Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
F%@K, another Kane & Lynch game
Posted August 20, 2010
The much debated, and perhaps controversial, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men hit store shelves nearly 3 years ago and shocked audiences with foul mouthed characters along with plenty of carnage on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. In 2010, Io Interactive and Edios / Square Enix have rolled out the sequel, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days. In this version, the main player takes control of Lynch, rather than Kane. For some inane reason, Kane shows up in Shanghai to help Lynch with an arms deal. Surprise, surprise, they both still dislike each other, but have to rely on each other’s prowess with firearms to stay alive. The presentation of the short tale does little to illuminate the entertaining dynamic of the duo that we saw in the last game.
There’s really nothing more to the gameplay than staying alive to pull the trigger of your weapon. However, this is difficult for three reasons. First, lining up an accurate shot on an enemy takes far longer than it should and can completely miss the mark even if lined up according to the targeting outline. There were multiple times that I was killed due to poor accuracy. Secondly, I believe that the characters are actual bullet magnets or perhaps the developers though the enemy AI should think so. Regardless of my dependence on cover, enemies always knew when to shoot as I was popping out of my “safe” hiding spot. That being said, the enemy AI does do a great job of flanking the pair when needed and charging when you are at your weakest. The friendly A.I., basically Kane, is spotty at best. Finally, the controls are slightly loose. You really have to anticipate your movement decisions as the pair’s reaction time is poor for a shooting game.
There’s also a mindless quality to the game that’s due to the endless repetition and lack of variety with enemies. That being said, the co-op mode does help alleviate the average friendly A.I. and it’s more entertaining playing with a real person. A second player can join online or via split-screen. Players can revive each other during combat and the levels are designed to take multiple paths to surround the enemy. However, I did experience a moderate amount of lag when moving between cutscene and gameplay when playing as both Kane and Lynch. It’s pretty annoying to get gunned down or start the next section with a bloody flashing screen due to lag.
Beyond the single player campaign, there’s also a sizeable amount of multiplayer modes to choose from. If you played the first game, you will remember the entertaining Fragile Alliance. Basically, the mode "teams" you up with other players to score some money on a heist. As the action is going down, you have the option of killing your teammates for a larger share of the cash (think the opening scene of The Dark Knight) or letting them live to help you kill off the enemy AI. They are also weighing that decision during the match and may turn on you at any second. Undercover Cop is a similar mode, assigning one player to be a cop who is tasked with stopping the heist. I found that to be darn entertaining when you are the cop and picking off your "teammates" one at a time. There’s also a Cops and Robbers mode, essentially a firefight between a team of cop players and a team of robbers. I had less performance issues on the multiplayer modes strangely.
The achievement set is varied and skewed toward the multiplayer achievements. It’s a solid set and will likely take an investment of 5 to 6 hours in the multiplayer mode as well as replaying the campaign in Extreme co-op mode to finish them all.
If there was any game that can be pegged into the style over substance category, it’s Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days. Combine a fairly boring single player campaign clocking in at about 4 to 5 hours with annoying visuals and a piss-poor targeting system, it’s apparent that Dog Days doesn’t stack up to the very competitive field of shooters currently available on the 360. On a minor point, I’m also annoyed that Lynch’s insanity is toned down in this outing. It’s something that made the original more interesting than it probably should have been.
The barely captivating story and decent multiplayer action help redeem these flaws, but it’s really difficult to even play the game without getting a headache from the visual style. Unless you are a die hard Kane & Lynch fan, there’s no reason to purchase this title for full MSRP when you can get a library of fantastic shooters for the 360. It may be worth a weekend rental, if there’s nothing better to play on the shelves.
