Inspired by a fairly rich combination of Hong Kong action movies, classic film noir and gumshoe detective novels, Namco's latest Xbox offering Dead to Rights tells the story of one Jack Slate, a good cop in a bad city, forced to be a fugitive and fight for his life. Set in the fictional Grant City, USA - a once bustling gold-mining town gone corrupt - the story begins as Jack arrives at a murder scene, only to discover that his father is the victim. A quest then ensues to find his father's killer, Jack is subsequently framed for another murder, and the plot begins to thicken. The game itself features more than a dozen game mechanics including diving, rolling, punching, kicking, and lethally disarming enemies in a variety of over-the-top ways. Jack's canine partner (a Husky named Shadow) lives up to the name 'man's best friend', helping Jack investigate crime scenes, sniff out bombs, retrieve weapons and attack enemies. At the heart of the game lies an extensive combat engine, which was designed to recreate movie-style action. As well as having an impressive array of hand-to-hand moves at his disposal, Jack can also perform such stunts as disarming manoeuvres, to obtain weapons from enemies, and using opponents as human shields. Throughout the duration of the story, there are also a few mini games to be found, in a similar vein to Shenmue, such as arm wrestling, bench press and dance-key input. Dead to Rights is an action-packed and immersive adventure with a prestigious team behind it. Its two-year development has witnessed people from behind the scenes of such movies as The Matrix, Fight Club and Resident Evil, making it quite a title to look out for.