Review by: Meghan Watt

From its stunning Mexican vistas to its high noon cowboy duels, Red Dead Redemption immerses you in a full-fledged Western experience. But Rockstar's devotion to the era takes away from the developer's best trademarks, leaving desert landscapes and cattle rustling in place of a tightly woven, action-packed urban sprawl.

The game instantly falls into the same cadence as its GTA buddies, but rather than race through the city, you bomb around the Old West, jacking horses and causing mayhem in between missions marked by capital letters on the map. For the most part, the missions follow the same pattern. You hop on a horse, follow an NPC to the designated area and perform whatever deed needs doing, whether that's herding cows, protecting a wagon from bandits or shooting up an entire town. Unfortunately, galloping across the desert and sniping the hats off of outlaws is entertaining so long as it’s varied, but most of the missions feel much like the others. Almost immediately, the repetition grows tiresome, and – with all of the necessary mid-mission travel – you'll really start to itch for more horse power than the fellow beneath your saddle.

The lack of mission variety is only weakened by a sub-par story. As ex-gangbanger John Marston, you must hunt down your old friends in order to save your family, held captive by corrupt government agents. Sadly, throughout the game, the search for your former gang doesn't bring about any additions to the plot. But Rockstar isn't known so much for its stories as it is for its brilliantly kooky characters. While Red Dead has its share of bizarre acquaintances, they drift in and out of the story too quickly for you to develop any sort of connection.

Even though Red Dead suffers from a weak campaign, it excels at everything in between. Its open world is perfect for wasting hours doing little to nothing, yet feeling fully entertained nonetheless. As you gallop across the desert, there are myriad quests, gang hideouts, collections and other such things vying for your attention. You can stop bandits from attacking a passing stagecoach, chase after a horse thief or save a man from being hanged for extra cash. At first, these random goings-on will instantly attract you. Later, you may be inclined to shoot a passerby rather than help him save his wagon, horse, store, wife or whatever. However more structured tasks, dubbed “Stranger Quests,” feel more rewarding. They feature their own little stories and require a tad more work. You can also drop by town to pick up some guard duty or break horses at the corral. Each of these activities earns you fame and honor (or dishonor, if you so choose). Being famous, honorable or dishonorable offers certain benefits such as leniency from the police or discounts at the general store.