Rockstar's Redemption

There aren't many times where I can say "wow, that was unexpected." But in the case of Red Dead Redemption I can safely say that it has turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It is entirely more fun than I would have given it credit for. It's not just a good western game (well, the best western game of all time really) but just a good game period.

You see, after the colossal disappointment that was GTA4 I was pretty much ready to swear off Rockstar for good, As they seemed poised to be unable to replicate the success of the initial GTA games that made them famous (GTA 3/Vice City) and fail to recapture the magic of what made those games so fresh and original for their time. Every sandbox style game subsequently made thereafter was simply window dressing. Different time periods, pointless minigames, polished graphics, a dumb dating mechanic...all of these simply only made temporary fixes. Sort of like putting a fresh coat of paint on a termite infested house. RDR mercifully gets to the root of the problem of the GTA games and addresses each one of them while actually expanding on the concepts that DID work and made GTA fun in the first place.

For starters, gone is the wacky silliness of GTA in favor of a more mature and realistic presentation. Sure you can still do what you want, but just like in real life people react to your behavior. Bad behavior has consequences. People remember and don't forget your misdeeds. Shooting up a town and killing everyone like a maniac will do that. Even if you manage to evade the law temporarily, rather than forget about you like an idiot, they actually chase after you until you pay your bounty. Unlike just about every GTA game ever made, action sequences are actually FUN to play and when you die you don't feel like it was due to sloppy controls and more to do with your bad aim/judgement. Couple all of this with soemthing else GTA has needed for a long time, characters and a story both worth a damn and you've got a nice recipe for a fantastic game.

I tip my hat to you Rockstar, there's hope for you yet.