Grand Theft Horses

          So, I have a couple of confessions. First of all, I'm only a handful of hours into Red Dead Redemption, so I don't have the most educated opinion on the game, but I  I've played enough to get a grasp on what it's trying to achieve . And Second of all, I never got caught with the same GTA hook that everyone else did. I understand it was an achievement, and that Rockstar is the king of the sandbox. I enjoyed what I played of it, and I'm sure I'll return to it one day, since I only got about 10 hours into the last one. The story was great, the missions were fun, and there was nothing like going crazy on a crowd of people just to relieve some stress. But I always felt something was missing. It didn't quite "grab" me like it should. Whatever it was that GTA was missing, Read Dead Redemption has it, and consider me "grabbed." 
           At face value, Rockstar has taken their proven GTA formula, and applied it to the Wild West. But it's so much more. The deserts, as barren as they seem, are actually teaming with wildlife and passerby. And even when things do seem a bit empty, it's usually a nice peaceful ride into a gorgeous horizon. The towns are filled with life and personality, and the quests are varied enough to keep things interesting. GTA's cover and aiming systems return, with an added twist. With the Dead Eye System (from the previous Read Dead game), you can go into a bullet time type mode which helps a lot with aiming, and adds a bit of cinematic flair.  

The story is a lot of fun so far, and I like John Marsden as a character, much more than Niko. There was nothing wrong with Niko. He had a pretty brutal side, which was fun to uncover, I guess I just didn't click with him. Marsden is just a bad ass. There's something about being a gunslinger. There's something about Terminator walking through a small western town, with your trusty six shooter at your side.  Now, John is a family man, so some of the ruggedness is lost, but it adds some nice depth to the character, and gives you a reason to make better choices. But there are times it seems that John's everyone's bitch. He's always along for the ride. Obviously these are people that you are supposed to help and it's needed to advance the game along, but sometimes it feels like he needs to take the reins more. The moral system is as to be expected, do something wrong and the authorities are after you. There aren't any real long term consequences though, since youc an pay off your bounty and do some deeds to fix things. There is fun to be had, though, being the bad guy and doing whatever you want. You can also tell Rockstar spent a great deal of time on their horses, animating fluidly and realistically, and looking wonderful.  
The graphics are some of the best I've seen for a sandbox game, but unfortunately the ps3 version is a tad gimped. Lower Resolutions and lack of anti-aliasing, along with the occasional dip in frame rate make it look a little rough around the edges, but it's still a gorgeous game, especially those sunsets. 
It will still be a while before I complete this beast of a game, but the time I've spent with it has been nothing but joy. Shifting the setting to the wild west is one of the best ideas Rockstar has ever had. I enjoy it more than I've enjoyed GTA games and can't wait to play more. Hopefully Rockstar keeps this series going.