Dead to Rights II Review
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Jack Slate is back again. Like him or not, he has some pretty tough moves. While most of you die hard fans of the Dead to Rights game have been waiting for this game for a long time, don't expect what you got from the first game. If you look for this game to lean towards the first then please don't waste your time on this. This game is for taking all your anger out at the end of a hard day at work. It's complete with violence, shooting, and more shooting, satisfied yet? No? Well you’re not the only one.

Jump, fire and kill style

Okay so let’s start with the story. Jack Slate is out to investigate the kidnapping of a distinguished judge and family friend..... wait... what? Exactly what I thought. Obviously, if you don't mind a game that has little to no story in it at all then this game is perfect for you. It really gives you this feeling of, "We need a story, okay here we go, just work of this sentence or two" and it really feels rushed. However, it does feel like this game was more geared toward arcade fans. The action feels like an arcade game and so does the music. All these things are fine, but not what fans of the first game have been waiting for.

Graphics wise, DTR II looks pretty good. The models are nice and the areas are detailed enough to make the graphics good, but nothing impressive. Of course, since the graphics are not that great you would think the FPS would be really good. I have found out that you can still get a quite a few places where the FPS still drops and becomes jaggy but its nothing that will get  in the way of gameplay. One thing that you will notice is the areas that you go will be pretty close to the same throughout the game. Not a real big shift from place to place so you that tired feeling of seeing the same place over and over quickly on this game. Only bug I found that was pretty bad was when taking cover from a lot of shots in a building, the shots went right through the wall. The game also has smooth animations and for the most part, great FPS.

Firing from a shotgun looks like new years fireworks

Everything in the game sounds pretty good. The gun shots sound good for each gun and grenades. The actual music in the game is very similar to arcade games. It's all very nice because it fits so well with the action that takes place in every portion of the game. A word of caution, don't get this game for your kids. If the title isn't enough warning for you, just wait until you actually play it and hear the talking. This game probably could win an award just for the most cussing. Other then that, the sound is great in the game, the arcade music works well with the action and the gun sounds are not that bad either.

Run, shoot, run, shoot, and then run to the end of level. That’s about all I have to say to explain how the gameplay is. They really did put focus into the actual shooting and fighting but its just a let down that it ends there. Hardly any detail about what’s really going on in the two sentence story, and the fact that have the time you really don't know why things are happening. For example, you go through a level shooting everybody left and right, but then next level neither you nor your enemies have guns anymore.... huh? Ya exactly, but whatever, the game is still an awesome game to play. It's really a blast when you first start playing because it’s really just plain old good action shooting. Mind-less killing and non-stop violence is what this game is all about. If you like games that doesn't really take strategy or just want to take a break from those, this is what you need. I really did have fun with the game after seeing what the game was trying to offer. You have to just understand that this is not the first DTR and accept this game for what it is a great arcade style shooter. Like I said, some things in the game will not make much sense, and the story is close to nothing, but you will have some serious fun blasting away people and collecting guns. One neat thing about DTR II is commanding Shadow. Anytime you have an enemy in your sights you can send Shadow to go kill them and Shadow will also bring their gun back to you. I have really used this lot in some situations. In times of low health, using Shadow several times to defeat a pile of enemies is the key thing to do. Also you will notice that even though the game is basically the same throughout, it can get very tough in different parts. Mainly because of the fact the health is so spread out. As soon as you are about little to none in health, you will see a health recover somewhere near by. So you really have to do all you can to make sure that your health stays good for long periods of time. The aiming system on the game is pretty neat for a game this fast. By holding the left shoulder button you can auto lock on the nearest enemy and press it again to go to the next. While your locked on something, you can move the right analog to switch to a different target to lock on. This system goes along with the great Matrix/Max Payne slow motion moves. As long as your meter bar is up you can launch into the air in slow motion and shoot at your enemies while you barely get shot. This is nice and can get you out of tough situations but its nothing new. If you use Shadow to go after an enemy it will decrease your meter so watch out for which you really need to use.

Another shot of Jack Slate in action

It's hard to really define the A.I. because its not that they are dumb its just they all do the same thing. They are a good shot that’s for sure, they will give you a challenge later on. I was surprised at how sometimes they would seem to know what you are going to do. They don't really go for cover or anything though, so if you start shooting at them they will just stand there and shoot back. Instead of them getting smarter as the game goes on, it seems like they are able to kill you with a lot less hits. With some quick running back and forth and good use of Shadow, they can be overcome easily.

Basically, this is your everyday shoot and kill game. Your mission is the same, run in this room, kill these guys, flip a switch and continue. Simple idea that could have had a lot more added to it to make it worth a purchase. I highly recommend that you don't buy this game until you at least rent it. It's not worth $49.95 and you will get tired of it just by playing it a little bit at a friends house. I did have fun playing this game... the first hour or two that is. After that, you will probably not have a drive to play it much longer.