In Retro: "Dead to Rights" Review (PS2)

My review of the original "Dead to Rights" for the Playstation 2, as I then perceived it. Basically, I wrote this when the title was brand new...

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“Dead to Rights” is the kind of non-stop action game that will remind you why you play console games in the first place. Though the game’s premise, style, and source of inspiration are easy to compare to “Max Payne,” the games themselves are readily distinguishable from one another, and both are equally as worthy of your gaming attentions.

“Dead to Rights” casts you as Jack Slate, a larger-than-life cop in the fictional cesspool of Grant City, whose only real friend appears to be his canine partner, Shadow. Early on, Slate discovers the body of his murdered father in a construction yard, and the action comes hot and heavy from then on.

Slate’s gun-slinging antics and martial arts brawls are quick to remind one of a John Woo film. The hand-to-hand fighting system is immensely enjoyable and reminiscent of updated classics like “Double Dragon” and “Final Fight.” The majority of the game’s setpeices, though, involve thousands of flying bullets, and the gunplay is truly extraordinary. Capping the bad guys is rarely this satisfying, particularly in a game viewed from a 3rd person perspective. To add icing to the cake, Slate has a series of violent “disarms” he can employ to turn a battle in his favor, and executing them properly is gratifying in all its M-rated glory. “Dead to Rights” wisely switches between hand-to-hand battles and fierce gunfights at a fairly regular interval to ensure that the game doesn’t get repetitive.

Unfortunately, “Dead to Rights” also favors mini-games and puzzles that crop up every now and again to slow down the action. The idea is a sound one, but most of these sessions are just exercises in button-mashing frenzy. On the plus side, though, the mini-games segue into the storyline almost seamlessly, so they’re not as jarring as they might otherwise have been. And speaking of the storyline, it’s sure to entertain, and is helped tremendously by talented voice-actors and some truly cinematic cut-scenes.

Aside from the mini-games and some questionable decisions in level design (which are an exception rather than a rule), “Dead to Rights” is a triumph. The game is bloody good fun from beginning to end, and more addictive than a set of Max Payne’s painkillers. This remains one of the best action titles available on the PS2, and it should not, under any circumstances, be missed by fans of the genre.

FINAL SCORE: 8.1 (Very Good)