Was Red Dead Redemption Better Than GTAIV?

Being a long-time GTA fan, I never really thought anything could approach the franchise's quality and addictiveness when it came to open-world sandbox goodness. Just impossible.

And then came Red Dead Redemption. Okay, first of all, I don't even like Westerns. I don't like Western movies, I don't like the Southwest artistic motif, I don't even like that period in history. And yet, somehow, RDR made me want to become a cowboy. Seriously. I wanted to go back in time, ride a horse, and fire a six-shooter. I wanted to be the best lasso-tosser in the county. I wanted livestock to tend.

It was freakin' trippy. I had so many reservations going into the game due to my personal preferences. I don't like Mass Effect because I really don't enjoy the sci-fi style (give me the fantasy sword 'n staff setting any day). And I loved Vice City 'cuz I love the '80s setting. So how in the world was I going to get into RDR? Well, it happened. There was just something about that landscape that made one feel so...vulnerable and heroic at the same time. It had an almost dizzying impact.

It really was the untamed countryside that drew me in. Perhaps it's intrinsic in human nature; maybe it's an inherent inborn trait. Maybe it's the reason we pushed west in the first place because there was a time in human history when we were very nomadic; we wanted to explore and conquer. And despite many years of slowing down and fattening up, I don't think you can ever really kill that indescribable urge. Deep down, maybe we all strive to be cowboys in the Wild West.

Live in a time when men were men, you know? In comparison and contrast, GTA seems to pale in comparison. And yet, I can't in good conscience say RDR is a superior game to GTAIV because I really don't believe that's true. In fact, I actually believe they're two surprisingly different games, despite being very similar in every way, shape and form. ...wait, that doesn't make any sense, does it? Well, I'm sticking by it. No other way to describe it.

I adored GTAIV. There's no doubt about that. But there was just something about RDR that struck deep...anyone else feel the same way?

11/18/2011 Ben Dutka

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Comments (43 posts)

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BikerSaint
Friday, November 18, 2011 @ 10:22:48 PM
Reply

I loved these earlier Western games, Gun & RD Revolver, and I sooo want to play RD Redemption, plus the whole game's on sale on the PSN store for $24.99 right now.

But I'm still stubbornly holding out until that upcoming "complete with DLC" edition comes out on a nice sweet shiny Bluray disc.

1 up, 0 down

Jalex
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 3:21:13 AM

I don't understand. Are you just waiting to pick it up on sale, or don't you know that the 'Game of the Year Edition' is out now?
I picked it up about a month ago, since I hadn't bought any of the downloadable content. The multiplayer stuff isn't really for me, but 'Undead Nightmare' is a lot better than I expected.

1 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 2:10:20 PM

Jalex,
OOPS, I meant "on sale"......
or price drop

1 up, 0 down

Qubex
Friday, November 18, 2011 @ 10:35:51 PM
Reply

For me RDR is one of the premier titles of this generation. I can't wait for the next one. I suppose it will be available for the PS4 and probably look 10x better than RDR. Bring on RDR II RockStar... we wait patiently!

Q!

"play.experience.enjoy"

5 up, 1 down

Geobaldi
Friday, November 18, 2011 @ 10:38:41 PM
Reply

Loved me some Red Dead though I never finished it. Still holding out for a PC version hopefully at some point, then I'll finish it. As far as GTAIV goes, I just could never get into it as much as all the previous ones and it just gets too boring over time.

4 up, 1 down

PasteNuggs
Friday, November 18, 2011 @ 10:38:43 PM
Reply

Yes it was, I didn't like GTAIV at all. Red Dead was so new and different and they did everything the right way.

4 up, 1 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, November 18, 2011 @ 10:50:52 PM
Reply

I'd have to say RDR was better at most things, attitude, environment, immersion, story, gameplay to a certain extent (very similar) and reasons to keep picking it up any playing.

GTAIV was like so repetitive and there wasn't any reason to care about the characters. I did love how funny Niko was tho.

