Aside from its graphical flaws, Dead to Rights is a great game that has enough content to satisfy any action fan.
User Rating: 8.4 | Dead to Rights PS2
It seems that nowadays, the market is being overrun with action title after action title. Earlier in the year, Dead to Rights; another action title by Namco, made its way onto the Xbox. The game combined elements from modern action movies like The Matrix and The Rock with Hong Kong action movies like A Better Tomorrow and The Killer. The game, being known for its film-noir aspects and its ridiculously high difficulty, has now landed on the Playstation 2, with a few key differences from the Xbox version. In the game you play as Jack Slate, a one-man-army, take-no-prisoner, K-9 cop in the metropolis of Grant City, a gritty, fictional, criminal cesspool. Early on in the game, Jack responds to a call at a local construction site, where he finds out that someone dear to him has been murdered. Jack, enraged at what has happened, goes on quest for revenge. Eventually, he is framed for murder, and he becomes a fugitive on the run. The gameplay is pretty straight forward; you go into a room, kill lots of people then head to the next area and do the same thing. Sounds boring right? Not necessarily. First of all, the game gives you 20+ weapons to use that consist of pistols, sub-machine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, and then some. All of which can be carried at the same time. Aiming is fairly simplistic; holding the R1 button down will cause Jack to lock on to the nearest enemy and firing is done with another button. Jack also has some cool moves that he can pull off in the middle of gunfights. His most noticeable maneuver is the ability to dive in slow-motion, Max Payne style. This may seem like a knock-off, since the story is also similar to Max Payne, and Jack Slate and Max both have similar personalities. But there is more to Dead to Rights than pulling off slow-mo dives in the air. Jack can also grab any armed enemy and use him as a human shield, while Jack props his firearm over the enemy’s shoulder. And if bullets don’t tear the human shield down, Jack can put a bullet in his head at the press of a button. Another one of Jack’s signature moves is to disarm his enemies of their weapons, and follow it up with a cool deathblow to the enemy. The game gives you about 20 different, cool looking disarms to work with that can be pulled of with the left analog stick and the circle button simultaneously. But even with how impressive these disarm maneuvers look, they are still pretty cold. So, with that said, Dead to Rights isn’t very kid-friendly. And the disarms aren’t the only reason why. The game has got a ton of blood, although it looks more like grape jelly than real blood. Did I mention that there’s a lot of killing too? In each area, Jack will be pitted against a ridiculous number of enemies, which are both well armed and deadly. By the end of each mission, the body count will be well into the 100’s. There’s actually even more to Dead to Rights than gunning down and disarming foes. At times when Jack is without a firearm, he relies on his martial arts expertise. The brawling sequences in the game are usually short and simple. Jack can throw basic punch and kick combos, block and counter attacks, as well as use some grappling maneuvers. Most of the fighting is against the game’s early bosses, but later on, the bosses get much more unique and interesting. But don’t forget the fact that Jack is a K-9 cop. His faithful companion, Shadow, can run up and maul enemies at the use of a simple button combination. He will then deliver the enemy’s weapon to Jack. You can use Shadow once his stamina meter is full, which takes less than a minute to go from empty to full again. But Shadow isn’t always around, so Jack has to find some other way to cheaply dispatch his foes. The game’s environments have conveniently placed flammable canisters that Jack can toss at his enemies and shoot at them in mid-air. The resulting explosion will set any nearby enemies ablaze, which can be some of the most entertaining moments of the game. It’s worth noting that difficultly of the Playstation 2 version of the game is significantly lower than the Xbox version. You’re given three difficulty settings to choose from, and even the hardest mode isn’t as difficult as the Xbox’s none changeable setting. In between all of the senseless violence, the game has thrown in some interesting and unique minigames that allow Jack to progress further in the game; they also keep the gameplay fresh and interesting. Minigames consist of picking locks, disarming bombs, and even lifting weights. And you will probably take all of these features to heart through the game’s 15 to 20 hour killing spree Probably Dead to Right’s biggest draw is its graphics. Characters and environments look pixilated and blurry and the guns just look down right bad. It looks like Jack is holding two bricks when they are really supposed to be two automatic pistols. Also, when you call Shadow to rip apart an enemy, he instantly appears onscreen and then just disappears after giving you the enemy’s weapon. But the game does look good during the occasional CG cutscene. Gunfire and voices sound great, and that’s really all there is to say about the game’s sound. The soundtrack is decent but it’s nothing to write home about. Overlooking its problems, Dead to Rights is a great action game that combines great gameplay elements with exiting film-noir aspects. If you’re looking for a game with a high body count and a way to relieve stress, look no further than Dead to Rights.
