Last week, the international gaming press revealed their own experiences getting a chance to play Red Dead Redemption firsthand - and the response?  Read on.

"Red Dead Redemption is fast becoming the absolute benchmark for not only this budding genre, but for sandbox/openworld games period... Every step you take in the game reveals something new, something hidden and ultimately, something exciting. We haven't been this amped to sink our teeth into a product of this nature in a long time." - Ausgamers

"Initially it's hard to take in just what an amazing technical achievement Red Dead Redemption is. This is due, in part, to the fact that everything in Rockstar's new open-world game looks so familiar. In the hands-on time we're given, a simple walk through a one-horse town at night is all that it takes to put us right into the world of the Wild West. The wooden buildings look battered, but solid. Horses tethered up at a water trough whinny and snort. A bar at the end of the street emits a warm light as well as the sounds of drunken laughing and a piano. Saloon doors creak as patrons pass through them. A soft breeze blows tumbleweed across the path. The night air is filled with the chirruping chorus of crickets and the sound of our footfalls mingles the crunch of gravel and the jingling of boot-spurs. Every single thing on the screen and every noise on the soundtrack is note-perfect in its recreation of the Wild West scenery we all remember from films. It washes over the player, immersing them completely. The world building job that Rockstar Games has done with Red Dead Redemption is, to put it bluntly, incredible" - The Telegraph

"Dead Eye is the system that ostensibly marvels how much of a badass Marston is. It's the mechanic that lets you slow down time and take out fools rapidly... One small tweak I like with Dead Eye is that when the slow-motion effect runs out, it takes an extra second to transition from slow-to-normal. That extra second usually translates into seeing your foes keel over and die in slow-motion for just a little bit longer. It doesn't prolong a death animation in an annoying fashion; it gives you an extra ounce of satisfaction to see a slick death scene in slow-motion for just a little longer." - 1UP

"Its grand vistas look incredible, but it's when you focus on the small details that you realise what really makes the game world live and breathe. Attention to detail is everywhere: grass sways in the breeze, the canvas walls of tents flutter. Vultures circle above dead bodies and the horizon - to which you can travel should you wish - shimmers under a heat haze... right now, Red Dead Redemption is shaping up to be one of the cold-eyed killers of 2010." - MSN 

“Red Dead Redemption goes that extra mile we’ve come to expect from a Rockstar-developed game and presents a world full of unique characters that are roundly developed and given compelling dialogue to act out… everything, from the storyline, to the settings, to the graphics (watch the muscles in a horse’s haunches flexing—it’s mesmerizing),appears to be living up to those lofty expectations extremely well. Red Dead Redemption is due to hit store shelves in April, and after this up-close look, the game looks more exciting than ever.” – Team Xbox

Previously:
"My Experience with Red Dead Redemption has Me Chomping at the Bit": The Press Go Hands-On