Rockstar Games
Red Dead Redemption

"It's a starry night. Too beautiful to sleep. Too... even to die." [cit.*] Those who played "Red Dead Revolver" will remember a fun and acrobatic shooter, a spaghetti western to cannibalize with adrenaline at full throttle. Well, "Red Dead Redemption" is something entirely different, even if the title suggests a certain connection. It is not the sequel, as the events take place several decades after "Revolver"; to the adventures of the late Jack Swift, there is only a brief homage at the end of the game, a veiled reference that isn't even easy to grasp. With "Red Dead Redemption", Rockstar Games (the same company behind GTA) has done a monstrous job in every aspect: adventure, setting, longevity, gameplay. John Marston is a former outlaw, killer, thief, who, betrayed by his own gang, cooperates - more out of necessity than willingness - with the American government in capturing the criminals who were once his friends. HE MUST do it if he wants to complete the one mission that truly matters to him: returning to the family he built in the meantime, reuniting with his disillusioned wife Abigail, helping her grow the little ranch he could afford; teaching his son Jack to hunt, even if he prefers reading. The various adventures, spread over about thirty main missions, take him from the dusty and desert-like American roads to the suggestive lunar landscapes of Mexico, through the dangerous border marked by the Rio Bravo river, up to the vast plains of West Elizabeth, bordered by the Ocean to the east and the impassable snow-capped mountains to the west. John's quest is more about personal revenge than real "redemption": perhaps the more suitable title would've been "Red Dead Damnation". Because there is no redemption, neither for John nor for all the characters - the 'strangers' - he meets and helps during the many side missions simply by wandering through the desert. These are adventures destined to end badly, in the harsh and grim reality of a tough world and era. The characterization of the characters is almost intricately detailed: from the desperate John, never too friendly and frankly without expectations towards humanity but with a glimmer of hope for the future, to the tough Bonnie McFarlane, a woman grown among men, running a ranch; from the pathetic yet amusing swindler Nigel West Dickens to the sly federal agent Edgar Ross, to the Mexican desperados, to the passionate Luisa Fortuna, a name that for once does not betray destiny. And then Jack Marston... Well, we'll get to know Jack Marston over time... A microcosm of perfectly crafted characters, some we discover through the missions, others by simply wandering around. Wandering, indeed. Because what this is is a free-roaming game, and soon you discover you almost appreciate this aspect more than following the natural gaming path, the one that guides you through the storyline. This happens simply because the environmental rendering is impressively realistic, with an accuracy that's hard to explain in words. It's easy to play just for the pleasure of stopping to watch a sunrise over Nekoti Rock, with the mountains gradually lighting up and the ocean shimmering in the background. Or to follow the sunset over the red "mesas" of Diez Coronas (a sort of Monument Valley). Or to ride wildly under the starry sky.
The flora and fauna are an integral part of the perfection: you can hunt anything, from armadillos to skunks to deer to vultures, and you can 'be hunted by' wild boars, coyotes, lynxes, and bears. You can gather their skins and sell them, earning enough money to buy weapons, maps, and houses. You can spend your money, hoping to win more, in various minigames available in the town saloons (blackjack, Five Finger Fillet, horseshoes, and of course, poker). You can do night patrols and train horses. To earn money, one can become a treasure hunter or even a bounty hunter, watching out for the inevitable "attention" we will receive in return, increasing or decreasing our honor and fame, which obviously depend on our behavior. There are countless environmental challenges, various outfits can be collected as trophies. This makes the longevity of the game nearly infinite. It takes very little to step into John Marston's shoes. It takes much more to shed them, and even more to digest the story's epilogue, which is not exactly an epilogue. In fact, it's an additional surprise of this game, in which, frankly, not the slightest flaw can be found, and above all, one never seems to tire of it. *My friend Darkeve had written it excellently.