When Kane & Lynch first met in 2007 they left enough dead bodies on the streets to keep the funeral industry thriving. These two guys are the scum of the earth and you should pray that you’re never looking down the barrel of one of their guns because it’s the last thing you’ll ever see. Somehow these guys are still alive and have returned for the sequel, developed by Io Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive, appropriately titled Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days. This is one of the most dark, violent, sadistic and politically incorrect games ever made. So if you’re offended easily, or even if you’re hard to offend, this may be the one that pushes you over the edge.
gameplay
Whereas the original game took place in multiple locations, Kane & Lynch 2 keeps itself grounded in the city of Shanghai, China where Lynch is laying low and shacking up with a girl, as he does some jobs for a certain crime figure. When he gets an opportunity to make a huge arms deal that can offer a major amount of loot, he enlists the help of his old buddy Kane to make a trip to Asia. Within hours of Kane and Lynch reuniting, the deal goes way bad, and they become fugitives in Shanghai, seeking revenge as they attempt to escape the city with an endless amount of bodies behind them.
Like the first game, this is a third person shooter using the same mechanics as the original with some tweaks such as improving the targeting system that was somewhat clumsy in the first game. The major difference in the sequel is the art direction, which takes this game to a whole new level, not only for the series but also for gaming in general. The first game’s style was straight forward, but Dog Days goes for a more realistic and raw style making the game look as if it was shot using a crappy camcorder that was bought at Radio Shack. The images are grainy and gray with lighting distortions occurring every time one of the characters gets to close to a light source, and constant auto focusing in and out as the lens attempts to adjust to movement. There is also plenty of “Shakey-Cam” motion, something usually done in movies to simulate the handheld camera effect as if every action made is being filmed by someone following them around. If you get motion sickness easily, then this will definitely make you hurl, but fortunately the designers thought of this and you are given the option to switch to a steady-cam view, eliminating the constant motion and making things smoother.
Shooting is the key element in this game, because this is basically all you’ll be doing 99 percent of the time. The game literally consists of a few short cut scenes to set things up and then its guns blazing galore. Just imagine a John Woo film where there’s an endless supply of gun-toting bad guys coming out of the walls, and you’re killing anything that moves, then you lather, rinse, and repeat again. Unfortunately Dog Days doesn’t allow Kane and Lynch to evolve as characters in any way. In the first game you sort of felt a bonding between these two guys because they were brothers in crime. But now they’re just two scumbags with guns shooting other scumbags with guns. Basically, things get repetitive really fast and there is no rhythm to the rhyme.
All the work went into the look of the game, which definitely pays off, because the visual style is fantastic. There’s nothing special about the gunfights, even the gimmick of pixilating body parts to self-censor extremely violent images gets old quick. It would have actually been interesting if you could turn off this option so you could see the gore, guts, and brain matter. This game was in no way aimed at the Super Mario crowd, so it might as well just have gone all out.
Another major problem is that game is way too short and inconclusive. Obviously, no game should follow a basic formula or be long and drawn out for no reason, but at $60 a pop for a game these days, you don’t want to finish it in one night. Overall, most fans of the first Kane & Lynch may be disappointed with the sequel because there’s really not much to it other than running and gunning, and it feels more like add-on levels for the first game, than a full sequel. The main thing the game has going for it is its extremely gritty and raw presentation that in no way apologizes. If the great Sam Peckinpah made a videogame, Kane & Lynch would be it.
graphics
Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is its visual style kicks ass. The raw shakey-cam, muted colors and unstable images completely sells the concept. These are some shady dudes, so obviously the world around them should match. The city of Shanghai is made to look dark and dirty, making it seem like a place you would never want to visit. Recent movies such as Cloverfield where the characters actions are being recorded as they journey through the adventure may have been the model. No matter if you like the game or not, you will be drawn to the visual presentation, because it doesn’t look like any other game out there.
sound
Fortunately the same strong efforts that went into the visuals are also present in the sound design for the game. The voice acting is top notch, filled with enough naughty words to fill a swear jar with a pile of cash. The sound effects for the gunplay is completely on the level of a movie, right down to the echoes when a gunfight breaks out in a tight space. One interesting choice made was to eliminate the soundtrack to give a better sense of realism. This added with the surveillance camera style of the game blends perfectly making everything appear to be raw and uncut.
replay value
It will take you less than five hours to finish the single player mode, so this is a really quick game. You can also replay the game via online co-op with a buddy, which adds some spice to the mix. There are three modes of multiplayer to choose from; Fragile Alliance, a mode featured in the original game that has you working with a team to pull off a heist, stay alive and escape in a four minute time frame, but things can go very wrong if either you or another teammate gets greedy and betrays the pack. Undercover Cop allows one player to be the Donnie Brasco of the bunch as he tries and stop to others from committing the crime, and Cops and Robbers is just as it sounds with teams divided into the good guys and the bad guys with one trying to eliminate the others as a heist is going down. There’s also an arcade mode option that is basically Fragile Alliance, but offline, with AI players.
bottom line
Whether you like Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is up to what you were actually expecting it to be. The first game was more story and character driven, but the sequel is not. This time around it’s just basically two guys shooting their way out of a very bad situation by any means necessary. But in terms of visual conception Dog Days is spectacular, and will definitely hold your attention long enough to get through this short game. Will we see Kane & Lynch again? Well as long as there is a quick score that can provide some fast cash, these two gun-toting, shady fowl-mouthed sleaze balls will find a way to get to it. Give this one a try, but don’t go in unarmed.
Review by: Johnny McNair
Posted: 09/02/2010
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Gameplay:
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7.0 |
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Graphics:
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9.5 |
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Sound:
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8.5 |
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Replay Value:
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7.0 |
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Bottom Line:
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7.5 |
