I've come to a realisation, Rockstar and the branches there of are some of the best game developers in the current generation of consoles. They make their games with equal portions of well rounded characters, intriguing story and varied gameplay. Red Dead Redemption is no different, combining Rockstar's usual high standard of open world gameplay with an old west setting. The first Red Dead game, back in 2004 for the Xbox and PS2, was a mission based third person shooter that followed the adventures of Red Harlow (who has some striking similarities to this games main protagonist) as he tries to take vengeance on those who killed his parents. The game took inspiration from Westerns and integrated characters and story elements in accordingly. But of course there were a few problems, the duelling mechanic got used too frequently and the difficulty was devastating at the end of the game, we aren't really introduced to Red's character so why should we care about him (he keeps taking back seat to five characters throughout the game) and it wasn't exactly pretty back in the day.
So why do I bring up a game from 2004? Well Red Dead Redemption has been in production for more than four years and as such all of these problems should have been fixed, right? Well yes, they have. Sequels that are in development for this long are usually doomed form the start, but Red Dead Redemption is an exception to the rule, being the best experience of the year so far.
In Red Dead Redemption you play as John Marston a former outlaw who 'left the gang, after the gang left him'. So, some events lead you to been unable to fend for yourself and you are taken in by a rancher Bonnie McFarlane. After John rests and gains his strength back he embarks on a journey for vengeance. Hang on, we've been here before! Rockstar's usual story progression, you are a experienced man who is betrayed by someone he trusts and then you are tasked with going to everyone who has a job to see if they know where the man you are looking for is. I can't really complain about this because once again Rockstar's ability to deliver on a strong story with interesting characters prevails making Red Dead Redemption feel different from their previous instalments.
Now it wouldn't be a Western without the stand-offs, horseback riding and shoot-outs. Red Dead Redemption works all of these into a compelling package that don't seem segregated like the original. As you travel between ranches, towns and camp-sites there are many people wishing to challenge you to shoot-outs, try to rob you or attacking caravans. There's also the required array of Western style mini-games such as poker, dice, bounty hunting, and horse shoes? The gun play has been improved over previous Rockstar titles in the level of assistance you can have for auto aiming. Ranging for almost instant head shots to free form aiming. The enemies and your allies are competent shots as well, creating a need to make use of the cover mechanics in the game. Now for the most important part of Western games, the quick-draw events. At certain times during missions or when you enter towns when you have a high enough fame you might be challenged to duel. I am very grateful that these events have been toned down since the original Red Dead, they aren't really difficult but are a good divergence from the cover based shooting. You will use the dead-eye mechanic that resembles the Max Payne bullet-time to point out parts of your oppenents body and then when, set you will release the entire revolver chamber into them. The dead-eye can also be used outside of duels, making it the same as other games bullet-time.
If you have taken issue with Rockstar's games, this won't change your mind and is best steered clear of. If you have enjoyed previous Rockstar games, Westerns or just a fan of well thought out stories with well implemented gameplay then Red Dead Redemption is for you.