Kane & Lynch: Dead Men was released in 2007 and was met with poor reviews. Everyone did agree on a couple of things though: the controls were clunky and the characters Kane and Lynch were bad asses. Parts of the game were enjoyable while others were simply frustrating.  The characters, on the other hand, were always entertaining. Think of them as The Odd Couple with guns, only more profane and violent. In Dead Men, players were introduced to Kane’s history. In Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, set to release this summer, players will be introduced to Lynch’s world, a grittier, more violent place where plans quickly turn south. I recently got a chance to play a couple of chapters of the single player campaign, and I think gamers will like the improvements made by Io Interactive.

The story picks up where the first one left off. If you haven’t played the original, Kane was left with an important decision to make at the end of the game.  For the sequel, Io Interactive makes that decision and forces you down their path. Dog Days is set in Shanghai where Lynch has been making a living as a henchman. Kane, on the other hand, hasn’t been in the violence business for some time. After some convincing on Lynch’s part, he goes to Shanghai to assist him with one final score. What was meant to be an easy job turns into an all out war across the streets of the city.

The story is told in a 48 hour period. During this time you will follow Kane and Lynch. Whatever they see and hear, you will see and hear. You won’t be seeing cut scenes with any other character unless Kane and Lynch are in it. This was done to give a more personal attachment to the characters and to sync with the “reality TV” presentation of the game. Presentation is the first thing gamers will notice when playing the sequel. It is from a closer 3^rd person perspective with “shaky cam” movements and a lower-quality camera feel much like you would see in a YouTube video.  You’ll notice things like grainy effects, visual artifacts, and lighting that will over-saturate the camera.  Adding to this style is the pixel blur effect that pops up to cover nudity and extremely gory violence. At first, I didn’t really like this effect because I want to see a head blown off, but it actually works well with this style. If you haven’t seen the trailers yet, check out this one which features all in-game footage.

Karsten Lund, Game Director on Kane & Lynch 2, said to get the right movement of the camera and the visual effects down they had a team go to Shanghai and run around with camcorders. Using that footage, they were able to accurately portray the reality presentation. The actual character graphics seem like an improvement from the previous title, but it’s not going to blow anyone away. Instead, the very unique presentation further immerses you into the game and offers gamers a style they haven’t seen before from a shooter.

The big question is how well the game controls, and after getting to play a couple of levels I can say that the controls are very much improved and more in-tune with the types of 3^rd person shooters we’ve seen lately. You can expect the normal controls, and you will now have a cover option. In one of the levels I played, Kane and Lynch were stuck in a dim sum restaurant in a firefight with some policemen. Taking cover is key in this game, but you also have to think about what kind of cover you are hiding behind because some objects in the environment can be shot through and destroyed. While in cover, you can blind fire and also hold down the left stick to quick move from cover to cover or hurdle over it much like in Gears of War.

As Kane & Lynch 2 has you in Lynch’s world, the gameplay revolves around his “shoot first, ask questions later” mindset. You shoot everyone you see that is firing back at you, and you don’t have many weapons at your disposal as planning isn’t his strong suit. You will run out of ammo from time to time, so picking up ammo and new weapons off of enemies is a must. There are also no grenades. Instead, you have to use your environment, like propane tanks or fire extinguishers, to cause explosions. At times, you will also have to run down enemies or run through smaller corridors. This adds to the fast pace, shoot-first attitude of Lynch.

In one of the levels I played through, I had to run through a sweatshop, which had little cover, ultimately onto the streets where I had to try to shoot around the civilians milling about to take out a huge police force. Running through an area with scant cover can be tough, but there are a few things players can do to get through them. You can grab someone and use them as a human shield, which will cause the enemies to think before they shoot. Sometimes they will shoot through the shield or sometimes they won’t shoot until you do. There is also a feature called “Down not Dead” which gives a player a second chance when they get shot too many times. This can also be triggered by a big blast or a shot that would knock you down to the ground but not kill you. From this point, you can crawl to safety or cover or you can shoot the enemy until it’s safe to get up.

Once in the streets of Shanghai, the firefight didn’t last too long.  I was instructed to shoot at some tanks inside a DVD shop that set off a massive explosion which ended that portion of the level. Having played through two chapters of the game, it’s safe to say that it plays much better than the first and the overall presentation and pace makes it very enjoyable. You can play the entire campaign via co-op online or offline, and there will be moments where you and your partner will have to split up.

The environment of Shanghai is an excellent setting for the gritty gameplay Io Interactive is trying to portray. I feel that The Down not Dead feature could still use some work as could getting in and out of cover. The A.I. seemed smart, being able to flank and effectively take you down if you get too cocky. Overall, I think fans will be quite pleased with the improvements made to the game.

Dog Days is set to release on August 24th, 1010 across Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Be sure to check back with us as we will be posting our hands-on impressions of the Arcade and Fragile Alliance multiplayer modes soon.

Tags: Dog Days, Impressions, IO Interactive, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, Kane and Lynch

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 at 4:03 pm and is filed under PC, PlayStation 3, Previews, Xbox 360. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.