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Source: Gamefreaks -
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Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PSP
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Set in the neo-noir, morally corrupt and nightmarish world of Grant City, Dead to Rights: Retribution thrusts the player into the epicentre of an intensely dark, dangerous and tragic narrative as vice-cop Jack Slate. Along with vicious sidekick Shadow, Jack must fight to expose the shadowy underworld figures exerting their evil grip over the crumbling metropolis.
I vaguely remember playing the first Dead to Rights back in 2002, and the word vaguely best describes the experience due to the less than memorable encounter. It had the potential to be a great game; good old story of tough cop, partnered up with a ferocious canine sidekick - Shadow. But the game just didn't pack the punch it should have and was left in the dust by the plethora of other games out at the time. The second edition (released 2005) came and went in the same vein, a few noted its passing but again it didn't quite make the grade.
The story itself is the tried and true tale of a city gone bad, with corruption on all levels and our intrepid hero who goes from good cop to vigilante in an all out war on the bad guys (which tends to be everyone). There's a girl thrown in for good measure, but more importantly there's Shadow - your kick-ass K9 with serious attitude and a hunger for blood. By the way there is plenty of blood in this one so not for the young ones.
Now when I decided to play DTR: Retribution I thought 'what would make this one more exciting'. Firstly I wanted to see Shadow as a playable character and available in co-op mode, secondly I wanted to see more brutal fights with decent takedowns. And of course it needed to be backed up with great visuals, gameplay, a decent story, and voiceoversnot asking much really.
I was more than pleasantly surprised when you started out as Shadow in the opening level. It wasn't long before I decided that it was a lot more fun playing as Shadow who performs the stealth role and has seriously vicious takedowns. Not only can he tear throats out, but he can make any man cry (and groan just watching it) with his groin takedown. I am glad that it is at least third person, first person would just be oh so wrong.
Graphically the game is passable; it isn't going to make you ooh and ahh, but does the job fine. The characters do appear a tad chunky and the movement often robotic but these issues could have been forgiven had it not been for some atrocious AI. It seems that every enemy you come across is not sure whether they should use the guns in their hands or run at you for a fist fight. Now Jack ain't no Arnold Schwarzenegger but his forearms alone are huge and he looks more than capable of taking out anyone in a brawl, so why the hell would you put away a gun and take him on in a bout? Speaking of gunfights our Jack is hardly afraid of bullets; you can take quite a few if you choose to go for the brawler option. In fact I decided on one level, not to fire a single round and simply punch, kick and takedown everyone who got in my way, and it wasn't really a problem (got a trophy for it too).
The combat system created by Volatile Games is more a mix of third person shooting, hand to hand and stealth. The brawling is intense with some seriously brutal take-downs thrown in for good measure. Jack is happily breaking arms, necks, backs and kicking heads (when they're down) with mighty killing blows. He can also do some nifty disarming moves which can be followed up with a quick tap fire to the head of the person you disarmed; nothing like shooting a guy with his own gun.
But what I enjoyed most were the levels as Shadow. In his stealth mode you can 'sense' the bad guys, in fact it strongly reminded me of Batman: Arkham Asylum's stealth mode where you could see through walls. In Shadow's case he can see their hearts pumping which can indicate their state of anxiety and awareness. If Shadow gets close enough he can perform his own takedowns or lure baddies with a low growl or bark before striking without mercy. As Shadow you can also drag the bodies away so they are not discovered.
As to whether this one delivered on the questions I posed - for
the most part yes. It wasn't easy to write about; on the one hand
it offered a few treats as Shadow, innovations in combat and was
generally fun but on the other was let down with bad AI, a story
that is soon forgotten, average graphics and repetitive levels.
However it was always a bonus to play Shadow who in my books was
the real star. There is certainly plenty of action in this game and
I did find myself enjoying it here and there. Unfortunately there
are so many high calibre games in this genre that it's hard to
recommend as a solid buy.
Rating: 7/10
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