Cool Game!!!
And repeat itself it has. Though the major console players are different and the developers just as diverse, Namco's Xbox action piece Dead to Rights finds itself in a similar position to Capcom's Street Fighter II from all those years ago. No longer exclusive to the system that bore it and a free agent in the land of available platforms, the wildly popular and violently epic tale of a K9 officer's quest to clear his name has finally arrived on the PlayStation 2 and GameCube. And while the game is still not as polished as it should have been (especially in terms of the hand-to-hand combat and animation), the system-specific enhancements and play-oriented changes that Namco have put into this newer version definitively warrant a second look; or first look, for those of us who haven't played it before.
Features
Surprisingly there've been a large number of alterations and changes made to accommodate new players, and depending on your point of view it can be either a good thing or a bad thing. The most immediate difference is the alteration of the game's difficulty. Previously set to a single challenge type that pushed gamers to their maximum limits, the PS2 and Cube version of Dead to Rights has been made a lot easier. Rather than slug your way through multiple cellblocks and several mini-games to make it through the prison level for instance, gamers can now simply battle through the initial block with no need to participate in the sub-games for advancement. And though you can select from four separate challenge levels, none of them, not even "Super Cop" mode, match the same level of difficulty that the original Xbox adventure provided. But there are other changes as well. Various tweaks to the speed of your character when he's using a bad guy as a human shield and the addition of hot keys for use with your weapon and trusty mutt Shadow have been included to eliminate the nasty directional cycling we had to trudge through on Xbox. Additionally, the targeting system has been modified to automatically focus on more immediate threats rather than proximity, and an inverted camera option was added for increased performance for those backwards control freaks. One of the coolest new goodies however, has to be the earlier access to some of the more complicated disarms. Originally unlocked by performing three disarms of the same type within a given area, the more spectacular moves are now much easier to come by (in other words, you only have to do them twice instead of thrice).
Even the hand-to-hand combat system has been somewhat refined. As the types of moves certain enemies perform are based on their ranked position in the game. In the Xbox version of Dead to Rights any opposing character could dodge and block an attack, making every opponent a serious danger. With the new treatment given to the A.I. however, the lower-class enemies will only block instead of dodge, and the main character Jack can no longer be knocked to floor by any move other than a throw. Finally, the camera pans further back from the action when Jack is surrounded so as to provide a much better vantage point for the battle.
Gameplay
Regardless of how you try and hide it, Dead to Rights is a straightforward action game with few tactical elements. Moving from linear point A to linear point B while blasting every living thing in sight, your objectives are always the same: "Kill it all!" And while the developers have seen fit to mix up the monotony of going from place to place by adding small little objectives here and there (kill one dude in particular and get his key pass so that you may advance, etc.), the mood, pace, and direction of the gameplay rarely changes. But understand one thing -- this isn't a knock against it by any means. The game is great fun and is good for what it is. I just felt it was necessary to warn the masses that this isn't the free roaming world that Grand Theft Auto or Super Mario Sunshine is.
Moving around and shooting guys is as simple as can be; sort of like a cross between the Minority Report game and Vice City. Targeting your foes is handled with a slight tap of the right trigger, while cycling through multiple opponents is handled by tapping the trigger again. More responsive and more intelligent than the targeting system found in Vice City, getting killed by the immediate threat in front of you is no longer the result of a poor aiming system, but rather, your failure to act how you were supposed to. Controversial as it may be for the die-hard GTA fans out there, Dead to Rights takes the same targeting system that Rockstar's game does and makes it better. In addition to firing different weapons with the method mentioned above (you can cycle through them with the directional pad), you can also grab your opponents for use as a human shield or to disarm them. Available to you only if you have no ammo left in your weapon, the disarm maneuver is a spectacular way of removing your foes weaponry for your own while quickly disposing of him. Giving the player an opportunity to change camera angles and slow the action down while doing this only sweetens the pot further, and in the latter levels of the game, the disarm and human shield techniques play a pivotal role in your survival; most importantly though, they're fun as hell to mess with.
To compliment the disarm system and protect you when you're without a weapon, there's also a limited hand-to-hand combat system that hopefully you won't have to use. My least favorite aspect of the entire engine, the supposedly improved guerilla combat isn't as entertaining or as fluid as the gunplay. Confined to a small amount of canned combos and less than damaging attacks, the one, sometimes two button fighting techniques are robotic, bothersome exercises in monotony. Why resort to the fisticuffs with this guy if you could just shoot him? Fortunately, you'll only be required to beat somebody senseless a few times per game, and for the most part find yourself armed with a shotgun or similar weapon. Hallelujah!
Graphics
While it's obvious that the Xbox version of the game is the best looking out of the trio, the GameCube and PlayStation 2 attempts aren't far off. Superior in terms of texture and lighting effects on Microsoft's machine, the new edition actually has more particles --Blood geysers, bullets, and other flailing objects are in abundance, and the sheer amount of sparks and other airborne gibs are too numerous to count. Of course this comes at a price, and in the PlayStation 2 version in particular the framerate slows down to noticeable sub-30 performance. Luckily that doesn't happen every time you play, and only occurs in the graphically intensive, heavily populated areas (like the dance club). The GameCube rendition fares a bit better, but the occasional slowdown still rears its ugly head. Regardless of the system however, all the games are lit splendidly and look fantastic. Though I do have to question the visual style chosen by the Namco when all is said and done. Granted, the character models look moderately decent and the detail on their clothing is sound, but the animation by which they move isn't all that hot (except in the case of disarms, which perfectly recreates that classic cinema-type combat). Additionally, the faces of the characters are somewhat lifeless and appear far blockier in comparison to the rest of their body.
The camera too possesses its share of problems, and despite the fact that you can move it in a limited way, it's sometimes hard to tell what's going on. Especially when you're fighting inside enclosed spaces. Bump up against something unexpectedly or get caught backpedaling near a wall, and you'll move into a strange first-person type mode that makes it difficult to determine where you're supposed to shoot and at whom.
The CG however is great, and offers some of the best direction in an action sequence for a videogame this year. A cross between the Die Hard films and Tango and Cash, the idea that you're playing through an honest to goodness action film is solidified through these cut scenes.