RSS
November 15, 2003 | 10:00 PM PST
by: Sean O'Neill
You’re a cop storming down a tunnel excepting from jail. You are armed with a few pistols and a shotgun that could change someone’s complexion from ugly to worse. As you make your way down the hall gunshots ring out… Bullets whiz past your head, you dive with both arms out and guns blazing. Everything moving at a slow pace, you’re in the zone, popping bullets into thugs left and right. That’s when you hear it.
*click*. You’re out of ammo. You make a run for the gunman shooting at you. With a quick arm grab and a rotation you use the idiot as a human shield as you storm down the hallway. Bullets fill his body and you drop him, and that’s when you realize you don’t have any protection. A gun is aimed at your skull its lights out…. bark bark… grrrrr. Your canine friend decides to join you in your fight against crime and takes out the bad guy who would have had you pushing up daises… all this and its just the start of the game.
Dead to Rights, the once Xbox exclusive now hits our little cube with guns blazing. Namco has delivered something many publishers don’t, a mature title for the older Gamecube crew. Here are the facts and improvements…
1. Selectable Difficulty Levels
Multiple difficulty levels provide a uniquely tuned experience for players of all skill levels.
2. Targeting (Lock-on system)
Targeting system logic has been enhanced to choose more appropriate threats.
3. Shadow ‘Quick Attack’
When Shadow has full stamina, you can quick command him to attack by locking onto an enemy and pressing the D-Pad. This is much easier and faster than scrolling to his weapon icon.
4. Weapon ‘Quick Holster’
Pressing the D-Pad will quick holster/draw Jack’s last weapon. This feature allows the player to keep stride when running towards an enemy and shooting with an ultimate goal of disarming him.
5. Fighting System
Enhanced depth includes new/different combos for Jack and his enemies. Basic enemies no longer dodge, only block. Jack can no longer be knocked down by an attack, other than a throw. Camera provides a wider viewing angle during fight sequences.
6. Disarms
Easier to unlock disarm sequences mean faster access to DTR’s over-the-top moves.
7. Human Shield
Enhanced Human Shield mode allows for tighter screen-relative controls and faster movement, while added ‘shield victim’ durability increases effectiveness.
8. Camera
Various cameras in the game have been adjusted along with an ‘invert’ camera option added to the menu to reverse the rotation of the camera when using the right stick.
9. Mini-games
Various mini-games have been made optional, such as the prison weightlifting and speedbag. The redundancy of recurring mini-games has been reduced and overall difficulty toned down.
10. On-screen cues
Indicator arrows point toward off-screen threats that are shooting at Jack, while button flashes and additional text assist the player in completing objectives.
11. Toss-n-Shoot
The player can now toggle away from the flammable canister in flight to focus on other enemies.
Graphics
Originally developed for the PS2, Dead to Rights isn’t mind-boggling. With that said it isn’t half-bad either. While the Xbox version looks the cleanest the Gamecube one is a close second. With things such as enhanced blood splatters and particle effects enhance things like flying objects and bullets whizzing by your body. While slowdown pops up every now and then its barely noticeable. Small details in some areas such as clothing and some of the levels are amazing while others are simplifies (some of the faces..)Also the animation seems blocky except when it cuts to an up close shot of a disarming. Enhanced lighting and nice level design help give a sense of you being in the game and the cut scenes make you have the I’m in an action flick feel. While the camera can give you some difficult angles to work with and uncomfortable first person views overall it does a good job showcasing the action. All in all I felt Dead to Rights was a pretty game that isn’t mind blowing but done very well.
Sound
With an amazing score that has the feel of any blockbuster action flick. It really sets you in the action. This coupled with great sound effects such as explosions, flying bullets and even screams of pleasure from “working girls”. The only draw back in this area of the game is some of the hoky voice acting. While Jack is great the others all seems to be uninspired and unconvincing.
GamePlay
Namco has delivered a much more polished, fast-paced DtR on GameCube than on XBOX. Much like editing a movie, Namco has improved an already amazing game. By cutting down on the mandatory minigames it allows the action to move along much quicker. While the game has been dumbed down a bit on the difficulty level it still offers a challenging and entertaining experience. Small tweaks from the Xbox version such as set up of a canine attack to a hot key as apposed to a scroll trough menu. The camera has been improved so that it gives you a better scope of the action. And the targeting now locks onto the more dangerous threat.
Artificial intelligence is more rank driven, and the standard thugs are much stupider and easy to kill due to their lack of defense, while the higher us will dodge punches and move in sparatic patterns making them harder to shoot. And these are all just the improvements! With a amazing array of weapons to kill with including shotguns, grenade launchers, explosive devices (you can take a canister and toss it at a enemies and shoot it to leave nothing left of them except a charchol stain on the floor) and your standard ser of hand guns. This along with over 20 disarm moves make the game pack a real combat punch. And for all you art lovers, you will be happy to know you to can paint like Picassio in this fine shooter…. Oh, did I mention it’s with buckets of blood?
This game is all about the standard if it moves kill it way of playing. While it is a lot of fun to run and gun the gameplay can be a bit repetitive. Namco did a nice job of adding elements to change the action up a bit like sub missions, but overall you go from point A to B. The targeting system is great while shooting suckers down but hand to hand is a bit on the simple side. With repetitive punch and kick combos the game lacks in this end. A.I can be stupid at times while at others being very crafty. But this equals a ton of fun as you gun down, disarm and use them to your advantage. While I like the
scaling back of the Xbox versions difficulty level to an extent, I wish there were tuffer modes in DtR. I was longing for a game that required more strategy, run and gun can stay entertaining for only so long…
Conclusion
While the game does have its shortcomings I found Dead to Rights to be an enjoyable experience. It did one thing extremely well; it put you into the action. I recommend the game to any action fans out there. While it’s not perfect it is fun! So give Dead to Rights a try!
