Dead to Rights: Retribution is a hard-hitting, explosive experience that has hints of noir films like Sin City and Max Payne rolled up into it and more than a dash of similarities to popular comic book superhero Batman and his Gotham City. It seems to have been inspired by these age-old favourites and yet still manages to make itself a name among this mould, creating a brutal and relentless journey that will draw you into the atmospheric gritty crime world of Jack Slate and his Grant City.

Graphically the game is quite impressive and the storyline, despite being a little familiar, will draw you in right from the start. You will also notice from the opening scene that this is a very violent game with lots of swearing and over the top action. It’s definitely not for the faint-hearted or younger generation, and might even make the most hardcore among us cringe from time to time. With that being said, however, I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in Grant City and enjoyed every minute of this game that kept me on the edge of my seat, gasping for breath between action sequences and wondering at just what kill move I was going to perform next.

Jack Slate is a tough cop, one that doesn’t shy away from violence towards the bad folk that are running unchecked around his beloved Grant City, and one that is determined to clean up the streets no matter what it takes. Slate is an all around tough guy, he doesn’t hesitate to interrogate criminals harshly, in fact he prefers to just kill them outright and leave the SWAT team to clean up the mess. Like any decent hero Slate doesn’t work alone, he’s backed up by his trusty hound Shadow, who, true to his name, never lurks far from his master’s beck and call. Shadow works side by side with Slate, instilling fear in enemies and then taking them down viciously.

The story kicks off with Slate dragging himself down the docks, badly injured with Shadow watching his back. It then flashes back in time to explain what happened in the few days preceding, starting with Slate taking on a hostage situation in the city. It becomes clear that Grant City is being terrorized by gangs of criminals and corrupt officials, with Slate setting out on a dangerous journey to take a stand against these forces that would bring the city to its knees and uncover a conspiracy in the process.

Slate is an above average fighter and can quite safely take care of himself with his bare fists, throwing fast and strong attacks, blocking and breaking down an enemy’s defenses and even performing counter attacks. He can also chain moves together to form combos, earning the ability to perform a brutal takedown, a range of very violently creative and graphic, yet satisfying, ways to finish off an enemy.

Of course things will go a lot quicker if he picks up a gun, especially when he becomes surrounded by multiple enemies at one time, which I must warn you does happen quite often. Slate can disarm an enemy if you time it right and then perform an explosive slow-motion like headshot if you get your targeting correct. Slate can also take an enemy hostage, immediately making the other enemies submissive, and if he gets into a jam he can activate focus mode which turns everything into slow-motion like bullet time and enables him to deal out more damage to enemies. Collect focus by performing all the bad-ass things I have mentioned above, including takedowns, headshots, combos, and disarms.

You’ll be able to pick up a variety of guns along the way, either by disarming enemies or collecting them from fallen enemies. Ranging from the good ol’ handgun to the reliable machine gun, deadly shotgun and explosive rocket launcher, you’ll be spoilt for choice and no doubt eager to give them all a go. Just don’t hide behind cover too long because your enemies will use this same arsenal of weapons against you, blowing that couch you’re hiding behind to smithereens or making you run to a new cover spot with a grenade.

Playing as Shadow reminds me a little of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, minus the violence of course. It’s extremely cool to become this sneaking canine killing machine and he even has a few tricks up his sleeve (paw?). When sneaking you’ll notice the enemy’s heat signatures become blue, identifying exactly where they are and whether they are armed, and giving you the chance to perform a silent kill. He’ll also be able to locate where enemies are when he’s in stealth mode, with the trail of their footprints glowing blue.

Since taking on an armed enemy is dangerous to even wonderdog Shadow, you’ll be able to lure an enemy away from the pack by barking before going for his throat and tearing him to pieces. Just be careful to drag his body into cover so you don’t alert the rest of the enemies. Shadow is also useful in a fight, with Slate able to send him to attack an enemy, defend, guard an area and the clever pooch can even collect weapons for you. To send him against an armed enemy who is out in the open is just plain cruel, but he is excellent at exposing enemies who are sneakily taking cover behind boxes and he can even scan an area for weapons and enemies if you like.

Being able to play as Shadow and having him beside you as a partner throughout really helps to shake the gameplay up a bit, keeping it varied and fresh. The game manages to blend this hand-to-hand fighting, gunplay and AI partner control so well that before long you’ll be effortlessly executing the different moves for both Shadow and Slate.

That’s not to say that the game is without fault, however, with the AI getting rather inconveniently stuck once or twice, and the exaggerated brutality and swearing becoming a little too much to stomach by the end of the game. Still Dead to Rights: Retribution is well worth picking up if you enjoy non-stop action in a well balanced shooter and don’t mind more than an average dose of violence and bad language.

I can’t wait to dig my teeth into the ‘GAC Pack’ DLC for the game which will be available on the 26th of May. It will include two new gameplay modes (‘Assault on the 87th Precinct’ and ‘Riot Control Mode’) as well as the ‘Jack Pack’ and ‘Shadow Pack’ DLC which were previously only available to those who pre-ordered the game.

Pros: Having a sidekick dog; hand-to-hand fighting and gunplay; cheesy one-liners.
Cons: Extreme violence and bad language.

Purchase: