Red Dead Redemption Review

In 2010, the near undisputed GOTY was a little game we call Red Dead Redemption. And it's obvious why. This game is jam packed with content, great visuals and sound as well a fantastic gameplay and characters. However, there are some parts of the game which do fall a little short, but that's more than forgivable when you have a game as good as this.

Red Dead Redemption looks absolutely gorgeous. The western setting the devs were granted has been used to it's full extent and it brings the world to life. The towns look great, as do it's inhabitants. Even the lonely and sandy deserts have had so much care that even riding around looking at the place is fun. It also helps that the sound design is equally as impressive, including horse sounds, gun shots and voice acting that make this game feel extraordinary. The only real problem that arises from this is the brightness. I found myself having to constantly switch brightness throughout the game from high to low because at night, you cam hardly see anything, but in the day you're bombarded with sunlight that makes the ground unbearable to look at. And, as expected of a game this size, there's a few texture pops here and there, but it's strangely minimal. 

The story in Red Dead is actually a little disappointing. Basically, John Marston is a former gunslinger who's trying to go straight for his family, but his past is too filled with blood. You'll meet a great cast of characters not all of whom you'll like, but will feel some emotion towards them which is something that not many games accomplish. When I say the story's a little disappointing, I mean that there are certain points within the game that aren't fully capitalised on. An example is you spend time working for two opposite sides in the game and you really expect for the story to bank on this, but it never really does, leaving that section feeling a little anti-climactic. Also, some characters don't get the closure they deserve. The real high point of the narrative is John Marston himself. His character is slowly revealed over the course of the journey as you learn more and more about him. And the game's story when in Blackwater truly picks up to a truly amazing level. But the story mainly feels like you're going around doing a bunch of favours for people all around the world. 

Gameplay consists of roaming the massive world Red Dead has to offer and doing pretty much whatever. You can collect animal skins to sell at the market, complete tasks for strangers around the world, engage in randomly generated events while riding down the road, complete challenges to earn rewards, explore new towns and moar. So much to do in this game. And that's without the main missions. Most of these are really fun as well. You will storm trains, go on rescue missions, fight your way out of immense odds and even blow up mines. It's great! Only a few times do you encounter a mission that isn't fun. As said before, there is the unfortunately boring fetch quest here and there. And at times, the reason you're fighting these guys isn't really all that interesting and some missions do feel a little tacked on to make the game longer. Luckily, the ratio of good to bad is about 90:10 so it's all K. 

Red Dead Redemption does so many things that a lot of games try to do, but fail. Have a lot of content that's interesting, a great open world with stuff to do, great characters, amazing gameplay and a decent story. It's not perfect, but it's pretty damn impressive. Loved this game to death, one of the best of this generation.