Features:

  • The Dead Eye targeting mechanic, allowing the player to slow down time for shot accuracy
  • Expansive open-world gameplay set in the final years of the American Wild West.
  • Massive play area filled with NPCs, made up 3 unique regions composed of towns and outposts filled with varying characters
  • Morality system based on honor and fame generated by the players actions throughout the game.
  • Western themed mini-games including showdowns, gambling, hunting bounties, cattle herding and five finger fillet
Wonderful Game! Still Holds Up, Even On the Newer System!

With Red Dead 2 recently released, I was reminded that I had never gotten a chance to play the highly acclaimed original. I was pleased to find it here for such a great price, delivered to my door in just 2 days! After the game arrived, I fired it up and was immediately impressed with how well this older title has made the transition over to the XBOX One. Loading times are quite reasonable on the newer console and the graphics are seamless. For being a last-gen game, the visuals are still very much top rate and look great on a larger screen TV! Now many hours into the game, I can see what all the hype was about. Red Dead Redemption combines everything I loved about Grand Theft Auto series with the simplicity and more endearing feel of a classic western movie. The game takes place at the turn of the 20th century, as the "Old West" was steadily becoming more populated and developed, but provides the player with plenty of insights into what life in the "Wild West" was really like. It's a great setting for the rather immersive story line and I could see playing this game over again just to try new challenges and alter key choices that affect the "good" vs "bad" orientation of the main character, which changes how people respond to him and the overall game plays out. Even if you've played Red Dead 2, the story of the original stands on its own and is sure to bring you hours of additional enjoyment. For anyone thinking about this game, I highly recommend it!

Simply, A Must Own Game

I’m a day late and a few dollars short getting to the Red Dead Redemption party. I bought the Game Of The Year edition some time ago. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 action-adventure game debuted on May 18, 2010. The game proved to become one of Rockstar Studio’s masterpieces. I’ve been a fan of Rockstar’s storytelling since Grand Theft Auto III released back in 2003. Their particular brand of storytelling shines through in Red Dead Redemption. Red Dead Redemption is based inside Rockstar’s version of our universe (which is not the same as the Grand Theft Auto universes) in 1911. The Wild West is dead and dying as American civilization reigns in outlaws and charlatans. John Marston, a reformed outlaw, is caught in the middle of progress’ warpath. As Marston, you step off a train at the station in fictitious Armadillo (based on Amarillo). There you head to Fort Mercer with a local guide where you are shot in the gut and left for dead. Marston awakens in a ranch hand’s hut. It’s revealed through the ranch owner, Bonnie MacFarlane, scooped you up, put you in a wagon, and took you to a doctor in Armadillo. Bonnie politely interrogates Marston, revealing that he was hunting wanted outlaw and gang leader, Bill Williamson. She then asks Marston to work off the fifteen-dollar medical bill and he obliges. After the bill is paid, Bonnie recommends heading to the U.S. Marshall’s office in Armadillo concerning any aid in assaulting Fort Mercer in search of Bill Williamson. I’m going to stop with the plot here because I hate spoilers as much as the next person. Where gameplay is concerned, Red Dead Redemption functions like any other open-world game that you would expect from Rockstar. The major difference here is that many towns, settlements, and cities are in-game days apart. It gives a more realistic experience, but after two hours real world time it becomes a pain in the ass. Over time, Rockstar has learned a few things about what fans want. In Grand Theft Auto IV, developers introduced a functioning taxi system that allowed gamers to travel to any selected area within reason. That idea transferred over to Red Dead Redemption in the form of stagecoaches. They do not allow you to travel to any point on the game map, but they cut ten-minute journeys into 3-second hops between towns. Red Dead Redemption employs a slow-motion gunslinging ability called the Dead-Eye. This allows the player to successfully fend off an insane slew of enemies ranging from the garden-variety coyote, the coyote’s cousin – the wolf, to Mexican rebels and fugitive American outlaws. Within a few hours of playing, you will pick up on the importance of the shotgun to stagecoach drivers and their passengers “riding shotgun.” The game being set in early 1900s America; there is a wide array of weaponry available. There are at least three or four variants in each type of gun (pistol/revolver, shotgun, repeater rifle, sniper rifle, thrown, explosive, and lasso/whip). Carriages can become difficult to maneuver because they have a different default button scheme than what the average gamer has been accustomed to with other vehicles in videogames. The setting in Red Dead Redemption is mostly based on the Four Corners area of the American Southwest. The graphics are gorgeous. Leaves in the trees and wild fields move in the breeze. In two years, Rockstar considerably updated their graphics. That’s a comparison between Red Dead Redemption (2010) and Grand Theft Auto IV (2008). It’s easy to forget your goal and simply ride off into the sunset on a wild mustang you just broke in (entirely possible, by the way). Erik Brudvig at IGN (2010) said, “The setting of Red Dead Redemption, leaving out the interactive elements, is an achievement in itself.” When I purchase videogames, I ask myself why should I purchase them. In regards to Red Dead Redemption in particular, this game has a huge factor to figure. If you love Western genre entertainment then you will love this game. If you hate Western flicks then this game is going to lose about sixty percent appeal. Western movie fans will appreciate the subtle nods to popular movies like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, Tombstone, and True Grit. If you happen to enjoy the open-endedness of open-world games then you will most likely enjoy Red Dead Redemption. Maybe you prefer the freedom to embrace good or evil. If you have ever wanted to act out your favorite Western – this is your chance! So why should you purchase Red Dead Redemption? Well for one, this award-winning game currently holds a 95 and a 9/10 on Metacritic. IGN gives it a 9.7. It currently holds 4.6 out of 5 stars on Amazon. The Official Xbox Magazine (2010) said, “Red Dead Redemption is a truly epic resuscitation of the Western theme in games. It's also easily the best gunslinging game we've ever played.” Critics and fellow gamers aren’t wrong about the game. It’s a masterpiece – complete with a compelling story that is deserving of your time and money.

