Rockstar cemented itself by making games where you are allowed to follow your more wild instincts and pursue criminal careers, Red Dead Redemption however asks a simple question, when all of that is done can the protagonist change for the better? And if he tries, will a far more brutal and wild society than the one we live in allow it?
Regardless of that though, Red Dead still leaves you the choice to lapse back into it or play it straight through its gameplay.