Introducing an innovative hybrid combat system, Dead to Rights: Retribution puts the full combat potential of a highly trained, highly agitated law-enforcement officer into players' hands. Use your sidearm to pick off enemies from a distance, take cover and blind-fire with the game’s new ranged combat mechanics, or push the issue by taking human shields, stealing weapons with special disarm moves or dishing out Jack's own brutal brand of justice with deadly takedown moves. Jack is equally lethal in close-quarters combat, offering players branching melee combos, counterattacks and disarms as they take the fight to the criminal element of Grant City. Jack will encounter a variety of ruthless gangs in the filthy slums and menacing alleys of Grant City, each with their own unique abilities and fighting style that will test his resolve to crush their murderous stranglehold.
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So, funny story, I picked up this game (apparently) thinking it was Freedom Fighters (thanks, Sarge!). Regardless of the fact that I misremembered a game from a video I watched YEARS ago, I ended up having a great time anyway!
The story, as with every Dead to Rights game apparently, revolves around a cop named Jack and his hella-jacked dog Shadow going around doing very 80's movie-esque crazy shit in order to bring a stop to the corruption and gang violence which plagues Grant City (which is MOST certainly not New York :P ). It's all played very seriously, but it came off as very hammy and silly to me most of the time. I don't know if Jack's voice actor is trying to overact or ham it up, but it certainly comes off that way, especially with some of his one-liners X3 . The really over the top, one-man-army combat really helps extenuate that parodist, hammy feel.
According to the promo/extra material inside the game, they really wanted a "seamless" combat system that could shift between melee and ranged combat very quickly and fluidly, and I think they did a pretty good job. Jack is a well practiced boxer, but more like a crazy freaking martial artist. His ability to do crazy combos to not just one but many opponents is nearly God Hand-esque at points, especially with his finishing moves. They don't restore health or anything like in Splatterhouse (another Namco released, last-gen Action game from around the same time), but they do kill enemies a little quicker as well as give a somewhat horrifically brutal display of just how pissed off/inhumanly strong Jack is. The stunts he does are just so ridiculous that they just couldn't make me laugh sometimes with how horrific they are x3
Combine the elaborate melee combos you can do with just a light and heavy attack, quick blocking, evasion, and counters with the X-button, how you can also grapple opponents to use them as human shields, as well as swap between two different guns AND direct Shadow at people to maul/distract in the meanwhile, and things can get pretty crazy. The controls are laid out really well for it though. I never felt hopelessly overwhelmed with mechanics or anything. I actually forgot grappling was in the game for like 3/4ths of it, tbh Xp . Very satisfying third-person combat. B+ (because the camera is a bit too claustrophobic to be a perfect A).
Another bit that they throw in here and there are the just-Shadow sections, which I have sorta mixed feelings about. These are sections where stealth is not necessarily required but very recommended. You're just a big freaking dog, so while you have very efficient melee you can't use guns, so taking down enemies stealthily (and you can see/smell/hear through walls so it ain't hard to track movements) will certainly make the combat easier, but if you wanna just run in and go ham there's nothing stopping you. I liked them, and thought they broke up Jack's action quite nicely.
Verdict: Recommended. I suppose those of you who've played many more shooters than I have might consider it some generic cover shooter with fancy melee, but I very much enjoyed my time with it. Definitely worth a look for the very cheap price it goes for :)
The story, as with every Dead to Rights game apparently, revolves around a cop named Jack and his hella-jacked dog Shadow going around doing very 80's movie-esque crazy shit in order to bring a stop to the corruption and gang violence which plagues Grant City (which is MOST certainly not New York :P ). It's all played very seriously, but it came off as very hammy and silly to me most of the time. I don't know if Jack's voice actor is trying to overact or ham it up, but it certainly comes off that way, especially with some of his one-liners X3 . The really over the top, one-man-army combat really helps extenuate that parodist, hammy feel.
