Quite frankly, if you’re looking for consumer advice on Red Dead Redemption, there’s very little point reading this review. The game has a little yellow box with an ‘R’ in it in the bottom corner of the packaging. That’s pretty much all you need to know. This is a Rockstar game, and this should leave anyone with no doubt as to the level of quality Red Dead Redemption revels in.

A spiritual successor to 2004’s Red Dead Revolver, Red Dead Redemption is an open-world sandbox set in 1911 and at the height of Wild West period. Whilst players live in the spurred boots of ex-renegade John Marston, the real star of the game is the frontier itself. Spanning out for miles are beautifully constructed acres of scrub-land, mountains and rock formations. Galloping through these areas on horseback is nothing short of thrilling; at times even breath-taking. Here, ‘living harsh’ doesn’t even begin to explain the atmosphere, as the world is brought to life through numerous random encounters with bandits, lawmen and dames, who wander the world and litter it with personality and wonder. Add to this over thirty types of wild animals (all which can be killed, skinned and butchered for profit) and this is without a doubt the most realistic feeling world created in a videogame. The people within the dusty towns of the West all seem to walk with purpose, their day to day lives governed by the power of the Euphoria system that ensures life-like reactions (previously seen in GTA IV). If ever you wanted to know how it felt to be on set with Clint Eastwood, here’s your chance.

If looking at the scenery wasn’t enough, then there’s the campaign to run and gun through. Whilst not as lengthy as the traditional Rockstar game, there’s a solid story to be told (which leads up to a simply stunning finale).  You’ll travel through the West and into Mexico on a mission to round up your old riding pals, who have stuck to the crooked path rather than converting to the straight and narrow. On the way you’ll perform train heists, burn villages to the ground, blow up a lot of stuff with dynamite and take part in numerous Mexican standoffs. If this sounds perfect, it’s because it is. Red Dead Redemption has an immensely satisfying campaign where no two missions feel too repetitive, where nothing feels like hard work and every shot fired is as fun as the last. The campaign is structured identically to GTA – arguably a minor flaw – with mission-givers identified on the map by a letter. Approaching them starts the familiar cut-scene explanation, and then thrusts you in-game where you are normally required to gallop to point A and then have all hell break loose.

When it does go all blood and bullets, it’s a great thing that the combat mechanics are tight and well implemented. Aiming and firing is responsive and the guns feel antique and well suited to the time period. The shooting is accompanied by the ‘Dead-Eye’ system which is a kind of bullet-time arrangement that allows you to slow down time, point out various targets and then fire off six or so shots in quick succession. It allows for some nifty cinematic take downs, and is especially useful for combat when galloping away on horseback.

As mentioned earlier, the game is filled with random events that are arguably more satisfying to engage in than the actual narrative missions. This can be anything from helping a wounded law man chase down escaped criminals to saving the wrongly accused from the hangman’s noose. The latter is an exceptionally thrilling activity, kicking up dust as you arrive at the gallows, pulling out your revolver and shooting the rope off the poor victim. Not only do you get to feel like a hero, but you’ll be rewarded with fame and honour points, which rack up for rewards and more respect from your fellow frontiersmen.

Alongside this terrific single-player campaign is an equally accomplished multiplayer. Whilst it contains all the usual modes of death matches and the like, the free mode is the most interesting to play. You and up to seven other online buddies can form a Posse and ride together into the sunset, shooting buffalo to your heart’s content and rounding up bandits into the early hours.

Verdict: Red Dead Redemption is almost flawless; the only criticism that can be put upon it being that it does little to evolve the Rockstar sandbox formula that’s been in existence since GTA III. Yet when a game can be this consistently fun and conclude with a tremendous final act, complaining that it’s a little formulaic seems like unfair nit-picking. Saddle up and load those revolvers, gamers!