Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death, PlayStation 2

Released in 2003 for PC, PlayStation 2, GameCube and XBox, Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death is a first-person shoot ’em up developed by Rebellion and based on the infamous 2000AD comic character of Judge Dredd. And – so far (at the time of writing) – it is really the only Judge Dredd game that does the source material any real justice (pun intended). The game is almost twenty years old now, but it’s still worth playing nowadays.

That said: if I was going to play just one version of Dredd vs. Death today it wouldn’t be the PlayStation 2 version (or the GameCube or XBox versions either), it would be the PC version – because it’s better looking; it has mouse controls, and also because it’s still available to buy on Steam and GOG for a relatively low price.

The PlayStation 2 version, however, is still a decent game to play, and it features a number of play modes to keep a person entertained for a few hours. There’s a single (and split-screen coop) campaign, an arcade challenge mode, and a multiplayer versus mode (which can be played against other people, or against bots).

Completing levels in the campaign will unlock more arcade mode levels (and multiplayer character models), and completing arcade mode levels unlocks various cheats that are accessible from the main menu.

I’d recommend Dredd vs. Death to Judge Dredd or 2000AD fans, or to anyone who wants to know a bit more about this famous comic character. Rebellion did a good job of bringing Dredd to life in this fairly simple shooter, and the voice actor they used to voice him in this game (Toby Longworth) is a damn sight better than Stallone in the terrible 1995 film directed by Danny Cannon.