Originally Posted by Playstation The Official Magazine, May 2010 Lord of the Rings War in the North cover:
"Seriously, who'd have thought that something as dry as a game lobby could be exciting? Leave it to Rockstar to prove us all wrong. The Grand Theft Auto developer recently unveiled the oft rumoured but never confirmed, multiplayer portion of its next open-world saga, Red Dead Redemption -- and the lobby might be the game's most exciting element. Why? Because it's practically a Wild West MMORPG.
The lobby is a fully playable version of the entire game world that's populated with both random CPU characters and live gamers -- though the numbers will never approach World of Warcraft levels. In our visit, we created a "posse" with friends and roamed freely about the map, engaging in activities from hunting wild animals to hunting other gamers. There are even ad hoc missions (like besieging a desert ranch filled with bandits) that feel a lot like raids. Whether running from the sheriff or shooting wildlife in the desert, everything we do can net us experience points which are used to customize our appearance and upgrade our horse, weapons, and "title". There are also new multiplayer modes to unlock like the standard 16-player deathmatch and a team-based "capture the bag" (both of which start with a spectacular face-to-face quick-draw duel). But. to be honest, we didn't spend a lot of time with those other modes, because we couldn't pry ourselves away from the lobby!"
Picture 1: Two players on a horse-drawn carriage. "The lobby is like a limit-free version of GTA IV's free roam mode set against a brilliantly atmospheric Wild West backdrop."
Picture 2: Player as Sheriff, points gun at camera; another player waits to shot him in the back. "Once we joined a party-- er, "posse" -- we were in constant communication with teammates."
Picture 3: 3 on 5 Gunfight near the wreckage of an abandoned church in the desert. "Anyone can travel to any point on the map (including building interiors), regardless of the location of lobby visitors.