Red Dead Redemption: If You're Gonna Shoot, Shoot, Don't Talk

Most people have favorite genres that they cling to, comfort zones that determine and reinforce the kinds of games, movies, books, music, and other forms of entertainment that they gravitate towards. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard, "If that movie doesn't have Lindsay Lohan in it, then I don't want to have anything to do with it!" from one of my friends, I'd have exactly one dollar. It's natural for us to be attracted to things that feel familiar, but staying within our comfort zones can sometimes let potentially amazing experiences go under the radar.

Such was the case with Red Dead Redemption for me. I'm typically into a lot of different genres, usually leaning towards fantasy, scifi, Japanese-inspired, historical fiction, or post-apocalyptic themes, but tend to be open to new types of games if they have a good hook, story or great gameplay. Red Dead Redemption is the newest creation by Rockstar Games, best known for the GTA series, as well as Max Payne and Bully. The game is set in the untamed West at the turn of the 20th century, thus falling into the historical fiction category, which was pretty much its only selling point for me.

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I'd never been much into Westerns. When I was a kid, I would always want to play on the Indians' side in "Cowboys and Indians," and when I got to college and discovered the actual history of the "taking of the West" and how the term "Indian" was a misappropriation for the First Nations peoples, well, let's just say I became even less into the "Wild West" mentality. (Sidebar: Cowboys vs. Indians is totally the OG American PVP, complete with griefing, camping, and rage quits. The only thing that comes close is Cops vs. Robbers, and APB didn't do so well.) I'd seen "Last Man Standing," and remember thinking that the movie it was based on, Kurosawa's "Yojimbo," was probably way cooler because it had Toshiro Mifune in it. Other than that, I hadn't really seen any other films in the genre.

That being said, I was hugely into GTA IV, and was willing to give Read Dead Redemption at least a rental if it received even half the acclaim of Rockstar's 2008 blockbuster. Luckily, Brian played through it and gave it a great review, and all of the stellar opinions and editorials circulating the internets about the game piqued my interest at what the fuss was all about. Brian loaned me a copy and I was hooked from the first tumbleweed.

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Read Dead Redemption takes what Rockstar did well with GTA IV, in terms of an open world game setting with a compelling story, an engaging combat system, and vivid, complex characters, and gives it a six-shooter, spurs, and a whole hell of a lot of cougars (no to what you're thinking, unless you're thinking "mountain lions," then yes). The developer has a knack for creating characters and stories that you care about because of how human they are, and how flawed their actions and worldviews can be, while providing an ironic metanarrative through the main characters' dialogues. Red Dead Redemption exemplifies this dynamic. Without spoiling anything, the game has an incredibly thoughtful and engaging story from start to finish, and creates an immersive open world with tons of quests and action aside from the main story arc.

There's so much to do in Red Dead Redemption, including hunting, clearing bandit hideouts, training horses, duels, playing horseshoes, poker, or liar's dice, and yet each of the non-essential activities of the game are outmatched by how awesome the main gameplay dynamic is. Plain and simple, the most fun thing to do in the game is ride around on your horse, catch or shoot bandits, lasso and train horses, and hunt and skin animals. The combat and targeting system is very fluid, although it takes some getting used to and is not intuitive at times, but the Deadeye mode, which is kind of like a slow-motion bullet time system reminiscent of Fallout 3's VATS, is an absolute blast to use. A posse of bandits on your tail? No problem. Turn on Deadeye mode, choose a couple of targets each (or just their shooting arms, if you're feeling nice), and let loose!

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Red Dead Redemption's story and gameplay completely drew me in to the game's setting, and have opened a door into a new genre for me. Thanks to my addictive personality, I now want to Netflix every spaghetti western and western-inspired movie that most likely influenced the developers in the making of the game, from "A Fistful of Dollars" to "Silverado" to "Tombstone." By hooking me with its story and addictive combat system and making me want to explore its open world as either its savior or renegade, the game has gotten me looking for more entries in the Western style and made me seek out a genre that I've never been interested in before. Not only is Red Dead Redemption a great game, it's also proof that a game done right can transcend genres and get you hooked, perhaps even making you enjoy a setting that you hadn't considered before.

Red Dead Redemption is a great example of a triple-A title that deserves to be played, regardless of genre. Like other great games, even if you're not into the setting, you might find that the story, gameplay and characters may get you interested in a style that you hadn't thought of before. Of course, the game might still bore or irritate you and reinforce your original opinions, making you happy that you stuck with your comfort zone. Either way, I think you should give it a shot - you might even like it, partner.