My wife got me this game for my birthday thirteen months ago and I'm finally getting around to spending some time with it.
Red Dead Redemption is easily one of the most beautiful games I have ever played. One of the reasons why I waited to long to play this game was because I wanted to experience it in high-definition, rather than on the 27 inch standard television we owned at the time.
There are many times were I have stopped playing the game, and have just taken time to look around at the landscape. During missions, I've nearly rode my hose off of a cliff because I've gotten distracted by the view.
The setting and atmosphere in Red Dead Redemption is also spot on perfect, and when combined with the look and feel of the game, making it very easy to lose yourself to your surroundings in the game.
I've never really played an open world, sandbox game on this scale before, so I'm really not used to being able to literally go anywhere you want and do anything you want whenever you want. I've been playing for four to five hours, but it doesn't feel like I'm making any progress in completing the game, which is both a plus and negative.
The world of the game, feels like an actually world. During my travels, you're often see wild animals, which you can chose to kill and skin for pelts and meat, or allow them to continue to run free.
There are also people, throughout the game, that you can interact with if you choose. For example, last time I was riding from one ranch to the other, and was approached by another rider, who came from off a path. His friend was being wrongfully hanged and wanted me to help save him. The game makes you feel like there are other people throughout the land that are living in this world, and that they will carry on with their lives whether you choose to interact with them or not.
My only complaint with this game is the controls. For some reason, I've having a difficult time playing this game without having to think of what button I need to push to conduct a certain action. For example, if I want to sprint, rather than push and hold L3, in Read Dead Redemption, you hold X (Pressing L3 makes you crouch). I'm sure thinking about the control scheme will happen less and less with the more time I'm able to put into the game.