Hands On: Kane & Lynch 2
Dog Days indeed. Hands on inside.
Published: 14:15, 27/07/2010 by Staff.
42Kane & Lynch 2 doesn’t load, it buffers; never before has a game tried so desperately to ape the medium of film, and in this case it’s hard boiled, gritty, gangster movies that form the basis of what IO Interactive have tried to do. Right from the off, with the handheld shaky cam footage underneath the superstylised menus, you know you’re in for something a little bit different, and now we’ve had a couple of weeks or so with the near final version of the game we’d like to tell you about it.
For the uninitiated, Kane & Lynch 2 Dog Days is a third person shooter set in Shanghai’s criminal underworld. The two eponymous protagonists are polar opposites (Kane is calculated and Lynch is borderline phycotic) but they play off each other brilliantly, the rich, colourful dialog between them a convincing background to the action. Which is hard, and brutal, and coupled with the filmic visuals quite possibly creating one of the most exciting games I’ve played all year.
I’m a sucker for graphical effects, though, so the Youtube-esque low resolution, artifacting blockiness won’t be for everyone. Nor will the way downed foes are filtered out so the ‘camera’ doesn’t pick up their faces. Even the roadie run, pulled almost wholesale from Gears, feels fresh and innovative when the aesthetics scale down to match the rapidly updating action. It’s all very clever, but it’s at a cost – the game looks poor in screenshots – which is presumably partly why Eidos are so keen to push out demos.
Once seen in action, thankfully, Dog Days plays as distinctively as it looks. I’ve been mainly concentrating on the single player story for this write up (if only because the multiplayer modes are freely available in the aforementioned demos) but I’m happy to say I’ve been having a blast so far. I’m limited to what I can talk about (as the publishers want to keep everything a surprise) but I’m going to chance my arm and tell you that things go from bad to worse for the gun toting duo really, really quickly.
Which is for the good, because whilst the game handles the exposition neatly and swiftly, it’s when the action hots up that Dog Days is at its best: precise, intuitive controls and clear cues help highlight the enemies and there’s rarely a shortage of ammo despite a few limitations governing what you can pick up. There’s a decent cover system too, but for the most part (based on what we’ve played) you’re encouraged to keep moving and take out the enemies up close and personal.
That’s not to say it’s a one-trick pony: the game likes to throw curve-balls at you continuously and some levels descend into havoc long before they’ve spun a quick twist to the plot. Things change quickly in Kane & Lynch’s world and, on a first play-through at least, the developers have managed to uphold an almost constant stream of innovation and smart ideas. Things might go downhill after the sections we’ve had access to, naturally, but we’re willing to bet that they don’t. At least, we hope they don’t.
Regardless, that’s just the single player mode, of course – where you play as Lynch, in contrast to the first game – the game’s vast array of brilliant multiplayer modes will present some excellent value for money. Not least of all a full online co-op run through, but my favourite is Fragile Alliance where you form two teams and take part in a heist, with the twist being that the money at the end is shared with all the survivors – taking out a few friends bags you more cash, but brands you a traitor. A clever twist.
It looks like we’ll have a final review copy soonish, so we’ll be back with more impressions as quickly as we can.
Disclaimer: All comments are the opinion and responsibility of the individual author and not TheSixthAxis. You must read and agree to our terms before reading and commenting on this site. User comments are not always moderated by TheSixthAxis.
« Previous 1 2
« Previous 1 2
Most Comments This Week
- Gaikai’s Streaming – Does This Mean No PS4? [65]
- PSN Store Update: 23/05/12 [55]
- First Party Vita Games Drop To £12 On PSN [52]
- PSN Store Hit With 80023163 Errors [51]
- Is Something Big Coming To PlayStation Plus Soon? [50]
- “Leap” Motion Controller Could Revolutionise Gaming [43]
- Ghost Recon: Future Soldier PS3 Install Is Huge [42]
- Australian & New Zealand D3 Players Suffer High Ping Rates [41]
- Sony Files Patent For Game-Interrupting Soda Adverts [40]
- Ghost Recon Future Soldier Review (PS3, Xbox 360) [39]
Latest Reader Comments
-
New Hardware, New Plus: All Eyes On Sony This E3
- 01:37 Awayze: I really hope at this E3, Sony bring a major update to the PS3 such as instant trophy syncing as soon as...
- 01:36 samiro05: This is definitely a must for the PSV
- 01:30 stueeeee: Lol imagine, on the cusp of possible new hardware, their big announcement turns out to be…..a new...
- 00:47 JBoo: I would buy another PS3 if there is a slimmer version coming out :P But i am not going to think about it(i.e I...
- 00:47 seravok: Still waiting for a Monster hunter for my vita. :(
- TSA Speculates: Why You Might Not Need To Buy A PS4
- Microsoft Job Offer Mentions “Next Generation” Of Xbox
- Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock Review (PS3)
- Community Round-Up: 26/05/12
- Gaikai’s E3 Invite All But Confirms PS3 Streaming Partnership
- Sony Files Patent For Game-Interrupting Soda Adverts
TSAtv: Original Video Content
Batman book review
Kris Dancing, again
Joe Danger interview
Sonic Generations
27/07/2010 at 15:11
Member since: Dec 2009
Gonna give the Demo a blast after this read…..
27/07/2010 at 16:50
Member since: May 2009
Can you turn the “grit” and blur effects off? Cause I was really hoping you could. Still a day 1 buy for me regardless.
27/07/2010 at 17:08
Member since: Jan 2009
No. The ENTIRE game was built with those effects on.
27/07/2010 at 17:15
Member since: Dec 2009
I tried the demo, seemed slightly better than the first game but just barely.
27/07/2010 at 17:37
Member since: Feb 2010
They say it’s always the bad-asses who make a girl’s heart beat faster… it took me 2 coffees and a medium lay-down to get over the demo. It looked very good, borrowing and begging you to delight in its obvious nods to various film styles and techniques. As the preview above hinted at John Woo’s ‘Hard Boiled’ and a number of Wong Kar Wai’s including ‘Fallen Angels’ sequences also came back to me. I wonder if there will indeed be a Pacino ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ Attica! Attica! reference somewhere along the line… which was and still is a fine example of a heist movie.
27/07/2010 at 20:13
Member since: Mar 2010
Hard Boiled movie is really good.
27/07/2010 at 19:18
Member since: Jul 2010
I loved the heat feel the first game had but the controls were TERRIBLE. Fixed them for the second game and rampped up the excitement. Bye Red Dead Re-Boring, hello mad shootouts.
27/07/2010 at 22:20
Member since: May 2010
demo was awful in my opinion, deleted it before it was even out for everyone, never gonna get this. very dissapointing
28/07/2010 at 00:30
Member since: Apr 2010
Have they fixed the fact that all the civilians just stand around happily during the gun fights, often in the middle of the road I am shooting down? That was the only bit that jarred with me during the demo, loved the rest.
28/07/2010 at 11:21
Member since: Jul 2009
That too was my only slight gripe.
28/07/2010 at 01:04
Member since: Oct 2009
good read nofi will be on my day 1 list love the style of the game.
28/07/2010 at 11:20
Member since: Jul 2009
Loved the gritty style of the demo, Instance pre-order. £32.99 from Amazon for the ‘Limited Edition’. Will pre-order from elsewhere if I get a better deal though.