Dead to Rights: Retribution, follow-up to 2005’s Dead to Rights II and its prequel Dead to Rights: Reckoning, continues the story of hard-edged vice cop Jack Slate and his canine partner Shadow. Following in its predecessors’ footsteps, Retribution is a third-person action title that uses a combination of hand-to-hand and long-range combat along with Shadow’s mandibles to take down hordes of enemies. Very much an "almost" game, Retribution provides some decent thrills amidst a number of hiccups and mishaps.

With his back to the wall, hunted by both the good and the bad guys, Jack has to bruise knuckles and empty clips in an attempt to save the city and clear his name. Always short of ammo, encounters often devolve into bloody brawls that feature some very violent end-moves that involve knees being shot out, arms broken, and faces bashed into walls. Successfully taking down enemies with such gusto will, along with headshots, fill Jack’s focus meter. Once the meter begins to fill, Jack can then engage a focus mode that slows everything down – think bullet time – while simultaneously beefing him up so that he receives less damage. While it is satisfying to get out of a hairy situation by popping a few covered enemies and pounding a few bruisers in slowmo, you've only truly brought the pain when you sic Shadow onto someone.

Retribution is at its best whenever you get into the rhythm of combat. The game doesn’t always make this easy, with many of the set pieces being pretty 'meh,' but it can be enjoyable when everything comes together. What really helps elevate the action is the series’ wildcard, Shadow. Not only can he pick up ammo and guns but also stealth kill and outright maul enemies. Towards the end, he is indispensable: while pinned down and low on ammo, Shadow is the perfect answer to taking down that rushing brawler while focus helps to make the last few rounds count on the half-concealed sniper. Seeing Shadow take care of business is always a delight, and seeing him hurt is a great motivator to get into the thick of things. In fact, Jack is such a generically gruff character that he only really becomes likable when giving Shadow a pat on the head or an 'attay boy!'

You don’t just get to order Shadow around this time either. Now, you can actually play as him. It’s a uniquely satisfying thing to tear out an enemy’s throat or crotch – "Shadow’ned" indeed – while protecting Jack and stealing keys. Thankfully, these missions are limited to a handful because, as most of the game goes, they tend to be pushed a little too far by the end. By and large, however, playing as Shadow is an interesting and enjoyable experience as you get to sneak around, seeing the highlighted circulatory system and hearing the heartbeats of nearby enemies, barking and whimpering to lure nearby patrols to their bloody end. Being able to see through objects, and having him go around them to seek out enemies, is an excellent touch that frequently comes in handy. Like Fallout’s Dogmeat, Shadow truly is man’s best friend.

While Shadow’s segments are largely glitch- and hassle-free, unfortunately, much of the game is not. At nearly every stage, things falter. While I might not mind going down a drab hallway and flipping a switch once, that does not mean that I want to do it three times. Again, using a top bad guy as a human shield is interesting at first, but having to do it over an extended period and immediately again diminishes its impact. By the end of the game’s 8 to 9 hours, the repeated patterns start to wear thin. Then there are the enemies that spawn behind you, or right beside you, in plain sight; the invisible area boundary marks where you might not pass and spend 10 minutes in a firefight that might otherwise last half a minute; and random, quick loads that can happen at any time, even during firefights.

The most awkward of Retribution’s problems has to be the transition errors. The icon that triggers the covering and disarming sequences are supposed to appear as soon as you enter into position, but I found that they often had erratic delays, which resulted in Jack missing attacks, running into objects, and a confused camera unable to focus on the action.  In the instances when everything works as it should, the game resembles an action movie, with Shadow rushing off to take care of one enemy as Jack hops over rubble to disarm and blow away another. During those moments, when the pacing is right, the mechanics click, and melee integrates flawlessly with the already-excellent gunplay, the game is fantastic. Unfortunately, those sequences can just as easily end up with Jake limply swinging past an enemy who then sidesteps and pummels away from off-screen as the camera angle shows you, a wall, and swinging fists.

Even the gameworld suffers from minor problems. The contemporary Noir-style setting, largely sold through the heavy-handed narration, isn’t bad; it’s reminiscent of The Crow, with a certain aborted industrialized charm to it. But throughout the city there are small bits here and there popping into view and clipping through each other. It could be something as noticeable as a sign suddenly appearing on the side of a building or as small as the gap between Shadow’s jaw and a dead enemy’s arm as he drags them, but there tends to be something, somewhere on the screen that’s not quite right. The action helps to mask some of the problems, but they are there, ready to break any sense of immersion the developers had worked so hard to build up.

Overall: 6.5/10

The Dead to Rights series has always come close to being great, but never quite managed. Retribution is no different; there isn’t just one big glaring problem but several small ones, each grinding down the experience. The game has some solid qualities, the gunplay and Shadow combo in particular, but it begins to wear out its welcome before the final act. At under 10 hours, though, the game ends before it totally turns south, but not enough to where you haven’t taken note of and felt as though you’ve trudged through too many of its hiccups.