Dead to Rights: Retribution
Developed by Volatile Games
Released on April 6th, 2010

Cops and dogs have long gone hand in hand. Turner & Hooch. Dooley & Lee. Hell, I'm pretty sure J. Edgar Hoover had a fling with Lassie at one point. The point is that Dead to Rights had a natural pairing and early promise but fizzled out in the last console generation. Namco tried this 2010 reboot of the franchise, which was met with less than an enthusiastic response.

Don't let that dissuade you, though. It's probably middle-of-the-road stuff but we too often think that something that's really average should be looked upon as being poor and that's just silly.

Dead Rising: Chop 'Till You Drop
Developed by TOSE Software
Released February 24th, 2009

Ah, sweet Dead Rising. It's too bad that I never found the time to play through this Wii title, as I generally prefer mission-oriented games to ones which feature an open world. Give me a goal and get me right into the action, that's what I always say. And this game is all about that. 

Jonathan Holmes is a big defender of Chop Till You Drop. That's great because, if it really does suck as much as its sales figures might suggest, it'll be nice to rub that in his face later.

Deadly Creatures
Developed by Rainbow Studios
Released February 9th, 2009

There's nothing I would consider to be "normal" about Deadly Creatures. A star-studded voice cast in an action-adventure game set in and around a gas station? That's the kind of weird crap you hear getting awards at Cannes in the film industry.

Unique can be very good and I've been curious to check this game out ever since our own Chad Concelmo published a feature two years ago on the design lessons Deadly Creatures could teach the games industry. 

Dead Space: Extraction
Developed by Visceral Games, Eurocom
Released on September 29th, 2009

The Dead Space series, from its initial announcement, has captivated me. That still didn't manage to get me to complete its Wii offering. Too bad, since it's a pretty good on-rails shooter and that's probably one of the most effective types of games for horror because of the reduced player agency.

I do recall that the game is exceedingly dark, though, with enemies often almost impossible to see. That's a real sticking point for me as someone derives more frustration than dramatic tension out of being unable to see one's environs.

Mystery Game

Finally, we have the Mystery Game. Don't make the mistake of choosing this for curiosity's sake, as people have clamored before to know what it was and groaned when they learned. The intent here is to select the Mystery Game if none of the other games appeal to you, so voting for it just because you want to know what it is is kind of a dick move. 

If the Mystery Game is not chosen, it'll roll over into the next series where it will continue to be a mystery. It should be noted that the Mystery Game does not necessarily conform to the theme for this series' voting selections (and usually will not).

There we have it. Put your vote in the comments below and tune in tonight at 8pm Pacific for a whole new series of Backlog!