Review: Red Dead Redemption

I've been cutting days short and not staying out with friends because I want to get deeper into Red Dead Redemption. For those who know me, you might know that I was in love with Grand Theft Auto IV, and I consider The Ballad of Gay Tony to be one of the finest gaming experiences I've ever had. Red Dead Redemption takes that to the next level and is the next generation of sandbox open-world games, period. While the world seems, huge I don't consider it to be too cumbersome and the ability to automatically travel to any location as long as you setup a campfire makes it that much smaller. That being said, there is more than enough game there for even the most hardcore gamers out there. There's hidden treasure, hunting challenges, damsels in distress, stolen horses, ranching jobs, and bounties you can take. Then there's the storyline which to me has a very big resemblance to that of Niko in GTA IV. John Marston has a mysterious past and he has come to Armadillo to tie up some loose ends from that past. The voice acting and mo-cap are top notch as you would expect from RockStar. In fact I would say the story, being as comprehensive as it is makes this game be a slow burn and considering, which is a good thing. I ended up going through the story and then immediately going into the free roam multiplayer. Free roam could have been it's own game. I have not encountered too many people that are not willing to posse up and go take over some gang hang outs together. The leveling system is much like Call of Duty's with unlocks and prestiges. I of course have to point out that the game is far from perfect. The game has locked up on me three times, and some of my friends who have been playing on new Slim line PS3s have also told me this. I once picked up a hogtied woman and it would not allow me to drop her, I ended up triggering a story mission so the game forgot i was carrying her. Some of the other bugs this game have are hilarious, look for 'red dead horse woman' in YouTube. Luckily the frustration of the lock ups does not cause that much grief because of the brilliant auto-save functionality. I've had it lock up, right after it saved. Maybe I just got lucky. All in all, Red Dead Redemption is a game you must experience. I started playing the game thinking I would just play enough for this review but then I kind of forgot about the review all together and went ahead and got the platinum. This is how the west was won.