Red Dead Redemption is a 2010 developed by and published by . A to 2004's , it is the second game in the series. Red Dead Redemption is set during the decline of the in the year 1911 and follows , a former outlaw whose wife and son are taken hostage by the government in ransom for his services as a hired gun. Having no other choice, Marston sets out to bring three members of his former gang to justice.
The game is played from a . The player may freely roam in its interactive , a fictionalized version of the and , primarily by and on foot. Gunfights emphasize a gameplay mechanic called "Dead Eye" that allows players to mark multiple shooting targets on enemies in . The game makes use of a morality system, by which the player's actions in the game affect their character's levels of honor and fame and how respond to the player. An mode is included with the game, allowing up to 16 players to engage in both and competitive gameplay in a recreation of the single-player setting.
- Red Dead Redemption is a -themed played from a . The player controls and completes missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story; in the game's epilogue, the player controls John's son Jack.
- Outside of missions, players may the environment, consisting of the American states New Austin and West Elizabeth—fictionalized versions of the —and the fictional state of Nuevo Paraíso. Different breeds of horses are the main forms of transportation, each with different attributes. Horses must be tamed in the wild or stolen in order to use them.
- The player can utilize trains and carriages for quick travel, The game's undeveloped land makes up the largest portion of the game world, featuring various rugged and vast landscapes with occasional travelers, bandits, and wildlife.
- Urban settlements range from isolated farmhouses to crowded towns.
