What makes Red Dead Redemption a great game?

I'm about halfway through playing Red Dead Redemption on the 360, and I wanted to jot a few thoughts about what makes it a great game.

1 Immersion

Immersion is one of the most important aspects of game design. RDR stands out as the most immersive game that I have ever played. It nails the look and feel of the Old West. The language, the clothes, even the way people walk and react. It feels alive.

There is a massive map and very little repetition of things that you see. For example, to pick an older game, Far Cry, all the huts in each village looked alike. Every jungle path looked alike. In RDR, every trail, every hacienda looks unique.

2 Sandbox format

Rockstar games are famous for giving you a massive free-roam area to play around in. Plenty of players just ride around and get into trouble. I believe that the play area in Fallout 3 was probably a little bit bigger, but Fallout 3 didn't feel like free roam because you'd get attacked by something every 20 yards. RDR gives you the chance to take a stagecoach from place to place but you feel like riding instead because it's so much fun.

3 That five-year-old feeling

By which I mean that when I play an XBox game, I want something that makes me feel like a 5-year-old kid playing cowboys and indians again. Somehow, RDR manages to do that and still keep a decent level of realism.

4 A great script

Okay, the story is pretty straightforward, but the characters in the story are great fun. People sometimes argue whether a game should have a great story (or whether it's a work of art), but I'm a firm believer that a great story makes a great game.

RDR has a wicked sense of humor, too. For example, there's a guy who *loves* his horse in a way that is not quite appropriate, and there's a hard-drinking Mick by the name of Irish who swears incessantly. In fact, it's the first time I've heard the word c**t used in a game.

RDR pulls every Wild West cliche out of its ten gallon hat, but it's all in the name of good fun.

Angels of Bayonetta

I'm playing Bayonetta on the 360 at the moment.

What grabbed me from the beginning was how cool and well designed the angel enemies are. Unfortunately, in the game you can't get a good look at them because they come at you really fast. I didn't even realise they had faces and I thought the pointy bits were beaks! They're actually beards.

Anyway, here they are in all their glory (click on the picture for a full view):

Mass Effect 2: New Best Game

I've just finished Mass Effect 2 and my verdict is that is the best game ever for the 360.

Here is my personal Top 5:

1 Mass Effect 2

2 Mass Effect

3 Ninja Gaiden 2

4 Gears of War 2

5 Gears of War

Unlike Hollywood movies, in the gaming world, sequels are actually better!

Games of 2009

Here are the games I played in 2009:

1 The Force Unleashed
2 Fable 2
3 Medal of Honor: Airborne
4 Fallout 3
5 Gears of War 2
6 Batman: Arkham Asylum
7 Rainbow 6: Las Vegas
8 Command and Conquer: Tiberium Wars
9 DragonAge: Origins

All good games! The best for me were Fallout, Gears, Batman, C&C and DragonAge.

What a great year for games and next year there's even more gaming bliss. Borderlands and Assassin's Creed 2 are waiting to be played. Bioshock 2 and Mass Effect 2 will be out soon.

Command and Conquer 3

I'm playing the second of my bargain basement games: Command and Conquer 3 for the 360.

People told me that it wouldn't be fun to play a RTS game with a controller and I had my doubts. It is tough, but doable. Like everything else, you get used to it.

As for the game itself, I breezed through the levels on Medium difficulty until I got to Croatia. Croatia killed me. I'm always worst at the defend-against-the-onslaught missions and this one has a double whammy. You're told to hold out for two minutes until reinforcements arrive, but when they arrive, you have to actually go and rescue them on the other side of the city. You can't build any more buildings until you do.

I got creamed a few times, so I'm taking a breather and I'll try again tonight.

Tiberium wars, ladies and gentlmen.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

I was planning to buy Prototype but the guys at my local games shop talked me into buying this instead (and those guys know their games.)

I'm not a big Batman fan but I love the gothic feel of the game. Essentially, Joker has taken over a lunatic asylum and is throwing a 'party' for Batman. The game is a lot of fun and it's easy to pick up and play; it's got a short learning curve.

My only gripe is that it is a bit easy. I'm 28% of the way through and I haven't faced any real challenges, even though the boss fights are ... tricky, but not tough. You get lots of hints, too. I guess I should have played it on difficult level.

Anyway, it's not enough to put me off the game and the storyline is pretty cool. All in all, I would suggest this game for people like me: people who don't play superhero games but would like to try something different.

Playing it on the 360, of course.

Medal of Honor: Airborne

I just finished playing Medal of Honor: Airborne on the 360. It's a bit of an older game (in gaming terms), but it's one I always wanted to play but never got around to. I got it from the bargain bin.

The two previous MOH games I tried were top notch and Airborne was excellent, too. The developers put a lot of work into the enemy AI and it showed. It's not the kind of game where you can run through blasting at things. Do that and you'll get your head blown off in a matter of seconds. You have to take your time, strategize and work with the rest of the team.

The standout level was the last one: Der Flakturm. See the pictures below; the one on the top is the real Der Flakturm (flak tower) and the one on the bottom is the game version. Cool, huh? It's a massive tower that you have to fight your way through and it's filled with elite troops at every turn. You can start the battle at the top, bottom or middle of the tower, since you drop in by parachute.

MOH: Airborne is highly recommended for hardcore WWII action, especially if you see it sitting in the bargain bin, like me.