Among the various games that heavily derived from Max Payne's rumbling entrance with its gritty third-person shooter-focused combat, Dead to Rights is probably the best one. It's a pretty simple game that stands out with its quirks and diverse pace-breaking sections that require you to disarm bombs, jimmy-open doors, etc. Also, the unique mechanic of sending out your dog to maul unsuspecting goons and create new paths for our armed protagonist are also fun and add more diversity to the gameplay.

The story isn't exactly groundbreaking either, but it sets the mood right as a tale of pure revenge that sets Jack Slate on a path that unveils crooked capitalists and citywide plans of corruption and greed . . . huh, that all sounds a little too familiar.

Overall, the gunplay is really satisfying, it always encourages you to act fast and tear through your enemies, and its lock-on function is more than handy. Some of the mini-games stay their welcome a little too long at times, though. This all made for a fun package when I was just a teenager craving more gritty goodness, but these days I won't argue when someone describes how unremarkable it is these days.