Red Dead Redemption
7.5 out of 10

My experience with Red Dead Redemption is a different one. I had moderately low expectations for the game. I thought it was a different kind of game before I started to play it. It also took me awhile to really figure out the broad depth of the game itself. At first – I didn’t like it…it was taking too long to develop. The cut scenes weren’t compelling – the voice work was good – but that was about it. There was nothing pulling me into the game and nothing exactly over the top. So…I put it down after the first few hours of playing…almost upset that I’d spent $60 on it. Then, the next day, I came home from work…and wanted to play it again. I’d gotten better with the aiming, realized that this was closer to the Uncharted/Mass Effect series than a Battlefield Bad Company. Suddenly – the pieces were falling into place. I had figured out the controls, gotten comfortable with the map, figured out how to make my horse stop on a dime and BOOM, I’m now completely hooked in.  I play it whenever I can, and sure enough…the choices you make in the game, determine the experience you have.

Red Dead Redemption is basically an interactive experience of the Old West, and it’s in that simple fact alone, that this game will win you over. I think it was a brilliant move to set this game in this time period. I mean – have you ever wondered what it must have been like to shoot someone sitting shotgun on a wagon carrying TNT on a collision course for a barricaded door? Have you ever wondered what it would be like shoot a wild animal from a horse in a full sprint? Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to burn a town with Molotov Cocktails? Have you ever wondered what it was like to take out a pack of drunken bandits shooting up your town? Have you ever wondered what it was like to accidentally shoot your only means of quick transportation to the next town only to be stuck to hoof it? It’s these little nuances of the culture back then that really suck you in and make you realize what a great game Red Dead really is.

Now, simple premise aside, the game did have a few faults for me. I found myself constantly having to re-adjust the brightness in the game and on my TV just to be able to see the stuff I was shooting at. I missed some side quests because I couldn’t stop my horse in time or couldn’t tell who the right person to shoot was.  The graphics and voice acting are way above par and the story is compelling enough to keep you very interested in the game and keep you on your couch playing it. I wouldn’t doubt if this game prompts a movie, or some sort of mainstream attention, this game almost deserves that sort of attention. Now, if you like Mass Effect, Uncharted or other third person shooters, you’ll definitely get into RDR and keep your eyes glued to it for weeks. If you are wishy washy on third person shooters, this game has the potential to frustrate you to no end and you might end up throwing something at your TV. It’s that lack of universal support that makes me knock a few points off RDR’s review. 7.5 out of 10.