Silicon Fusion >> Previews >> Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death

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Preview:

25th September 2003:
Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death
To make up for the delay, we are allowed to take an early look at the game that every comic/graphic novel fan is talking about.
Posted by Chris Barnett - PC,PlayStation 2,GameCube,Xbox - UK and Europe

As the game was delayed due to an unforeseen bug (leading to the publication of several bogus 'final' reviews of the game) it seems only right that Rebellion should give us a chance to play the game without the bugs. So we got a one-mission version to test drive on our PC, which we can safely say is impressive.

The game is a first person shooter but the graphics are slightly cell shaded; don't think Jet Set Radio-esque lines with half a centimetre thickness, think a comic strip type line. This immediately gives the game a unique feel, especially as the characters are also suitably deformed. The features of the enemies are akin to a comic and the different types (although stereotypical) are clearly identifiable, so you know which are more dangerous than others.

The level begins with a small cut scene of Dredd arriving at an outdoor scene on his Lawmaster motorbike in the pouring rain. The scene is done in the game engine so the shift in view to first person is logical and swift. Once in game you find that you must bring down a gang, arresting at least one member. Whilst this may sound strategic it simply means: shoot all the bad guys you see until the last one kneels down for you to cuff him. You can arrest the others if you are prepared to 'scare' them into dropping their guns, but this is clumsy as you must shoot them in the leg an unspecified number of times before they choose to give up (if they do, of course). The rest of the mission follows pretty much the same pattern, kill a certain gang and arrest so many people along the way.

The controls are pretty standard for a first person shooter with the only difference from the normal being an 'ammo type change' button to toggle the different types of bullets for Dredd's Lawgiver gun. This allows the strategy to be changed depending on a situation, for example; the one point sees a collection of around four enemies clumped together, so a flame bullet allows a small inferno to engulf them all. Ricochet bullets are also pretty cool as they allow you to shoot enemies using the very walls that they believe to be protecting them. It is this small weapon that gives the game a real Dredd feel to it. When you pull off a successful shot following a quick ammo type change it feels really good, as if you really were Dredd.

The environment is also authentic to the comics as there are boxes and papers strewn around and the buildings are suitably futuristic and downtrodden at the same time (think the Millennium Dome with a few banana skins coating it). With homeless people warming next to barrels the game is given a real working environment, especially when you see civilians and robots walking in a normal manner, some even reacting to you by commenting "Oh great, A JUDGE!"

Whilst the demo is pretty short, it does show promise, especially as it captures the feel of the comics (all that's missing is that smell that only Judge Dredd and 2000 AD comics have). The only major fault is that there is no arrest button; you must disarm an enemy by scaring them before the 'arrest' option is allowed. If this small problem is ironed out before the release on 17th October, we may be faced with a true comic book classic (which Dredd deserves after a few previous 'efforts').

Chris Barnett

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Related Games:

Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death
for PlayStation 2

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