Red Dead Redemption

You’ll do plenty of hoofing it around these big environments, but naturally you can get ahold of a horse to pick up the pace, while stagecoach and train rides give you something resembling a fast-travel option. If you do wander, the game has a dynamic-events system that regularly puts obstacles, challenges, and surprises in your path — everything from mountain-lion attacks to lynchings to pleas for help from travelers in trouble — and you can be a saint or keep moving and let them solve their own problems. In classic Rockstar fashion, there are also mini-games; we checked out one where you place a wager and then plant your hand flat on a table, tapping a knife in between your fingers as fast as you can. Let’s just say we’re never, ever trying it in real life…

We also saw several missions: a hostage rescue gone wrong, a combat sequence on horseback against train-riding desperados, and a desperate attempt to escape some unfriendlies by barreling away in a stagecoach. The gameplay definitely has an arcadey feel as you shoot enemies by the dozens, but it’s hardly kiddie — there’s enough blood, gritty violence, and prostitution to make Redemption feel right at home in the GTA family. And that’s really what this game boils down to: GTA Wild West. Since it packs the edgy storylines and seriously pretty graphics to back that up, that’s just fine and dandy with us. — Paul Curthoys

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