Review: Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (360)

The original Kane & Lynch was a stab at something a little bit different; a third-person shooter starring two unlikeable, but potentially redeeming protagonists thrust head-on into a world of violence and deception. It was a brief, unpolished look into the criminal psyche, packed with plenty of explosions, bad language and a dodgy control scheme. The ideas that it threw around worked well on paper, but when it came down to the crunch the developers were unable to deliver on their vision.

Kane & Lynch 2 is nothing like that game. Well, it is in one sense being a third-person shooter. But really, that is all it has in common with its predecessor. Everything has been stripped down to the bare essentials; the action is more tightly focused, the control scheme is more responsive, and the story decidedly even more one-sided. In essence it has lost some of what made the original game mildly interesting for the sake of focusing on a single concept, with most of the personality of the two leads coming from the highly stylised visual presentation, and the kinds of things that you’ll be doing reduced to lots and lots of shooting.

Now, all this shooting Initially doesn’t seem so bad. And after all, the COD series survives on little else, with only short interludes in between heavy action sequences. However K&L 2 seems to miss the mark by quite some margin in this regard. Yes, there’s plenty of shooting. You do nothing else. And although the game is reasonably polished in some areas, and is pretty fun for a while, it’s also packed with various bugs and glitches meaning that it just doesn’t hold itself together well enough throughout the entire single player campaign.


The action is fast and frenetic and the gunplay is actually quite enjoyable at first. It’s perhaps only let down by the numerous glitches to be found throughout the game, and the relentless nature of the enemy AI, which tends to bring to the surface further problems with regards to weapon balance and implementation.

In the game’s smaller, more confined sections, the constant cat and mouse game between our despicable duo and the legions of enemies works rather well. But when thrown onto the deep end time and time again, with large, wide-open areas full of wave upon wave of enemies coming your way, it all becomes just a little too tiring, and very, very repetitive.

Throughout all of this the enemy AI is actually quite cleaver, constantly ducking and running between cover points, while at the same time trying to flush you out via flanking you from either side, drawing you with short bursts of fire. It definitely feels a cut above the average third-person shooter.


K&L 2 is also pretty relentless at all times, never letting up, and only stopping when it manages to glitch itself into submission; standing still waiting to be shot, or running circles around either two of the lead characters whilst failing to fire their weapon. Enemies also find themselves magically teleporting through, and over various parts of the scenery in moments of frustration and obvious hilarity. The consequences of which is a distinct inability for you being able to track and follow targets effectively.

In other silly moments NPC’s that you are meant to chase/follow occasionally become ‘confused’. You may find them simply standing in one place, or wandering around aimlessly until the game decides to fail you on the mission. Sometimes, these characters will also randomly appear and disappear from out of nowhere; there one minute, then gone the next. I’ve seen the same thing happen to groups of enemies, and even both Kane and Lynch themselves in the ending cut-scene. It’s hardly what I’d consider acceptable for a high-profile release, and annoyingly, feels rather unfinished like the demo.


Combat, for the most part is reasonably solid, with the controls being far more responsive compared to the original K&L. Aiming and shooting feels quick and relatively natural; lining up that crucial head shot is easy, and the only real reason for failure, outside of your varying degree of skill, is the wide-range of your targeting reticule giving you the feeling that the game is deliberately trying to help the more co-ordinately challenged of us take down the opposition.

In reality, although easier for beginners, it also makes it harder for experienced players, lending the game’s targeting system to feel somewhat inaccurate at times. However, the real problem comes into play when you realise that many of the weapons you encounter throughout the game do very little damage, and the ones that do, are considerably unbalanced. The shotgun for example, delivers the same amount of damage regardless of how far away you are from your intended target. Whilst the pistol and various machine guns do very little, even at close range, unless a headshot is clearly made - something that isn’t as easy to judge, as it should be.


Thankfully, moving around the environment and getting in and out of cover is a much simpler affair than in the original. Pushing the ‘A’ button on the controller when up against a wall, table, etc activates the cover mechanic, and pushing it again releases you. For the most part the system is pretty good, and I didn’t have too much trouble with it until the later parts of the game.

It’s only here, where you’ll really realise how inconsistent the implementation can be. Slow, is perhaps a too strong a word to use, even though your commands fail to respond fast enough in intense situations. Usually, this happens after you’ve just ran up to a surface for cover, pushing the button the instant you get there. In instances like this the game doesn’t recognise what you’ve done. Instead, you have to wait for a split second or so before attempting the cover move or it won’t register at all.

