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• gamedeal user

  May 4, 2014

  Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is by far the hardest review I had to do. Not because it proved difficult to analyse or form an opinion of, but because it teases me with something that could have been great - yet is not. I don't like destroying a game I have a thing for, even though it's just on paper in the shape of a review, but there's no going around it. The franchise screams for a more flexible versatile game but instead I'm left with a repetitive hallway shooter. Adam 'Kane', as ex-mercenary, and James 'Lynch', as felon convicted of manslaughter, form a crime duo to arrange an arms deal in Shanghai. However, sh¡t hits the fan and Kane accidentally shoots the informant's girlfriend. Unfortunately she turns out to have been the daughter of [strike]some[/strike] [b]thé[/b] mobster in [strike]Shanghai[/strike] all of China, whom is not fond of his daughter dying from a bullet Kane fired. The game follows our protagonists through Shanghai as this crime lord throws in everything at his disposal as a means of revenge, which is a lot. From local thug to police officer, a few military companies to several special forces, this guy has them all in his pocket and intends to use every man to kill Kane and Lynch. There really is nothing wrong with the writing, and reading about Kane & Lynch (either of the two parts) will want to make you play the games. The protagonist duo have a background together (as portrayed in [i]Kane & Lynch: Dead Men[/i]) which - coupled with their voice actors - look like cold hard m☮therfµckers. There's no other way to describe them. This is actually necessary to make their survival credible as far as the setting is concerned, and it does add up. Though what doesn't add up is everything around it, with the partial exception of screenwriting: since the fundamentals of Dog Days is its hallway shooter mechanic, there isn't much freedom for screenwriting to begin with. The scenarios are heavily constrained to these mechanics and it doesn't take long for an observant player to notice that the intended storyline doesn't carry over as strong as it could have with different mechanics. The attempt is very admirable however, as even though some scenes are incredibly violent, they never feel forced or out of place. The graphical quality is above average, though the used shaders and camera movement prove to be rather annoying over time. The bobbing, lens flares and shaders look great when only observed, but when you are in control of the camera yourself it quickly feels as if the game consistently misinterprets movements. There are glitches involved as well, though this might have to do with the fact that Dog Days is an older game and my newer hardware might not render some things correctly. The sounds are too diverse to criticize in general. On one hand there are flat unconvincing gunshots, average ambience and mediocre soundeffects. On the other hand there's the convincing gritty voices of Kane and Lynch. While dialogue is well dosed, a great majority of the game still consists of shooting and as such there is little the dialogue of Kane and Lynch can do to make the game sound better in overall. All of these assets could be worked with if it weren't for the repetitive hallway shooter mechanics. All details aside, this game is mainly about sitting behind cover, shooting people that are also behind cover, and moving up through the predefined path. The entirety of the game is played like this while every now and then a cutscene plays. The motives behind these mechanics might have to do with the developers intending to reach maximum cinematic experience by constraining the player, but when a game starts to feel like something that can be played on an light-gun arcade cabinet - graphics aside - a lot of players are going to conclude the game is boring without ever finishing the first playthrough. And that's a shame because just the storyline, the strong characters being coupled with great voices, and the potential hidden in screenwriting makes this game a hidden gem. My conclusion is that it's definitely worth a play, Dog Days is truly different from a great majority of titles and a developer's second attempt to bring a franchise to life that is much more potent than the games are willing to show. While compelling story-wise, the gameplay itself will most likely bore you. In that regard it's funny how Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is only three to four hours worth of playtime, because anything more would have been too much in its current form. Collectors will probably not mind putting down €10,- for this, and I would plead the same for gamers with a thing for mentionable titles. If you are on a tight budget and have no idea about what I'm trying to unveil with my review, then you wouldn't be able to appreciate the title(s) and it's best to stay away from the franchise. I'm clicking the thumbs up for this game here because as broken as it might be: I admire the story, characters and voices, three things I value. Someday I will try the first Kane & Lynch and I'm also hoping the scheduled movie isn't going to ruin the franchise even more.
• gamedeal user

