So you're a cop, and this judge has been kidnapped, and you have to get him back, and... that's it. Thinner on plot than a thick kid's English essay, Dead To Rights II, like the original, puts gunplay first, angry dogs second and everything else joint 409th. It's never made totally clear why your man Slate is in a certain place at a certain time, and nor does it matter. Fact is, lots of bad men rock up and the only way to survive is to shoot them first.

Thanks to the innovative way dead enemies drop their guns for Slate to pick up, weaponry is pretty much in constant supply. Slate can also disarm people manually or grab and use them as human shields, shuffling around not unlike a certain Snake.

And then of course there's the dog. A quick R2 press sends Shadow into action - biting, chewing and murdering enemies for you. And to show that he's not just a psycho-killer, Shadow will also play fetch by retrieving dropped guns, even while the bullets are flying. "Good boy Shadow! Bring daddy the MAC-10!" Sadly, this doggy action is not on tap, and Shadow's availability is dependent on a meter. Work the hound too hard and you lose him for a while, but the chances are you won't because, for no good reason at all, Shadow only springs to action when he feels like it. More often than not, pressing R2 will result in a feeble yelp that roughly translates to, "Fight your own battles, you stinking human".

Shadow ends up being quite underused, and he's not the only poorly implemented element. The disarming and shielding are fine in principle and work well technically, but the gunplay is so unrelenting that to disarm someone is to leave yourself open to a savage riddling from half-a-dozen others. The same goes for the shielding, because it's a rare occasion when enemies aren't swarming around you - shield your front and your spine and kidneys will be tingling with bullets. Hand-to-hand combat is fun if basic, and it's really the only genuine break from the bang-bang-bang action. Oh, and the enjoyable mini-games found in the original have gone. So, curiously, what you're left with is a sequel that, instead of offering more of the same, actually ends up offering marginally less.

Decent shooters are plentiful these days, with the likes of Devil May Cry 3 and Mercenaries doing very different, but significantly more exciting things. Dead To Rights II looks better than its two-year-old brother and the bullet time remains a fun gimmick. What it does right, it does well, it' just that it doesn't really do quite enough.

Graphics 70%
Do the job without ever really impressing.

Sound 70%
Good weapon, and satisfying death sounds.

Gameplay 60%
Fun for a time but soon repetitive.

Lifespan 60%
No epic, but offers a challenge on 'Hard'.

Overall 60%
An unpretentious and fun shooter that ultimately becomes a bit tedious because of its relentless shoot-shoot-shoot gameplay.