I'll be honest the main reason you should play this game is for the story. Not to say the gameplay is terrible, the shooting and map can be enjoyable but they are held up high due to the story. I will say it might be tough going from 2 to 1 so I still recommend playing this first. I think playing this really helps give the characters you see in 2 more meaning especially since you know how it all plays out and of course the gameplay is improved in 2 (well at least for me) so going back to 1 would be tough.
As for the story you play as an ex-outlaw John Marston who has the law men back on his ass. The feds have his family so in order to free them he has to find a couple of his ex-outlaw buddies. Along the way you meet a ton of weird and interesting characters. It's also a great time trying to find and capture John's old friends. The voice acting really makes the characters. Seriously I think all the voice performance are top notch and really make you care for the characters. Slight spoilers, I will say for a straight forward story the end does throw a massive but well earned curve ball. It was also a cool choice to make the last story mission a bit hidden.
As for gameplay it's pretty straight forward third person open world stuff. There's no Ubisoft tower unlocking BS since that hadn't been invented yet so it's just straight forward areas to look around in or do missions. Also I think the shooting does a cool job of make the weapons feel old fashion. Like they feel limiting which makes sense for the time. It really makes it rewarding when you do get a semi auto mag pistol, feels like a crazy sort of upgrade. As for moving around your limited to a horse which can be a little dull but I think it gives the game charm. Graphicly this game ain't the best but I think as long as you play an upscaled version (PS4, Xbox Backwards Combability) it should look fine.
There is a multiplayer but it's really basic. Cool for it's time but nothing you need to go out of your way for. It was neat exploring the open world with friends and also it's cool seeing all the different character skins\ridable animals they had for MP.
Of course Undead Nightmare is also an amazing expansion that I wish got a sequel in 2 but alas we can't have nice things.
Needless to say I think Red Dead Redemption is worth checking out. If you really can't handle it skipping to 2 should be fine but it really is enhanced by playing this one.
As for the story you play as an ex-outlaw John Marston who has the law men back on his ass. The feds have his family so in order to free them he has to find a couple of his ex-outlaw buddies. Along the way you meet a ton of weird and interesting characters. It's also a great time trying to find and capture John's old friends. The voice acting really makes the characters. Seriously I think all the voice performance are top notch and really make you care for the characters. Slight spoilers, I will say for a straight forward story the end does throw a massive but well earned curve ball. It was also a cool choice to make the last story mission a bit hidden.
As for gameplay it's pretty straight forward third person open world stuff. There's no Ubisoft tower unlocking BS since that hadn't been invented yet so it's just straight forward areas to look around in or do missions. Also I think the shooting does a cool job of make the weapons feel old fashion. Like they feel limiting which makes sense for the time. It really makes it rewarding when you do get a semi auto mag pistol, feels like a crazy sort of upgrade. As for moving around your limited to a horse which can be a little dull but I think it gives the game charm. Graphicly this game ain't the best but I think as long as you play an upscaled version (PS4, Xbox Backwards Combability) it should look fine.
There is a multiplayer but it's really basic. Cool for it's time but nothing you need to go out of your way for. It was neat exploring the open world with friends and also it's cool seeing all the different character skins\ridable animals they had for MP.
Of course Undead Nightmare is also an amazing expansion that I wish got a sequel in 2 but alas we can't have nice things.
Needless to say I think Red Dead Redemption is worth checking out. If you really can't handle it skipping to 2 should be fine but it really is enhanced by playing this one.