The thing most players enjoy about sandbox games is the amount of freedom they’re given. Freedom to progress the story as quickly or slowly as they choose. Freedom to go explore, play with the physics and the rules of the game, and ultimately the freedom to make their own fun within that world. Red Dead Redemption is the latest game from Rockstar, the masters of the sandbox game. As Rockstar continues to sharpen their skills at telling great narratives, creating great characters, and refining game mechanics, they are ultimately toying with the nature of freedom in games. With Red Dead Redemption, that freedom is superimposed on top of a story about the freedoms of the frontier. Just as you are free to wander the territories of New Austin, making your own fate (and justice), so were the real settlers of the American frontier, and in the 1910′s that freedom was starting to slip away. This is the perfect time & setting to let us all ponder the nature of freedom.

Anyone familiar with a previous GTA3 or 4 game will feel right at home in RDR. The interface, the waypoints, mapping, and mission structure is all very much in line with what we expect from Rockstar in a large open world game. That’s not a bad thing at all, it works, so keep doing it. That said, don’t be quick to dismiss RDR as “Grand Theft Horse” or just assume this has a new cowboy skin. One thing I found quite enjoyable was that Rockstar made a conscious effort to let RDR take itself more seriously. Sure, we still have the crazy array of characters, hodge-podged together to help you achieve some tasks to progress the story, and some of them are a bit silly, but nowhere near to the extent that people in previous GTA games were.

This world is big, open, sparsely inhabited, and about as far from the crowded streets of Liberty City as one can get for a setting. Rockstar has played with this space & scarcity in some amazing ways. First there’s the wildlife. This game rivals any other hunting game I’ve ever seen, and even does it with a touch of respect. The scarcity of people in the world helps dramatically improve the importance of the random encounter. A pedestrian having a run in with a thief in Liberty City seems like a “not my problem” kind of thing, while the same encounter in New Austin carries much more heft.

Another huge surprise to me was the morality play. Rockstar has been known as the developers who let you murder hookers for money. John Marston is not that kind of man. The game has an Honor and Fame meter, both of which change up as your actions play out through the story. Regardless, I found it incredibly difficult to really be a bad person in the game. I’ve thought about trying to go through the game again as a total bad-ass, but as with Mass Effect 2, I doubt I’d get all the way through my second run.

Graphically the game is gorgeous. Not so much for the poly count or the textures, but for the amazing atmosphere presented with the tech at hand. Most stills, especially while travelling, could easily feel like a painting of the southwest. The lighting, weather, and color palette really capture the beauty of that area of America, and portray it unspoiled, except for the few train tracks and telegraph poles. Likewise, the soundtrack is perfectly matched. It is restrained and beautifully adds to the game’s ambient sounds, without ever getting irritating. There are a few surprise full song appearances in the game, and when you get them, they really move you.

Red Dead Redemption is immensely fun to play, and this fun comes in many different packages, suited for many different moods and play styles. For those focused on the story, the main storyline is entirely progress-able at any time. For explorer types, the map unfolds along with the story in thirds. So only after a fair bit of story progress, you can unlock a nice chunk of new places to explore. Achievement junkies will love the ambient challenges like Marksman, Master Hunter, Survivalist, and Treasure Hunting. These all use a different bit of the gameplay mechanics to test you skills, and really create a feeling of John being a true badass of the west. The financial system is well curved, and really opens up by the end if you hunted a fair bit, and found most of the treasures. Real fans of gambling will get a huge kick out of the table games in RDR, and getting away with cheating at poker is a real thrill, especially since getting caught means having to duel in the streets. Shooting is a blast in this game, especially with the revisions to the Dead Eye mechanic. Finally, what I consider to be the real gem of this game, is the horse-riding. Not since Shadow of the Collosus has a game created such a memorable and enjoyable equine companion. That silent bond between cowboy and his horse is really crystallized as you occasionally are found without your horse, maybe find, break, and get to know a new one, and ultimately feel some loss when a cougar mauls your favorite buddy.

I’m trying to avoid any real spoliers because this game really deserves your time, but to dive a bit deeper into my opening topic, Red Dead Redemption is a game about freedom. It helps us reflect on freedom on multiple axes. Narratively, the setting and story are about more than John’s quest to save his family, it is truly a tale of a man attempting to redeem himself for his old ways. The freedom that the pioneer states had bred a certain type of life, and a certain type of man. As the sun sets on that way of life, John Marston must evolve to modernity & civilization, or disappear with all the wild horses he rides with. The game also is a meditation on freedom in gameplay. There are many times when I as the player didn’t agree with with John Marston was doing, but was forced to do them. There are other times when I was John Marston. This shift in and out of player vs. character tempts us to explore the nature of the game and it’s world. The game also leaves us the freedom to be a good guy or a bad guy, as John’s past always seems to loom over him. Sometimes the lines are blurred and it’s hard to tell what you should do, and while there’s no ultimate impact on the storyline regardless, it makes this tale from the wild west infinitely more enjoyable to watch unfold.

One Liner: The essential cowboy game, RDR is much more than GTAHorse.

Final Grade:[A+]

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