We know what you're thinking - it sounds pretty corny. Cop Jack Slade races around the city with a fistful of semi-automatics and a selection of glib one-liners, occasionally lapsing into Bullet Time when the going gets tough...
It does seem as if Dead To Rights wants to be Max Payne a lot. Yet in some respects, DTR's a better game, crackling with variety, always something to be doing. If it's not picking locks, hot-wiring trucks or disarming bombs it's fist-fighting your way to a better weapon.
Okay, so the kung fu isn't enough to give Virtua Fighter 4 any sleepless nights, but seamlessly disarming your enemy while elbowing him in the face should keep undemanding mates impressed for days. And there are plenty of other nice touches, like the way Slade throws away weapons Matrix-stylee when he's out of ammo.
Banged To Rights The main locations range from '80s-style discotheques to the State Pen, although there are bog-standard alleyways and corridors too. For those familiar with the Xbox version, this is just as playable but with a kinder learning curve.
It's not all good news, though. The camera is too dumb to auto-pan and the manual lock-on function is next to useless. Certain other promising ideas have not been thought through - for instance, your dog, Shadow, is unrealistic and the ability to use a human shield rarely works when there are more than two enemies around.
That said, if you're tired of waiting for Max Payne 2, DTR will do for now. It has thrills, spills, kills and even flashes of great dialogue: "People aren't born here; they're forged out of broken bones and blood money." Be honest now, when did Max say anything that smart?
Fast and furious, Dead To Rights is positively brimming over with good ideas and, for the
most part manages to pull them off - even if it
is a bit derivative.
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