Dead to Rights (2002 Video Game) User Reviews

Occasionally fun but mostly a dull bore

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 6/10 · 27 July 2005]

I got Dead to Rights hoping for some great shoot-em-up action. And while I got that in bucketloads, it's only rarely engaging. The story plays out like film noir and has a hardened cop called Jack Slate (who really belongs in an 80s action movie) investigate his dad's murder only to end up being framed for various crimes and in the middle of huge conspiracy.

And so the game has you blast and fight your way through prisons, mines, air-force bases, dockyards, factories, cliff-sides, nightclubs, construction yards, hotels and out of control airplanes. It feels like a cross between Die Hard Vendetta and Resident Evil 4 as you seem to do nothing but shoot generic bad guys from start to finish. It becomes incredibly boring and is only slightly redeemed by a few intense shoot-outs. There IS the occasional fisticuffs but the mêlée system is poor to non-existent and there is no skill involved in defeating your opponent outside of button mashing.

Plus, the graphics are rotten. The cut-scenes look right out of a mid-90s CD-ROM and the gameplay graphics may look adequate but have a very jerky habit and the camera system will drive you crazy. And the voice acting is quite bad too with the exception of a few lively characters. The guy who plays Jack Slate sounds as bored as a living human can possibly be.

I can't rate this game particularly high. Find it somewhere cheap if you must, otherwise it's not the best shoot-em-up out there and I suggest you invest your time and money in something else.

Graphics C+ Sound B+ Gameplay B- Lasting Appeal C-

Great action game, not THAT similar to Max Payne

[thelalelulelo · 8/10 · 4 September 2007]

I've read countless of posts about this game being so similar to Max Payne, when i played it the first time i thought it was a bit weird arcade-like game with a desire to rip-off the Max Payne style (not just bullet-time). So when i played it for a couple of hours i realized how much fun it is! and how different from "Max Payne", yeah the bullet time is a bit similar but i think it fits differently to the game-style. This game is non-stop action - a mix between a shoot'em up and a fight'em up, so much fun, as a big fan of Max Payne i must say that the storyline of DTR is not near to the greatness of Max Payne, the graphics are a bit average and some of the levels look the same, but if you want a bit more of that "bullet-time" you should definitely own this game.

Want to kill a ridicolous amount of bad-guys? Then this is your game.

[action-6 · 22 February 2004]

"Dead To Rights" is a non-stop actiongame. You will constantly be diving into extremely violent and stylish gun-fights where you literally kill hundreds of bad-guys. You play Jack Slate, a cop framed for the murder of his own father. This game sees Jack Slate`s personal vendetta against his father`s killers, and everything is not what it appears to be. The story here is very simple, but yet it often surprises you as a gamer. The controls are easy to learn but the graphics are pretty average. This game is in many ways very similar to "Max Payne" and Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne". The PC-versions of the "Max Payne"-series are much better than "Dead To Rights", but on the consoles it is a different matter. "Dead To Rights" is in my opinion superior to the console versions of the "Max Payne"-series. This is mainly because of the gameplay. "Dead To Rights" was created for the consoles and for being played with a joypad and not a keyboard+mouse. What this means is that "Max Payne" was created for the PC, and playing these games on consoles using a joypad was not very good at all. On PS2, X-box or Gamecube. "Dead To Rights" is superior to MP1 and MP2

7,5/10

A shameless "Max Payne" ripoff that takes action gaming to the next level!

[practiced_bravado · 12 April 2004]

"Dead to Rights" is a flat-out, balls-to-the-wall, non-stop action video game. It's also a shameless ripoff of "Max Payne". However, unlike "Payne", there's rarely any strategy that comes into play. For the most part, you're just placed in the middle of an intense firefight and are forced to shoot your way out.

The story is about a "Dirty Harry"-like cop who's father is killed during an investigation surrounding a senator's dirty little secret involving the discovery of centuries old gold. The cop is named Jack Slate and the player who controls him has access to a number of ways to dispatch the bad guys with extreme prejudice.

Since you're usually surrounded with enemies and constant gunfire, it's a bit difficult to put some of these moves to good use. However, the ways that you can kill your enemies are numerous and creative. You can use the bad men as human shields, unleash your pet dog to maul them and throw propane canisters into the air and shoot 'em, destroying everybody in sight.

The best way of wasting bad guys, however, are the disarms. You can play "director" with slow motion and camera angles as you watch Slate kill an enemy and take his weapon. Speaking of weapons, there's about a dozen of them or so up for grabs. The least effective tactic you have in your arsenal seems to be the slo-mo dive. It's a gimmick that usually has you taking in more bullets than dodging them.

On occassion, Jack is forced to take on his advesaries with his bare hands. These segments are made up of generic attacks, but they are far and few between. A number of mini-games, such as disarming bombs and picking locks also drop in from time to time. Variety is obviously the name of the game and it's nice to have it. However, "Dead to Rights" wears out its welcome about the halfway mark.

It's an extremely lengnthy adventure, but by chapter 9, I was ready to put down my guns, get the girl and save the world. The non-stop chaos occurring on screen seem to get monotonous. Without the ability to take control of the shootouts (the bulk of the game) with strategy, I felt like I was being manipulated. Neglected to only staying low to the ground and firing out a few shots, rather than running around and creating havoc with all the nifty moves I have been given.

