A fantastic, if slightly frustrating game that instantly immerses you in a wild west world!
The sound aids this, with fitting music and great sound design and effects layering the effect of feeling truly immersed in a wild west dream. The gameplay is some weird, brilliant mix of grand theft auto style missions (many missions pan out in similar do this, shoot this gang, then head here moments familiar to GTA enthusiasts), and some more straight up shooting moments. The gunfights often prove arse-clenchingly tense and the gory payoffs from headshots and scalpings (yes, scalpings!) make the game feel far more real and in a weird way satisfying than if it had been bloodless. The grit of the western style really needs the gore to appear cohesive throughout. The story is involving, and so it should be- penned by a hollywood screenwriter, it draws you in with far more developed narrative dips and peaks than most games; the entire game is a perfect approximation of what it would be like to be inside the world of the classic western movies. Unfortunately, the game has a fair few faults. From a sometimes errant or plain unwieldy camera, to the repetition of some missions, and the often seemingly impossible scrapes to get somewhere in time or shoot enough people in time... Well, it can often feel as if the game is conspiring against you to make sure you don't complete a section. Nevertheless, its an immersive, enjoyable romp through the western landscape and certainly feels original and fresh to play- particularly the way it introduces you to the mechanics of the game in something that can only be loosely identified as a tutorial from video game savvy, as a hunting trip with pa and then a climax effectively gives you all the knowledge you need to get cracking in the big wide world- - something that you're thrown into the second this tutorial of sorts is over. It never feels out of context and eases you in brilliantly. Overall, its highly recommended!