Red Dead Redemption: Return of the King

I just finished “Red Dead Redemption” and I must confess it felt a lot like I was watching Peter Jackson’s “Return of the King”. The experience overall was simply fantastic, but the ending seemed to drag forever.

At one point I actually ejected the disk from the XBOX and declared to my wife “I beat it, I guess”. However, I did not see credits roll so I got on the Internet and googled “I think I beat Red Dead Redemption”. This led me to a handy Gamespot forum which informed me I did not. Around six hours after I beat the big boss “bad guy” I stumbled upon the hidden (at the very least hidden from me) final mission and after four of five attempts I beat the game.

“Red Dead Redemption” is an excellent game. Riding a horse through the vast game space and hunting is a simple pleasure. Additionally, fun, off main story, missions pop up randomly as you ride. Stopping a thief, saving a man from a pack of wolves, having your horse eaten by a cougar and only your reflexes to save you from its fate are some of the most memorable moments I have had in gaming in a long time.

The main story is fun, if meandering. You will meet various characters that add, humor, depth, sorrow, and spunk to your “Redemption”. Some characters are more memorable than others and sometimes you are forced by them to do some terrible things.

Which is where my major problem comes into play with “Red Dead Redemption”. Everything regarding the main story of this game is a forced choice. There is no good/evil when it comes to playing out the plot points that the writers came up with. If you want to progress in the game you are required to deal with everyone and do exactly what they say. After playing games like “Fable”, “Fallout”, and “Mass Effect” simply going along with what an immoral NPC tells you to do feels like a major oversight.

That said the game does employ an “Honor System” whereby you can be respected or feared by the populous. But that system only applies to how you behave while wondering the country side. If you kill a man you are docked honor, inversely, if you save someone you are awarded honor points. Unfortunately event the most “honorable” player is forced to help completely immoral characters.

Mini-games range from fun to passable. I loved hunting/skinning animals and taming wild horses. I was perturbed that the horses I tamed I could not sell for profit (or at least did not figure out how to do so). I also really enjoyed playing poker and blackjack. I never bothered with five finger fillet, dice, or horseshoes. I tried a movie once and walked out after twenty seconds.

In the end, I must say that I really enjoyed the overall package of “Red Dead Redemption” and cannot wait until the next installment.