Red Dead Redemption is one of the best games of 2010 thus far.
I've been playing for a few hours every other day now since it came out on xbox360 and every time i went on it i was finding it harder and harder to tear myself away.
So where to start?
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= The Graphics =
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Red Dead Redemption is quite simply one of the best looking console games i've seen so far. Despite the fact that 80% of the game world is barren wasteland it still manages to look beautiful as the sun shines down on the dirt and foliage as you gallop along on your steed.
Animations are silky smooth, blasting someone off their horse in dead-eye slow motion is immensely satisfying every single time, and models and physics all behave in a disturbingly realistic way. There are a couple of glitches here and there, but nothing to continuously impair gameplay.
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= The Gameplay =
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When you first start out in RDR the missions are pretty tedious. You herd a lot of cattle and learn to capture horses. But nothing is to stop you venturing out into the wasteland and killing/skinning wildlife, finding other towns and playing mini games, helping passers-by, crashing gang hideouts, take bounties and more.
There is a lot to be done in RDR. The action isn't as immediate and it isn't as easy to cause destruction on a level like in GTA but the general gameplay is, in my opinion, much more immersive. The storyline also plays out much more directly. You feel compelled to carry on at all times with John Marston's main mission rather than do extra stuff, regardless of how fun it can be.
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= The Sound =
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The sound in RDR is nothing short of fantastic. Fantastic voice acting, sound effects, music and ambience. Everything is top quality.
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* The Verdict *
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Graphics - 9
Gameplay - 9
Sound - 10
Overall - 9.0