Make no mistake about it. The Xbox version of Dead to Rights was f**king hard. Hardcore gamers warmed to the challenge, and definitely got their money’s worth out of a title which was definitely one of the better Xbox releases of 2002. More casual gamers, however, squealed like little piglets at the routine ass-kickings DtR handed out like so much candy on Hallowe’en – message boards and forums galore attest to this. As Andre Emerson, producer of DtR, stated in our previous interview with him, Namco wanted to get selectable difficulty levels into the Xbox version but various circumstances prevented that from happening. Well, selectable difficulty has made it into the PS2 and GameCube releases and the title is more accessible because of this.

For those of you who don’t know the storyline behind DtR, it reads like many a cop drama before it. K-9 cop on the edge, Jack Slate is a man caught in a decrepit world of seediness and corruption known as Grant City. Shocking circumstances push him into a showdown with an evil that’s making its presence known, and much gunplay ensues. To the credit of the writers here, the storyline does take some unexpected turns and ends up being quite gripping before everything is through. Fans of The Killer and Hard Boiled will definitely enjoy what’s on offer here.

The real twist in DtR’s gameplay lies in its use of Bullet-Time-style slow-motion play, as seen in Max Payne, and your faithful dog sidekick Shadow, who can attack foes for you and retrieve weapons. This second point is an integral one, because it is very easy to run out of ammo in DtR, making judicious use of shooting, ducking and the dog very important. There are tons of moves available, from using opponents as human shields to placing Jack’s back against a wall for cover, diving through the air in slow-motion while blasting away, and one of the coolest moves I’ve ever seen in a video game to date: tossing the explosive can at a bunch of enemies, then shooting it in mid-air to detonate it and engulf everyone near in an inferno of justice. Boss.

DtR is a very enjoyable title. Playing these two new versions now in comparison to the earlier Xbox release demonstrates how the Namco Hometek team took the time to add enhancements like selectable difficulty and scaling back the hand to hand combat fighting for PS2 and GameCube owners. Unfortunately, the camera system wasn’t one of things that was tweaked, and it needs it. It’s very easy to find yourself losing track of your enemies due to the way the camera works – you’re forced to readjust it constantly. In a slower paced game like Splinter Cell, this isn’t such a big deal, but when you’re dealing out a stack of action pancakes like Dead to Rights does, messing about with the camera usually results in you taking unnecessary damage. If you’re looking for a challenge, Super Cop difficulty approaches the Xbox level, and the truly masochistic can always use the Hard-Boiled cheat as suggested by Namco.

The Xbox graphics are still the best available, but the two new versions definitely aren’t slouches in that department. Environmental texturing varies from crisp to bland, and some levels definitely look a lot better than others. There’s very little slowdown to speak of, even when a lot of action is occurring at once, and the game sounds great. The detail on enemies could definitely use some work, but this was a sin the Xbox version committed as well.

If you’ve ever wanted to immerse yourself into Hong Kong-style gunplay and John Woo action, there’s no excuse not to grab yourself a copy of Dead to Rights. It’s a shame that PS2 and GameCube owners have to use a cheat to get close to the Xbox’s difficulty setting, but making a good title accessible to more people makes for good business and good gaming. Dead to Right’s newfound accessibility should help increase its audience, and hopefully a sequel will clear up some of the graphic problems found in this release. Until then, enjoy the gameplay that DtR offers – who says old and new school can’t find common ground?