Dead to Rights: Reckoning looks almost identical to the series’ PS2 iterations. One of the more impressive things about the game is that it manages to feel like a “big” game on the small screen. Character models, especially Jack, take up a lot of real estate on the screen. Even though the camera isn’t the most cooperative all the time, the bigger characters really help to give it the feeling that you’re in an action sequence of some big-budget Hollywood movie.

The visuals also tend to make levels blend into each other. Most of the game takes place in urban settings; so if you’re not shooting up some sleazy motel, you’re in a run-down bar, warehouse or other building. After a few levels, everything looks the same.

Audio breaks down to two core elements, music and gunfire. Music is your typical sort for action games, so expect the usual hard rock blended with a few techno beats thrown in. Gunfire makes up the rest of the audio package, and though they sound good, they can get lost in the music at times.

Set as a prequel to the original, Dead to Rights: Reckoning’s story is a prequel to the first game and finds Jack Slate (and his dog Shadow) scouring Grant City in search of the daughter of a high-ranking official. Jack’s mission takes him from rough biker bars to the deepest, darkest alleyways in Grant City.

Reckoning is as pure an arcade experience as you could hope to find with the story only serving as a vehicle to get you from one area to another. After the combined 15 minutes of story are out of the way, the remaining five and a half hours are nothing but Jack running around and shooting things. This is great if you’re a no-frills action fan, but will put off players who are looking for a little plot with their violence.

Everything moves at a quick pace and constantly throws you into wild gunfights. There’s really no time to breath during levels. Levels are also pretty short, so Reckoning is a great game if you’re killing a few minutes, but really doesn’t make it suitable for long sit-down sessions.

As the body count rises, so does your score. The more stylish your kills, the better your point totals will be. Earning high scores will net you points that can then be spent on bonuses like a big head mode, unlimited ammo and invincibility.

Reckoning also makes use of the PSP’s wireless multiplayer capabilities. On the plus side, multiplayer games are pretty fun. The downside is that multiplayer games are only available through local Ad-Hoc play and not over the Internet, which is a big disappointment and hurts the game’s replay value.

Blasting through Reckoning shouldn’t be too hard, at least for the veteran gamer. Though you’ll always find yourself outnumbered, enemies aren’t the best of shots, nor are they the smartest of adversaries. There were a few times where I actually jumped towards an enemy head-on, landed behind him and he still continued to shoot ahead as if I was still in front of him. Still, if you’re not careful and run around aimlessly spraying bullets everywhere, you can get yourself in a rough situation. Guns have limited ammo and the only way to get more is to acquire your enemies’ weapons. Also, some objects are combustible, so it’s generally not a good idea to seek cover behind a group of barrels or a car.

As is becoming the case with most PSP titles, if you’re still not used to the analog nub, you will have a tough time with Dead to Rights: Reckoning. Controls are set-up nicely and generally work with the game’s fast pace. Gameplay revolves around two buttons; shoot and slow-mo. The former is self-explanatory while the latter puts Jack into bullet-time, letting him dodge bullets and quickly take down enemies.

The more glaring problems usually involve the camera, which is certainly better than most games, but still has it’s moments where you wonder just exactly what its trying to set itself up to do. The good news is that these problems don’t pop up all that often and the camera can easily be repositioned with a click of a shoulder button.

Targeting also poses a bit of a problem since it tends to target what it thinks is the best target, not what you’re actually trying to shoot. Essentially, this leads to frantic cycling through targets until you reach the right one. Good thing enemies aren’t good shots…

Generally, Reckoning is an average shooter. There’s little about the game that makes it stand out other than the lack of action games on the PSP. If you’re completely starved for a handheld shooter, Dead to Rights: Reckoning should satisfy your craving. On the other hand, if you’re just looking for another game to play, the experience is over a little too quickly and not that fulfilling in the end.