Last week saw the release of the latest game from Rockstar Games. I had really high hopes for Red Dead Redemption. Firstly, it's a Rockstar game. I don't think there has been a game they've made I've not liked. And, secondly because it looked to be the sequel to Gun I've been waiting for. What did I make of it? Well keep reading and you'll soon know.

Holy crap this game is awesome! I told you'd know soon. Red Dead Redemption is one of the finest games I've ever played. It has absolutely everything a game needs. Plenty to do in single player, decent story line, multiplayer with healthy life expectancy, detail and stunning visuals.

Single Player and Story

It's coming to the end of the Wild West. With the advances in technology America is changing. Telephones and railways are shortening the distance between two places. Once isolated area see trains passing through daily. Everyone is trying to make a quick buck and often not caring what's in the way. Railways want to expand and burn down farms to do so, rustlers are killing farmers for their livestock, and gangs are after anything they can get. Sheriffs are trying to bring order while being paid to turn a blind eye to the crimes of their paymasters. The Federal Government is growing and after the country too. An honest man is becoming harder to find. That's just America. Across the border in Mexico a revolution is starting. A grass roots movement to over throw the dictator who are fighting the Mexican army to win their freedom.

You play the character of John Marston, an ex-gang member trying to settle down and stay out of trouble. You've found a ranch for you, your wife and child where you want to live out the rest of your life in peace. Unfortunately, you cannot go back to your family just yet. You've some unfinished business forced upon you that you must complete first. You've got to capture or kill three of your ex-gang members on behalf of some federal officials in order to go back to your life. Killings these men isn't the problem, they left you for dead, it's finding them that'll be hard. This leads you on an epic journey through America, over to Mexico and back.

To be honest the story line isn't the most original. The "bad guy turning good but has to fight one last fight" story has been done before. And the way you go about it is almost identical to every Grand Theft Auto game. Simply put it's involved meeting people, telling them who your looking for, helping them, then they help or betray you, and repeat. It's not that bad. The only thing negative about the story is it's quite predictable. But it is well thought out and the dialog it nothing but quality. It might be predictable but it's entertaining all the way through and executed with the high production values that Rockstar are know for.

As with all free roaming games there is a lot of travelling to do. In some free roaming games (True Crime: Streets of LA comes of mind) it can be such a bore. Red Dead Redemption has solved this with attention to detail and having a real living environment. While riding you'll come across people being held up at gun point, hunters wanting to challenge you, men wanting to duel with you, people hunting and being attacked by animals, and more. You always have a choice. You can just ride on or you can get involved. Getting involved is a great way to break up that long journey and can earn you money, frame and honour. You can even lose some honour if that's the way you want to play it. If you do bad things you lose honour and will increase the bounty on your head. The higher the bounty the more often gangs and the law will come after you. This can happen at any time outside of a mission and is yet another thing to keep you entertained.

The Wild West

The world in Red Dead Redemption is pretty big. It includes great plains, snow covered mountains, forests, endless desserts and everything in between. Through out the would there are places that vary from the modern town to make shift camp sites and large ranches to abandoned villages. The best parts are outside of the populated areas. All of the areas look, sound and feel completely different. The forests are full of deer, bears, hogs, wolves, foxes and more, and all types of birds while the plains have very little vegetation and only herds of buffalo. Animals play a big part in the game. They are everywhere and there's over 30 different species. You can hunt them, skin them and sell what you get. Animals will even attack you so you have to be on your guard. It's yet another part of the Red Dead Redemption world that keeps you busy.

The whole in game world is stunning. The graphic effects are realistic in every way. Everything looks perfect. You can see for miles around. You can actually see places in Mexico from the northern most point in America. The weather in America is normally sunny with clouds and in Mexico the clouds are no where to be seen. Storms roll in every once in a while and provide my favourite effect in the game. Lightening. I've not seen lightening in a game that has been do so right. When lightening strikes the whole world changes. Everything lights ups, everything casts a shadow and puddles reflect the light. It's perfectly done. Before the lightening comes you get rain. Rain causes puddles to form. These form slowly and realistically. You even get rain filling up the tracks you leave behind. There is, of course, a day/night cycle. Morning and evenings are colourful with the sun's pinky, orangey rays shinning from behind the clouds and scenery. The nights are cold. Well they feel cold. Thousands of stars shine in the sky, each one different to the last. Just perfect when you're sitting by the camp fire of a fellow traveller, listening to their stories (yes, another thing you can do in Red Dead Redemption).

Everything is animated so smooth and realistically. From the rabbits hopping through the grass to the carts bouncing on the uneven roads. Sound is also really well done. In the towns you can hear the hustle and bustle of people going about with their lives. In the wild you can hear animals, the wind, water flowing and everything else you'd expect. All accompanied by a fitting sound track including a cool baseline when you start fighting and an original song  by Jose Gonzalez called Far Away as you make your way over the border to Mexico for the first time.

Multiplayer

This takes the single player world online. There are the standard free for all and team based games but also multiplayer free roam. The whole world is made available for you to run around in doing what you want. You can join posses and work together or go it alone. All my time online in Red Dead Redemption has been spent fighting the other players in free roam but you can work together and do some missions. By entering certain areas you can trigger gang hide outs or animal attacks. You'll need to attack gang hideouts, take them over and then defend them. With animal attacks you just have to defend yourself from waves of animals. After triggering these events you may work with others to win or do it alone. Another option is piss off people trying to complete it by killing them which is great fun (but not fun for the French guys I was annoying, hehe). Another part is the bounty hunters. Just like in single player if you shoot civilians you'll get a bounty on your head. Not only will you get the law coming for you but other players might what to take you down. And even members of your posse will take you down (I learnt this the hard way). Free roam in multiplayer is really a do-it-yourself game mode where you make your own fun. If you love roaming the single player game then just jump in an do it online.

It's the detail in Red Dead Redemption that makes this game more than just another free roamer. This is truly the most beautiful game I've ever played.