Red Dead Redemption's Undead Nightmare trailer

You know the classic images of the Old West – quick-draw duels in the town squares, cowboys riding into the sunset on a faithful horse, the dead rising from their graves to eat brains.

Actually, even the most lapsed Clint Eastwood fans will have noticed that only two of those are Western standards. And even though Eastwood himself is allergic to horses, it is of course the zombie uprising that’s the odd one out.

We visited Rockstar’s London offices to see what Red Dead Redemption’s New Austin looks like with the undead roaming the plains. Gloomier, thanks to the airborne curse reanimating corpses. First up was a trip to grave robber Seth (who has a docile zombie as a companion in his riverside shack) for some advice. Then it’s on to the nearest graveyard to burn it to the ground.

Easier said than done. Especially with waves of zombies crawling out of the earth and trying to bite you to death. But when they’re taken care of, gloom lifts and the surrounding areas are safe again.

There are new weapons too. Most usefully, a zombie bait you can throw to lure all the zombies into one area and make swift work of them. Though you’ll have to practice your headshots, otherwise it’ll take a lot of work to put them down.

The whole campaign is estimated to last around five or six hours. Not bad for 800 Microsoft points – lots of full price games don’t last that long.

Undead Nightmare is available to download on PSN and Xbox Live from 26 October