A unique setting and engaging story show that not all Western games suck.
You start off as John Marston, a man who is sent to kill all his old gang members so he can be allowed to go back to his beloved and child. He's got a big scar on his face, never smiles, and has a second mouth which can reload and shoot something in case the mouth attached to his face didn't do it's job. It was interesting being introduced immediately to the main villain and getting shot by him, then getting magically rescued by a dashing woman he will never bump around with. Seriously, whats the point of making her his dream woman, and yet they will never be together?! Anyway, they introduce you to a lot of things from using a horse to herding cattle to protecting a train from the army. It is a long and dangerous journey in the wild, wild, wild west but John Marston can do the job. Why? Because he's the only person alive who can magically teleport to an area after he dies.
I don't know about you but I found many things taken from GTA IV. Think about it. Marston is a man who is set out to forget his past while doing whatever he can to have a new life. One of his buddies is a fat conman who always somehow gets into trouble. Coincidence? I think not. Also, I didn't like how they got so many characters developed and interesting, yet just throw them out soon after. Yeah, I guess GTA IV was like that but some actually stayed for a while and others had reasons for leaving. There should have been some task missions featuring the old characters in order to keep character appeal going. People like Seth and Ricketts were loved in RDR by everyone, but I couldn't appreciate them because they were suddenly MIA. Also, remember in GTA IV when (Spoiler Alert) Niko has the chance to kill the one man he was searching for and you had the choice to let him go? Well I do, and it was awesome. I will always remember it because I felt Niko's emotions while given a difficult decision deciding whether to exact revenge on a man that has betrayed you, or to let him go because he suffered so much torment over the years that living is a worse life. In RDR, You pick who you want to kill. One or the other. I expected Rockstar to get more suspenseful like in...well GTA IV. The one thing they should've copied they didn't.
I will give props to Rockstar though. The graphics are really well done. Everything is perfect about it. I have no complaints.
This review is probably short compared to my others but I have pretty much nothing else to say. I did everything from multiplayer to horse shoes to the famous "Dastardly" achievement, so I went out of my way to make sure everything I said was true. Yes, I said a lot of things about it, but I don't hate it. It just seems like a downgrade compared to what I've heard.
Pros: Great Visuals, Multiplayer Co-Op is fun, Environment is fun to explore, John Marston is a good character
Cons: A lot taken from GTA IV, Characters well developed then thrown out, barely any soundtrack, Can't jack trains, No Back to the Future Easter Egg