The joy of "Max Payne" is the way you can play anyway you want as long as your mindful of the results. "Dead to Rights" gives you all the moves you could ever want in an action game, but keeps you pin down by gunfire most of the time. That being said, the level design is not exactly ingenius, there are very few places you can duck and hide. Keep in mind, the baddies are not stationary, they usually rush in to flush you out.

All these issues aside, "Dead to Rights" isn't a bad game, it's just as I said at the beginning of this review, it's a non-stop action game. That is where it differs from the more slow-paced, strategic "Max Payne". I admired that title alot more than this one. However, if non-stop chaos is your thing, "Dead to Rights" is your game.

an excellent game.

[JamesMetal1 · 22 October 2002]

This game is one of Namco's best. They have really reddemed themselves with this. The graphics kind of suck, because it looks almost as if it was on Playstation 2, evn with the cutscenes. The gameplay, however, is excellent. I couldn't wait to get this game when it came out. Another thing that makes it seem almost real is the mini-games. I mean you'd probably be found going throught stuff like that in a movie like this. I'm glad they give this mini-game type stuff to you insted of letiing the cutscenes do it for you.

Spoilers

Now comes the story. Jack Slate is a K-9 Grant City police officer who has been framed for murdering a gangster that his father was investigating. He then escapes prison and heads off to Chinatown for some information. Soon he gets involved investigating his father's case. Then, he finds out that some people who should be good guys are really the bad guys such as the mayor and escpecially the head of the police. I won't give away any more of the plot. Most of it is a revenge plot anyway.

This game is a lot like Max Payne in respect of the plot and the diving. Although I like this one a hell of a lot better, it's more intense and fun. I spent days trying to beat it, then finally got the strategy guide because I was so frusterated. I also like it in respect of the difficulty. It his very hard to complete. What sucks is how in games like this, there is no "get the girl" stuff, which really ruined it for me. Also, the fact that they don't move their lips while they speak in the actual game, not cutscenes, sucks. I mean they've had the technology for that since 2000 and they can't do it now? What's wrong with them?It still is a great game. I'll go for any action game out there. Play this, you'll love it. I guarantee you. 7/10

Dead to Live

[Screenwhisperer · 3 May 2003]

Featuring the voices of: Chris Bruno, Patrick Dollaghan, Christopher Bay, Jeannie Elias, Greg Eagles, Jennifer Griffin, Granville Van Dusen, and John Di Crosta.

Jack Slate is K-9 cop in the hardest place on earth, Grant City. He is out one night, investigating a crime scene, and finds him father, Frank Slate, murdered. He investigates in a strip club if anyone had anything to do with it. He finds some thugs, but no leads. He follows a thug to an apartment, and is framed by an assassin.

Slate is in prison for seven months, and is put on death row. He hears that a few boys have planned to break out. Jack breaks out with them, and escapes from the sewers. He hunts after the triads, who are now the main leads. After a plane crashes, Jack, with the help of the TV Reporter, Waterman, and your dog, Shadow, pursue the person who really deserved to die.

With the same style as Max Payne had, Dead to Rights is a very entertaining game. Some features of this are even better than Max Payne(automatic aim, longer slow motion, etc). This game not only is good, but a good entry in comparision with other Action games.

7 out of 10. Format: Playstation 2.

Dead to Live

[Screenwhisperer · 3 May 2003]

Featuring the voices of: Chris Bruno, Patrick Dollaghan, Christopher Bay, Jeannie Elias, Greg Eagles, Jennifer Griffin, Granville Van Dusen, and John Di Crosta.

Jack Slate is K-9 cop in the hardest place on earth, Grant City. He is out one night, investigating a crime scene, and finds him father, Frank Slate, murdered. He investigates in a strip club if anyone had anything to do with it. He finds somes thugs, but no leads. He follows a thug to an apartment, and is framed by an assassin.

Slate is in prison for seven months, and is put on death row. He hears that a few boys have planned to break out. Jack breaks out with them, and escapes from the sewers. He hunts after the triads, who are now the main leads. After a plane crashes, Jack, with the help of the TV Reporter, Waterman, and your dog, Shadow, pursue the person who really deserved to die.

With the same style as Max payne had, Dead to Rights is a very entertaining game. Some features of this are even better than Max Payne(automatic aim, longer slow motion, etc). This game not only is good, but a good entry in comparision with other Action games.

7 out of 10. Format: Playstation 2.

Mindless.

[Meltdown53098533 · 6 February 2004]

You play a K-9 Cop named Jack Slate, whose father is killed and must figure out who did it. The thing is, after a while this seems like just another Action Game. The slow motion effects are not great, nor the graphics. The main interesting thing about the game is that you can unleash your dog upon the criminals and perform painful-to-watch dis arms. Also, the player can use criminals as human shields.

Not great, after a while the plot just seems like it's been thrown together just so you can shoot people. Maybe I'm wrong and am under rating it because I have played the far more superior Max Payne Games. my advice, rent this if you want but you'll get a bigger kick out of renting the Max Payne games, especially number 2.

**/****