PixlBit

Dead to Rights is not a particularly high-profile series, nor is it considered the cream of the crop, but it seemed to fare well with certain gamers, developing a cult following. Given the enthusiastic minority, Namco Bandai has decided to resurrect the series with a reimagining of the original title. The result is a generic action game that doesn't play off of its strengths, forcing players into constant gun fights.

I can't say I'm particularly familiar with the source material, so I can't say that the story this time around is exactly the same. Jack, a police officer and protagonist of the story, finds himself protecting the people of Grant City from "The Union" as well as the Triads, who seem to be working together. As it turns out, Jack's father is also in the police force and he too is trying to get to the bottom of the recent violence caused by the two groups. Jack's father is tragically murdered, and Jack obviously plans to finish the job and avenge his father. Shadow, Jack's father's dog, accompanies Jack in this quest, lending his skills.

The game provides players with a number of abilities to defend and fight the waves of enemies found in the cityscape. Retribution is somewhat of a hybrid title; it's part shooter, giving players access to enemies' dropped weapons, part beat-'em-up, as players can do a few different punches, grabs, and combos, and part strategy, thanks to the inclusion of Shadow who can be sent after certain enemies or used to defend Jack. Furthermore, players have the ability to slow the whole world down for a short period of time to eliminate a number of enemies safely. The combined result of these different abilities is pretty cool, allowing players to deal with enemies at a variety of ranges in a number of different ways.

At times, players can even take direct control of Shadow, allowing them to go from pure action to a more stealth driven experience. In this mode, players must sneak through the shadows and stealthily kill enemies. There is usually a single main objective to complete, which varies with each mission, and once completed, Shadow will be reunited with Jack and players will push on.

There are a total of 10 chapters in the game, as well as a Prologue, and each of these missions are linear in their presentation. Along the way, players are given some objectives to complete, but ultimately players are just pushing from point A to point B. After playing so many sandbox games in recent times, the chance to go back to a more structured mission progression was welcomed.

Where Retribution stumbles is in its lack of variety and its under-use of the great arsenal of moves it has set up for the player. Each and every mission of the game basically plays the same, with only the scenery around Jack changing. Players are generally sent down some narrow pathways, most commonly streets, and forced to take cover and shoot enemies from safety. Because players must use discarded enemy weapons, all which only have a few available shots, players must continually push forward, collecting new weapons. Occasionally, the game will throw enemies out that are intended to be fought using the hand-to-hand combat skills Jack possesses. Unfortunately, 9 times out of 10, Jack has a gun at his disposal and simple headshot will defeat the enemy, saving the player a lot of fighting time.

Though the beat-'em-up skills are underused, players can constantly take use of Shadow. While Shadow can make players' lives easier, ultimately he just keeps players from needing to shoot a few more guys. Once players get the hang of the game, the gains from Shadow are quite negligible.

Herein lies the problem with Retribution - it's just a bit too easy once you get the hang of things. Because the objectives of each mission are pretty pointless, players are really just mowing down each and every enemy in their way between the start and end points of the mission. Don't get me wrong, this can definitely be enjoyable, and the steady fast pace can make it exhilirating at times. But after just a few missions in, the constant, unchanging gameplay will start to wear you down.

Players can challenge themselves further with higher difficulty settings, and there are a number of police shields (five in each mission) that can be collected to unlock bonus content. Even with these options, once players make it through the game, it's unlikely they are going to desire a second playthrough to find all of the goodies.

Dead to Rights: Retribution is the equivalent of a summer popcorn flick; it doesn't have much depth, you wouldn't really want to experience it twice, but there is at least enough action to keep you engaged for the whole ride.