Dead to Rights: Retribution

The first Dead To Rights was an innovative third-person shooter that offered a variety of gameplay mechanics, including the novel (albeit poorly implemented) idea of a helpful canine sidekick. Surprisingly, the sequel played it safe and removed most of the trimmings, leaving gamers with a repetitive and widely-panned mess. Now after a nearly five-year hiatus, rogue cop Jack Slate and his trusty dog Shadow are prepared to return to consoles in a series reboot that Namco hopes will once again grab the attention of gamers.

The first improvement players will notice immediately is the game's graphics. Previous Dead To Rights titles have always been visually underwhelming, but Retribution fixes this problem by adopting a unique visual style, as well as a powerful engine. It’s a look similar to Arkham Asylum, with excessively beefy character models (Jack is pumped up to the point where he better hope the Grant City Police Department doesn’t test for steroids), and environments that convey a certain comic book-like atmosphere. The levels are still linear and mostly barren (most of the objects you’ll come across are used for either taking cover or blowing up nearby enemies), but offer enough variety to keep you engaged.

Some areas in Retribution are really impressive

The new visual style also helps sell the story, which disregards events from previous games but strikes a similar tone. I wasn’t expecting much from a game starring a character named Jack Slate, but if you accept the fact that Retribution isn’t trying to be the video game industry’s Schindler’s List, the story is enjoyable. Granted, some of the voice acting is horrible, and you’ll probably figure out all the twists in the first twenty minutes, but the plot helps switch up the gameplay – without straying too far from what makes the game work, like the original Dead To Rights.

Third-person shooters often fail in their sketchy control schemes, but thankfully Retribution gets most things right. The game no longer relies on auto-aim; instead it employs an over-the-shoulder view that sports a decent zoom for even the most basic pistol. Like previous iterations, your enemies are still annoyingly accurate, but lining up headshots (which slows down time for a split second when you kill an enemy) is a breeze. The game suffers from a few common problems with cover systems (a personal pet peeve of mine), and the hand-to-hand combat is still a bit of a pain (enemies will have to be knocked down more than once before you finish them off), but the return of disarming moves and takedowns keeps the action fresh. The game's Focus Mode (i.e. Bullet Time) is also back, albeit significantly toned down. You'll no longer be performing any slow-motion dives, but Focus Mode will give you a few precious seconds to line up a shot when you're heavily outnumbered.

A decent over-the-shoulder view means no more having to rely on auto-aim

Shadow plays a bigger role in the game this time around as well. He no longer works on a timer, meaning you can send him to attack enemies or fetch weapons whenever you please. He also no longer disappears when not in use, and sports some of the best animation in the game, making him feel like a true canine sidekick. His standby AI is still pretty stupid (even by dog standards), but when you give him a command he faithfully carries it out, making him a valuable – if not necessary – addition in later levels. Another change made to Shadow is that he's no longer invincible, and will succumb to repeated enemy attacks with a disconcerting yelp. But dog lovers needn't worry: he can always be revived with a quick pat and encouraging words from his master.

There are also more segments in which you’ll play as Shadow. These are essentially the game’s stealth missions. For some reason Shadow sports a strange doggie vision not dissimilar from Batman’s Detective Mode in Arkham Asylum. You also have the ability to bark at enemies to get their attention, and after you lunge at their throat (or lower body parts) and finish them off in a humorously over-the-top death animation, you can drag their body out of sight to avoid alerting other enemies. Shadow is frustratingly weak (he only takes a few shots to die), but there's something disturbingly fun about running around levels, picking off enemies one at a time. Aside from one mission that required peeing on some generators, the sections I played as Shadow never really evolved past this simple formula, but they're an entertaining respite from the nonstop action featured in the rest of the game.

Shadow's segments play out like Splinter Cell. Only with more crotch biting

As someone who wasn’t expecting a lot from Retribution, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by what I saw in the preview build. The game has not been without its share of annoyances (sparse ammo combined with overly powerful enemies is never a good combination), but the missions I played offered just enough variety to keep me engaged. We’ll have to wait until April to see if Retribution can win back disillusioned fans, but so far Jack and his faithful pooch are heading in the right direction.