Dead to Rights: Retribution
When a canine sidekick is tougher than many of today’s action heroes, what does that say about his master? Plenty.
Don’t call this a sequel, even if you’re familiar with Namco Bandai Games’ original Dead to Rights for PlayStation, Xbox and PC. Dead to Rights Retribution is a reinvention of the renegade cop saga, in which K-9 officer Jack Slate takes the law into his own hands to shake down Grant City’s crime lords.
Since we’re dealing with a K-9 officer this means trotting by Jack’s side is Shadow, a police-trained doggie that knows how to bite where it hurts. Throw in the almighty power of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to render Grant City as a criss-crossing, rain sodden rabbit warren of crumbling bricks and corroding steel and the stage is set.
DTR Retribution takes the bold step of combining third-person-shooting with third-person-fighting. This allows for Jack to enter any situation with options to break bones using his arms, fists and feet or disarm foes and use their weapons against them. Either way the action doesn’t shy away from the shady side of brutal. Jack makes Liam Neeson’s role in “Taken” look polite by comparison.
The star of the show is undoubtedly Shadow, however, whose “Testi-Kill” speciality leaves little to the imagination. Shadow is used to vary the action with scenes viewed in monotone pooch-o-vision occasionally laced with a colourful scent trail. When in control of Shadow your missions are focused on stealth and agility, with the added benefit of invulnerability – Shadow cannot die.
In the section of the game we saw during an exclusive Namco Bandai Games presentation, the scenario was Grant City’s Chinatown. It was night time with rain pouring down heavily, the neon lights reflecting in the puddles. Watching Jack and Shadow go to work on some hoodlums was very impressive – Jack seamlessly switching from unarmed combat to gun-toting bad-ass. The creative team has gone for a bold look that has realistic qualities but equally strong colour usually associated with a graphic novel. Mood lighting and weather conditions that will also include snow add to the lush production values we can expect.
Dead to Rights Retribution won’t arrive until 2010, but it’s already on our shortlist of PS3/360 games to look out for.
