Red Dead Redemption - Marston: Agent Of The Man

I have finally gotten around to actually doing some missions in the Blackwater area. Holy crap that was annoying. I swear I ran around doing everything else except story missions. I even got Marston drunk at the bar and that’s one of those time killer things I rarely do.

It was a nice change of pace here in Blackwater. When I was in Armadillo I spent all of my time preparing for an assault on Ft. Mercer. When I was in Mexico I spent the entire time trying to find Williamson and Javier. Here in Blackwater you start off pretty hot on the tail of Dutch. You actually encounter the guy on your (potentially) second mission. This is off to a great start.

You’re introduced to Agent Edgar Ross and his partner Archer Fordham. Ross is the Marshall who pulled Marston in to this whole mess. Ross is promising to wipe Marston’s slate clean if he brings his old gang to justice. It’s a noble goal but Ross is an ass with how he goes about it. It all starts with the kidnapping of Marston’s family giving Ross leverage over Marston. Marston is fiercely loyal to those who are true to him. That’s why he helped Reyes and killed de Santa. This is also why Marston has no problem hunting down his old gang. They betrayed him and left him to die. He feels that he owes them nothing. Naturally Marston is very loyal to his family and he will stop at nothing to get them back.

Now Marston is a criminal, let’s keep that in mind.  No matter the noble goals he still killed people, took their money, and ruined many lives. The Marshalls have all right to come after Marston, but do they need to be such jerks about it? It does keep Marston as one of the most likeable characters in the game though.

On this first mission you’re out attacking a shipwrecked ferry which is believed to be the hideout of Dutch. No wasting time with this guy, that makes me happy. Well this first mission is a trap and your goal is to get you Native American informant out alive. Missions are getting harder, but only by throwing more men at you. I can still stand in a clearing and kill 5-6 people with no concerns, even with a Native American over my shoulder.

After the mission you’re introduced to one Harold McDougal. That name sounds really familiar but I just can’t place it. He’s another mission giver, but it was late at night and I had to wait for morning because I wanted to take Agent Ross missions.

Instead I did a Stranger mission where I saved some guy who was preaching in favor of prohibition. If you know anything about U.S. history you know how well that turns out. I thought it was funny that at the end of the mission alcohol doubled in price. I hardly ever buy alcohol so that’s was a very empty threat.

I did another Agent Ross mission then. Dutch and his men attacked a bank and Marston gets to save the bank with the help of the Marshalls. This was a very fun mission. I finally got good use of the sniper rifle. I hate that the scope can’t zoom, but it makes sense in the end. Once inside we get to meet Dutch. Now Dutch strikes me as a final bad guy. Escuella was just dumb and Williamson was unimpressive. But Dutch, he comes off as truly dangerous. He also reminds me of Burt Reynolds.

Dutch escapes the bank by shooting his female hostage in the head and you have to chase him down. There’s a massive firefight out in the woods with Dutch’s men, but Dutch is long gone. I really hope Dutch shows up some more before the final fight. It would be nice to get to know one of these bad guys before I take them down.