Dead to Rights: Retribution

The shooting, hand-to-hand combat and sneaking segments can all be fun, but for a very short time. Apart from that, the game has little of true value. It's probably best to avoid it.

The enemy AI is predictable, typically running straight at Jack; ordering Shadow around is hit and miss; there's zero help when it comes to targeting enemies (i.e. no lock-on function); and the animation can be disjointed and completely bizarre.

A reasonably solid action game with a few good ideas, but definitely a step below the top-tier franchises.

The story is bombastic and gratuitous and level design can be needlessly frustrating, but the strength of the combat and Shadow’s stealth largely compensate.

It's simple, enjoyable, and in wisely steering clear of trying anything grand or complex, is an enjoyable if self-contained success. [May 2010, p.97]

Dead to Rights is a lot like its belligerent hero, getting the job done in the crudest manner possible, leaving behind nothing more memorable than a sticky adolescent mess of blood, bullets and profanity.

A disappointing sequel that resembles (in the worst way) everything we've seen in the previous entries of the series. Fun to play for a very short period, the linear gameplay and the lack of multiplayer and co-op mode make this game a failure under many aspects. It could be worth a rental for the week-end, but there are better ways to spend money and time.

It would have been much better if Volatile had given the game some personality, instead of using all ideas from other games like Gears of War, Arkham Asylum or Max Payne.

Dead to Rights: Retribution showed a lot of promise with some innovative side-steps, but fails when it comes down to line.

In the end, the game is a wash and quite forgettable. You’ll enjoy some moments as you play but won’t remember them the next day.

Yes, it's cheesy and not the most polished shooter on the market, but it's the perfect rental, a game that'll last through the weekend and dish out plenty of rewards.

With a forgettable story, bland characters and a huge sense of déjà-vu, Namco’s re-envisioning of its precious Dead to Rights franchise manages to keep you afloat, but never elevates your level of excitement beyond just treading water.

For all your dull evenings, there is Dead to Rights : Retribution. An ugly, not very original and merely polished game, but still very satisfying when you just need some enemy-bashing.

Dead to Rights: Retribution is a decent shooter, but it simply has nothing new to offer, and doesn’t do a particularly good job of presenting itself.

It may not be the deepest or most original action experience out there, but it's hard to deny the cheap thrills, over-the-top attitude, and mind-numbingly brutal mayhem present in Volatile's latest.

Everything on offer is sub-par. But if you’re a sucker for mindless violence and a distinct lack of storyline, then you’ll probably enjoy Retribution.

Dead to Rights: Retribution is fun, fast and exhilarating. You go from shooting to cracking jaws with your fists in mere seconds, and the mechanics for doing so are rock solid. It slows down at times, but this is still a worthwhile ride.

An entirely average experience with mediocre graphics and a story laced with cliches. But it is fairly entertaining, fun even, while it lasts.

Namco delivers violent and old school action that feels just like a Chuck Norris movie. Unfortunately, also in the bad way. That means the story stinks and the dialogue is unbelievably bad. Still, it feels good to just disconnect the brain for some heavy action that really feels like a direct to DVD movie.

There's not a single moment worth experiencing. It's a dull, monotonous title that needn't be played by anyone, especially with all of the quality already available on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Zesty and packs a punch, but becomes over-familiar very quickly. [June 2010, p.74]

Dead to Rights simply coats the environment in red and its characters in force-fed grime and loathability. What's left is an experience that provides some basic action sustenance, but lacks any real purpose or direction.

Dead to Rights: Retribution is a lukewarm 3rd person shooter, whose redeeming qualities are overshadowed by overly repetitive gameplay.

Perhaps the greatest issue with Dead To Rights: Retribution is that it feels like last generation's ideas and standards reanimated for a new set of consoles.

Sure, it could have been executed better, and yes there are better shooters/fighting games out there. But for something which came out of left field with little announcement, it’s got a good 10 hours of play in it, and I can think of a worse way to spend that amount of time. Uninspired, but respectable for being what it is, unashamedly.

Go here, kill them, do it again. It’s rough around the edges –- shadows look like crap on people’s faces and the enemies aren’t smart –- but it could be worse.

Dead to Rights: Retribution is by no means a bad game, though it can't really be called a good one either. Redundancy runs rampant in nearly every aspect of the game.

Possibly the world's least anticipated sequel, but a surprisingly enjoyable brain dead romp all the same.

Dead to Rights: Retribution is a solid game which looks pretty good based on a fictitious NYC. The combat whilst dynamic, does get a bit repetitious and by mission 10 you'll be glad it's over rather than begging for more.

This new Dead to rights may appeal to B-Movie fans. For everyone else this is just a decent game with too many problems and a dog which just barks and doesn't bite.

Retribution's grim, obscenity-packed narrative fails to hit any high notes. [July 2010, p.83]

The few saving graces offered by the inclusion of a scrotum-seeking pooch do little to alleviate the more fundamental problems the game faces as a third person shooter. Dead to Rights: Retribution is a load of balls in exactly the way Volatile Games didn't intend.

We all need a Die Hard every now and then, and that’s exactly the kind of spirit Retribution evokes.

Competent. Functional. Other than the presence of your canine sidekick, there is absolutely nothing in Dead to Rights: Retribution that hasn't been done before (and probably better) in other games.

The plot wavers between comic-book badassery and awkward melancholy, making you wonder whether the writing team couldn’t come to an agreement on what kind of story they wanted to tell.

Overall if you are a fan of the Dead to Rights series be sure to check this game out. If you are brand new to the series you should definitely give this title a shot to see if you like it, however, rent before you buy.

It offers a good challenge for action gamers, but they'll probably miss some features like a multiplayer mode, or some more depth.

A far bigger problem is simply the fact that the game gets boring all too quickly.

This shooter is out of date. [Issue#59, p.97]

Dead to Rights: Retribution can provide some good B-movie fun at first, but it soon gets overly repetitive and the niggling flaws soon begin to grate more and more as the game goes on.

Comfortable in its saggy skin, and really quite good at what it does. A bargain bin gem. [July 2010, p.94]

All in all, the gameplay is very realistic and well done, but the game did let me down after I had so much fun with the first one.

Dead to Rights: Retribution is a mediocre game. It has good points, it has bad points, but it never comes up with something special. It's a fun game to play, but just for once and never again.