A fistful of cyber dollars

GAME OF THE WEEK:Red Dead Redemption, 18 cert, Rockstar Games, Xbox 360 (also PS3) ****

You have to hand it to the people at Rockstar: they know how to make a compelling game. The same wonks who developed the Grand Theft Autoseries have returned to bring Westerns to life on consoles.

In Red Dead Redemptionyou play John Marston, a part-reformed outlaw who must help deal with some of his old gang to save his family. Set in 1911, in the dying days of the Wild West, the line between the rule of law and the rule of the outlaw is blurred. Kill them or capture them – either way, you have to eliminate your former friends.

That’s the premise. To get you started, there are a number of compulsory missions that essentially act as a warm-up for the game controls. Then you can wander around seeking out missions to help you advance in the game.

This is where things get really good. Red Dead Redemptionhas an incredible open world environment. You can wander through frontier towns, prairies and mountains. There's plenty to keep you occupied – or distracted – and you can easily waste a few hours simply exploring the outlaw's world.

Fans of the GTAseries will notice some similarities, although of course the main mode of transport is a horse rather than fancy cars. Should you choose to go down a less than law-abiding route, you have to learn to be sneaky or, as in GTA, you'll raise some alerts.

Aside from your main goal in the game, you can take on side missions that will help boost your reputation or build up your bank balance.

There are hours of gameplay in Red Dead Redemption, a big plus in its favour. The detail that has gone into the graphics is impressive. Everything, from the look to the sound effects, gels well, delivering a brilliantly put together game.