Reviews// Red Dead Redemption

Frankly, as long as John is walking along in a straightish line, he's a fine figure of a cowpersonman. Place in a position where he needs to, for example, walk up a ramp or climb some stairs and things become a little less graceful. It's nothing to get to hung-up about though. Just don't make him jump too much.

As for the cover system though... there are numerous better cover systems. By which I mean, there are cover systems that don't entail you having to stand up to shoot a people – Dead Eye shooting or not. Dead Eye being the very vaguely V.A.T.S-a-like (see Fallout 3 again) auto-targeting system whereby multiple targets can be lined up and blown away. There's no getting away from it, the cover system is rather comical.

So, for most hardcore gamers, these two will immediately negate this game as anything other than a toss-off for wimps. Add to this the fact that the melee system is amusing in its simple idiocy and inaccuracy. Add to that the manual targeting system being useful to people like me who usually end up by shooting walls, doors, myself – well that all equals a game that can be dismissed by the kind of hardcore gamers who only ever want to play Gears on Insane or God of War III on Chaos.

So, for you guys... move on.

For the rest of us, this is a game that really does fulfil my criteria for ownership. I'm talking about the single-player here. We've covered the MP elsewhere – and we'll be covering it in more depth early next month once we've put it to the test.

You will have seen from the numerous screenshots and trailers that the landscape and other environmental elements look superb. I'm not a techno-nerd so I can't actually dissect the HDness or otherwise of each pixel, what I can say is that New Austin emotively feels like a place you want to spend some time in. From the deserts to the McFarlane Farm (and dear, sweet Bonnie), via the waterside miasmas and scoundrel-riddled streets of Thieves' Landing to the mines and the inland waterways (check out the old flower-picking Man, but be prepared), this is a gaming world that rewards exploration and is a positive pleasure to ride your horse around.

Aside from the horse riding, there are, other ways to navigate the huge playable areas. Firstly, the stage coach for which you pay. Secondly, the “Camp here and travel to your waypoint or destination”, which is free. Both are excellent ways to get through the story and mini-games rapidly. My preference, however, is to ride my steed (called 'Jeremy' - not by the game, by me) around the countryside. The riding mechanism is great. Your horse – like you – has stamina, if it gets too low, the nag will throw you.

However, if you time your single button presses well enough to drive it forward apace but not knacker it (I use that term knowingly), and if you feed it with apples or pills on the go, it can serve you well. In fact , it can come to trust you. Not only can you ride it, you can also make it hurdle obstacles. When I say that herding cattle in a thunderstorm is up there as one of my favourite moments in gaming ever, I am not joking. Why? Simply because learning to handle your ride does provide some sense of achievement – and for once that sense does not arise from busting a cap into someone's face.

The other plus to riding the range (and the desert, and the plains and the waterside) is that you get to pick up the side missions, hunt animals for meat and pelts or hides to be exchanged for cash, and you get to play the mini-games. These range from horseshoe tossing (something I struggled with) via poker to liars' dice. Each game has tangible results that can move you along positively.