The Grand Theft Auto series has maintained its quality up through the fourth release, including the chapters used to flesh out the world of Liberty City. Red Dead Redemption takes the wide-open, living-world formula, shoots it back in time to the early 20th century, and places it in the world of the Western. You play as John Marston, a man who used to run with a band of outlaws until the US government sent him out west to bring some men to justice. Some men who used to be his friends. Why is he doing this? Simple. The government has his family.

If you've ever watched Deadwood you know this setting. The West isn't quite as wild as it once was: the rule of law is beginning to crush the spirit of the land, bringing everyone under the thumb of society. The Native Americans may not have their land, we're told in the game's introduction, but in exchange they have been given the gift of Christianity. Our hero doesn't seem to think this is a fair trade.

Red Dead Redemption Developer Rockstar Games Publisher Rockstar Games Price $59.99 Shop.Ars Platform Xbox 360 (reviewed), PlayStation 3, PC

They speak, we listen

There is enough flavor in the settings, missions, and firearms to keep this from feeling like a retread of Grand Theft Auto. That said, the way in which you meet characters, take missions from them, and extend your range and the story is going to feel very familiar. You'll befriend a family with a ranch, a man who is a little too attached to the dead, and a snake-oil salesman, among other colorful characters. They all want something, and more to the point, they all want something from you.

The combat is simple—use cover and move slowly—but enjoyable

Rockstar is simply ahead of the game when it comes to both writing and voice acting. While games like Alan Wake have good stories, and titles like Heavy Rain excel at cinematic presentation, Rockstar titles stand alone when it comes to professional voice actors, and they're all given interesting things to say. In Red Dead Redemption you're riding horses, not driving cars, and the conversations you have traveling from place to place all work to explain these characters, move the story along, or maybe just make you laugh. The irony of an old gangster trying to clean up the West isn't lost on those around Marston; a character notes that no one is more judgmental of drunks than someone who has given up the bottle.

This world is far from the drug deals and hits you're used to from previous Rockstar games. You'll be herding cows, racing horses, and laying siege to a remote house to grab ammunition for a very specific gun. You'll steal entire trains. You'll ride your horse from place to place. Travel takes a while, but you are given hunting and sharpshooting challenges—not to mention the ability to search for treasure—to keep you busy out in the wild, so you'll always have something to do. There are also situations you can either jump in on or simply watch, but remember that your reputation is hard to get and easy to lose. Picking out the bad guys in the heat of battle can be a frustrating experience, and a misplaced shot can turn the good guys against you and put a bounty on your head. Tread carefully.

Your horse is your life

Rockstar claims they had motion capture sessions just for the horses... and I believe them. The horses are characters in themselves. You tap the A button to sprint, but your horse has a finite amount of stamina and will throw you if you push the animal too far. By staying with one horse for a long time, traveling with it and keeping it safe, you'll gain a loyalty bonus and extra stamina.

Yes, your horse can die. You can take a tumble, your horse can be shot (and you can shoot the horses out from under other characters) and it can be spooked. Riding the horse has a different feel than driving a car. Sometimes there is a slight delay in its movements and it does feel like something that's working with you, not a brainless machine. The downside is there is very little information about which horses are stronger than others, outside of the buying prices and star rating in the general store, so it may not be immediately clear if you're riding the best horse in your environment.

You'll also ride in or take control of horse-drawn carriages, and things will get violent. The controls and rhythms of these vehicles take a little while to get used to, but they feel great. Be sure to keep control of the speed and power of your animal though, as we've blown missions by running headlong into other characters. The horses in the game aren't perfect, but they add a ton of character and help make the setting come to life. The best horse in a game previously was arguably Agro from Shadow of the Colossus, and the horses here are much more satisfying.

Online is a mixed bag

You can join a posse of your friends and explore the world, shooting at other groups you meet or joining them in the expected game modes. It's an oddly thin experience compared to the offline game, although DLC featuring co-op missions is on the way.

In the story you can pass your time playing Poker, or Liar's Dice. There is a game of horseshoes. There is a sort of rhythm game that involves a knife and your splayed hand. You can arm-wrestle other characters. None of these great minigames, which you may spend hours with in the main game, have made it into multiplayer. What has made it into multiplayer is a mess of glitches and unreliable connections, which can be frustrating.

Online is a wonderful time with a full posse, but it's not quite stable or full-featured enough to be a huge selling point. Combined with the epic story and single-player, it's a very happy addition to the game.

In conclusion

You can fairly say that Red Dead Redemption is filled with missions where you ride someplace, kill a bunch of dudes, and then ride someplace else. That's a completely valid criticism. What Rockstar has done is make the mechanic of riding horses so satisfying and filled the journey with so many opportunities for excitement or side missions that you won't mind. The characters are nicely fleshed out and acted, and you can easily move the story along with a 30-minute session, or lose yourself for hours. This is a game that offers an impressive amount of things to do, including tracking down new outfits and possibly even running from the law, and to the developer's credit the vast majority of these things are fun.

Go bounty hunting, save a damsel in distress, become a master hunter, or simply run through the mission to enjoy the story... the choice is yours. This is a wonderful video game take on the classic Western, showing how far you can take what seems to be a thin story by filling it with interesting characters. It can take a while to get to where you're going in the game; the amazing thing is that you'll want to enjoy every second of the ride.

Verdict: Buy