Red Dead Redemption is one of the rare Western based games, and for good reason: there hasn’t been a decent Western game in a long time. With Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption, the waiting is over, as it’s easily the best Western game of all time, not to mention an overall solid example of an immersing action game.

Red Dead Redemption can best be described as the Western version of Grand Theft Auto, where you have a vast world to explore, lots of missions to complete, and lots of characters to interact with. The character you play is a former outlaw who’s given up on the shooting and raiding, until of course, shit happens and you’re back in action. You can do all kinds of stuff, missions range from hunting down outlaws to raiding compounds etc. And for good measures, if you bring the outlaws back alive, you get a bonus on top of the reward. On the other hand, should you do something bad, like committing a crime, which you of course will do, the sheriff will put a bounty on you, and unlike in GTA, it doesn’t just disappear if you manage to run away, no, at any time, a pack of bounty hunters can pop up and surprise you. The story is intricate enough for us not to reveal too much because it’ll spoil your play — it’s safe to say that it’s definitely one of the great aspects of the game.

The action part resembles a lot like Grand Theft Auto. You basically lock on an enemy and squeeze the trigger. However, this is also where hardcore gamers won’t find much satisfaction. It’s simply too easy to kill enemies with the lock-on feature, leaving little challenge besides the occasional frustration of being pitted against too many opponents. Like all Rockstar games, especially GTA, there’s a ton of great characters, and there’s enough content to keep you busy to 30+ hours, with the main campaign taking around 15 hours. As mentioned, the world is huge, and there’s plenty to do.

Technically, the game looks wonderful, the visuals are stunning and render the Wild West realistically, the audio and sound effects are just as great. However, there are quite a few technical glitches, usually dealing with your horse, which at times just disappears. Other times it’ll get stuck in a wall and so on. It’s quite surprising, considering that Rockstar is know for polishing their games greatly before release.

The Good:
Huge world
Great gameplay
Wonderful visuals and style

The Bad:
Shooting is too easy with lock-on feature
Too many glitches and bugs

Overall score: 8/10