Dead to Rights: Reckoning [PSP]

The original Dead to Rights may have been somewhat derivative, but what it lacked in originality it made up for with panache. Unfortunately, the second installment of the game did not fare as well due to a simplified interface -- and now the latest release, Dead to Rights: Reckoning on the PSP, has been dumbed down even further.

Designed as a prequel to the original game, Dead to Rights: Reckoning has players once again taking on the role of Jack Slate and facing off against gangs and organized crime as a one-man killing machine. This time you are ostensibly on a search for a kidnapped informant, but the thin storyline serves as little more than a reason to shoot stuff.

As you might expect, Jack has access to a number of weapons, all of which can be liberated from the bodies of dead foes. Choosing a weapon from your arsenal is easy enough, but actually using it in a firefight can be more difficult. The problem arises because Jack will automatically switch weapons whenever you run over a pick-up. Attempting to take out a distant foe, only to find that your rifle has been swapped for a shotgun, isn't fun.

Your trusty dog Shadow has returned to fight by your side, yet functions as little more than a timed weapon. When the Shadow meter is full, you can press a button that summons him from thin air to eliminate an enemy, and then he vanishes again. The extraordinarily patient can use this to wipe the area of enemies without exposing Jack to any danger.

If you are a bit more daring, Jack can dive into a crowd using "bullet time" and quickly take out thug after thug, though he has oddly lost the ability to use the bad guys as human shields -- a tactic that was quite effective in the original game.

The game also suffers from one of the worst cameras in existence due to the fact that the developers tried to shoehorn a console interface onto the PSP. Originally designed for dual analog sticks, the game now uses the right trigger to lock onto foes and an "intelligent" camera that is meant to stay behind Jack. That's great in theory, but in practice, the camera often swings about wildly while the lock-on causes Jack to aim his gun at an opponent in the next room instead of the foe right in front of him. Getting the camera to behave is an experience in and of itself.

Despite its relative good looks, Dead to Rights: Reckoning is more an exercise in frustration than an enjoyable diversion. Not even the four player WiFi deathmatch mode is enough to save this one from the bowels of the budget bargain bin.