Dead to Rights: Retribution

The Arbiter. Sheva. Fawkes. Dom. They all have one thing in common: They are your loyal Number Two willing to bust all sorts of enemy hump so you don’t have to. But how many of them can fetch you weapons when you’re ammo-less and snuggle up with you when all that asskicking is done? (Hint: None. Not even cuddly mutant Fawkes.) Looks like Dead to Rights: Retribution has found a sidekick-y canine niche to fill that not even the lovable mutt in Fable II can satisfy.

After trying a handful of new areas in this shoot-/chew-’em-up, we have a newfound respect for the bond between man and dog. Cop Jack Slate, hero of the original Xbox’s Dead to Rights, is back and ready to clean up the bustling metropolis of Grant City. His objective: take down the underground revolutionary group G.A.C. (Grant City Anti-Crime) with the help of his dog, Shadow.

Directing the half-Malamute, half-wolf Shadow to do your bloody bidding is easy-peasy stuff — you control him by pressing up or down on the D-pad. Select a target or area, then push up to get him to attack an enemy or retrieve some dead guy’s weapon for you. (Hey, he’s dead! He doesn’t need it!) This stuff is important, as Shadow can be one hell of a distraction for adversaries to deal with if you’re outnumbered. But what if you get the ass-whupping end of the stick while your pup’s out manhandling bad guys? Just press and hold down on the D-pad to call him back to help you out. See? Easy peasy.

Jack, on the other hand, is a more complicated beast with the ability to disarm weapon-toting meatbags and get all melee with a group of foes. In our demo, timed attacks were a key part of hand-to-hand combat, as we kicked, punched, and directed our attacks with the analog stick when we were surrounded. It wasn’t necessarily the easiest thing we did — we ended up face-down and lifeless pretty quick when we didn’t get the timing down. So take note, fancypants pugilists — in most cases, it’s wiser to keep your ammo clip full than to get too close. And those G.A.C. jerks have a whole cadre of snipers and footmen to tax your armory, so a smart DTR player makes sure to keep Shadow on a constant hunt for ammo when he’s not munching on enemy throat.