When HBO shot Deadwood in the back of the head, ending it prematurely, I was angry. Righteously angry. It wasn’t just a matter of finding new entertainment — I was furious that I would never find out what became of my beloved characters.

That hurt and anger has been calmed, now, by Red Dead Redemption.

And I’ll say something else: I can’t really find anything wrong with this game.

There are things that could be improved (or patched, like the hilariously bizarre invisibility glitch [which is one glitch among reported others, though I never personally saw any]).

But I swear: this is a nearly perfect game. A masterpiece. Even moreso than GTA IV.

The story is the best kind of Sergio Leone pulp — including hyper-Ennio Moricone score — mashed with Sam Peckinpah brutality and touches of Eastwood. It’s a boyhood fantasy realized.

You’re John Marston. You used to be a bad guy — with morals: an antihero. You retired. Started a family. Then in steps the government and steals you away. You can only return to the good life of a wife and son if you put a stop to your own former gang’s ruthlessness.

And off we go to New Austin. A giant sandbox world of lawmen and thieves; bandits and victims; coyotes and jackrabbits. It’s a big, beautiful world. When you see your first sunset, you won’t forget.

Like their previous sandbox games (a genre unto itself which Rockstar is the uncontended master of), RDR is as much about freedom as it is about killer with a heart of gold trying to stop the bad guys and return to his family. There are a million ways to entertain yourself aside from the main storyline. There are the ‘stranger’ sidequests where you try to help those in need. There is the plethora of mini-games. There’s taming horses. Shooting challenges. Just … lots and lots of stuff.

Here’s an example: I spent an hour of my first four hours with the game playing Texas Hold ‘Em (came away the victor, with an extra $150 in my pocket to boot) because I wanted all the other jerks at the table to bust out and leave the room in shame. In another session, I spent half an hour playing Five Finger Fillet. Then I spent two hours watching the wildlife and the weather.

Yep. I’ve spent hours in the game just observing it’s biosphere. The way coyotes attack deer in packs. The way birds soar and wild horses graze. Good lord, what an environment.

Don’t get me wrong. The main storyline is brillant, well-written, pleasing especially for guys who love real old-school cowboy movies, and it even has its moments of serious emotional impact.

But it’s the world that Rockstar has created that just blows me away.

Even in multiplayer (which is an awesome kind of cowboy MMO where one can level up their abilities and form posses of friends), which, to be fair, has had its hiccups and glitches, it’s fun to either watch the world or cause havoc.

Another example: I teamed up with an old friend and we decided, quite at random, that we wanted to go find some bears. We rode our horses up into the tall trees, past a rail station and what looked like a very small outpost, sitting along a heavily trafficked road.

After a few moments of searching, we found a bear. What were we going to do? Well, use it to start trouble of course. I shot it in the leg, it gave chase, killed the hell out of me, then killed the hell out of my friend, but then went on its own totally insane rampage and started killing passersby.

Why did we do this? I have no idea. But it was a blast.

There are the niggling, less-awesome aspects of the game to address, I suppose. The controls will be familiar to anyone who’s played the GTA series. They’re a little too loose for my tastes, making precision sometimes more difficult than it needs to be, considering there’s no lock-on (though I suppose that’s what your Max Payne-ish, time-slowing, target acquiring Dead Eye ability is for). Fast traveling between locations isn’t quite as fast as I’d like it to be. And I don’t need to see a cinematic animation every single friggin time I pick up or put down someone I’ve hogtied. And the (now-patched) invisibilty glitch was frustrating as get-out during my early multiplayer sessions.

There end my complaints.

This review is just one, big, fat ‘omgwtfbbq I love this game’ screed.

And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Because Red Dead Redemption earns every single word of praise given to it.

Final Grade: A+

Red Dead Redemption is rated M for Mature and is available for the PS3 and Xbox 360.