Is this,really, so good?? I need a good game. Can't wait for Friday
Keep in mind that it's mostly based on initial enthusiasm.
But, certainly right now - I think it's absolutely brilliant.
I generally don't play games on my Xbox - but this one is executed with such passion and has an utterly AMAZING feel to the controls (especially the combat system) that I just haven't been able to put it down, even though I was starting to really enjoy Assassin's Creed 2.
That said, it's not unlike me to have a very positive reaction when a game comes out that seems to do everything right (within its genre), and I had the same initial response to both Risen and Dragon Age recently. Both those games ended up being merely good to really good. Both games had problems that I didn't notice for the first several hours of play.
But still, this one is something special - and Rockstar deserve all the support they can get by doing something so different, SO right. I can't believe some of the things they implemented simply because it's part of what we've seen in old westerns, like herding cattle or breaking in horses. Might sound lame, but it's executed to perfection and is only sparingly part of missions. I never expected to enjoy such things, but I did - and greatly so.
As I said, if this keeps up - it will be THE western game to set the standard for many years to come.
Oh, and note that while I liked GTA4 a lot, it was marred with a ton of issues that put it down to "decent" level for me.
RDR is a lot more flexible with its checkpoint/save system and doesn't in any way encourage pointless and boring activities like the "socialising with friends" thing of GTA4.