We're back in Grant City with Jack Slate and his badass K-9 companion, Shadow. This sequel is actually a prequel, since the gritty story takes place some time before the last game. The cinematics have something to do with an abducted judge, but don't worry about all that. The magistrate's name is McGuffin, after all; the term Hitchcock coined to indicate a plot device that exists simply to string the audience along. Here, the plot is all action, all the time.
And it's nasty stuff. Slate's array of moves has been slightly expanded since we last saw him, and in addition to grabbing human shields, he's got extra moves to instantly disarm an opponent. All seem to end with an execution-style blast to the dome. And justice for all, indeed. Both the shield grab and disarm moves are one-hit wonders, so a single button press sends Jack to work.
In fact, the entire suite of game controls is quick and painless, in sharp contrast to what happens to Jack's opponents. One shoulder button ducks, another aims, and a face button spits lead. Of course, there's also Jack's shootdodge, er, bullet time, er … slow-mo diving shooty move, which is also quickly accessible, as long as the adrenaline meter isn't empty. Jack can twist in air to take out multiple enemies in one leap, which is often a wise tactic.
That all makes for very quick fighting, and it seems like the enemies come at Jack faster and in greater numbers than last time. So far I haven't seen a huge variety to the goons, and each seems to be identified with one weapon type. So there's the basic pistol-packing thug, the big shotgun guy, and the squatting street hood with a Tec-9. They all drop their guns when shot, so at least you'll always know who to shoot when a specific weapon runs dry.
Plenty more weapon types will crop up over the course of the game, too. The bulk of combat is gunplay, and the aiming system has been tweaked so that the colored reticule indicates Jack's chances of hitting the target. A red target is out of range, and won't take much lead, while a green target is moments away from swiss cheese. There are a few shades in between, too, just to keep things interesting. (There's also a bit of melee combat now and then, with basic combos to put down the goons.)
