Rockstar shows how sometimes the source material is so pure that complete imitation is simply the sincerest form of presentation.  It doesn’t even matter that the source material in this case is only being used for inspiration.  The debut trailer for Red Dead Redemption, the sequel in the game maker’s Western franchise, is exactly what it should be.  It’s a wholehearted homage to the revered Spaghetti Western films of Italian director Sergio Leone and a few of his capable imitators.  Precision six-shooters aside, these are the films that lifted Westerns out of their slide into a cotton candy-colored, pubescent plot-burdened gulley to make the genre both sophisticated and timeless.  One can only hope Rockstar can build on the success of the first Red Dead to do the same for the genre in games.

Watch it at GameTrailers {link no longer active}.