Rockstar's open world epic really served to highlight the need for more Western-themed video games. The lawlessness of the frontier makes for a great setting, and it's baffling that the genre hasn't been exploited more often. Red Dead Redemption wasn't just 'Grand Theft Western': the tale of John Marston was exciting and emotionally involving, more so than any of stories in the Grand Theft Auto games. The dialogue and aesthetics were convincingly authentic, often making it feel like playing through a Sergio Leone movie. The online multiplayer was a lot of fun, finally giving players to chance to have a proper Mexican standoff with real people. It was in the single-player that Red Dead Redemption really shone though, and several of the side characters were entertaining and well-written enough to warrant an entire game for themselves.