According to the promo/extra material inside the game, they really wanted a "seamless" combat system that could shift between melee and ranged combat very quickly and fluidly, and I think they did a pretty good job. Jack is a well practiced boxer, but more like a crazy freaking martial artist. His ability to do crazy combos to not just one but many opponents is nearly God Hand-esque at points, especially with his finishing moves. They don't restore health or anything like in Splatterhouse (another Namco released, last-gen Action game from around the same time), but they do kill enemies a little quicker as well as give a somewhat horrifically brutal display of just how pissed off/inhumanly strong Jack is. The stunts he does are just so ridiculous that they just couldn't make me laugh sometimes with how horrific they are x3
Combine the elaborate melee combos you can do with just a light and heavy attack, quick blocking, evasion, and counters with the X-button, how you can also grapple opponents to use them as human shields, as well as swap between two different guns AND direct Shadow at people to maul/distract in the meanwhile, and things can get pretty crazy. The controls are laid out really well for it though. I never felt hopelessly overwhelmed with mechanics or anything. I actually forgot grappling was in the game for like 3/4ths of it, tbh Xp . Very satisfying third-person combat. B+ (because the camera is a bit too claustrophobic to be a perfect A).
Another bit that they throw in here and there are the just-Shadow sections, which I have sorta mixed feelings about. These are sections where stealth is not necessarily required but very recommended. You're just a big freaking dog, so while you have very efficient melee you can't use guns, so taking down enemies stealthily (and you can see/smell/hear through walls so it ain't hard to track movements) will certainly make the combat easier, but if you wanna just run in and go ham there's nothing stopping you. I liked them, and thought they broke up Jack's action quite nicely.
Verdict: Recommended. I suppose those of you who've played many more shooters than I have might consider it some generic cover shooter with fancy melee, but I very much enjoyed my time with it. Definitely worth a look for the very cheap price it goes for :)
Extremamente fraco, assim como toda a franquia.
This game is supposed to be a reboot of the original Dead to Rights. Not sure why this exist since most never really cared for the original or the DTR franchise in general. I will give this game the benefit in that it has decent voice acting, over-the-top, brutal takedowns, decent graphics for its time (although hasn't aged well), and a decent story that's an improvement over the original. My only complaint is how underdeveloped the characters are, which is shame since they have potential to be good characters.
Unfortunately, that's all I can really say that this reboot does right because this game is worse than the original. As I said, the story is decent and the visuals don't look all that good now, but the gameplay is what really holds this game back from being at least decent.
Where the original was ripping off Max Payne (not just in gameplay but also plot) this reboot decides to be yet another generic third-person shooter from the late 2000s that clearly takes "inspiration" from Gears of Wars. Despite that "inspiration", the combat is very boring, mainly because of how easy it is and how clunky and unbalanced the shooting is since the enemies are bullet-sponges. Funniest thing about the gunplay is how broken the blind fire is since it hits enemies dead on meaning it's more accurate than aiming.
This game also poorly attempts to combine the elements of third-person shooting and beat'em up. This is a combo that the Dead to Rights franchise has been trying to make work since day one, but it never has since previous games would abruptly have you enter an area with no weapons and fight people; I think the one thing that amazes me is the inclusion of a combo list, which isn't necessary since the basic combos do just fine against enemies. The beat'em mechanics also happen at the same time as gun fights, which just showcases how bad the AI is since those with no weapon will run straight towards you allowing you to gun them down and some will stand completely still. I even had some spawn behind me.
There's also some other inconveniences like how there's no grenade indicator or the fact that when you aim down with the sniper, it zooms in on the crossairs instead of switching to a scope view.
Now, one staple of the DTR franchise is bullet time, which has been turned into Focus mode. Focus mode is dull to use in comparison to bullet time since it seems to be nothing more than a crutch for the player since you take less damage, do more damage, and get headshots more easily.
It's not surprising that this game killed this franchise. In fact, what surprises me more is how long this franchise went on for, especially considering how little they improved over each new entry. Dead to Rights: Retribution is bad, and like many reboots that came before, failed to take the franchise to new heights. I have no doubt that this franchise will forever be ingrained as Max Payne's less talented cousin who dreamed of being just as cool as him.
