IDreamElectric

It took me a while to get round to buying Rockstar’s latest offering – Read Dead Redemption. I’d heard the sterling reviews and seen the gorgeous screen shots but something was holding me back. When I played GTA IV I found it quite difficult to get into. I really wanted to like it; I really should like it; but I just didn’t get into the story and in the end stopped playing it. Same thing with Bully. Enjoyed it, but not enough to see it through to the end. Thought I’d be better off saving my pennies for Fable III. Anyway, curiosity and boredom got the better of me and finally Mr. Postman brought me a shiny new game.

The first thing that struck me was the landscape. It felt real. Not just realistic - real. I hate it when there are teeny tiny little weaknesses that keep nagging at you, the ones that remind you it’s essentially a bit of programming. But here, it felt so natural that I didn’t even think to look. It’s one of the few g ames I didn’t mind getting hopelessly lost in because it allows you to take time to explore. The attention to detail is incredible, and if you get b ored of exploring you can always go and shoot some animals for meat and fur. On a side note, you know you’ve played a game for too long when you leave the house and the first instinct on sight of a bird or rabbit is to reach for your rifle. Fortunately, I never have one to hand.

I defy anyone, man or woman, not to fall a little bit in love with John Marston. He is probably my favorite computer game character of all time, and that’s not just because I fancy the chaps off him (yes it is). But there are dozens of characters in the game that help to tell this brilliant story – they made me laugh, repulsed, scared, angry and yes, fine, maybe there was a tear in my eye at some point. Once. But I know for a fact I’m not the only one and I refuse to be ashamed. As you play, you make decisions that affect your Fame and Honour meters – each level, whether you decide to be good or bad, has its own consequences, and it helps to make the character more your own.

This game is phenomenal. It appears that Rockstar have sat down to watch every decent Western film ever made, taken all the best bits out of them and made an epic game. Like reducing down a Westerny broth to make nutritious Cowboy soup. Mmm. The storyline is phenomenal, the scenery is beautiful and I found the controls really intuitive (possibly from playing previous Rockstar games). There’s just the right balance of main storyline, side tasks and free-roam to keep me interested. Whoever was in charge of designing and programming the horse’s movement (or indeed any of the animals) got it closer to reality that any other horse-related game I’ve played. The characters are believable, the dialogue is entertaining. The only thing that let it down is the unbelievable amount of bugs and glitches I came across whilst playing it. Perhaps they used a different QA team but it really started to get on my nerves – particularly when it means you get stuck or can’t progress. Forgivable, but a real shame. Hopefully they’ll have sorted it all out by the time thet release RDR II, which I hope we’re not left waiting too long for.

Conclusion? Play this game. Play it. Play it now.