5 Reasons Why GTA V Will Never Be As Good As Red Dead Redemption

1. That Ending...

The narrative as a whole in Red Dead Redemption is superb. We journey with Marston across miles and miles of terrain that ranges from barely-liveable to completely hostile, treacherous to murderous - and along the way we meet a cast of characters that are believable, hateful, endearing, and hilarious, without ever feeling like cartoons or clichés. But even if the fifteen-odd hours of story that proceed the last ten minutes of Red Dead Redemption were complete and utter crap, it would still be a dump worth wading through just to see THAT ending. There are probably a handful - if that - of people reading this that don't know the end of Red Dead Redemption, but I'm going to do it spoiler-free regardless. Instead, I'm going to tell you how I experienced it, and then, if you don't know what happens, you're free to go and find it out. I had played it solidly for a week. I had fought with Marston, sweated with him, hurt and swore and bled with him, and I finally got told that it was time to ride home to my family. I did so, picking my way down through the mountains and guiding my horse through the wood, all the while listening to Liddell's Compass with tears standing out boldly in my eyes. And eventually, I got back to them, and I smiled. Cut to an hour later. My pad is lying forgotten by my PlayStation, and I'm out in the garden. I'm shivering as I smoke, my cigarette trembling on my lips as I stare off into the distance, all too aware that my face is a pallid shade of grey and my guts are churning as though I've been kicked repeatedly in them. As the tears slid down my face, and my heart juddered in a kind of mourning-state, I sat there for around fifteen minutes. When it was over, and I felt good to move again, I dragged myself back into the house, and packed the game away. To make someone feel so strongly about a story is something that's common in books and in the movies, but it only happens in video games every so often. Even then, though, that's not what's so impressive. What blew my mind was just how brave Rockstar were in ending their game this way. Was it pleasant? No. Was it fun? No. Was it right? Absolutely. So there it is, pa'dners: 5 reasons why the admittedly awesome GTA V will never be as good as the so much more awesome Red Dead Redemption. Controversial? Maybe. Right? I'm not sure. I guess that's up to you to decide. Hit me up with your cheers of agreement or hisses of hate in the comments below, or keep it short and sweet at @CGibsonWrites on Twitter.