  Feb 23, 2022

  Games like this should be encouraged. Kane & Lynch 2 is an experimental, subversive experience that really doesn't care what you think about it, to an extent. I wish, if anything, that it cared less about the consumer. It's nasty, it's dirty, it's slimy, it's violent, it's nihilistic, it's not visually pleasing at all in any way and it knows it. It knows all of these things. Underneath the visual design and artistic choices there is a middling to poor game. It doesn't do anything new, and playing it is unpleasant. Guns are very inaccurate, your character moves awkwardly, allied characters never stop yelling and barking, and you're always being peppered by hyper aggressive enemies that seem to never need to reload. It's not fun, and it certainly isn't addicting. As most people know by now, this games infamous camera is supposed to be a literal 3rd person following Kane and Lynch, holding a camera and recording them. It's brilliant. Oh and the ending? [spoiler] When the game ends it's very dry and matter-of-fact. Kane and Lynch escape on a plane and the cameraman stays behind, dropping the camera on the runway. That's it, bye bye! [/spoiler] When I played this game years ago, I hated it. But now, in 2022, AA-AAA games are all so bland and generic. They've basically melted into the *same* *mold* that is re-used over and over and over between developers and publishers. No one wants to gamble, no one wants to take any chances, no one wants to experiment. No one wants to compromise gameplay for art, let alone having any compromises at all when they can just make another open world checklist style game with a new game+ and unlockables. Why would they? It might affect their bottom dollar. Why would a publisher pay to have a game made that unironically looks better when played on a CRT monitor because it has a lo-fi aesthetic, when they could make a crisp, slick, cutting edge high definition game that is demanding even on expensive hardware because looking good is marketable. Being big and gaudy is marketable. Needing to spend thousands on a graphics card alone to get a game to run at 4k 120 fps is marketable, it's flashy, it's something that gets money rolling. It feeds the industry. This game did too, it sold very well despite all the criticism you will find. I do think there's a place for this kind of game. AAA games can go against the grain and take massive compromises and still be successful. K&L 2 compromises so much for the sake of its visual design and tone, and I love it. I can't stand playing this game, yet I deeply endear it and think about it often. To reiterate, once again, this is not a good game mechanically speaking. Do not buy K&L 2 looking for quality cover based gunplay. Gears of War or Division this is not. This is an artistic game first and foremost. It doesn't like you, it doesn't like me, and it certainly doesn't like corporate suits. I want more AAA games like this. I want nasty games that challenge me as a consumer. Art that's difficult to swallow and keep down. Not because I enjoy it, but because I'm so sick of AAA publishers needing every game, rated M or not, to be a child friendly chewable vitamin gummy. Give me a pill that tastes horrible, a pill that I have to cut in half to swallow and makes me sick afterwards.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 3, 2022

  Kane & Lynch 2 is one of the most misunderstood and severely underrated games of the past 20 years. If you are looking purely for a third person cover shooter with a focus just on gameplay then this game is probably not for you, however if you appreciate experimental artistic direction in videogames, then i highly recommend Kane & Lynch 2. This game is absolutely drenched in atmosphere and the gameplay matches the rough aesthetics by feeling like a constant scramble to grasp any type of control on an increasingly worsening situation. This is a very dark, gritty, disgusting, horrible videogame and that is why it is beautiful ;)
• gamedeal user

  Aug 21, 2022

  When's Kane & Lynch 4, i've been waiting 300 years.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 27, 2022

  Pyro made a video about it lmao dead meme dead meme
• gamedeal user

  Aug 27, 2022

  pyro said my favorite game was good
• gamedeal user

  Aug 27, 2022

  After watching a YouTube video by a british guy I played this game and it was a game I loved. With literally everything possible going wrong he drew me into the game I saw a lot as a child and never had any real interest in it but now as a Adult I absolutely loved the realism and depression of the story of a unhinged guy and a very bad father.
• gamedeal user

  Oct 1, 2022

  thanks pyrocynical and jacob geller
• PP head

  Nov 27, 2022

  this game made me a better man justice for kane and lynch 3
• Slugwuar

  Nov 27, 2022

  This game is flawed in the following areas: its cover system, combat, gun-play, all AI, etc. etc. There is no way to ignore this and if you can't handle a lot of jank in a game, I don't know what to tell you besides I hope you consider the rest of this review. Yet, I do think it's nonstop, brutally exhausting story is something I've never really experienced before. Most games typically let you take a break for some exposition or world building. This game does not, all of it's story telling is during combat. The grimy slums of Shanghai are used as a horribly inconvenient battlefield. The neon lights reflecting off of the litter and stagnant puddles prove that even in the light its impossible to avoid feeling the darkness of this world. It's beautifully revolting to look at, the whole game. It's design is immaculate in that way. The sound design is beyond anxiety inducing, all of the constant ambient noises grind against your conscience as your trying to focus on the horrifically awkward gun fights. The dialogue, even in its calmest points, always feels on edge from our titular protagonists; which in part, makes myself anxious as well. Look, I could go on all day about the wonderfully distressing and impressive world of Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days. I could go on about its jank and barren multiplayer. All I'm trying to say is that this game is unlike any others, in the worst and best ways.