* This column only encourages people of age to play the video game, as it is rated M for Mature. *

Theatrically, dramatically and artistically, Red Dead Redemption heightened the standard in the video game world.

Only twice in my life have I felt compelled to change my entire lifestyle based on a video game.

The first time was in college, playing Assassin’s Creed Black Flag for the first time while living in the fraternity house.

While playing that pirate-based game in the Caribbean Sea, I felt compelled to turn into Blackbeard himself, donning a pirate hat and an eyepatch while pillaging ships as I please on my PS4.

The second time was my first and second run-through on Red Red Redemption II, giving me the unquenchable urge to buy a horse, a cowboy hat and take out for the frontier.

Red Dead Redemption II, in my humble opinion, is the only video game capable of being turned into a movie, based on the intricacy of the storyline and character arc of multiple individuals in the story. 

Red Dead II is a story mode-based game, so those who enjoy the quick and competitive thrill of a first-person shooter such as Call of Duty will need to change their priorities for this one. 

The main complaint I have heard about the game is it is too slow at the beginning, tracking through the snow on the lam from the law. 

All I have to say is get through it. The first 30 minutes may be slow, but what awaits on the other side is hours upon hours of incredible storylines and a map that is seemingly endless. 

My experience with Red Dead II is easily the most enjoyable I have ever had with a video game, coming out about a year after I left college. It gave me a great experience while living somewhere I did not want to be in my first job out of college.

Now, in northern Alabama, where I am from and love very much, I still enjoy playing Red Dead II. 

The story is one that shows the complications of a life of crime in a time where America was changing every day in 1899. It shows how actions are not always blessed with moral clarity, and that those who seem like the bad guys may actually be the good guys when it is all said and done. 

But, most importantly, it shows the incredible character arcs of thee individuals especially – main character, Arthur Morgan; head of the outlaw gang, Dutch Van Der Linde; and Sadie Adler, forced to change her lifestyle following the loss of her husband. 

For those who love the game like I do, you may not know all the hidden Easter eggs and updates Rockstar has rolled out for one of their most popular games of all time. 

* Spoiler alert *

Here are 5 of my favorite tidbits of the game

– Ghost train

I was nothing but a young lad, thinking I knew everything about the game, when my co-worker broke the news to me about the ghost train. Pretending I knew everything, I brushed it off as no big deal, only to immediately go home following work, hopping on the game and discovering ghost train for myself. 

For those wondering about how to unlock it, go to the “Lemoyne” sign at the crossroads of New Hannover and Lemoyne, east of where Jeremy Gill is located. This must be done at 3 a.m. Run down the train tracks into Lemoyne, and the ghost train will appear, with the capability of running right through it. 

– Meditating Monk on a cliff

One of the most peaceful Points of Interest that can be written in Arthur’s journal and discovered on the map is the Buddhist monk sitting on a cliff in the mountains of the East Grizzlies in Ambarino. 

In order to unlock this, the player must travel to the East Grizzlies and go to the top of the mountain located southwest of the “R” in “Grizzlies” written on the map. This can only be done at noon. The monk will appear sitting and meditating at the edge of a cliff, but talking to him is moot, as he won’t respond. 

– The “Jim Boy Callaway” storyline

One of the earliest storylines in the game is an optional stranger mission unlocking the adventures and legends of Jim Boy Callaway, who according to tales is the fastest left-handed gunslinger to ever draw breath. 

Without giving away everything, the storyline teaches lessons through other gunslingers who knew him best that not everything is how it seems in the novels, but especially teaches the lesson that history is written by the living. 

– The Giaguaro Panther

One of the toughest challenges in the game is unlocking the legendary Giaguaro Panther. So rare is this panther that I, who has spent an embarrassing and sickening amount of time on Red Dead II, has only accomplished it one time. 

This only takes place after completing the first 9 challenges for the Master Hunter category. The Giaguaro will be located in the same spot the Florida Panther shows up – at the southernmost point of Lemoyne, east of Catfish Jackson’s in the thick of the woods. This challenge must be done as part of catching each legendary animal in the game.

– The white stallion

The best horse in the game is a horse gamers don’t even have to pay for.

However, in the truest sense of capitalism, the lack of pay is made up for in the high degree of labor spent to acquire the horse. 

However, I assure that it is worth it, but be prepared for a journey. 

The horse can only be acquired once unlocking the ability to free roam in the game. What is even more unfortunate is the player must go back to where they came from, back into the snow-laden mountains of the West Grizzlies. 

It is a long hike to the western portion of Lake Isabella, but it must be done, and the horse appears once going around the bend in the middle-portion of the western side of the lake. 

The horse will appear, but of course that is not where the challenge ends. Be prepared to tame the horse, which Red Dead players know is anything but easy. However…

“Nothing easy in life is worth having,” – Adam Dodson, 2023.