Red Dead Redemption restored my faith in sandbox games.
The story is brilliant. In Red Dead Redemption you play the role as John Marston who has been ordered by the government to capture his old gang mates and bring them into custody. Throughout the game you will meet a bunch of diverse characters that will help you with John's mission. The game is set in the early 20th century where the days of the wild west are fading The characters themselves are the best part of the game. The voice acting in this game is brilliantly done. You will have favourites, you'll hate some of them and some will make you laugh. You'll remember these characters long after you finished the campaign, such as Seth the treasure hunter and Irish the drunk. The landscape itself which is so detailed and it makes you feel like you are in a living breathing Western. The little things make it much more alive, like the variety of wildlife that run around in the landscape, the civilians of the various towns and the day and night cycle so you can actually walk into the sunset.
The campaign mission structure is exactly the same as Grand theft Autos mission structure. You have a couple of missions available to you and there location is signified on the radar by the initial of mission givers name. These missions are usually what you expect in a western game such as catching criminals, train robberies, breaking horses, herding cows and so on. The gun play in this is very sharp. You are given a selection of pistols, rifles, shotguns and sniper rifles. When you press the left trigger it will automatically snaps onto a target that is round about the general direction you are aiming. Occasionally the targeting system will sometimes make you aim where you don't want to, but overall a good shooting mechanic.
To see the credits at the end of the game I think could take you about 20 hours. But I bet it will take double the time due to all the side things and distractions. I have spent over 2 hours of the game playing Texas Hold Em and at least one hour of the game playing liars dice. You can waste most of your time just playing these mini games. Along with that there is horse shoe tossing, Blackjack, Arm Wrestling and Five Finger Fillet. You can also do jobs to earn money such as breaking horses, night watch job, and collect bounties. There will also be some strangers who will ask for your help and challenge you to a duel. You can also take on challenges such as herb collecting, Sharp shooting, hunting and treasure hunting to in order to become a legend of the west. You can also take on strangers quest which are bit similar to the main quest as they provide just as interesting narrative. You can get lost in these side things for hours. I know I did. As of writing this I am 90% complete in the entire single player campaign.
You can also play this game with friends using Red Dead Redemptions multiplayer mode. You have the normal shooter game modes such Team Deathmatch and Capture the flag (but instead they are called Gang Shootout and Capture the Bag) and they are all played out in sections of the Red Dead Redemption world. This is very fun but don't it has much depth as Call of Duty or Halo. There is also a mode called Free Roam in which you explore the world of Red Dead Redemption with 15 other players and do whatever you want. You can kill each other, kill NPCs, hunt, collect flowers or go to a gang hideout and murder some miners. There is a free DLC pack which adds co-op missions to the list of modes. There are six missions and they put you in this western movie like scenario (like rescuing a girl who has been kidnapped). If you have friends who have the game this is a blast and will keep you playing the game long after the credits of the single player.
There are a couple of minor setbacks though. One of them is the control and feel of the character. The characters movement feels a bit out of control and it is a bit of a hassle to walk through doors which will sometime get you killed especially in multiplayer. As most people have said the cover mechanic is a bit sticky. That statement still stands but that doesn't mean it isn't useful. Multiplayer is littered with bugs and glitches that other players exploit or stop the gameplay. It doesn't make the multiplayer unplayable though.
Since this is in the Wild West there aren't many cars around to transport you to A to B. The transport of choice is a horse, a trusty steed that will be with you throughout your journey to the very end. Unless it dies or you steal another horse or buy another horse or break a wild horse. Anyway unlike your character the horse controls feels really good. You would think travelling to one place to another would be boring. But that isn't the case. It is the best way to see the landscape and explore the detailed environments. If you have lost your horse you can press the up button and whistle for your horse. Sometimes your Horse will run away from you when you call for it, it might wander off, he might fall off a cliff or walk into a lake and die. This unpredictability gives your four legged friend some charm and personality.
I started having high expectations for this game. And thankfully this time they have not been crushed. I don't hate sandbox games; I just apparently have high standards for them. This is a fantastic game. This game has an amazing story with great set of characters; it has a beautifully detailed world with hundreds of things to do and has an amazing multiplayer to boot. So if you found Grand theft auto a bit too industrial, claustrophobic or just plain offensive then Red Dead Redemption is probably more up your street. This is an essential for Western fans, Grand Theft Auto fans, and fans of excellent gaming.