Dead to Rights Retribution reviewed

Presentation: I played the original Dead To Rights when it released on the original Xbox in 2002. Fast forward to 2012 and I just finished playing Dead To Rights: Retribution via PlayStation 3. Just like its predecessor, Dead To Rights: Retribution is a gritty action brawler featuring gunplay while taking out hordes of mindless thugs. And I do mean mindless thugs since AI is pretty much non-existent in this action game. Enemies will do three things. Sit back and let them kill them or they will rush you without thinking then you will kill them and lastly they will occasionally shoot and kill each other. The latter is obviously a glitch, but it happened throughout my game.

of the game. Nothing about the story of Dead To Right: Retribution will impress you or keep you interested.

Visuals: There is nothing that stands out in terms of texture or special effects in this 2010 game. However, the game has a nice environment. Grant City looks great with its rain-soaked, neon-lit cityscape that features a plethora of skyscrapers. There are different scenarios throughout the game that break up the dark and murky metropolitan setting. Jack looks like a clone of Chris Redfield from Resident Evil 5. Get off the steroids, Jack, gosh! A nice graphical sequence takes place near the end of the game when you don a Heavy GAC Armor suit and wreak havoc on the GAC headquarters. You can see the Japanese influence of this game while in the suit. It was very neat and fun to use. The best way to describe the visuals in Dead To Rights: Retribution is static and washed down with a good atmosphere.

Sound: If I made a nickel every time I laughed after Jack said one of his catchphrases after killing someone, I’d be rich. The writing and especially the voice dialogue is corny. His comic edge is so bad and cliche. One voice actor who had a weird southern accent (the lady from the news report) was featured. His accent didn’t even fit the game. The music was decent. It’s mostly dramatic action music that goes well with this type of game. Sound design in general isn’t anything to write home about here.

Gameplay: Dead To Rights: Retribution is a shooting fighting game. Gunfighting comes in the form of cover-based shooting. During combat, you can use Shadow to attack GAC thugs and soldiers. After they are dead, you can have Shadow retrieve new weapons for you using the d-pad. Weapons range from shotguns, pistols, SMGS, LMGS, assault rifles, sniper rifles, a strange weapon that shoots electricity. Each weapon runs out of ammo quickly unless you are near a weapon container. The second Jack runs out of ammo, he discards the gun. You can take hostages and use them as a shield to avoid the shots. Enemies range from Triad goons and GAC goons. There are more advanced bad guys later in the game, like GAC combat fighters who have big robotic fists like Fisto. Heavy enemies have a tank on their back that you need to destroy, aka Killzone. There is a VTOL boss fight scene at the end of the game that was quite enjoyable.

Replayability: The single player campaign will take you 8-10 hours. You can and will unlock radio reports, cutscenes, and other gallery items. Other than that, this game has no real replay value. Achievements and trophies are easy to get so maybe that could help replay the game.

Final verdict: Jack Slate and Shadow ended up receiving retribution in Dead To Rights Retribution. However, they failed with my review.

6/10