Besides guns, you also have a dog-named Shadow that tags along with you in some missions. He cannot only attack enemies for you but some times he’ll be used to solve some puzzles in places you can’t reach. One of the first ones is where Jack is stuck and needs Shadow to go through some tubes to reach this one area where Shadow can nudge a large barrel that opens up another area. On the offensive side, using Shadow is an automatic kill and weapon retrieval. He can be abused as the only prerequisite to using Shadow is waiting for the indicator bar to fill up over time.
Dead to Rights isn’t just about guns and fisticuffs. It also features various mini games that give you a break from all the fighting. They range from fun to rather tedious and boring. One of the ones that I didn’t really care for was the
Dance Dance Revolution like stripper mini game. In that one, you are presented with a sequence of button presses and you have to press them at the right time to entice the bodyguards that stand in Jack’s way. You have to complete the random sequence three times and you’re treated to a very plain looking stripper that’s not modeled really well. Some of the mini games are kind of fun and it’s a nice break from the action every once in a while.
The main problem though with
Dead to Rights is the bad camera control that can get you killed in an instant. Since the camera swings around and doesn’t stay locked behind you, you can get into some very tough predicaments when multiple bad guys are surrounding you and you try to move around and get a lock. I’ve had a few instances where I was trying to flee a group of men only to have the camera swing around at odd angles and a person with a shotgun right off the screen take me out because of the confusing camera movement. It happens too often that an already hard game is made unnecessary difficulty by the bad camera control. Yes, you can use the right analog stick to swing the camera around but it’s not quick enough. Bad camera implementation can really hinder a good game and this is one example where it makes for unnecessary frustration.
Dead to Rights is an above average Xbox game that is marred by bad camera implementations. It has its moments with some good action and some good weapons. As a third person action game,
Dead to Rights exceeds in some areas and falls shorts in other. It’s very difficult and can be frustration at times.
C
The camera system can really be frustrating and some of the mini games are awful. You do get some really cool disarming animations and some of the action is pretty fun.
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