Game Review | September 28, 2013 3:59 pm

By Meta

Released: June 25th, 2013
Developer: Eutechnyx
Publisher: Deep Silver
Genre: action
Subgenre(s): third person shooter, beat 'em up, racing
Players: 1
Rated: M for Mature (blood and gore, drug reference, intense violence, partial nudity, sexual content, strong language )

RtH: Retribution is supposed to be a gritty action game set in the 1960's. The game tries really hard to sell the outlaw biker gang culture and succeeds with some of the menu art and in-game signs & ads if nowhere else.

The gameplay is composed of three parts: driving your motorcycle from point A to point B, cover-based shooting, and brawling with hundreds of gang members, usually in that order.

The driving sections aren't usually terrible because they are easy, but when you have to start shooting enemies while navigating obstacles, the bad, floaty controls become frustrating. You can do things like powerslides, wheelies and jumps for bonus score but these stunts are ultimately pointless and boring. It is unintentionally hilarious when you and enemies kick each other and your legs warp.
The cover-based shooting sections would actually be pretty good except that this game's cover mechanic is terrible. Half the time when you hit the button to get in cover, your character will instead do a tac roll and then stand there like an idiot, getting shot up the whole time. There is some destructible cover but it is sparse.

There are only really 3 guns in this game--pistols and rifles for the shooting sections and the occasional automatic weapon for on-rails driving sections. The saving grace is that the pistol and rifle are both incredibly accurate, letting you get single-pixel headshots on thugs that are hundreds of yards away. The game slows down when you get a 1 hit kill which lets you quickly acquire a new target, leading to chain kills and probably the only real fun you'd have here.

The last gameplay type is basically a sloppy beat 'em up. Enemies telegraph attacks with huge counter button icons over their heads, and they magically block knives with their hands. Frequently the tougher enemies you are assaulting will teleport backwards and on to some object you can't access, and then they'll pull out a pistol and kill you and you can't do anything about it except reload the checkpoint.
This game was originally supposed to be an open world-type sandbox released in 2008, and the date and design revisions show. Characters and buildings are low polygon, and textures look like PS2 launch graphics. There is actually a solid lighting system in place but it's a waste. There are large spaces in multiple towns but you can't explore much because you get a warning to turn around then get teleported back to the mission start. There is a huge amount of parts you can use to customize your bike, but they are all cosmetic--only buying a new motorcycle actually upgrades you.

Lastly, I have to comment on the content and presentation. The main character's voice overs are pretty good and that's the only positive thing I can say. Everything else is clumsy and immature--I realize concepts get skewed over long development cycles and teams of contributors, but this game is like something a spoiled 12 year old would write. Enemies drop tons of generic "drugs" which you sell for extra money, and when you save women from thugs they immediately sleep with you in extended, uncomfortable cut scenes that feature mechanical sex-like actions with fully-clothed people.

With tighter gameplay, better, more mature writing, and a graphical overhaul, Ride to Hell could have been a fun game with an interesting setting. As it is, avoid it like AIDS cancer.

TL;DR:
+ The pistol and rifle are really accurate
+ You can immediately pause and skip the 372340 cutscenes
+ If you stop playing quickly you can avoid permanent neural trauma
- The writing is terrible
- The graphics are terrible
- The cover system is terrible
- The enemies are terrible
- Even the collectibles are terrible
- Frequent system freezes and crashes
- Frequent glitches with enemies
? Why does it take 10+ bullets to kill the weakest enemies with body shots

Ride to Hell: Retribution gets a 2 because of the accurate guns and some of the cruising music isn't horrendous.

Extras: none

Achievements: mostly easy but requires at least 2 playthroughs to complete. Play Hannah Montana instead, it's a way better game. Hell, YARIS is a way better game.

Keywords: None