Red Dead, Done

I beat Red Dead Redemption last night and let me tell you this has been one of the single best gaming experiences of my highly esteemed gaming career.  The characters were top notch,  the details were amazing, the storyline was excellent.

You should play this game.  You really should.   I was so just drawn into the world of Red Dead that I couldn't stop.  But, 1 day, 2 hours, 51 mins, and 26 sec later, I was done.  And, I was bit sad.

From the moment I started playing I was captivated.  I couldn't stop.  The scenery was absolutely beautiful; I've never seen a day/night cycle coupled with the various weather effects done so well.   Rain actually makes puddles, and when in the buildings you hear the rain falling outside.  The attention to detail was so great, that different building types actually sounded different from the inside when being rained on.

I will play this again, probably the 360 version for fun and comparison, and then maybe I'll play it again sometime after that.  As I said, I spent 27 hours playing this game and that was only the core story.  I've still got a ton of bounty hunts, hideout clearing, stranger encounters, skill challenges, outfit collecting and more.  And I've not touched the multiplayer yet either.

For those of you who disliked (or liked) GTA IV, this is not GTA IV.  Yes there are some gameplay conventions from GTA, but this is much more than a reskinning of GTA IV.  It's a whole new gameplay experience.

I just hope to see more of this, and soon.