If ever there was a time to use the word “epic,” now seems mighty fitting.  Red Dead Redemption offers a grand look at the days of the Old West (well… South.  This is on the border of Mexico after all) without the fear of family members dying of some random disease or a wagon yoke breaking along the way (first reference to Oregon Trail 2 in the bag).  So saddle up and get ready for the ride of your life.  Unless you get stuck with a mule (such is the case when starting out the Free Roam multiplayer experience); then you will have to wait a little bit for the ride of your life…

With the changing times slowly effecting the disorderly, live-and-die-by-your-own-rules ways of the United States, John Marston decided to hang up his holster, giving up his life in a gang for a respectable life that his family could be proud of.  Unfortunately for him, a life of crime leads to quite a reputation in certain circles, and this reputation is what leads to trouble knocking on his front door.  Seeing his past as their way to spread their influence and power over the area, a group of government agents kidnap Marston’s wife and son with the promise that they will not be harmed as long as he helps them hunt down the gang that he once rode with.

Before you just go strolling into a not-so-welcomed family reunion with your trusted gun strapped to your hip, there is a lot of grunt work that needs to be done to learn the ins and outs of this world.  But for all its trouble, the frontier is sure an amazing place to call your office.  While moving through the world different “stranger” missions will crop up that are worth the additional time tacked onto the main storyline length.  Roadsides are not just a place for road kill anymore (though you are more than welcome to provide some.  I will admit, in the beginning I went a little crazy because I felt like I was playing a cracked out version of Oregon Trail 2 as I hunted down the different types of animals that inhabit this land, especially considering there being an achievement for killing all the buffalo found in the great plains.  Take that Oregon Trail!  Marston can carry all the meat and skins he wants!  None of that killing tons of animals only to be able to carry back a leg worth of meat…Whew… Tangent over…); now they are littered with people begging for help as they are being carried off on a man’s shoulder, someone steals their horse, holds up their carriage, etc.  And the towns are no better.  They are filled with quite the collection of colorful characters, as well as the base of most main quest starting points.  And though they may seem to be all the same after a while, with the same shops, a bed to rest after a long day of killing, etc, they are just as likely to provide the little random event every now and again.  Ever ask yourself what it would feel like to save a whore from a man with a knife?  Now’s your chance to find out.

Even though you will eventually be able to quick travel from locations using a carriage or campfire, a lot of the missions still require a substantial amount of time in the saddle because there is nothing like the rhythm of horses galloping to use as a soundtrack for long pieces of exposition.  In these moments we slowly learn more and more about the man Marston once was and what these people really think about his past, and unfortunately this dialog can get quite repetitive.  No one has any issue with outwardly expressing their resentment towards this man who doesn’t really seem to deserve any of it based on the character we grow to love in the game, and he spends an awful lot of time reminding them that he just wants to find his family.  Eventually I was begging that they would dive into a game of I Spy or play the quiet game.  Anything to get them away from playing their game of Place the Blame.  Luckily enough it is quite the tale to tell.

Before you act on the question of what would happen if you just pull out your gun to stop this verbal abuse, just remember that there is plenty of gunplay to vent your anger out in the game thanks to a substantial number of missions.  The controls of this game are very simple thanks to an auto-targeting system that locks on to the enemies in your line of fire.  In addition to this, another one of Marston’s special skills involves slowing down time in order to pinpoint exactly where he wants to shoot a man, even if it is just to taunt someone by shooting his gun out of his hand or his fancy hat off of his head.  Though these may seem to make things way too easy, it never feels like cheating because you will be way too busy having fun feeling like a BA cowboy.  The range of weapons also gives a different feel to the game, ranging from pistols to sniper rifles to a mounted machine gun from time to time.  This added a nice change to the usual gunplay, but sometimes the lack of a cover mechanic that saves your life on numerous occasions during the majority of the game is lost in these moments, making it a tad frustrating (especially when people are lobbing dynamite at you), and I just wanted to go all Master Chief on it, ripping it from its mount to mow people down in a more ambulatory fashion.

When it comes down to it, Red Dead Redemption has everything needed to provide a great experience.  The story is amazingly cinematic and full of fun and quirky characters to get invested in (though some can get a little annoying and/or quite creepy, such as a certain character that resembles a mutated cannibal in Wrong Turn.  Yeah, I’m talking about you Seth), the gameplay is addictive in most aspects and will carry on long past the main storyline, and the design elements are quite extraordinary, providing a beautiful environment to get lost in as you ride around on your trusted stead, possibly off into the sunset.

Final Grade: 9/10

P.S. – I actually gave the Free Roam multiplayer a try in this game, and other than taking on some gang hideouts with a friend, I wasn’t really all that excited about what it has to offer.  On the one hand, after spending the majority of the game avoiding killing any innocent people since I was one of the good guys, it’s quite liberating not worrying about who you are shooting at.  But it’s nothing new.  However, playing this part with friends has gotten me really looking forward to the co-op DLC.

Red Dead Redemption is available on the XBOX 360 and the PS3.