I have always been a fan of westerns. The first one I ever watched was “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.” Which was a slow burn but what a fantastic showdown at the end. After that was “Stagecoach” which is my second favorite western of all time, “Stagecoach” really takes you on a journey through the wild west. And introduces a lot of stereotypes found throughout other westerns. However, my absolute favorite western must be a newer one, made by Quinten Tarantino, “Django: Unchained”. I have always loved the zero to hero stories and this was just a beyond beautiful story. But enough about movies, how about some western style games. And of course, this can’t be anything other than “Red Dead Redemption”. Yup you heard it right, I’m reviewing a game that is 15 years old. Now you might be asking, “Why not just review the second one?” Well, that one is starting to get over-hyped imo. And to truly experience and feel the emotions of the second you must play the first game. So, let’s Relax and Review and find out if this is the game for you!

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When it comes to these games’ strong suits, it has many. But one of the most compelling components of this game is its plot. Throughout the game you play John Marston, a runaway outlaw who is working for the government to turn in his past gang members. These being Bill, Javier and Dutch. If you’ve played the second game those names should sound familiar. Along with these characters Red Dead is riddled with all sorts of wacky characters. From the Snake oil salesman, Nigel West Dickens, all the way to the Legendary gunslinger Landon Ricketts. These are just some of the charmers you meet throughout John’s journey through the Wild West. The characters are where a lot of the story shines with the previous characters mentioned. Every time there was a cut scene or quest to do with them I instantly ran there to see what kind of shenanigans we get up to next.

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Besides the characters within the wild west, the entire game itself is so full of life. Now it being a massive desert you might be thinking that’s a little questionable. But each crunch or sand, to each snap of the twig is so crisp and really immerses you into the whole world. Ridin’ on your trusty steed, either being a dishonorable bandit, or if you’re like me, and don’t have the heart to be a dick, you can always be an honorable outlaw. Depending on your status, people will treat you mighty differently. If you have high honor, random people will call out to you and say, “Howdy Mr. Marston!” Whereas if you had low honor, they might something along the lines of, “Filthy outlaw riding’ around in our town.” This is one of the little things I admire, too, where not all your choices matter completely, but a lot of things you do affect your reputation throughout the world.

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Another thing about the world itself is absolutely gorgeous, even for a 15-year-old. When I replayed it recently it was the PC port and some of the graphics were improved. But not many, it still had the old Rockstar charm of some polygonal looking characters, but they still look good. If anything, they’re a little rough around the edges, but like I said I think it adds more to the charm. And when looking at the characters that are meant to be a little rough around the edges like Seth or Irish. They just look downright grimy. To be fair one is a crazed gravedigger that talks to the dead. Whilst the other one is a deadbeat drunk with a think Irish accent, guess who is who …

This was a small peak into the beauty of the wild west and how Rockstar portrayed it before their masterpiece many people know today. To me I think if you play the first one, it makes the second one that much better, you feel like you already know some the character Arthur Morgan meets in the second game. John Marston being one of them, but others are the very same people John is hunting down in the first game. And all the dots connect at the end of each game, depending on which one you play first. To be completely honest, The Red Dead Redemption series, even only being 2 games long is more than worth your time, even at full price. The story itself will last you a while, but if you want to thoroughly explore the world itself, then you will get lost in that desert, so good luck, you might need it cowboy.

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