A Sequel Nobody Was Calling For
Another sequel for a game series not known for high quality as is. DtRR is a 3rd person action game with an emphasis on fisticuffs in addition to gunplay.
You play psychopathic hero Jack Slate, who deals with crime by, arguably, being meaner and crueler than the criminals he deals with. You get to torture numerous people, some of whom that even deserve it. You are a cop of Grant City and you initially team up with your father and his dog, Shadow. Of course, bad things occur and you end up teaming with Shadow to kill anybody who thought an improper thought in the city.
You have to rely on melee heavily as ammo is in short supply, so you have to dis-arm your foes. The melee is really far too shallow for a game that relies on too much. You get a few takedowns that you will use incessantly and two button combat to string together combos that don't ever seem to have much impact behind them. The guns all fire rather well and seem to have suitable impact, but since you won't use them nearly as frequently as you do the melee, it's a bit of a moot point. An inability to lock on to an enemy makes the fighting markedly worse. They will run at you and when they get behind you, it becomes a headache to attempt to grab them. It almost seems that the AI is aware of the shortcomings of the engine and seeks to manipulate them more than a hardcore online player.
The character models, to be gentle, are terrible. They don't look better than PS2/XBox models at all. The faces look ridiculous, the bodies look absurd, and the lighting on them makes them look all the worse. The camera doesn't do the trick all that well either and you will spend a lot of energy fighting the camera. I'd argue that the best parts of the game are the Shadow levels, where you have to use stealth to allow the dog to kill enemies. They aren't amazing (the stealth mechanic is quite basic), but they are more enjoyable than the far-too-frequently tedious main storyline Jack missions.
Legitimately, I got so bored with the game that I didn't finish it because I refuse to waste time and energy on a game I just cannot justify playing over several options I have and this is one of those games. It's not a good game, period.
