Judge Dredd: Dredd vs Death

Written by Tom Clare in PS2 Game Reviews, Wednesday 25 October, 2006

Dredd-ful? I'll Be The Judge Of That!

When it comes to comic-book adaptations, it's fair to say that Judge Dredd has had a harder time than most. The universe in which he resides is a far cry from that of most superheroes - a dark, dystopian vision of the future in which the law is tough and Judge Dredd a cut-above the rest; a good man in a bad world. However, he may be remembered in modern popular culture for the poorly-received Stallone film and a slew of games that were lucky if they were branded 'mediocre'.

It's difficult to pinpoint the exact reason for Judge Dredd's perennial underachievement. At its core, there are some interesting protagonists, imaginative settings and a definite sense of the 'cool' factor. Still, just as it seemed that (at least in a video gaming sense) the Judge had been put on indefinite leave, Rebellion brought him back for 2003's Judge Dredd: Dredd vs Death, and whilst far from perfect, it is perhaps his best outing to date.

JD:DvD is a first-person shoot 'em up that sees the player taking control of Judge Dredd as he patrols the streets of Mega-City One dispensing his own unique brand of justice. Worrying times lie in wait for our hero however as an outbreak of vampires in the city is linked to the re-emergence of the evil Dark Judges - led, as the title suggests, by Death.

The main Story mode has ten fairly large levels to tackle across three difficulty settings, and completing each with high rankings unlocks a host of extra features for the Arcade and Battle (multiplayer) set-ups.

Whilst Judge Dredd's basic gameplay mechanics are certainly nothing to write home about when compared to the likes of TimeSplitters 3, there are stacks of nice touches that enhance the games appeal. Dredd's gun is a rather nifty all-in-one toy, as pressing left or right on the D-Pad allows you to change the type of bullets in the clip - rapid-fire; armour-piercing and ricochet are a few examples of what is at your disposal, and you can also steal a range of secondary weapons from the corpses of fallen goons. Being a Judge, it is logical that there is an option to arrest your foes, and this is always immense fun. Much like in SWAT: Global Strike Team, a simple tap of a button allows our lead-protagonist to bark out some of his intimidating catchphrases, encouraging enemies to surrender or, if you're a good shot, you can blast the weapons straight out of their hands. Your end-of-level ranking is obviously helped by arresting people, but novelly, you are given a name, crime and sentence for each person you apprehend. 'Murder', or 'Assault of a judge' is likely to lead to a 'Life' sentence, whilst the seriousness of their crimes effects how long they'll be locked away for, it is worth trying to arrest as many people as possible as it helps towards gaining that all-important 'Judge Dredd' ranking at the end of the level.

Dread vs Death is positively dripping with dark witticisms and humorous moments; the first thing you see in the opening cut-scene is a discarded 'Grot Pot' - a send up of (or tribute to) Pot Noodle, setting the scene for what is to come. Escorting hostages through a zombie-infested mall is made more light-hearted as you here them begging you to help them out of "this consumerist hell-hole". The civilians also sport some wacky attire; the especially large ones bizarrely move around on wheels, with the words 'Eat Me' emblazoned across their backs. Even arresting civilians can raise a smile as the excuses for their confinement include 'Noise Annoyance' and 'Possessing a Goldfish Without a Licence'.

Roaming the city is good fun and credit must go to the developers for varying up the mission objectives and including a healthy selection of non-essential secondary tasks. The controls are solid and responsive, though the speed deficiency of your character is made clear when you are set upon by the ultra-speedy vampire foes. They tend to run straight at the player, and their jumping ability often makes targeting a difficult task. There are also times when the game also suffers from notable slow-down - perhaps asking a little too much technically from the PS2.

Whether the game is ultimately worth your time may depend on whether or not you have a friend willing to play through it with you. The single-player mode starts off okay, but quickly becomes very difficult and it's unlikely that anyone outside the most experienced band of FPS players will be able to complete it on their own. Fortunately, the cooperative two-player mode is a masterstroke, allowing you to play through the entire story with a mate with very little detail having been sacrificed. Not only is this well-realised and genuinely good fun, it makes progression through the game considerably less frustrating. Ironically, the co-op could be considered slightly too easy as, provided that you and your partner-in-crime-prevention don't get killed simultaneously, you can respawn whenever you die - especially handy on tougher bosses.

Whilst the visuals aren't cutting-edge by today's standards, some of the vistas Mega-City One has to offer are nevertheless impressive. In the outdoor sections, backdrops are often populated with skyscrapers and flying vehicles - quite like those seen in The Fifth Element. Other cinematic parallels can be drawn with BladeRunner; a dark, giant city awash with advertisement-hoardings, strange people loitering in alleyways and some genuinely excellent rain effects. Though the level of detail in close surroundings is a bit below par and the character models could have looked better, Judge Dredd still manages to create a world different from other PlayStation2 first-person shoot 'em ups.

Although the Story Mode isn't very long, Rebellion have really put the effort into extending the games longevity. They've added a host of extra multiplayer arenas and playable characters as well as a host of extra one-player mini-missions, which are incorporated into the 'Arcade' mode. These involve a range of tasks such as arresting thirty escaped prisoners; escaping from a heavily-guarded gang HQ, and protecting hostages from a vampire onslaught, among others. All of these are instantly accessible and the great majority prove a nice distraction. The more hardcore of Judge Dredd fans will also appreciate that there are a fair few more characters and nifty cheats that can be unlocked by mastering these mini-games - the developers have planned and structured it all very nicely indeed.

Being a first-person shoot 'em up JD:DvD sports a number of multiplayer deathmatch options in the guise of the 'Battle' mode. The arenas themselves aren't too bad, though there are many more-successful examples of FPS battling on the PS2, mainly because things get quite jerky when you play against a lot of bots, and there are few opportunities to gain a quick kill, making for some drawn-out, slightly dull encounters.

In terms of the sound, the game once again does enough without really wowing the player. Music and sound effects are entirely forgettable, though the voice-acting is better than in most games of this ilk; both in-game when you are conversing with other judges/people on the streets, and in the cool FMV sequences.

PEGI's 16+ age rating reflects the often-dark nature of the game. It's by no means obscene, though some of the baddies are decidedly nasty and blood is dispersed in its various forms throughout the game. Children unfamiliar with Judge Dredd would therefore be better off looking elsewhere.

Ultimately, Rebellion have come up with a fairly decent, above-average first-person shoot 'em up. It can't live with the TimeSplitters' or the Killzone's of the genre in terms of technical proficiency or fun, but the excellent setting, great co-operative mode and raft of clever ideas mean Dredd vs Death is far from being a disaster. Anyone looking for a meaty one-player experience will be disappointed, and at times it plays very much by the numbers, but fans awaiting a decent Judge Dredd tie-in may find some satisfaction in this - especially as it is so cheap to buy these days. Aficionados will like it, though casual gamers may be left cold.

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