A near perfect game

I've always thought Rockstar was one-step from making GTA into a perfect game but they always had to get too cute with GTA. Not with RDR, even the Undead DLC is a ton of fun. What's more fun than jumping on an automatic mounted chain-machine gun and mowing down hordes of zombies? I think a big part of the fun with RDR is the main character John. Unlike GTA, especially V, you don't feel a polarizing feeling towards John. The story and his backstory draws you in. You could be just like him .. you know, if you lived in the old west. You're going to get attached to the character, his family and you'll even enjoy the parts that normally would feel repetitive. I will say Skyrim and Fallout are also good at doing this. All video games, in my 30+ years of gaming, become boring. They drag. It's going to happen but if the developer can make you feel like you're accomplishing something for your character, you don't notice it as much. RDR does that. I'll give an example with GTA. I really like the GTA games but I eventually get tired of "playing by the rules". Like when GTA San Andreas had you destroying the comic book guy's remote helicopter toys and you had to use a remote helicopter toy to do it. In RDR, there's no real restrictions, if you can kill those legendary animals with a knife, have at it. Want to throw dynamite at them? You can. Or you find them from a distance, get your Carcano Rifle out and try to snipe the elusive beast. My teenage son said it best, "Everything in it feels epic". I think that's what makes this game so great. From the side challenges like trying to skin X amount of a certain wild animal to trying to poke a knife between your fingers in a QTE game to my personal favorite moment of the game. You've just realized you have a bunch of animal skins to sell but haven't saved. Then you hear it. The sound of a cougar attacking. Those will kill you before you can get your gun pulled, kill your horse too. It's such a fun, intense moment in a usually mid-paced game. The characters throughout the game are either crazy or hilarious or both. Just wait until you have to run behind the bank and hunt the critters. It's a relatively violent, harsh game that doesn't use gore or shock to make it violent. It's almost like an old west simulator. I've had Red Dead Redemption 2 preordered since last summer. Even worse, I decided to switch from the XB1 to PS4, so now I'm going to have to cancel my XB1 preorder and preorder it on PS4. I would rate it as one of the greatest games ever made. The game that comes the closest in old west style is Gun. Nowhere near as challenging as RDR but similar gameplay and setting. By the way, it works great on BC. I've played it all the way through twice on 360, once on XB1 BC and wouldn't be surprised if I try it on PS Now.

Red Dead Redemption? Yes!!!

