Red Dead Redemption (2010)

Red Dead Redemption (2010)

Genre: Third Person Shooter / Action / Sandbox | Players: 1 / Online Multi

Developer: Rockstar San Diego

I love a good Western! When I say those words out loud it usually means I'm thinking of a classic genre film, or even a TV show, but not this time - this time it's a PS3 game.

If you were to take all that's good about the film and TV medium and mix it with biting satire and social commentary (Rockstar style), then you'd have the formula for Red Dead Redemption, which is what the acclaimed developers appear to have done.

You've maybe heard it described as Grand Theft Auto: Wild West, and while that's essentially true, they're both sandbox games sharing many features, it's also a disservice to the scope and underlying heart of RDR, which is something that GTA typically lacks.

Mad Max: Video Game (2015)

Mad Max (2015)

Genre: Action / Adventure / Sandbox | Players: 1 | Developer: Avalanche Studios

An open-world sandbox game with a lot of actual (er... virtual) sand to futz around in. The setting is a similar post-apocalyptic wasteland landscape to that of the Mad Max films; it isn't based on any one feature, instead taking ideas from them all, but draws most heavily from MM: Fury Road (2015).

You play as the titular anti-hero, Max. Again, it's a new but familiar version, not rendered in the likeness of either Mel Gibson or Tom Hardy, but he's just as taciturn and gruff.

He's a standard video game tough guy, the kind that can survive getting hit by a speeding car but can't manage to jump over a foot-high fence that's blocking his way or manage to even walk while aiming his gun/projectile.