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John Marston is just the kind of person who you wouldn’t want to mess with. Full of comic remarks, a load of violence and all in all a gentle soul, this man is the king of the Wild West and most importantly the protagonist of a fantastic story which will keep you hooked in the marvel of the game that is Red Dead Redemption; the Wild West’s answer to Grand Theft Auto.

Now, before I go any further I must say this: Red Dead Redemption is developed by Rockstar, and yes, therefore many aspects are very similar to GTA. But this is no bad thing in the slightest, and even with so many GTA aspects, RDR still manages to be its own, unique game. And what a game it is.

John Marston is an outlaw coming to America to escape his past of violence and betrayal (Niko Bellic anyone?) and before you know it, the ****’s already hit the fan. He is recovered by farm owner Bonnie MacFarlane: and this is where the game really kicks off in the peaceful surroundings of MacFarlane’s Ranch, without a doubt the most relaxing place in the game after the harshness of warfare. The houses are beautiful, the lanes are peaceful, and the people are nice. Obviously being a farm, there are a lot of animals kept here which actually play a part in the story: Bonnie’s missions have you learn the tricks of the trade in farming. How to lasso wild horses and how to herd cows are on the agenda. And so begins the most peaceful start to a game you’ll ever experience, even if herding cows is quite challenging. Sorry, but it just is.

But obviously, things get worse and worse as you progress. The story is a brilliant one and you never really appreciate its greatness until the ending cutscene. There’s quite a learning curve in Red Dead Redemption: the game really has a slow start but things soon begin to pick up a steady pace and you’ll eventually begin to love every second of it. My personal best part has got to be the flow of the story. Once you’ve done one mission, you want to go and do another one: and this is something many games can’t nail like Rockstar can. Always squeezing out more than meets the eye is something the developer always never fail to do in any of their games, and this is very apparent in Red Dead Redemption. That’s if you can’t get distracted: I once shot a bird in the sky and started a Sharpshooter challenge. How many games have this amount of attention to detail? Not many. Add to that the variety of different locations and a great range of guns, from the likes of pistols to the more powerful snipers.

RDR is very atmospheric resulting in some great scenarios. In the forests, wild bears walk around waiting to pounce- and when they do, its up to you to save yourself. Of course, you are rewarded, you can choose to walk away or just skin the animal and get the meat. Everything you collect can go towards earning cash by selling it in shops scattered around the world. Some open landscapes may seem empty, but they really aren’t: there’s wildlife everywhere, from horses to humans, or families travelling on stagecoaches. There’s a lot of firefights with rebels; both on ground and on horses, so when travelling you generally have to be careful which is what the Wild West is all about.

A real sense of atmosphere came later in the game, when I was riding in the beautiful but scary Tall Tress forest. Surrounded by trees, with bears everywhere, this place is only for hunters – until I found life around it. A train station with a lone ticket seller was present, and when I heard the chuffs of the train I knew there was some activity here, even more so when I turned around and saw a shops beaming with life. More dangerous, you can find a rebel area. And if you go far enough, you’ll reach the only snowy area in the game with a set of challenging mountains, and this is where you’ll find a massive base which plays a part in one of the later missions in the game. Of course, this is all in Blackwater, which is the last state you unlock.

How you travel around the world is totally up to you. The RDR equivalent of GTA IV’s brilliant taxis is the stagecoach, which are placed at all of the major cities in the game. However, out in the open, things can be very annoying. Whilst you can whistle for your horse, the most common means of transport in the game, you still might be in the middle of nowhere and and travelling to somewhere far away can be a painful task, not to mention if you have a horse and carriage, these are very hard to control when going fast. When it comes to races though, one of the many side activities to do, fast will be your only hope of winning against the challenging AI.

One of the main features introduced in RDR is ‘Dead Eye’. What initially seemed a dodgy addition is a massive part of the experience. The gameplay overall has been build around it, and without the ability to use ‘Dead Eye’, the game wouldn’t be the same. It may seem like a nice touch, but when you get into the groove you’ll be using it a lot and will become a life saver at many moments. That’s not to say it acts as making the firefights easier- oh no. Just like GTA IV, these are packed with action and are constantly a challenge. The cover system is perfected although can be a bit awkward to get into the place you want; sometimes it will take you elsewhere automatically. Add to that ‘Dead Eye’ can only be used when you have killed a certain number of people, so it ends up being all about control rather than using it all the time.

