I loved Dead To Rights. The first one. But, I loved Max Payne even more. I enjoyed the Die Hard-esque scenarios and the Max Payne-esque narrative. I thought the mix between the slo-mo gunplay and the hand-to-hand combat worked really well. Dead To Rights II was pretty cool as well, but not nearly as remarkable or interesting as the previous title, and the hand-to-hand combat was pretty unbearable. 
 
Now, with that said, Dead To Rights: Retribution is awful. The main issue I've found across my two hours of game time, is it doesn't strike a good balance between gunplay and CQC. In fact, it treats these elements so different, that I can't help but be irritated by the many shortcomings and even trying to transition between the two mechanics. The CQC stuff is unnecessarily complicated, and there isn't a lot of variation in Jack's animations, so you'll often find yourself in an incomprehensible mess of flying limps and screams. I find the button mapping for punching and dodging to be really strange. Even two hours in I'll mean to hit a heavy attack, but instead be greeted by Jack Slate gliding uncontrollable into an enemy in front because I'm hitting the wrong buttons, and it isn't directly apparent because I'm also trying to dodge eight other guys punching me, and usually an off-screen sniper that quickly shoots me to death.
 
My biggest complaint is you only get a few rounds for each gun, and it usually takes the entire clip to down a simply enemy, and the slo-mo mechanic doesn't work as intended because the enemies, and your aim, is still far too squirrelly to be a reliable way to quickly take down enemies.
 
Even at a bargain bin price, I can't recommend this game on any good conscious because of the awful aiming system, borderline frustrating QCQ and transitioning from gunplay and just generally awful enemy encounter design.

I rented it from GameFly some time ago, got about half way through the game and sent it back. I remember the CQC being horrible and the gunplay to be pretty bad. I don't recommend it either.

@Napalm: It was good for a laugh at the story, but less so when you realize that there's still more game to play. I made it more than halfway through the game on a rental, then decided it wasn't worth it.

If you want a funnier perspective on the story though, I'd recommend slowbeef's LP.

@DocHaus said:

If you want a funnier perspective on the story though, I'd recommend slowbeef's LP.

Also his LP of the original DtR is amazing.

@DocHaus said:

If you want a funnier perspective on the story though, I'd recommend slowbeef's LP.

Also his LP of the original DtR is amazing.

Good to know

I know how you feel. I had the game a few years ago. I remember it got boring fast.

I for some reason found something to like in the game, maybe because I consciously knew and accepted it was subpar and just enjoyed it as dumb entertainment. It did get frustrating at a few parts but I kept at it.

I like when you shoot the guys and he yells MOTHER FUCKER! Or at least, I like the exact phrasing and inflection he puts on it.

@Brodehouse said:

I for some reason found something to like in the game, maybe because I consciously knew and accepted it was subpar and just enjoyed it as dumb entertainment. It did get frustrating at a few parts but I kept at it. I like when you shoot the guys and he yells MOTHER FUCKER! Or at least, I like the exact phrasing and inflection he puts on it.

Oh yes, Jack Slate is incredible. Despite being the poster boy for ''generic badasses'' everywhere (complete with his strikingly similar appearance to Chris Redfield), I love the effort and enthusiasm Peter Giles puts into his performance. The guy's got a pretty intimidating voice to begin with, so when he's yelling out ''SHUT THE FUCK UP'' and many other expletives when he takes a thug hostage, it feels genuine and downright cool.

I haven't gotten very far, but the way everything flows together, shooting up fools then charging and beating up other fools and finishing aformentioned fools with an outrageously OTT finisher, taking hostages, kicking said hostages over railings, taking a guy's gun out of his hands with astonishing ease and then blasting his face in with his own weapon... I'm having fun, I have to admit. I can also expect that I'll probably get sick of before it ends, so I'm only playing it for maybe an hour at a time. Part of the appeal is because it's all been pretty easy thus far; if it were to suddenly start throwing a little too much and it tries to actually become a challenge, then I probably won't be so forgiving of it all. Still, I also bought it for £2, so as a piece of dumb, throwaway entertainment during the lull up to Max Payne 3's release, it's serving its purpose. A solid 3 star game through and through.