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Xbox | Action | Dead to Rights II: Hell to Pay

Boxart for Dead to Rights II: Hell to Pay
Dead to Rights II: Hell to Pay 12 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 3.5
  • SOUND: 3.5
  • CONTROL: 3.5
  • FUN FACTOR 3.0
  • AVG USER SCORE n/a
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 2.7

Review: Dead to Rights II: Hell to Pay

Review by Sid Shuman | 04/13/2005 | 18:31:37 PM PST

Namco's fast-paced action sequel is another shooter royale with cheese, but does it improve on the original?

Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme have made big bank on movies like this: A renegade cop goes on a rampage against a brutal gang, and, in the course of righting whatever wrong has been committed, he brutally (and in myriad ways) dispatches a few hundred thugs for their crimes. No one will nominate the actors' performances for an Academy Award, but they provide some mindless entertainment--the film equivalent of cotton candy.

Namco's Dead to Rights II is much the same thing: Renegade cop (Jack Slate) goes on a rampage against thugs who've kidnapped a judge. He gets the opportunity to brutally dispatch...well, you get the picture. Yes, the cotton candy part, too.

And Your Little Dog, Too...
Slate is an enterprising officer of the law. He finds a lot of weapons to make his efforts easier--pistols, shotguns and automatics, among them--and he's able to disarm his opponents to add to his supply. There's nothing like seeing Slate snag the bad guy's gun, pirouette around like a prima ballerina and blast him. He also has a mobile weapon: His trusty sidekick pup, Shadow, can take out the targeted enemy deftly (and somewhat invincibly).

The sequel has dropped the original game's diversionary minigames in favor of unabashed action and mayhem. It's filled with nasty gunfights, Max Payne-like slow-motion shootouts and more F-bombs than you'd hear at the Annual Cuss-Word Convention. Okay, so this cotton candy isn't that sweet...

The Camera Adds 10 Poundings
Unfortunately, Dead to Rights II maintains its predecessor's graphics and camera glitchiness. At few times, enemies sailed through doorways--before the door was opened. Shadow seems to appear and disappear more often than David Copperfield. The perspective spins and dives when you hit the target button or go through a corridor, which makes it more than a little difficult to keep from getting blasted early and often.

Though the original's mini-games often felt out of place, they did break up the gunplay. Without them here, you'll probably find that the battles, while cotton-candy fun, are quite monotonous and increasingly difficult (even without the camera wonkiness).

Despite its flaws, Namco has created a series with lots of entertainment potential. Maybe the publisher ought to come up with some new ideas--you know...start fresh and wipe the Slate clean.


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