Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Video Games: 50

50: Red Dead Redemption (360/PS3)
Developer: Rockstar
Year: 2010

I think this might be the newest game on this list. I really think it likely is. And it starts off the Top 50 game with good reason (halfway there, by the way!). Playing like a mix of Grand Theft Auto mixed with Oblivion and set in the wild west, Red Dead Redemption does something I’d previously thought overly impossible: making a great western game that felt like one of the great western films. How could one be fun? Tons of dirt and horses and old-timey weapons? Didn’t seem doable to me, despite my desire for one. So, not only did Rockstar pull it off, but they also gave us one of the greatest protagonists in video game history.

The plot of the game is rather simple; as an ex-member of a villainous gang of thieves and murderers, John Marston is “contracted” (and I use quotes because it was pretty much forced on him, actually) to help the marshals end the lives of the other members of his old gang. This takes him across the country side and even into Mexico to track down his old brothers-in-arms and stop some dastardly men from doing some downright dastardly things. All the while John must decide what kind of reformed gunslinger he wants to be, whether he acts justly and helps save random lives and take on noble endeavors, or if he wants to just lie and cheat some more. Its standard western stuff, really, but there’s one thing that really makes it work, and that’s the character of John Marston. Its rare to get a character as well defined and easy to like and understand as this guy, with his uneducated-but-educated sounding language use, mannerisms in conversation, and quick-to-annoy temperament. But I won’t dwell on him much… here, anyhow.

Otherwise, gameplay is mostly as I described it… Grand Theft Auto in the wild west version of Oblivion. A huge, wide open world to play around in, with plenty of towns, townsfolk, and wild life to play around with. Overall its pretty cool, utilizing the alphabet soup-style mission-based narrative of the GTA series (meaning you go from person-to-person, accepting quests, and completing them for money and other rewards) all the while you can find random things to do in the vast overworld. These tasks range from bountys to collect, herbs to pick, challenges to conquer, and sudden rescue missions, like saving a damsel in distress from a pack of wolves. It makes the west come alive and the large number of horses and carriages you’ll come across on the roads – along with the rail system and farm land strewn about the terrain – make it feel lived in, which is important in such a large game world. If it were any more full, it wouldn’t be authentic, but if it were any more empty, it would feel devoid of interactive greatness. In this, Rockstar found the best mix of nothingness and the human struggle that the west really was. Gunplay, by the way, was awesome, if not perfected from Grand Theft Auto 4’s style. The addition of “dead eye” – a targeting system that slows the game down and provides you with ample time to pull of fantastic, no-miss kill shots without trouble – was inspired, sometimes made the game easy, and was awesome.

The real thing, though, is that the look of the west is nailed perfectly, here. Seeing the sun set against the dry grasslands and plains is from time to time breathtaking, the rock formations and rolling hills, the rainy days and nights, and the natural movements of the wild animals are all believable and add 100% into a game that was already standing firm at 400% awesomeness. But one of the best things in this game is the character models, in particular… John Marston’s. One of the things that makes him such a standout character in video games is that his model reflects his personality and his voice accurately. His face and hand gestures (while still resembling GTA 4’s engine’s capabilities, pretty much) helps round out the voice acting and scripting of the character. And while he is the breakout character, even the lowly models of townsfolk are well crafted and utilized. But the thing here is that all of these visual elements – paired with the awesome soundtrack and sound effects – bring the west to life in all the ways I thought would prove to be boring to play.

All in all, Red Dead Redemption is a game I could talk about forever, actually (I didn’t even touch on the game’s addictive and hilariously fun multiplayer aspects) and one of the few Rockstar games I’ve actually had the patience to finish. With its perfect mix of west-meets-GTA infused gameplay, its great control and horse back riding (most realistic looking horse movement, period), and the introduction of John Marston into the world, RDR created a masterpiece of modern gaming from the moment it shipped. If you haven’t played this instant classic, get the hell on the boat with the rest of us, you idiot. If you don’t… or won’t! …I will kill you.

Classic Moment:
I thought I’d finished the game entirely, but it turns out that wrapping up the main quest line presents you with a series of quests to complete at the Marston home and farm, including scaring crows and hunting for meat, all the while teaching John’s son. Overall, the game had presented me with every kind of mission I thought a game set in the west could provide, but the series of quests in which you teach your son to be a man took me by surprise and were just as much fun as the other things in the game. Of course, things take… turns near the end of this portion of the game, but the fact that such an action packed and fast-paced game slowed down to let John breathe was unexpected and welcome as hell. Daring, too.

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Added February 27, 2017
That this game still gets me excited just thinking about it, at this point, is the most telling thing. There is a second one coming, now, seven-eight years later. I’ll buy that.