In the years since its release, The Searchers has long been held up as one of the greatest Westerns of all time for a variety of aspects, from its beautiful cinematography that captured the American West in all its grandeur and one of the best performances that John Wayne has ever brought to his long stable of Western films. However, what really sets The Searchers apart is the fact that the film brought a sense of maturity and darkness to Western films at the height of their popularity.

While the system itself will be familiar to those that played the previous game, the sense of your actions having consequences has interesting ripple effects thanks to the ways that your decisions reverberate throughout the rest of Red Dead Redemption 2 's world. In one part of the story after completing a heist, as I ventured into the town of Valentine as Arthur and interacted with various NPCs, some of them would ask if I heard about "the robbery just outside of town," and whispered about the fact that there were quite a few casualties as a result.

Calling Red Dead Redemption Grand Theft Equine is a dumb joke, even by my standards, but the GTA influence is as visible as the scars on John's face. The game is played in a large open world map that spans part of Mexico and part of the western American frontier, divided into three regions that are unlocked as the story progresses. John's actions can influence his fame and honor which have an impact on how townspeople react to him. Helping innocent people fight off bandits may improve his reputation but gunning down those same innocent townsfolk will have the opposite effect. Like GTA titles there is a wanted system, where if John decides to commit crimes he can attract the attention of the law and depending on how far he wants to take it this may escalate into military involvement. John can surrender to the law men, kill them all or simply high tail it out of there until the heat dies down. The problem with the last two options is the law might give up on John but that just means they've decided to send a bounty hunter after him so they don't have to deal with him themselves.

If The Proposition ends up catching your eye, a neat tidbit about its director, John Hillcoat, is the fact that he created a machinima short film with Rockstar Games in the buildup to releasing Red Redemption in 2010, which was called Red Dead Redemption: The Man from Blackwater . The short film itself was created entirely inside the engine of Red Dead Redemption and was aired on FOX around the time of the game's release - the full movie is still available for viewing here (via Dagger 323 on YouTube).

So let's get this out of the way first before delving into the deeper parts of this review: Red Dead Redemption 2 is an exceptional game that pushes the bar for Open world games collectibles-world titles, and will more than likely be considered one of the best games of this generation. Much like its predecessor, Red Dead Redemption 2 's blend of storytelling, gameplay, and artistry are all working together to form a game that works on every level. In the way that Grand Theft Auto III set the foundations for the open-world genre nearly two decades ago, Red Dead Redemption 2 feels like the culmination of everything Rockstar Games has done to develop a world that feels not only grand in scope, but even deeper when it comes to the levels of interactivity and immersion that it offers players throughout its journey.

Red Dead Redemption was a blast, with numerous side quests, activities and just a big open sandbox world to play in. Great game mechanics and design made it fun, a great story is what made it memorable. The pacing of the story doesn't ever hit any major lulls and the character of Marshton is sympathetic enough you end up rooting for him, since after all he's a good guy who just wants to be back with his family. And in trying to get back with his family he ends up being jerked around by the government. After jumping through endless hoops from the government they betray him. The ending of Red Dead Redemption is one of the sadder endings in a video game. The true ending occurs in 1914, and while there is a shot at setting things right, it ultimately feels hollow and unsatisfying. This sounds like a knock against the game, but in reality it is a testament to how powerful the narrative of Red Dead Redemption actually was.

For all the genre's advancements in the past decade or more, only a few games have come close to the sort of ultimate, lofty goal of crafting an open-world that truly feels "living." Many open-world games have aimed to become a place where players can not only have the chance to engage with a game world that is ripe with possibility and endless locations to explore, but to really immerse players inside a world and make them feel like a part of it. They want to be a place where players can influence its direction and truly feel like they have an impact on its characters and setting.

Part of what made Red Dead Redemption great was its characters. John Marshton was one of the better protagonists in a Rockstar game, which is not exactly a small feat given some of the other games they've put out. Giving up his outlaw life to be a family man after a bank robbery went awry, he maintains his tough exterior but seems to be making an honest attempt at being a decent human, even if doing so within the confines of the law is somewhat negotiable. The bar was set high enough with Marshton where the only thing I'm mildly worried about with Red Dead Redemption 2 is whether or not the new protagonist can match him. Aside from the lead there were numerous other characters. Nigel West Dickens was one of Marshton's more entertaining companions. Dickens was a swindler and snake oil salesman if there ever was one, but he did assist John on a few occasions, even if it was painfully obvious John wanted nothing more than to pistol whip him.