A sort-of reboot to the Dead To Rights series, where you play as Jack Slate, a badass cop with his canine companion, Shadow.

Dead to Rights: Retribution primarily takes place in the fictional and crime-ridden city of Grant City. The game’s environment is characterized by its dark and gritty atmosphere, which reflects the city’s seedy underbelly and ongoing criminal activities. In terms of weather, the game’s setting generally features a consistent and moody aesthetic that contributes to the overall atmosphere.

While the game doesn’t have dynamic weather systems or changes in weather conditions, it typically portrays Grant City as a place shrouded in darkness, with rain-soaked streets, dimly lit alleyways, and a generally overcast and gloomy ambiance. This atmospheric choice aligns with the game’s themes of crime, corruption, and a city in decline. The game’s visual design emphasizes the noir-like qualities of a crime-infested urban environment, and the lack of variation in weather conditions reinforces the consistent tone of the narrative. Players will often find themselves navigating through grim and rain-soaked urban landscapes as they progress through the story and engage in combat encounters with various adversaries.

Jack Slate is the protagonist of the game and a tough-as-nails cop with a no-nonsense attitude and a physique that puts Marcus from Gears Of War to shame. He’s on a mission to uncover a conspiracy involving a powerful criminal organization and bring them to justice. Jack is skilled in both firearms and hand-to-hand combat and is accompanied by his loyal canine companion, Shadow. Most of the game is spent playing as Jack, with a few sections requiring the control of Shadow, either to access hard-to-reach areas, or if Jack is incapacitated as part of the game’s plot.

Shadow is Jack Slate’s faithful canine companion and a key element of the gameplay. Shadow can be commanded to perform various tasks, including attacking enemies, retrieving items, and assisting Jack during missions. Shadow’s presence adds a unique dynamic to the game, as he can help Jack in combat and solve puzzles. Be careful around enemies, Shadow does not have much health and can only attack at close range.

I wonder if this was any inspiration for Riley from Call of Duty Ghosts?

The game’s main focus is hand-to-hand combat, with gunfire taking a side role. Many of the guns you pick up in the game have very little ammo, meaning you have limited use of these weapons and must be used sparingly. You might want to save them for distant enemies instead.

The gameplay tried to mix brawling & melee attacks with shooting, however this gets repetitive fast with very few puzzles to break up the gameplay. There are some sections where you will have to fortify and hold out against a horde of enemies but again there is very little diversity in the gameplay.

Grant City is depicted as a city where corruption runs rampant within its law enforcement agencies and political institutions. Jack Slate’s journey to uncover the truth behind the criminal conspiracy highlights the pervasive corruption that has taken hold, with powerful figures involved in illegal activities.

The game touches on the abuse of power by individuals in positions of authority. The criminal organization known as the Triad wields significant influence and control over the city, and part of Jack’s mission is to expose and challenge this abuse of power.

While not explicitly political, the game’s portrayal of Grant City as a dystopian and crime-infested metropolis can be seen as a commentary on the societal decay that can result from political corruption and a lack of effective governance.

The character of Cassandra Hartz (seen below), a journalist investigating the criminal activities in Grant City, indirectly highlights the role of the media in exposing corruption and holding those in power accountable. Her presence in the game alludes to the importance of investigative journalism in a society plagued by political and criminal misconduct. Most of this is explained through the game cutscenes with her.

The type of enemies found in the game will change as you progress, initially facing against the Triads, the GAC later become the main focus of the game who are much more difficult to take down. The GAC were the Anti-crime units that became corrupt, whilst the Triads are your average gang where you must take out the boss to defeat them.

The game was only ever released on consoles, with no PC version released. Although It can be played on the PS3 or Xbox 360, Sadly it remains on seventh-generation consoles as we have yet to see it released or made compatible with the Xbox One. It also appears to be the final game in the franchise, as no new games have been released.