When Red Dead Redemption came out I wasn't very interested, it looked like GTA in western times to me. Well that was an incredible mistake but one I am glad I made, why? Well you see, I do not have Xbox LIVE and therefore I can not get any DLC for any game I own and since the Game of the Year Edition comes with all the DLC already there it just made it that more great for me! The reason I finally bought the game was because it came with Undead Nightmare and I LOVE zombies, I could have bought the DLC alone but I decided the actual game wouldn't hurt since the DLC might be pretty short. The Story: The story for Red Dead Redemption blew me away John Marston (The main character) is an excellent and well made character who seems to always be in the middle of the right or wrong path. He is sent to hunt down his old gang members from when he was an outlaw in exchange for his family that the government has kidnapped. While it may sound simple at first you will soon see that it is nothing close to being easy. I expected the story to bore me, believing that the game would be more focused about sandbox environment and free roam rather than the story, boy was I wrong! This is now my favorite game, John Marston is a wonderful character that I absolutely love, I know I didn't touch much on the story but I am trying to be as spoiler free as possible. Gameplay: The gameplay is awesome, I also had a "meh" expectation for the gameplay because it takes place in the west so I thought I'd be using a gun or two but once again I was wrong. There are so many different weapons they all feel different in their own way, the options of weaponry let you have the option of choosing how to approach certain situations for example, you may go into an area with your guns blazing and just take an all out offensive on your enemy or you can lasso them and bring them back to the town to face what they have done. There is also some knives and throwing weapons that can be used for stealth attacks, though I didn't really seem to go into that part of the gameplay much since your usually out in the open and the general enemy would be a tad difficult to stealth kill. Visuals/Audio: The game looks amazing, each area has it's own unique look and there isn't a sudden abrupt change, as you move from one area to the next you'll notice the land slowly becoming more similar to the next area, the animals in the game (that you have the option of hunting and skinning so you can make a few bucks) are so much fun and there are so many animals to see and/or hunt. Some may be docile and flee while others may be aggressive and attack you, some animals will even pretend to flee and return when you have your back turned or with a group and attack you. Lets get to sound, now.. Usually I don't pay much mind to the sound, it's there but there is never anything that pops out to me personally. But this game has an amazing soundtrack, and even the sound effects of certain actions are awesome! The voice actors are incredible, the animals are realistic and the music just pulls it all together in a beautiful looking game. DLC: The reason I bought the game.. Well, I will admit that the DLC is very fun but I am very glad I didn't purchase it alone because I would have missed out on such an amazing story in the main game and the DLC did in fact feel very short (To me anyway) There are also DLC costume and weapon packs that are already in the game, so that was fun too but I'll focus more on Undead Nightmare here. The zombies are.. Well.. Zombies! I was so pleased to find out that only fire or a head shot could kill them, shooting them in the arm, chest, leg, or anywhere besides the head will not kill them! Isn't that awesome?! I actually found myself not really using guns because it was so much fun to get close up and smack them on the side of the head with a tomahawk. The story is good, not as good as the main one. What sticks out in this is definitely the gameplay, not only do you get to fight zombies but you also get new weapons that you can't get in the main game! Also the animals can become undead which I found to be a nice touch, an added bonus to having animals becoming undead is that your horse can become undead also! My horse was killed by a small horde of zombies and once I whistled it returned to me looking like it had been dead and chewed on. The Undead horse has unlimited stamina but is also a bit more difficult to control as it sometimes will try to steer in its own direction rather than yours. There are also a few mythical creatures in the game that I will let you find out about for yourself. Pros: Gameplay, story, visuals and audio is great! DLC comes free already in the game so you don't need Xbox LIVE Free Roam + Sandbox environment, what's not to love? Cons: Minor bugs and glitches There is a Multiplayer aspect of the game but I wasn't able to even play it because it requires Xbox LIVE, so keep that in mind. Now I don't want to scare anyone from this product, it is indeed awesome but personally I had a game freeze a few times, they were NOT often and only happened about three or four times and my game or console was not harmed by it in anyway. Overall: If you like westerns, free roam, huge areas for gameplay or anything like that, BUY THIS NOW. It is a great game and in my opinion it is well worth the price since you don't need internet access to get the DLC. P.S. This is my first review, I apologize if I wasn't very good, I tried my best and just wanted to let everyone know how much I LOVE this game! Have fun!

GTA meets the Old West

This game is awesome! If you love GTA, you will love this game too. This is by Rockstar, the studio that brought us GTA. You are John Marsden, former outlaw, husband, father, and gunslinger. Duels, horse riding and breaking, lassos, animal hunting, more side quests than you can shake a stick at (although why you would be inclined to shake a stick at a game is beyond me), and more.

Why are you here and haven't bought it yet?

