Matt MarginiCritiques

Red Dead Redemption by Matt Margini takes a gripping and thought-provoking approach towards analyzing Red Dead Redemption and gives an extensive examination over its place in broader fields; as a video game, as a cultural vehicle, as a love-letter towards old and older entries in the western genre, and as a revealing entry on America's historical fascination with the western ideal. It's fun to read and never gets boring. Red Dead Redemption functions as an extensive index over western movies as a whole; Margini identifies references in film and in literature to nearly every aspect of the game. He analyzes its storytelling, its gameplay mechanics, and all of the messages it carries--all in under 200 pages. Interviews with Rockstar Games and community interactions are also carefully cited and used effectively throughout this book.

A book that was four years in the making, reading Matt Margini's Red Dead Redemption is something I would strongly recommend to anyone interested in these subjects.