5 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, November 18, 2011 @ 11:06:07 PM

Oh, and characters (even if some were just stereotypes)

0 up, 0 down

Qubex
Sunday, November 20, 2011 @ 12:53:41 AM

Yhea, it was simply a game you wanted to continue playing. I still want to play it, when time allows... want to get through Uncharted 3 though. Still haven't been able to complete it yet thanks to work.

I am not complaining , at least I have work, and get paying job as well... for now at least!

Q!

"play.experience.enjoy"

0 up, 0 down

CanadianGuy420
Friday, November 18, 2011 @ 11:11:00 PM
Reply

i'm a die hard GTA fan and i loved GTA IV to death ( i've played it to completion 4 times) but theres no doubt in my mind RDR is the superior game it just about every considerable way. in terms of both gameplay & presentation.

gameplay wise it was a much tighter game the controls were improved the shootouts were more thrilling and intense. and the world was just so refreshing. don't get me wrong i'm fully aware liberty city was nothing short of astonishing but i couldn't help shake the feeling that we've seen this kind of city a million times before. but RDR's wild west setting was something completely different.

presentation wise. oh where to begin. RDR is the perfect example of what R* does best creating these huge epic stories with an cast amazing characters. everything was perfect the story was both touching & tragic. the cast of characters was second to none especially john who was insanely more down to earth and likable that niko (though i did think niko was an interesting character) and the incredible writing/dialog. & soundtrack just put it over the top. so yes RDR was better than GTA IV all things considered. plus you can lasso a thugs feet and drag him 10 miles from your horse! how can you argue that ? :)

Last edited by CanadianGuy420 on 11/18/2011 11:11:50 PM

4 up, 1 down

Pandacastro
Friday, November 18, 2011 @ 11:21:13 PM
Reply

For me yeah, there were more things to do and the online made felt like a criminal or cowboy with my posse.

0 up, 0 down

Bandit1
Friday, November 18, 2011 @ 11:31:45 PM
Reply

I liked GTAIV's style much better than the older games, but RDR to me, is better in nearly every way. At first I wasn't sure it could be better. "How can revolvers and repeaters compete with RPG's and machine guns? How can horse chases compete with car chases? How can a name like John, compete with a name like Niko?" I asked myself.
But RDR had a good two years on GTAIV. Two years can make a lot of difference. RDR just 'felt' better. The control of the character and the guns was much better. The world felt more alive, and the experience more immersive.
Also, my favorite part of RDR was the story. GTAIV's wasn't bad, but RDR just blew me away.

When GTAV comes out I think it will be another big step. I'll probably think that it's better than RDR, but RDR will always be something special.

1 up, 0 down

Bandit1
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 12:04:43 AM

Oh, favorite John Marston quote:
"When a man with a sing-song voice tells me to f*** off, it ALWAYS concerns me, boyo."

3 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Friday, November 18, 2011 @ 11:33:48 PM
Reply

Yes. I personally could not get past the obnoxious dialog in GTAIV. I gave up like an hour in.

2 up, 4 down

Twistedfloyd
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 12:11:34 AM
Reply

To me, RDR is ten times better.

I couldn't even get past the first couple of hours of GTA IV. Boring game design, but brilliantly realized world. But I didn't like the characters, nor the narrative. It just didn't grab me and pull me in.

RDR's characters and narrative were brilliant to me and far exceeded GTA IV in my eyes. So much more immersive, much more relatable characters.

While RDR does drag a bit in Mexico, the narrative was so strong that it didn't matter. The narrative in RDR ranks up there with Sergio Leone. Simply sublime.

1 up, 0 down

booze925
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 12:37:11 AM
Reply

to me, it was my favorite game of this generation. while i played gta4 once through, i played rdr 3 times, each time striving for that 100%, but restarting the game due to the excellent story and sense of adventure.
i hope when they make a sequel, the open world retains the same untamed feel and is much, much larger and more hostile to the player. nothing like feeling a sense of fear each time you leave a settlement right?