This is it, the original, the OG. This game will go down in history, at least, my own personal historical memory. It is rather embarrassing how many hours I put into this game. As a teenager, I spent a lot of time alone because of my mom’s work schedule. As a result, much of my time was spent fantasizing about lives I couldn’t live at the time. At first it was books like enabled that and then once the Xbox 360 came out, it was video games. This game basically allowed me to live an alternate, impossible life, in a century I could see myself living in. Some may say western games are cliché, boring, too drawn out. Being drawn out is certainly an attribute Red Dead Redemption is worthy of, but for me, that was a good thing. The plot is summed up nicely in the product description that says “Experience Marston’s journey across the sprawling expanses of the American West and Mexico as he fights to bury his blood-stained past and seek a new future for himself and his family”. It is anything but boring and cliché. The slow pace allowed for an experience of realism and proper plot development. Anything faster would feel too plastic and artificial. After coming home from the horror that was high school, I would immerse myself in a fantastic world of gunslingers, gangs, and turmoil. Nothing ever seems routine here. At school, everything was predictable. Everything followed an orderly schedule and you always knew what was going to come next. In the world of Red Dead, however, this was just the opposite. Every time I would gallop into the town of Armadillo, for instance, something new happened. Whether it’s encountering a gang of miscreants shooting up the town, a criminal fleeing from a robbery, or some smart-mouthed stranger targeting my massive ego to a duel, it all seemed real. My real life at the time was robotic, and this game fulfilled my desire for a life of danger, adventure, and heroism. I chose to write this review because of how much this game meant to me in the past. The reality is, however, that I bought this game mainly to prepare myself for the sequel coming out in October (which I pre-ordered the day it was announced). I’d be lying if my nostalgia didn’t also secretly hope that playing would also give me the same effect as before. In case you’re wondering, it did. No matter how many playthroughs I go through, I am never bored, and I’m always in awe. I discover something new every time. I didn’t want to waste my review blabbing about how the gameplay plays out, what the plot is, how many guns there are, etc. You can read the other reviews if you want that. Just another sheep sums up the stuff you can do pretty well and I’ll just quote it here: If you like skinning animals, riding horses, pissing off locals, being a gentlemen, shooting birds from a moving train, outrunning lawmen, becoming a lawman, betraying the lawmen, outrunning the lawmen, shooting bad guys, shooting good guys, saving women, deciding not to save women, collecting herbs, wearing badass clothes, owning a lot of badass guns, winning money from strangers, hunting outlaws, killing cougars with a knife, silencing witnesses, abusing dynamite, buy the game already.”. All of that pales in comparison to what really makes a game good. I believe that how a game makes you feel is really the reason why we enjoy a game. If you want to live a life you never can and be swept away in a brilliant storyline in a beautiful world, this in the game for you. Even though it is old by video game standards, Red Dead Redemption is hands-down the best game I have ever played.

Holy just buy this already and stop reading reviews about it.

Why are you reading reviews about this? It's basically perfect, and It's been out for like 100 years. I pretty much got a Xbox 360 just to play this game when it came out. Just get it and in like 3 months when you finally finish it get RDR2 and play that, then in like 9 months when you finally finish that game play this one again. Maybe throw Red Dead Revolver in the mix also, but you'll have to dig your old Original XBOX out to do that , most likely. Anyway I go this to play after I beat RDR2, but I have like 5 months left so it's gonna be a while. I'm serious these games take for fricken ever to finish, unless all you do is play the main story and skip the fun stuff, you monster. OK, Rockstar, where's my free stuff now that I've convinced everyone to buy your stuff!

Can't stop playing it

Pure Excellence. Just buy it, lock yourself in a room for a few hours and play it. It's much better than you remember. Also the update Xbox One case design is beautiful.

One of my favorite video games of all time...

Red Dead Redemption is so close to being a masterpiece of a video game that I sometimes hesitate to even call it a video game. It's more like interactive art along the lines of Shadow of the Colossus or Breath of the Wild. The character development is off the charts and it does a really great job of immersing you in its world, even if that world is not technically perfect. There are sometimes glitches here and there but they're not common and they're not enough to take you out of the world. There are even a few instances where things play out in ways that cement them in my memory as some of the greatest gaming moments of all time. The mechanics are excellent and it's got the right balance of story and action. My only complaint is that it can get repetitive sometimes but only if you do lots of the side missions and quests. Otherwise, it's an absolutely stellar game.

Yes

If you like skinning animals, riding horses, pissing off locals, being a gentlemen, shooting birds from a moving train, outrunning lawmen, becoming a lawman, betraying the lawmen, outrunning the lawmen, shooting bad guys, shooting good guys, saving women, deciding not to save women, collecting herbs, wearing badass clothes, owning a lot of badass guns, winning money from strangers, hunting outlaws, killing cougars with a knife, silencing witnesses, abusing dynamite, buy the game already.

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