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I’m not going to lie, I hated Red Dead Redemption when I first started playing it. I thought the game was slow, boring and that people in the west talked way too much. My plan was to blow through the single player campaign as quickly as possible and then dump the game as soon as I was finished. Somewhere along the way though, out in the Wild West, things changed for me.
I think it was a combination of getting comfortable with the controls (horse riding was awkward at first), the stellar voice acting, and getting hooked on the story that drew me in. Or maybe it was the incredible scenery and vistas I was traversing. Or perhaps it was the ambiance and nuances of the old west that kept me in the saddle for the long run. Whatever the case, all of these elements add up to a fantastic & engaging game that may have started with a fizzle, but ended in a bang.
Red Dead Redemption is a phenomenal experience that I just can’t recommend highly enough. It is bursting at the seams with both quantity & quality and fully warrants all the high praise it has received (unlike my feelings on GTA IV and it’s kiss-ass reviews).
I am just shy of 50hrs right now with the single player campaign, and I still have a few items to scratch off my ‘to-do’ list before obtaining the coveted 100% completion achievement. Mighty impressive for a story mode if you ask me. This is all without even mentioning the oodles of multiplayer and co-op missions the game has to offer. Needless to say, I think I’ll be playing this one for quite a bit longer still.
Look, I’m not into westerns, I don’t like country music, and horseback riding hurts my balls but I absolutely loved Red Dead Redemption. The game is worth every penny of it’s full $60 retail price (even though I only paid $45 thank – you buy.com). If you want a unique, story driven, action game with plenty of gun-play, great characters and a boatload of things to do – look no further than Red Dead Redemption.