Dead to Rights

"Finally, something that makes your palms sweat..."

Wow, that’s the one word to use when summing up how I feel about this title. It’s just absolutely stunning, the way it looks and performs. It has a nice length to it also so you won’t whip through it in one sitting, even on easy mode. It takes you through a story of Jacks Slate's, the main character’s, life. This is where the came is comparable to Max Payne. The story is along the lines and its even got its own version of a bullet time on it. There is surely to be hours of enjoyment from the one of a kind shoot em' up. It even comes with a cute little puppy that kills and disarms your enemies for you.

Story 10/10
The story is pretty in depth compared to some games out there. Your father is killed and you plan revenge on his assassin. You search all over the city, getting your self stuck at dead ends and even getting thrown in jail. Pretty much, the story is just like that of a 5 star Oscar winning movie.

Graphics 9/10
This is one of the reasons why I’m holding this game back at a nine. But don’t get me wrong, the cinematic's are so crisp, you'll pee your pants. Every detail is precise and they carry on over to the in game cut scenes. They’re not exactly as detailed as the others but they do, all except for the dang lip sinking. It’s so bad; it’s like its not there at all, seriously. Putting that behind, the levels are lush and detailed. Guns and weapons look right and it should be enough to keep you hooked. The people are convincing enough, despite that their clothes are stuck to them, but that’s no big deal or something to mark the game down for. All and all, it’s a thumbs up for its reality.

Sound 9/10
Boy oh boy, this game will make you feel like you really are being shot at. Ill make you look around and thing to yourself, is some one in here? You'll here every detail, shots fired, shells dropping to the ground, helicopters, doors shutting and opening, and they all match on cue which is good. And one good thing to point out, your dog, Shadow, sounds like a real dog. He pants, sniffs, wines, its all there. The voices of the characters are there. They put the right kind of voices with the right kind of people like you would hope. The only draw back is its music. It kind of seems to be the same stuff over and over again, but its minor. You barley hear it over the fires burning and the guns a blazing.

Game Play 10/10
Goody, the best part of the game. There are so many things in this area that its going to take me a while to tell you every thing about it. There are many different weapons to chose from and collect ranging from pistols and sub machine guns up to M60's and rocket launchers. You can even use your dog to maul nearby foes. That feature comes in handy more than you would think. The game also has a great bullet time feature where you can easily kill your enemies and take low amounts of damage. Disarms are another little bonus. There are different types of disarms depending opon the time of weapon that the enemy holds. You unlock greater disarms as you progress through the game. As if that wasn't enough, fist fights and mini games are also included. You'll be doing more fist fighting than you would like to but it really is quit amazing to watch. The mini games that you come across throughout the game are some such as picking locks, disarming bombs, trying to keep from drowning and controlling a poll dancer. It’s all just sprinkles on the icing of the cake. Oh and one more thing, you don’t just use one handgun like in most game. That’s right, double pistols and the cool thing is that when you’re out of ammo, Jack tosses the guns out and pulls out a new batch. Awesome. That included with some stealth features makes it unbearable to miss out on, such as ducking and positioning yourself up against a wall and peeking around the corner. There is never any slow down, only in bullet time, and you won't have to reset the system seeing as the game never freezes. The only draw back in game play is the fact that it is the same thing for each level, which you can expect from a run and gun game. But people should be aware of that before hand.

Controls 10/10
Controls are what usually make or brake a game and in this case, it makes it. I was surprised how easily I caught on; it became almost second nature. A nice feature is the lock on targeting which is used with the R1 button. You’ll change weapons with the control pad which isn’t all that bad, you get used to it. The learning curve is around 10 minuets so you won’t struggle.

Replay Value 8/10
Once you beat it its kind of a relief. You may feel like going back and beating the game over again in a harder mode or you might just feel like putting it away and playing it again later. Its more in-depth than most games and so there are lots of levels to go through. I don’t know, it really depends on the person.

Buy or Rent? Both
Well, heh, that’s hard seeing as you most likely wont beat it when you rent it, if that’s the type of gamer you are. I would recommend renting it first, to see if it’s the style of game that you are looking for and then maybe picking it up. It’s an excellent game and should be in your collection.

Recommendation
I know the games rated M but it’s not all that bad. There is lots of blood that gets left on the walls and floor and I guess there is some sexual themes but its not horrible. It's nothing compared to the GTA series.

Closing Note
There is a lot of fun to be found in DTR. If you are a hardcore gamer looking for a challenge, go ahead and pick it up. It is surely to be a new favorite to one and all.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/03, Updated 01/02/03