Discuss This Game on Our Official VGT Forum
There’s really nothing more to the gameplay than staying alive to pull the trigger of your weapon. However, this is difficult for three reasons. First, lining up an accurate shot on an enemy takes far longer than it should and can completely miss the mark even if lined up according to the targeting outline. There were multiple times that I was killed due to poor accuracy. Secondly, I believe that the characters are actual bullet magnets or perhaps the developers though the enemy AI should think so. Regardless of my dependence on cover, enemies always knew when to shoot as I was popping out of my “safe” hiding spot. That being said, the enemy AI does do a great job of flanking the pair when needed and charging when you are at your weakest. The friendly A.I., basically Kane, is spotty at best. Finally, the controls are slightly loose. You really have to anticipate your movement decisions as the pair’s reaction time is poor for a shooting game.
There’s also a mindless quality to the game that’s due to the endless repetition and lack of variety with enemies. That being said, the co-op mode does help alleviate the average friendly A.I. and it’s more entertaining playing with a real person. A second player can join online or via split-screen. Players can revive each other during combat and the levels are designed to take multiple paths to surround the enemy. However, I did experience a moderate amount of lag when moving between cutscene and gameplay when playing as both Kane and Lynch. It’s pretty annoying to get gunned down or start the next section with a bloody flashing screen due to lag.
Beyond the single player campaign, there’s also a sizeable amount of multiplayer modes to choose from. If you played the first game, you will remember the entertaining Fragile Alliance. Basically, the mode "teams" you up with other players to score some money on a heist. As the action is going down, you have the option of killing your teammates for a larger share of the cash (think the opening scene of The Dark Knight) or letting them live to help you kill off the enemy AI. They are also weighing that decision during the match and may turn on you at any second. Undercover Cop is a similar mode, assigning one player to be a cop who is tasked with stopping the heist. I found that to be darn entertaining when you are the cop and picking off your "teammates" one at a time. There’s also a Cops and Robbers mode, essentially a firefight between a team of cop players and a team of robbers. I had less performance issues on the multiplayer modes strangely.
The achievement set is varied and skewed toward the multiplayer achievements. It’s a solid set and will likely take an investment of 5 to 6 hours in the multiplayer mode as well as replaying the campaign in Extreme co-op mode to finish them all.
Graphics
- The visual style in Dog Days is certainly unique. It’s as if the developers hired a film student to run around behind Kane & Lynch with a partially broken HD camera that has a layer of dirt on the lens. The camera wildly shakes as the player moves the characters around on the screen; ideal for cutscenes, but terrible for actual gameplay (it can be disabled in the settings).
- Add in enough flashing light sources to make Times Square look like Grainfield, Kansas (Yes, that’s a real place) along with a hodgepodge of waxy character models that look like they just ran out of Madame Tussards and you have Dog Days in a nutshell. It’s as if the developers made every attempt to distract you from game rather than envelop the player within the game world.
Audio
- Seeing how the original was one of the most vulgar games I ever played, the sequel holds true to its gaming roots; not that I’m offended. The voice acting is top notch and the voice actors from the first, Jarion Monroe (Lynch) & Brian Bloom (Kane) return to voice the dastardly duo.
- Accenting the stylistic presentation, the music and sound effects do an excellent job of portraying the crazed, frantic pacing of the game. Gunfire rings through the streets as well as the echoes of Lynch’s ranting about his Asian girlfriend.
Conclusion
If there was any game that can be pegged into the style over substance category, it’s Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days. Combine a fairly boring single player campaign clocking in at about 4 to 5 hours with annoying visuals and a piss-poor targeting system, it’s apparent that Dog Days doesn’t stack up to the very competitive field of shooters currently available on the 360. On a minor point, I’m also annoyed that Lynch’s insanity is toned down in this outing. It’s something that made the original more interesting than it probably should have been.
The barely captivating story and decent multiplayer action help redeem these flaws, but it’s really difficult to even play the game without getting a headache from the visual style. Unless you are a die hard Kane & Lynch fan, there’s no reason to purchase this title for full MSRP when you can get a library of fantastic shooters for the 360. It may be worth a weekend rental, if there’s nothing better to play on the shelves.
Discuss This Game on Our Official VGT Forum