Oh I agree that you are in for a treat! The two features I like that made the game enjoyable was the auto-aim option and the slow-mo gun action if you so desired. Slo-mo gun fights were awesome. Just a lot of fun for me. I did not fool with the animals to much. The cougars do suck though. Once I planted bait then walked off a bit to see what would come....damn cougar got me in about 5 seconds of dropping the bait! I did not fool with bait anymore.
Granted I did not do a lot of the side things such as getting outfits for my character but overall it did not take or add to my gaming experience. Horse mechanics was nice as well. I'm playing Assassins Creed right now and the horse mechanics do not come anywhere near what Rockstar did in Red Dead. I hope there is a second one.