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QUICK REVIEW (LESS READING)
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Graphics- 9.5 Excellent details and textures, everything from the wool jackets, to the animal pelts you collect is highly detailed and gorgeous in HD. I did have a few hiccups and a freeze up during a cut scene, it happened one time, and could very well be my Xbox.
Sound- 10 The surround sound is top notch in Red Dead Revolver, from a steam engine barreling down the tracks, a cougar growling from the bushes, to the small things like birds chirping and wind blowing...the sound envelops you and keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Gameplay- 10 Excellent control setup (GTA vets will be right at home) the only thing that took a bit of getting used to was riding a horse, its not bad, just a bit different than a car in terms of handling. Plenty of story/mission hours to waste away, followed by double the hours you'll spend just exploring and causing havoc (or helping the kind settlers).
Re-playability-9 Just going home and being able to run around the Wild West is enough for me, Rockstar included a solid story, but you can make your own as you go, helping damsels in distress, or massacring an entire settlement, its all up to you. This is gonna be a great game for a bit of relaxation...or some stress relief.
Multi-player- 9.5 I only played a bit of MP, since the rest of my "posse" hadn't received the game yet (or were struggling to get one at the store) The premise seems really interesting though, and the game of death match I played was a real nice change from the normal FPS death matches I've been playing lately. The open world MP game has always been something I wanted to see more of, and I'm sure once this game gets into more peoples hands its gonna be a real treat for the gaming world.
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I've been a fan of the Grand Theft Auto series since it had a top down view, so when this was announced by Rockstar I was pretty interested.
The first thing I must say is Rockstar has really outdone themselves, this game takes GTA to the next level, while taking it back a hundred years on the time line. The first thing you notice is the vast area you get to call "home". The colors and sand blowing and swirling is truly beautiful eye candy. I hate to compare this game to GTA, but the undertones are all there.
I don't wanna share any of the story, and honestly that's icing on the cake for this game. The graphics are simply gorgeous, from the leather straps, and jackets, to the grizzly beards on the characters...all very well done. One thing I must say is not being in the big city setting is a breath of fresh air, no car horns blaring, police sirens at every corner, just the wide open Western range...at times I thought I could taste the fresh air.
As far as game play goes, its hard to beat. You can do anything, and I mean anything (*Ill give a example at the end of this) The stores and shops are fantastic, and walking into a new town just makes you feel like a real gunslinger! Again I don't wanna get into the story to much, but the voice acting and cut scenes are almost Hollywood movie grade, its always nice when you feel for the characters, and this game does an outstanding job of delving into their history and stories!
As another reviewer said the game takes about 20 hours to play through the main story, however getting 100% completion will take you some extra time. The problem is playing through the game, no matter how hard I tried to go to the next mission, I ended up going way off track, killing a bear, saving a stage coach, or just getting a bunch of horses together to test a dynamite stick on. No matter what path you choose, your in for a surprise...Red Dead Redemption really delivers.
If you haven't picked this gem up yet I would highly suggest it, I said I'd give an example of doing whatever you want and here it is: Find some poor townsfolk, give em a round from your six shooter in the kneecap, hogtie them, drag them behind your horse to the nearest railroad...and leave em on the track, sit back and wait for the train to come through, nothing better to relieve the stress of those long days at work/school.
Red Dead Redemption far exceeds anything you've played before, pick up this game, and I'll see you behind the saloon at high noon!