0 up, 0 down

Shams
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 12:48:19 AM
Reply

I, too, was drawn in to RDR, as many else were, despite not being an ardent fan of westerners. Also, in terms of visual beauty, as far as open world games are concerned, it's 2nd only to LA Noire in my opinion (which reminds me I have to finish playing LA Noire).

For me, GTAIV, though, was more interesting just because it was "busier", with more events happening at any given time. And, of course, this has to do with the setting, the dense city scape of Liberty City.

0 up, 0 down

Shams
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 11:06:25 AM

Oops. I typed "westerners", while i meant "westerns". I'm fan of many "westerners", while there aren't so many fans of westerns I'm a fan of.

1 up, 0 down

Shams
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 1:02:56 PM

Damn it, another typo.

2 up, 0 down

Killa Tequilla
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 1:07:35 AM
Reply

Am I the only one... who prefers GTA over RDR?

*Flees*

0 up, 5 down

___________
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 1:22:55 AM
Reply

f*cking oath it was!
almost any game this gen is better then GTAIV!
had better characters, a much better story, better gameplay, and the world was so beautiful and so much fun to explore!
for a change the characters were really believable though, ive never been able to connect with characters in R* games but this really changed that.
you feel really sorry for john and what he has to go through just to get the man off his back, and back to his family.

3 up, 0 down

JSwayze
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 5:33:44 AM

lol out of all the people to say something positive

3 up, 3 down

dmiitrie
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 2:19:55 AM
Reply

I appreciate GTA4 without actually liking it. From what I saw of the story (I stopped during one of the earlier Faustin missions) the story reminded me of a modern-day version of Robert DeNiro's portion of Godfather 2. And overall, I really enjoyed the characters and the grittier, less cartoony tone. Unfortunately though, the gameplay felt very dated to me. It's not that they were bad, per se...it just felt exactly the same as the PS2 games did. And for some reason, that just didn't do it for me like it did when I was in college.

So, I'm certainly hoping that Red Dead doesn't have those same issues, as I just got the PSN deal. Apparently, I'm one of the few here that actually does like westerns, so I'm very excited about Red Dead and hope that the mechanics of it don't turn me off the way they did in GTA4.

0 up, 0 down

faraga
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 3:10:17 AM
Reply

I loved both games, but still, GTA had an edge for me because even though the setting of RDR looked amazing, I still felt there wasn't much to do there, while I can fire up GTA IV any time and have great fun just f*cking around in the LC. I couldn't do that in RDR.

Last edited by faraga on 11/19/2011 3:10:44 AM

1 up, 0 down

Jalex
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 3:30:09 AM
Reply

On a technical level, I thought 'Red Dead Redemption' was a bit better than 'Grand Theft Auto IV', but on a personal level, I thought 'Redemption' was a lot better than 'IV.'
Funnily enough, I think the main reason for this was the serious direction 'Redemption' went, more so than any 'Grand Theft Auto' title. For as major a change 'IV' was from 'San Andreas', 'Redemption' had minimal comical elements sprinkled among the rather somber tone of the entire setting, pretty much the opposite of anything 'Grand Theft Auto.' And I love good satire, especially mixed in with some fairly weighty drama (which I thought 'IV' did incredibly well), but 'IV' simply didn't cut me as deep as 'Redemption.'

Last edited by Jalex on 11/19/2011 3:31:56 AM

1 up, 0 down

Excelsior1
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 4:33:26 AM
Reply

Yes RDR is a better game. I don't even think it's close. I enjoyed RDR way more than Gta4.

2 up, 0 down

JSwayze
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 5:25:50 AM
Reply

Heck yeah it was

0 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 6:11:40 AM
Reply

I am no western fan either but oh yes, RDR were *clearly* better. It had that undefinable quality of true masterpieces that goes beyond technicalities, pixels, bitmaps and frame counts. Is it "artistic qualities"?

It was just a much more interesting world, much better visuals and artwork (the sunrise and sunset made me stop and watch every time), tons of great and varied locations (something especially gta4 sorely missed), lots of weird, funny stories. Light hearted but still with that serious underlying tone that is so typical of Rockstar.