RIP
Unfortunately, that's all I can really say that this reboot does right because this game is worse than the original. As I said, the story is decent and the visuals don't look all that good now, but the gameplay is what really holds this game back from being at least decent.
Where the original was ripping off Max Payne (not just in gameplay but also plot) this reboot decides to be yet another generic third-person shooter from the late 2000s that clearly takes "inspiration" from Gears of Wars. Despite that "inspiration", the combat is very boring, mainly because of how easy it is and how clunky and unbalanced the shooting is since the enemies are bullet-sponges. Funniest thing about the gunplay is how broken the blind fire is since it hits enemies dead on meaning it's more accurate than aiming.
This game also poorly attempts to combine the elements of third-person shooting and beat'em up. This is a combo that the Dead to Rights franchise has been trying to make work since day one, but it never has since previous games would abruptly have you enter an area with no weapons and fight people; I think the one thing that amazes me is the inclusion of a combo list, which isn't necessary since the basic combos do just fine against enemies. The beat'em mechanics also happen at the same time as gun fights, which just showcases how bad the AI is since those with no weapon will run straight towards you allowing you to gun them down and some will stand completely still. I even had some spawn behind me.
There's also some other inconveniences like how there's no grenade indicator or the fact that when you aim down with the sniper, it zooms in on the crossairs instead of switching to a scope view.
Now, one staple of the DTR franchise is bullet time, which has been turned into Focus mode. Focus mode is dull to use in comparison to bullet time since it seems to be nothing more than a crutch for the player since you take less damage, do more damage, and get headshots more easily.
It's not surprising that this game killed this franchise. In fact, what surprises me more is how long this franchise went on for, especially considering how little they improved over each new entry. Dead to Rights: Retribution is bad, and like many reboots that came before, failed to take the franchise to new heights. I have no doubt that this franchise will forever be ingrained as Max Payne's less talented cousin who dreamed of being just as cool as him.
RIP
Dead to Rights has been a very rocky series since its debut in 2003. Retribution is not only the best in the series but completely redeems the quality and value of what made the game so great. The story isn’t anything new to gamers with Jack Slate and his dog Shadow trying to revenge his father’s death and also wipe Grant City clean of corrupt cops and criminal syndicates. What is good in Retribution are the voice actors, characters, and action. The guy who plays Jack’s voice is pretty good at putting across emotion to the player.
But you usually don’t come to budget shooters for a story right? The action is great here but repetitive. The action consists of two elements which are shooting and melee. Fist fighting consists of breakers, combos, counters, and executions which can be pretty brutal. Fighting is usually last resort, but sometimes can’t be avoided. I did find fist fighting a bit stiff and the controls were a bit awkward. You can use enemies as human shields and grapple them as well so at least the fighting has depth and isn’t just mashing a button until your fingers bleed.
Melee has other perks like being able to pull a weapon on someone and shoot them in the head via execution. The game is very brutal and it shows what you can do to enemies. I do wish there were more environment executions, but you can’t expect that from a budget game like this really. One thing I noticed is when you are locked in fighting with someone enemies tend to completely miss you while you knock the guy down. This really helps fend off frustration but does seem a little weird when you notice it. There are a large variety of enemies ranging from weak to super strong, but they aren’t unique and just feel like standard soldiers.
Shooting is fun, but weapons don’t really pack a punch. The game is very cover based and is similar to Gears of War but doesn’t feel as smooth as that game. You can slow down time and focus on headshots (which are key to getting through guys quickly). There is a large variety of weapons in the game, but they are pretty standard and generic so don’t expect crazy sci-fi weapons here. The game has you scrounging for ammo constantly which can get annoying and deadly. Guns have very small clips and you can’t hold much ammo for each one which really kind of works against you and I hated this through the whole game. It’s manageable but I was always wanting some sort of upgrade system to fix this.
