The game makes use of a morality system, by which the player's actions in the game affect their character's levels of honor and fame and how other characters respond to the player. Gunfights emphasize a gunslinger gameplay mechanic called 'Dead Eye' that allows players to mark multiple shooting targets on enemies in slow motion. The player may freely roam in its interactive open world, a fictionalized version of the Western United States and Northern Mexico, primarily by horseback and on foot. The game is played from a third-person perspective.
The narrative explores themes of the cycle of violence, masculinity, redemption, and the American Dream. Red Dead Redemption is set during the decline of the American frontier in the year 1911 and follows John Marston, a former outlaw who, after his wife and son are taken hostage by the government in ransom for his services as a hired gun, sets out to bring three members of his former gang to justice. A successor to 2004's Red Dead Revolver, it is the second game in the Red Dead series. Red Dead Redemption is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games.
