To present an objective point of view: Don't believe the hype. I did, and I am disappointed. Maybe it's due to my immense anticipation for this title but I have not even finished the story mode and already I am getting tired of the game. At this point, I feel like it is going to be a chore to finish the campaign, but I am going to do it anyhow simply because it would be nice to see how it all wraps up and if the plot actually makes sense in the end. As is, there's not much plot to speak of. I know a lot of people are hailing it for it's "good story", but even in terms of a traditional Western story the one presented in RDR feels pretty barebones. It boils down to your protagonist (or antagonist, depending on how you want to look at it) getting sent off by government agents to track down members of his ex-gang and either kill or capture them. The quirk is that the government has your family captive, and they are not telling you where they are being held until you finish certain tasks for them. Along the way you meet plenty of archetypal side characters and complete tasks for them, but none of them are ever really fleshed out as well as they could be, and just as you are getting attached to certain characters the plot decides to take you off to another part of the world where you will never interact with those characters again.
Apart from my gripes with the story, there are some serious graphical glitches that need to be addressed. Within the first hour or so of playing the game, these shortcomings can already be seen. Most of these glitches occured when I first entered the town of Armadillo, where I saw boxes floating in the air, offbeat character animations, and a musician in the local saloon who always likes to stand on top of his stool when he gets up to take a break. I also encountered floating brooms in the town of Blackwater. These glitches shouldn't be there. There's really no reason for it, and when you encounter them it can really take you out of the experience.
On top of all of these things, there's no radio on your horse. No, just kidding. But seriously, on top of all that, the main character is kind of a prick and you really want to just beat him in the face everytime he opens his mouth. At least I did. He doesn't really come off as a bad ass prick either, but instead pretty much just a prick and a douchebag. I guess that's to be expected though, seeing as the days of the true Western epic are over and will likely never see the light of day ever again, neither in Hollywood nor the videogame world.
The shooting is definitely the best part of this game, but everything else from the skinning of animals to the collection of plantlife could have been more intriguing and/or interactive. These are just my views, of course, and who am I really? Just another enthusiastic gamer with a voice who wishes he had used his money to buy Alan Wake instead.
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