9 - Great. Played since it was unlocked.
I'll start with the negatives since there are very few.
Controls:
I will admit that the controls can be a little tough to get use to (which leads to you committing crimes you didnt intend to). There is an adjustment period to this, playing with settings helps.
Long rides: Riding can be very fun, espeically when you let cinematic camera drive you around, but I wish there was more to do while riding such as maybe reviewing animalsory and herbs, but that just pauses the game. There are very limited fast travel options. The great thing is that there is so much to the world that traversing usually leads to new stories.
Mass Killings: This has nothing to do with the morality. I have no issues playing an Outlaw because I think playing an outlaw is the best thing for these types of games ( I always find it weird playing heros who decide to kill up 40 people at a location and loot all their stuff). But just a thing Rockstar tends to do. They have so many things implemented in this game to add realism, yet there are missions where you will randomly be shooting up over 25 people or hordes. It just retracts from the realism of what a gun fight should feel like. I wish gun fights were more rare, that gang attacks were less common on the roads. Oddly enough, when you have a fist fight between two people it is significantly harder than shooting against 8.
The Pros..:
The World: Probably the best world in any game ever, it just sets the standards so dam high. When I plug my headphones in and do first person, I literally feel like I'm in another world. I haven't felt this way since I was 9, it's extremely surreal. Conversations are so natural and describe the context. Quests come up organically. As an example, I was playing a game of poker with some of my camp mates and one of them was just making small talk about how he missed an old pocketwatch, while I was setting my chips down I agreed to help him and had a quest open. It's not like other games where you see a "!" and have to click to start. Npcs will come up to you, you will see branching paths based on your decisions. This is the best world in any game I've ever played. Furthermore, there are so many different biomes and animals that habitat those locations, plants that grow in specific areas, fish, temperature changes, it's amazing.
The Characters: I really enjoy the characters in this story. They feel like real people and each one has unique personality characteristics, hobbies and interests. Some are more aggresive, some have sensitive topics (for example, the native american Charles is very sensitive to needless animal killing), you have a little boy who is absolutely adorable, and a drunk preacher. It's amazing, and there is so much to it that I really feel part of the story. The main protagnanist Arthur himself is very funny and a complex character. As a Southerner I thought his accent would be cliche but I actually really like it, he's got a drunken southern slur to his speech.
Sound/Music/Voice: All top notch, soundtracks are excellent. Guns sound impactful, I legit jumped out of my chair when a random shot was aimed at me when I was riding my horse peacefully. The music knows when it's better to be silent and doesn't replay enough to become cumbersome. Voice acting is something else, these are high class voice actors who know how to incorporate proper speech impediments to sound natural. It's extremely rare that I hear a voice that takes me out of the experience, and most voices are unique.
Gameplay: There is a lot to do, while the combat may hold things back there is just an abundance of things to do. I can wake up and decide to go fish, gather some herbs and then cut some logs up for my camp. The next day I can spend cleaning myself, my guns and my horse while cooking up a meal and chatting with mates. I can rob a train the following day or go to town for drinks+games, maybe a show. It feels real and fun. I dig it. I had a moment where I got off of a train and it was pouring, on an underpass was a guy sitting playing dominos and I joined him for a game that must have lasted 30 minutes.
I can go on and on, feel free to ask questions.