My favorite part of the game (and what sets it apart from other TPS) is being able to play as Jack’s dog Shadow. The animations are amazing and he really feels, looks, and sounds like a real dog. The execution moves are brutal and satisfying with him chomping on jugulars, blood spurting out, or even tearing out people’s crotches (when you do this for the first time you get an achievement called “Crotchality!”) You can sneak around as Shadow and see heartbeats through walls and plan your attacks accordingly. I loved all the takedown moves, but they recycle often and get old fast.
Shadow also comes in handy when you play as Jack since you can order him to sick people or defend you. A lot of times I would send Shadow after a guy while I take on another and it really feels good that the AI works well here. One instance two soldiers were walking away and Shadow snuck up on one while I shot the other in the head. Of course, Shadow can go down so you just go revive him, but using Shadow is key to staying alive and not dying constantly.
This is also the great part of the story which is the bond between the two that makes you want to stick close and listen to the story. Shadow and Jack are best friends and you really get to feel for them both. Visually Retribution is nothing special, but it isn’t ugly either. There are some nice lighting effects and there’s a lot of detail in everything, but the game is very linear. One other annoyance is hidden badges through the game and I hate shooters that make you go searching for hidden stuff because it detracts from the action. Other than that Retribution is a great bargain bin purchase and is definitely a great game despite its repetition.
But you usually don’t come to budget shooters for a story right? The action is great here but repetitive. The action consists of two elements which are shooting and melee. Fist fighting consists of breakers, combos, counters, and executions which can be pretty brutal. Fighting is usually last resort, but sometimes can’t be avoided. I did find fist fighting a bit stiff and the controls were a bit awkward. You can use enemies as human shields and grapple them as well so at least the fighting has depth and isn’t just mashing a button until your fingers bleed.
Melee has other perks like being able to pull a weapon on someone and shoot them in the head via execution. The game is very brutal and it shows what you can do to enemies. I do wish there were more environment executions, but you can’t expect that from a budget game like this really. One thing I noticed is when you are locked in fighting with someone enemies tend to completely miss you while you knock the guy down. This really helps fend off frustration but does seem a little weird when you notice it. There are a large variety of enemies ranging from weak to super strong, but they aren’t unique and just feel like standard soldiers.
Shooting is fun, but weapons don’t really pack a punch. The game is very cover based and is similar to Gears of War but doesn’t feel as smooth as that game. You can slow down time and focus on headshots (which are key to getting through guys quickly). There is a large variety of weapons in the game, but they are pretty standard and generic so don’t expect crazy sci-fi weapons here. The game has you scrounging for ammo constantly which can get annoying and deadly. Guns have very small clips and you can’t hold much ammo for each one which really kind of works against you and I hated this through the whole game. It’s manageable but I was always wanting some sort of upgrade system to fix this.
My favorite part of the game (and what sets it apart from other TPS) is being able to play as Jack’s dog Shadow. The animations are amazing and he really feels, looks, and sounds like a real dog. The execution moves are brutal and satisfying with him chomping on jugulars, blood spurting out, or even tearing out people’s crotches (when you do this for the first time you get an achievement called “Crotchality!”) You can sneak around as Shadow and see heartbeats through walls and plan your attacks accordingly. I loved all the takedown moves, but they recycle often and get old fast.
Shadow also comes in handy when you play as Jack since you can order him to sick people or defend you. A lot of times I would send Shadow after a guy while I take on another and it really feels good that the AI works well here. One instance two soldiers were walking away and Shadow snuck up on one while I shot the other in the head. Of course, Shadow can go down so you just go revive him, but using Shadow is key to staying alive and not dying constantly.
This is also the great part of the story which is the bond between the two that makes you want to stick close and listen to the story. Shadow and Jack are best friends and you really get to feel for them both. Visually Retribution is nothing special, but it isn’t ugly either. There are some nice lighting effects and there’s a lot of detail in everything, but the game is very linear. One other annoyance is hidden badges through the game and I hate shooters that make you go searching for hidden stuff because it detracts from the action. Other than that Retribution is a great bargain bin purchase and is definitely a great game despite its repetition.