Get Red Dead Redemption 2 Several Hours Early

The critics are pleased with a certain cowboy game that comes out tomorrow, and you can check out why in our Red Dead Redemption 2 review. The only problem is, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to play it. If you want to get it a little earlier, it turns out there's a way to do so. Both Best Buy and GameStop have announced they'll begin selling copies of the game at 9 PM local time on October 25--the day before it launches elsewhere.

That gives you a three-hour head start on everyone who ordered it digitally. You'll still have to go home and install the game to your console's hard drive before you can play it, of course--and it's an enormous game. But because the data is installed on your hard drive from the disc instead of downloaded from the internet, it's quite possible you'll be up and running before midnight. (Then again, the day-one patch could slow things down, although you can start the game without it).

You can pre-order Red Dead Redemption 2 from GameStop here or from Best Buy here. All pre-orders come with a download code for the Ardennes War Horse and Outlaw Survival Kit.

Red Dead Redemption 2 takes place in 1899, at the tale end of the era when outlaw gangs were running amuck in the Wild West. Rather than taking control of John Marston like in the previous game, you play as Arthur Morgan, another member of Dutch Van der Linde's gang. To refresh your memory about the story of the previous game, you can take a look at our Red Dead Redemption recap or watch the video above. Also be sure to check out our Red Dead Redemption 2 impressions for more information.