Just this past Tuesday I picked up Red Dead Redemption on the XBOX360. Sorry it’s taken me so long to share my opinions, I have been busy playing the game. Like a lot of gamers out there I got sucked into all the hype surrounding the release of this title. Having read whatever I could about Rockstar San Diego’s newest gem, I was certain I knew exactly what to expect. I was only half right.

Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Redemption takes place in the “New” Old West. The year is 1911 and industrialization, government and technology are slowly devouring the American landscape. You play as John Marston, part of a dying breed of frontier badasses on a mission of revenge and (of course) redemption.

Gameplay

The gameplay is exactly what you’d expect from a Rockstar game. Lots if missions, side missions, upgrades, weapons, costumes and mini-games. Want to pass some time playing poker of blackjack? Done. Want to break-in horses? You can do it. There is so much variety in this game you can definitely spend hours just riding your horse around exploring the enormous map and it’s colourful inhabitants. The honor system of Red Dead Redemptions is a nice touch. You can play either as the savior of the lawless land, pure as the driven snow, but maybe you want to rob trains, terrorize the populous and have an overall nasty disposition. The choice is yours.

Ggraphics

The graphics of this game push the limits of what these consoles can do. The character models are so detailed, with so much attention paid to the littlest detail. From the scars on John’s face to the muscles in your horse’s legs it all looks beautifully rendered. The environments are spectacular also. The sun setting, the clouds, the dust your horse kicks up galloping into said sunset, the ghost towns, the mountains all have a polish rarely seen in games today.

Music

The music is something I never take notice of in games unless it’s really good or really bad. Well, in RDR it is really good and feels as though it’s been pulled right out of a Clint Eastwood movie. Sound effects are exactly what you’d expect. Guns sound like guns, explosions sound like explosions and so on. The voice talent really shines in this game and was better than I expected.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer was another part of the game that I was pleasantly surprised with. Get some friends online, get a posse and go gunning for other posses. Enjoy a nice deathmatch with some randoms, have a shootout, capture the bag and partake in several multiplayer challenges. The more you do in multiplayer, the more powerful you become in multiplayer.

RDR

There is so much to do in RDR both online and off, I could easily see myself sinking over a hundred hours into it. Then again, I wouldn’t be married or employed for very long if I did. I really think this game has set the bar as the standard for which all open world games will be judged by. It gets The Straight Goods award for game of the year, so far… 5 out of 5.



Stay Tuned.

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