Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Review

Game: Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

Developer: IO Interactive

Publisher: Eidos, Square Enix

Available on: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC (Reviewed on Xbox 360)

Well, the long summer break of games releases is finally over. There will be many a gamer looking forward to some new titles after the inevitable trawl of replaying old games to kill the hot sunny (or drizzly) hours away, waiting for developers to come back of holiday and get to bloody work again! The first game to enter the fray is Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days. After the previous game, which received some mixed reviews, many people were unsure that a sequel would be feasible but sure enough, here they are again in a new story filled with chaos and mayhem.

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men had its problems such as dodgy shooting mechanics, an awkward cover system and a lacklustre multiplayer mode. It’s safe to say that the developers had a huge task on their hands to improve the premise of the game and give us an enjoyable start to the post summer releases. Read on to see if they managed to succeed.

[singlepic id=160 w=320 h=240 float=left]STORY: Lynch is living in Shanghai, a gritty, corrupt city and is making the most of it. Living with his girlfriend, he is making ends meet by the only way he knows how. Thankfully the medication he is on stops him from going psycho and viciously murdering everyone (Thank Christ!). He gets a once in a lifetime job from a crime boss named Glazer (Crap Cockney accent alert!) that will set him up for the future, but they need another man for this opportunity and that man is……yup, you guessed it, Kane.

Kane takes the job so he can walk away from his life of crime and possibly regain his relationship with his estranged daughter, even though it does mean working with Lynch again. However, after a simple shakedown goes wrong, Kane and Lynch find themselves battling through this gritty and corrupt city for their lives. Around every corner there seems to be someone wanting these two over the hill convicts dead and buried.

The game begins with a mini prologue in a vicious torture scene where the protagonists are being beaten and sliced up, Lynch is screaming in pain and Kane is screaming bloody vengeance. Great start if you like the ol’ violence! The story then takes us back two days previous to where Kane & Lynch are reunited, with immediate consequences. From here on, the game is a massive shoot fest, with fire fights to rival the movie Heat and the storyline follows on with a sheer intensity that is very impressive, getting you right behind the characters, even though they are bastards.

GRAPHICS: This third person shooter plays like it’s an internet film. The idea that someone has been following them with a camcorder is a nice idea, but can hamper you from time to time. The screen goes out of focus every now and then which can be really annoying. But for the love of God enable the steady cam in the options because when you run around, the camera sways a lot. This would obviously occur in real life, but it makes you feel a bit queasy, especially if you suffer from motion sickness. Also, because it’s supposed to be an internet film, certain things are pixelated, i.e. nudity and excessive violence, in which perverts will be disappointed.

[singlepic id=162 w=320 h=240 float=right]For the location which it is set, the game simulates a stereotypical image of an Asian city, with its neon lights, low lit back alleys and grimy underworld. This makes it a very realistic and encapsulates the mood of the game. The characters themselves are developed adequately, leaving room for improvement. However, Lynch looks like the guy out of Myth Busters whereas Kane’s beard and hair looks as if it’s independent of his own face.

When you get into a fire fight however, the graphics are not bad. When you see rounds hitting walls and pillars, the destruction mechanic is well designed and some cover spots you use will actively disintegrate with enough firepower thrown at them.

SOUND: With regards to the city itself, the background noise is good. It does feel as if it’s a living, breathing city that you are gallivanting around in. The voice acting at times is a bit unbelievable at times, but for the most part it is ok. Some of the sound effects are shoddy at times as well. For example, when you kick a door down it sounds like someone is booting a cardboard box whilst popping bubble wrap.

GAMEPLAY: The game plays like your bog standard third person shooter with a cover system, a la Gears of War. However, you will find yourself taking hits in cover as there are a lot of enemies attacking you at times which feels like absolute chaos. You have to be very observant as well because at times enenmies will run straight up to you whilst you are shooting someone and blast you in the face with a bloody hand cannon. So, keep your wits about you!

Generally though, apart from the story itself, there is nothing really special about the story mode. It feels like any other average third person shooter. It’s not bad, but it isn’t great either. It’s almost shameful to mention it in the same breath as Gears of War.

[singlepic id=164 w=320 h=240 float=left]The multiplayer gives the game a bit of dignity back, because it’s good fun. There are three modes. Fragile Alliance, where essentially you dive into a crime scene, thieve all the cash you can and get the hell out of dodge, gunning down the cops in the process. However there’s a twist. You can turn on your fellow robbers and steal their loot, giving you more cash where you can upgrade your weapons. Fragile Ailliance is also available in the arcade mode, so you can play with the games AI and hone your mad robbing skills.

The second multiplayer mode is Undercover Cop. This is essentially the same as Fragile Alliance, but one of your team is a cop. The person playing as the cop has to wait for a crime to be committed before attempting to drop the rest of the other players. If he succeeds he gets 10% of the total recovered money.

The third mode is called Cops & Robbers which is your bog standard team deathmatch, but for cash. The cops protect the loot, getting cash for kills and a share of the money. The robbers have to steal as much as possible and get the hell out of there.

LONGETIVITY: The main problem with this game is that it is only 4 hours long on the normal difficulty. 4 HOURS!! Obviously putting it on a harder difficulty will give you an extra hour at the very most, but it is definitely way too short. I suppose it’s great if you want to grab some quick achievements for all “whores” out there, but if you want an in depth shooter then avoid this game.

[singlepic id=165 w=320 h=240 float=right]The multiplayer is the games strong point and could potentially be a “play with your mates” type of game, due to the co-op nature of some of the modes. If you’re looking to join a game with random players though, it won’t be worth it as Halo: Reach will be out soon, so everyone will be jumping ship.

VERDICT: Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days can be an enjoyable game if you’ve got nothing to play and got 4 hours to kill, but unfortunately that is also the games main problem. IT’S TOO DAMN SHORT! The story line is good, but is lacking any sort of depth whatsoever, much like the core gameplay itself. The multiplayer modes save the game from being a bargain bin title as they are enjoyable to play and are different from the usual modes you get in other shooters. The question is though, will the multiplayer be able to stand up against the likes of Halo: Reach and Call of Duty: Black Ops? The answer would have to be, no.

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is a definite improvement from the first game, but is still lacking in many different areas. If the developers spent more time and effort on the story mode, then it could have been much better. As it stands, it’s just a slightly above average third person shooter.