RDR was like living in a big wild west spaghetti movie. It was like the ultimate "western movie simulator"!

Last edited by Beamboom on 11/19/2011 6:18:49 AM

3 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 7:16:57 AM
Reply

Tombstone and the other Wyatt movie made me appreciate westerns.

But RDR was cool, too. And yes, I appreciated it a million times more than GTA... of course... I'm biased as I appreciate most everything more than GTA.

2 up, 3 down

H0TSHELLZ
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 7:40:51 AM

Tombstone is my favorite Western.....right behind Young Gunz I & II

0 up, 1 down

H0TSHELLZ
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 7:45:00 AM
Reply

From a Gamer who only bought a PS2 to play GTA3, i would have to say YES RDR is a better game in almost every way except for WEAPONS.

Especially since i bought all the DLC seperatly !

0 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 11:34:10 AM

Hey I bought a ps3 to play gta4! Looks like GTA is one heck of a system seller. :)

Last edited by Beamboom on 11/19/2011 11:34:26 AM

0 up, 0 down

CanadianGuy420
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 3:23:39 PM

me to! i bought my PS3 the day before GTA IV launched. ohh happy times :)

0 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Sunday, November 20, 2011 @ 5:39:46 AM

I got GTA bundled with the ps3 - it was the only way to get the game, it was sold out :D
Actually, now that I think about it I also bought the PSP because of the GTA:Stories games.

Last edited by Beamboom on 11/20/2011 5:40:47 AM

0 up, 0 down

CanadianGuy420
Sunday, November 20, 2011 @ 3:14:06 PM

i didn't bother with the psp. i wanted to play them but there were no other games i wanted on psp. so i held out hoping for them to get ported to PS2.... and it paid off!

Last edited by CanadianGuy420 on 11/20/2011 3:16:01 PM

0 up, 0 down

Deleted User
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 8:10:55 AM
Reply

It's a virtual tie for me. GTAIV was my 2008 GOTY. Red Dead Redemption was my 2010 GOTY. I would give a minute edge to RDR because it was easier to play in that there weren't any of those annoying bombing levels that take 50 tries to beat. Also, while I enjoyed the stylings of Bluesy St. John, playing Texas Hold 'Em Up Poker was more fun.

0 up, 0 down

cLoudou
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 9:41:46 AM
Reply

Hands down RDR is superior.

Last edited by cLoudou on 11/19/2011 9:42:30 AM

1 up, 0 down

Oxvial
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 10:20:37 AM
Reply

Is the only game I own from R* this gen, and the only franchise I'm interested coming from them.

0 up, 0 down

Red 5
Saturday, November 19, 2011 @ 8:32:47 PM
Reply

Hi:

I just bought RDR a few days ago (The Complete Bundle from the Store). Right now I'm playing MGS HD Collection.. so, RDR will wait some days (maybe two weeks).
Red 5.

0 up, 0 down

Bjorn77
Sunday, November 20, 2011 @ 9:13:52 AM
Reply

After the RDR intro my exact worths to my brother where "I am going to love the shit out of this game"...

Then they shot John Marston and I felt so betrayed... In pure anger I finished the game and never touched it again.

Best game ever! Still not over the fact Rockstar did that.

0 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Sunday, November 20, 2011 @ 1:29:45 PM
Reply

So, Ben, I guess you got a unison answer to that question of yours.
Rarely has the psxe been more in agreement. :)

0 up, 0 down

brandonctl
Sunday, November 20, 2011 @ 7:19:38 PM
Reply

RDR is a better game in a lot of ways. It had beautiful graphics (though there were a lot less buildings and objects of course) and the atmosphere was immersive. It also had a better story, or at least I felt a closer connection to the characters and genuinely hated the antagonists. Despite all that, I still play GTA IV way more than RDR, just for the fun factor.

0 up, 0 down

Zubair
Tuesday, November 22, 2011 @ 6:30:04 AM
Reply

I wish GTAV can look as good as RDR.

0 up, 0 down

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