Graphically, Red Dead Redemption is put in the spotlight when you see the sunsets – this is where the game really shines in visual affects. As you ride along the paths of dust on your trusty horse – which are major parts of the game – looking around at the amazing open landscape, you can often see the sun set on the horizon and this really is a sight not to be missed. Just Cause 2 does it well, this does it even better. However, not everything is perfect. It seems as if it has gone a step backwards from GTA IV in terms of textures. The grass seems quite flat and ugly with no real HD look about it, and likewise it has no affect on the environment at all.

As far as John Marston is concerned, he wants to get back to his family: but things are steadily going downhill. As you progress through the story, you eventually unlock the two other states in Red Dead Redemption: Mexico and Blackwater. Whilst Mexico is more on the posh side with pebble stoned paths and massive glorious castles, Blackwater is even more so, and also much more advanced in technology. Motor cars dominate the area but sadly are only used in missions, which is quite a disappointment. Sound is implemented to great affect in Red Dead Redemption: obviously there aren’t any radio stations but songs play in the background when you have reached a special part of the game, which is a really nice touch to make the experience even better.

The game is topped off with one of the best endings I have seen in a game in a while, and also a very sad one at that. But with all sadness comes great change: the story mode may be complete but something else is just beginning and the game opens up to many new possibilities. Why? I won’t tell you, you’ll have to find out yourself.

Cutscenes are, as always for a Rockstar game, as good as you will ever find, add to that a real variety of interesting characters that make up the brilliant story, whether it be the ambitious medicine creator or the crazy scientist later on in the game, there’s always somebody who will put a smile on your face when in an intense firefight, and its not only John.

The missions are varied from the likes of massive gunfights to Wild West drive by shootings and despite the fun of it all, you can never help but notice everything seems to go in a rinse and repeat cycle. Things just about seem a little bit repetitive after you’ve killed those rebels for the millionth time. What is not repetitive though are the side missions, which are essentially like the ones GTA IV had to offer but Wild West style: if you fancy a game of the insanely hard Five Finger Fillet, then you can, or if you want to earn or lose some cash, poker is your game. Alongside that, there are many people scattered around the world that need your help: much like GTA IV’s random character’s, Red Dead Redemption’s ones let you start a task but its not compulsory to do it straight away, so therefore you can always get back to it whenever you want.

Picking flowers is on the agenda as well, which is RDR’s equivalent of GTA IV’s pigeon shooting, but not as hard overall because when you get near them they appear on your minimap. Which is relief.

And don’t even get me started on the freedom you have in this game: open world, open possibilities. Which sometimes include saving people from robbers by either shooting them or being all kind and giving them some cash. Man up Marston.

As for multiplayer, I can’t say I’ve played it that much – the review for that will come separately. Just expect GTA style mayhem in the Wild West.

It would be a crime not to say that Red Dead Redemption is a legendary game, but there are so many times you can shoot those damn rebels and after a while it starts to wear thin. Although using Dead Eye to blast them to pieces never gets old. In terms of story, Marston’s adventure is one not to be missed and every PS3 owner must at least get a taste of the goodness it provides, but the game is not perfect. Close, but with glaring mistakes – a flawed duelling system being one of them – and if Rockstar put their minds to it, they could easily fix what the problems are. And that is what holds this game back from perfection: the problems. Put them aside though, and Red Dead Redemption is, as an overall package, well worth the money and then some. Almost everything is consistent and enjoyable and you won’t find many people that disagree with me.

One problem many people may face though, is if GTA is enough to keep them occupied rather than buying this as well. The answer depends on how much of a GTA fan you are. If the latter is big, then by every mean get this game. That was the case with me, and I’m sure it will be for many others as well. Just don’t expect it to topple GTA just yet though. That’ll have to wait until either this franchise improves or Grand Theft Auto falls.