Red Dead Redemption

Forget I said anything. After a few more hours I changed my mind completely. I'll be back to make this a review again.

SUPER DUPER LONG AFTER EDIT:

I LOVED this game. It's funny how a little perspective and some time can change things. When I originally reviewed this game my feeling was that it was GTA4 with horses and that it didn't bring a whole lot to the table when it comes to entertainment. A year later I get an email telling me I need to take a week off work or I'm going to lose it. I get back on RDR and decide to just grind through it and end up falling in love.

What really stood out for me was the story telling and voice acting. I've been almost wholly consumed by competitive games like League of Legends and Starcraft 2 for the time in between the old review and the super long after edit. When I decided I'd take a break from grinding my teeth for hours while gaming and try to enjoy something story driven (and single player) it really did feel like a breath of fresh air.

There is just something to be said for a game that leads you from plot point to plot point but doesn't force the story forward. There were days I really didn't feel like doing anything but story line missions and there were others I just felt like putting on my bandanna and shooting townspeople in the face. I think that's the real place for sandbox games. They are still pretty much as linear as other genres, but the difference is that you can enjoy a lot of distractions along the way. This can help someone who's enjoying a particular setting linger and get the most out of it or break up the monotony of a story line that's become stale.

I'm pretty sure everything that needs to be said about this game has been said before and better than I plan on saying them, so here's a few quick points:

1. Why do I have to race stagecoaches?

2. If there is an option to rob a stagecoach or a train, make it more clear. I decided I didn't want to look up if I could be a bad guy from a silent film or not. I gave it a try and when it didn't make sense I moved on.

3. The challenges were a joke. There's no way I'm going to try to find a specific piece of desert to match up with a picture. I'm also not going to hang around for days trying to stab wolves. I guess some people love this stuff... to each his own.

4. Where is this music coming from? AWESOME.

5. Saw that coming, not like THAT though...

6. PLAY THROUGH THIS GAME.