous take on life in Americas Old West.
On the downside, battling the shuffling horde doesnt offer the same level of challenge as Red Dead Redemptions gun totin, horse ridin cowboys, and its hard to resist creeping close to the undead monstrosities and picking them off with a cheap headshot rather than using your sharp-shooting skills to brain marauders from afar. The missions, although tremendous fun, also lack the punch and variety of the original game, and as the plot isnt as compelling as Redemptions bloody tale of revenge, it wont keep you as intensely gripped until the end credits roll. But for the budget asking price, this is one of the most original console zombie games around and huge fun from unexpected start to blood-soaked conclusion.
And if that's not enough, the boxed copy comes bundled with the previous DLC multiplayer packs, Liars & Cheats and Legends & Killers, making it brilliant value too.