*click*. You’re out of ammo. You make a run for the gunman shooting at you. With a quick arm grab and a rotation you use the idiot as a human shield as you storm down the hallway. Bullets fill his body and you drop him, and that’s when you realize you don’t have any protection. A gun is aimed at your skull its lights out…. bark bark… grrrrr. Your canine friend decides to join you in your fight against crime and takes out the bad guy who would have had you pushing up daises… all this and its just the start of the game.
Dead to Rights, the once Xbox exclusive now hits our little cube with guns blazing. Namco has delivered something many publishers don’t, a mature title for the older Gamecube crew. Here are the facts and improvements…
1. Selectable Difficulty Levels
Multiple difficulty levels provide a uniquely tuned experience for players of all skill levels.
2. Targeting (Lock-on system)
Targeting system logic has been enhanced to choose more appropriate threats.
3. Shadow ‘Quick Attack’
When Shadow has full stamina, you can quick command him to attack by locking onto an enemy and pressing the D-Pad. This is much easier and faster than scrolling to his weapon icon.
4. Weapon ‘Quick Holster’
Pressing the D-Pad will quick holster/draw Jack’s last weapon. This feature allows the player to keep stride when running towards an enemy and shooting with an ultimate goal of disarming him.
5. Fighting System
Enhanced depth includes new/different combos for Jack and his enemies. Basic enemies no longer dodge, only block. Jack can no longer be knocked down by an attack, other than a throw. Camera provides a wider viewing angle during fight sequences.
6. Disarms
Easier to unlock disarm sequences mean faster access to DTR’s over-the-top moves.
7. Human Shield
Enhanced Human Shield mode allows for tighter screen-relative controls and faster movement, while added ‘shield victim’ durability increases effectiveness.
8. Camera
Various cameras in the game have been adjusted along with an ‘invert’ camera option added to the menu to reverse the rotation of the camera when using the right stick.
9. Mini-games
Various mini-games have been made optional, such as the prison weightlifting and speedbag. The redundancy of recurring mini-games has been reduced and overall difficulty toned down.
10. On-screen cues
Indicator arrows point toward off-screen threats that are shooting at Jack, while button flashes and additional text assist the player in completing objectives.
11. Toss-n-Shoot
The player can now toggle away from the flammable canister in flight to focus on other enemies.
Graphics
Originally developed for the PS2, Dead to Rights isn’t mind-boggling. With that said it isn’t half-bad either. While the Xbox version looks the cleanest the Gamecube one is a close second. With things such as enhanced blood splatters and particle effects enhance things like flying objects and bullets whizzing by your body. While slowdown pops up every now and then its barely noticeable. Small details in some areas such as clothing and some of the levels are amazing while others are simplifies (some of the faces..)Also the animation seems blocky except when it cuts to an up close shot of a disarming. Enhanced lighting and nice level design help give a sense of you being in the game and the cut scenes make you have the I’m in an action flick feel. While the camera can give you some difficult angles to work with and uncomfortable first person views overall it does a good job showcasing the action. All in all I felt Dead to Rights was a pretty game that isn’t mind blowing but done very well.
Sound
With an amazing score that has the feel of any blockbuster action flick. It really sets you in the action. This coupled with great sound effects such as explosions, flying bullets and even screams of pleasure from “working girls”. The only draw back in this area of the game is some of the hoky voice acting. While Jack is great the others all seems to be uninspired and unconvincing.
GamePlay
Namco has delivered a much more polished, fast-paced DtR on GameCube than on XBOX. Much like editing a movie, Namco has improved an already amazing game. By cutting down on the mandatory minigames it allows the action to move along much quicker. While the game has been dumbed down a bit on the difficulty level it still offers a challenging and entertaining experience. Small tweaks from the Xbox version such as set up of a canine attack to a hot key as apposed to a scroll trough menu. The camera has been improved so that it gives you a better scope of the action. And the targeting now locks onto the more dangerous threat.
Artificial intelligence is more rank driven, and the standard thugs are much stupider and easy to kill due to their lack of defense, while the higher us will dodge punches and move in sparatic patterns making them harder to shoot. And these are all just the improvements! With a amazing array of weapons to kill with including shotguns, grenade launchers, explosive devices (you can take a canister and toss it at a enemies and shoot it to leave nothing left of them except a charchol stain on the floor) and your standard ser of hand guns. This along with over 20 disarm moves make the game pack a real combat punch. And for all you art lovers, you will be happy to know you to can paint like Picassio in this fine shooter…. Oh, did I mention it’s with buckets of blood?
This game is all about the standard if it moves kill it way of playing. While it is a lot of fun to run and gun the gameplay can be a bit repetitive. Namco did a nice job of adding elements to change the action up a bit like sub missions, but overall you go from point A to B. The targeting system is great while shooting suckers down but hand to hand is a bit on the simple side. With repetitive punch and kick combos the game lacks in this end. A.I can be stupid at times while at others being very crafty. But this equals a ton of fun as you gun down, disarm and use them to your advantage. While I like the
scaling back of the Xbox versions difficulty level to an extent, I wish there were tuffer modes in DtR. I was longing for a game that required more strategy, run and gun can stay entertaining for only so long…
Conclusion
While the game does have its shortcomings I found Dead to Rights to be an enjoyable experience. It did one thing extremely well; it put you into the action. I recommend the game to any action fans out there. While it’s not perfect it is fun! So give Dead to Rights a try!
November 20, 2009
