Dead to Rights: Retribution Shadow Hands-On

Dead to Rights Retribution presents a new twist on the relationship between a man and his dog. With some of the most violent and destructive dog actions ever to grace a video game, developer Volatile Games has given the Dead to Rights series a much-needed shot in the arm. By taking elements from the previous game and adding a new stealth mode featuring the cunning canine, Shadow, Retribution is hoping to distinguish itself from the current crop of action games flooding the market. But has it done enough? We went paws-on with Shadow in a preview build to find out.

Our level kicked off in a disused train yard, which is part of fictional Grant City where the game is set. Controlling the dog is similar to his human counterpart, Jack, with the analog sticks controlling movement and the camera. However, unlike Jack, you're able to call up three different stances: neutral, stealth, and savage. All of these affect your abilities. Neutral is the default stance, while stealth and savage are used in combat situations.

The Shadow stages are pegged as the stealthier elements of the game and have been tuned so that going in fangs blazing won't get you very far. Our initial attempts of wandering blindly into enemy view got us killed straight away. In order to progress, we had to activate Stealth mode. This has a number of effects on Shadow, in the way he moves and how he sees the environment. Firstly, his body lowers, creeping along the ground much like a wolf hunting prey. Secondly, his canine senses are activated, which allows him to see enemies through walls, their heartbeat, and how they are currently reacting to his presence. Finally, the visuals take on a blue tint to reflect a dog's inability to see colors. If you've used Arkham Asylum's Detective mode you should be familiar with the effect.

With the enemies now visible across the map, we were able to wander out into the disused train yard, which was a distinctly gray environment filled with trains. In Stealth mode, we were able to approach the first enemy on the map, creep up behind, and quietly take him out. Shadow proceeded to tear into our victim's neck to quickly silence him. By pressing X, we were then able to drag the body out of view so as to not alert the other patrolling guards. Even though we had already dispatched our assailant, we were still able to dismember his body with Shadow--pointless, but still fun.

Later in the level, we used Shadow's bark to distract enemies. By hiding in a tunnel and barking quietly, we were able to catch a guard's attention. This caused him to walk away from his partner and leave us free to take him out. We were able to identify which soldier we had distracted by the colour he had changed into; yellow for alert, orange for a confirmed sighting, and red for engaged in combat. Taking out soldiers that spot you is made easier by Savage mode, which gives Shadow a much more menacing look and the ability to sprint, as well as bowl over enemies. Also more vicious are the takedown animations, particularly when Shadow literally goes teeth first into his victim's groin.

Despite his taste for human flesh, there's a lot to love about Shadow. He looks cute, with fur that shines and changes colour according to the lighting in the environment. His animations are also realistic. We were told that videos of wolves and police dogs were used as reference material. The environments are less exciting, made up of the same crumbling cityscapes that grace many a shooter, though we were only able to sample a handful during our preview. At the end of our time with the game, Volatile asked us if we thought Shadow was "the vilest or cutest dog" ever. From our experience, you'll no doubt be in love with his cuteness one second before recoiling in horror as he tears a soldier's arm from his body. As far as third-person shooters go, that's certainly a unique selling point.