To me, Red Dead Redemption has always been Rockstar Games at their best. Maybe it's the open environments of the Old West; it requires the game to be leaner, more-focused. Maybe the juxtaposition of the deceptively civil language and the lawless violence makes the satire a little sharper. I'm CERTAIN a big part of it is Dead Eye taking the sting out of Rockstar's habitually awful aiming mechanics. Whatever it is, I am so glad I got to put this on my Platinum shelf without suffering through an online component.