The Wild West is reborn in Red Dead Redemption, one of the most fantastic games ever made. Don't wait to hit the trail.
Red Dead Redemption is a story about John Marston, a reformed outlaw forced to hunt down his former gang members or he'll never see his wife and son again. So, as any man without options would do, he sets off to complete this task. Things don't go very well at first, but shortly after, he's meeting interesting characters and helping them out, all with the hopes of finally being able to take out Bill Williamson, the leader of the local gang.
The story is excellently told by interesting characters that are voiced well, with some fantastic animation. These characters seem as though they were once real and reflect how people were in that time. The story is told in the same way as Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar's big name. The story is told through cutscenes and on-the-fly conversations, usually while traveling to a destination and this seems like the best choice for a game that has been labeled "Grand Theft Horse".
One of the most amazing things about the story is that it nails the feel of the Wild West, you won't want to miss any of it. Also, not to spoil anything, this game might have the best ending of any game in it's genre.
Here's the main connection between the West and Liberty City, Red Dead Redemption plays exactly like Grand Theft Auto IV and that's not a bad thing at all. Even though they're similar, this is still unique. Gameplay consists of walking on markers to access missions to advance the story, riding horses or carriages across the plains and deserts, playing mini-games, or shooting people. Most story missions will have you riding your horse to a destination, usually accompanied by the character giving you the mission, watching a little scene and eventually shooting a bunch of people up. This world is huge and has 3 distinct areas, plains, woods and desert, it's fun to explore. There are also random events while you're traveling, each will affect your honor (a system that decides how civilians react to you) and can get you extra money which is used to buy supplies and weapons.
The gun-play is enjoyable and sometimes unique, you will sometimes be challenged to a duel. These duels are another thing that add to the Western theme. The shooting gameplay plays like Grand Theft Auto IV just with older guns, you can even have a shootout on horseback. You also have to man a Gatling gun every now and then and it controls like a shooting gallery and it's enjoyable. When not on a story mission, you can take bounties, go hunting, play poker and more. You definitely get your money's worth in singleplayer alone.
The multiplayer is enjoyable as well. The game world from singleplayer is the game lobby in multiplayer. That alone is pretty cool, but considering you gain xp by completing challenges and gang hideouts and can play actual multiplayer matches, such as deathmatch and capture the flag complete with a Mexican Standoff, makes this an excellent multiplayer package. There's nothing like getting a group of people in one posse riding off into the sunset to kill some gang members.
The audio is also pretty fantastic. That Wild West sound combined with a realistic sound of the wilderness is just mesmerizing. The sounds of the gunfire are excellent as well as the voices of the characters, John Marston being exceptional. This game has some of the best audio ever, and it has an amazing song waiting for you n Mexico.
This is the best looking open-world game ever made. The characters look great, the environments look pretty realistic, the animals look awesome and the horses look fantastic. There are a couple of hitches, but no other open-world game looks near as good. The physics are fun, especially with Marston's lasso. Multiplayer's visuals are just as strong. This game looks better than most linear action games.
Red Dead Redemption is one of the best games this generation and everyone should at least try it. A lot of care was put into this beast of a time-sink and every bit of it is enjoyable, another modern classic.
Story: 10/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Audio: 10/10
Presentation: 10/10