Dead to Rights

"One of the best action games I have ever played"

Poor, poor Dead to Rights. It's taken you some time to come out for the PlayStation2. Let me tell you. Originally announced in 2000 for PS2, Microsoft ended up paying to make it an Xbox exclusive, but they got it to be a time-exclusive. So many people forgot about Dead to Rights, but then Namco announced it was still on track for our lil' PS2. Many have, unfortunately billed it as a simple Max Payne rip-off. No, it's far different.

-VISUALS: Dead to Rights' graphics allow it to express its crime film-noir atmosphere almost perfectly, but sadly, they could've used work. They can be compared to first-generation PlayStation2 titles, and at some times, look like they have a fine place on the regular Playstation. But overall, they're not as bad as people have said. They look pretty good, but not as good as they could've. The environments look decent, most of the characters are good-looking (especially Jack's stripper-friend, Hildy! :) ), but they are quite blocky, with no signs of emotion on their faces.

-SOUND: Dead to Rights sounds pretty good. The music was done by people who have worked on movies, like Scream III, and they fit the atmosphere and action-packed gameplay perfectly. The sound-effects are just as you would expect, you'll hear gunshots,screaming,moaning, etc. The voice-acting is another story, however. Most of the voices sound terrible, while some sound good, Jack's voice is pretty good, but Hildy's voice-actress does the best job. Some sound bored, others sound like they are reading their lines straight of paper.

-GAMEPLAY: The gameplay is different then most action games.
The gunplay, however, is the best part of Rights, and is incredibly fun. You can do a large variety of things, like doing slow-motion dives, using enemies as human shields, doing lethal disarms, sending your mutt, Shadow, to sic' an enemy, etc. While the gunplay is fun, your eternal guns are only blazing two thirds of the time. The other third is doing mini-games(i.e;a bomb-defusion game similar to the PS1 sleeper hit, Irritating Stick) and several gameplay varieties(i.e;an entire level that plays like Silent Scope, extinguishing fire). While most are pretty fun, there are some annoying ones. You even control Shadow at some parts!
While the mini-games can be cool (lock-picking is simple and fun), but some can be frustrating (holding you breath is annoying).Plus, despite all the hoop-lah, the fighting engine is very solid, and easy-to-use with cool combos.Overall, Dead to Rights deals a ton o' variety.

-CONTROLS: Dead to Rights' controls seem VERY complicated at first, but after adjusting to them, you'll be able to easily pull off a large amount of moves. The fighting controls can sometimes get annoying, but not by much. The camera is easy to use,too.

-OVERALL:Dead to Rights is an awesome action game. Any fan of John Woo films or Max Payne owes it to themself to track down this awesome game! -Jaxijin

SCORECHART:

-VISUALS:7/10 -ORIGINALITY:8/10
-SOUND:7/10 -REPLAY:8/10
-CONTROLS:9/10 -OVERALL:8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/18/03, Updated 01/18/03