Redeemed

Another game has been cast down from my Hall of Shame: On your horse Red Dead Redemption, you're outta here!

Now what can I say about it? Well the ending was a kick in the teeth to say the least: Our protagonist John Marston is conned into helping the government clean up their dirty and he in turn is screwed over - Mind you, when I got round to playing through the final mission, the in-game weather took a turn for the worse and the entire thing occurred in the pouring rain. A coincidence but one that, IMHO, actually the scene better and more poignant.

But what of the game itself? Well I've never been a big fan of the open world games but here it works - Not sure why though: Maybe it has a lot to do with the setting as the Old West is a far more volatile and violent place than the cities of the present (the same could also be said for that other sandbox game I love Sid Meier's Pirates!). Maybe there is a lot to do and never once does the game get boring. Maybe the world, the setting and landscapes are so well realized to the point of jaw-dropping. Maybe it'd the influence of watching Unforgiven, the Wild Bunch and the Good the Bad and the Ugly during my college years. Maybe it's the implementation of an excellent morale system. Maybe it's the very well-written story and the fascinating character of John Marston.
Or maybe Red Dead Redemption is a damn good game. Yeah let's go with that.

You know I've heard people say bad things about this game but you know what? Fuck them. This game is great and I was glad to have played it. I invested over twenty hours in the game but it felt like much longer which to me is mark of something special.
Still have no idea what's the point of the Undead Nightmare though....