Although the overall cover system is a massive improvement over the one used before in the first Kane & Lynch, it isn’t really polished enough to help you in dealing with the constant barrage of enemies being thrown your way. Not when they can move around at unbelievable speeds using the game’s own glitches against you, even if this is just a side effect of the unfinished nature of the title.


Occasionally the non-stop action duck and cover action is broken up with some explosive set pieces, containing yet… even more shooting. There are some cool touches included; like tearing up a building full of Chinese Mafia goons killing dozens of enemies in nearly every room you pass, which provides a more laid-back, and mindless on-rails element giving you a chance to take a ‘time out’ in an odd kind of way. Unfortunately, there aren’t many of these sections to be found, and some are so short and under-whelming that they almost appear pointlessly tacked-on the end as a means for avoiding doing anything of real substance.

And that’s the problem with Kane & Lynch 2. The game is so caught up in delivering a never-ending spectacle of gunfights and explosions that it fails to see how lacking and completely shallow it is. Just a few months ago developers IO interactive promised that we would see a deeper storyline compared to the first game, fleshing out Lynch’s character and maybe taking you closer into what makes him tick, why he is the way he is, and how even he has some humanity left in him.


False promises then, as that element seems to be completely avoided in this sequel; what we have here is nothing more than a few sound bytes between each mission, a brief cinematic, and not a lot else. Playing through the game it is kinda hard to follow just what is supposed to be happening, let alone the reasoning behind it. I gather you’re being hunted down after a botched arms deal, and that the Chinese Mafia is after your blood after you accidentally killed the daughter of a Mob boss. But really, that’s about it. Each cut-scene simply ends with more enemies shooting at you, and does nothing but introduce the next piece of action.

The two leads also are left as simple caricatures of their former selves, spouting foul-mouthed banter, and brief expositions of plot as you run around gunning down everyone in sight. But never is any time given to explore the characters and their motivations, meaning that you never care for them, or really feel any impact when they are faced with the horrid reality of their situation. Instead it just feels like a game, and that the story is just a bit of filler in between. Which, it is, but it doesn’t always have to be like that though.


Instead, most of the game’s personality comes from the highly stylised visual presentation, in which the entire look of K&L 2 is covered in a grainy, pixelated, and blocky security cam video type effect, perfectly blending in the nature of the two lead’s with the grimy underworld they find themselves in. The screen constantly changes between being mildly clean, to featuring heavy bouts of film grain and YouTube-esque macroblocking, all contributing to the underlying shady nature of both the environment and the people that inhabit it.

A shaky-cam effect also adds more realism to the proceedings. The whole game is seen through the eyes of what looks like a snuff movie recording of sorts, capturing every detail of your actions, and censoring out the most gruesome parts entirely. Whilst pretty stylish to look at, the shaky nature of the camerawork leads easily to some pretty prevalent motion sickness if you’re not careful. The Gears Of War style run is the main culprit for this, and can make you go from feeling fine, to incredibly nauseous in just a few seconds.

The presentation and the smooth, responsive controls are easily the highlights of the experience. Visually the game isn’t all that great, being noticeably soft at times due to its sub-HD nature. And the single-player campaign is way too short, with it being possible to complete in under five hours in a single sitting – I did it in four over Xbox Live in co-op. Still, the game is reasonably fun to play online (either in co-op or against others) when the glaring flaws don’t rear their ugly heads to often. Plus, the duck and cover shooting on offer is actually pretty good, and reasonably enjoyable taken in short bursts rather than an afternoon slog.


All things considered, Kane & Lynch 2 is a noticeable improvement over the first game with regards to its core gameplay mechanics and intense gunplay. But, it is also a lot simpler, with none of the variety of the original, and much of what made it so potentially interesting stripped away down to a repetitive third-person shooter, with only brief flashes of brilliance. The story is paper thin, and the characters are barely given ample exposure to develop their personalities. Plus, the whole engine feels largely unfinished, suffering from occasional crashes and plenty of visible glitches.

However, that’s not to say that you won’t find gain some enjoyment from gunning down the many waves of enemies you’ll face throughout the game. Although your time spent is as likely to be one of equal parts frustration as it is fun. And these days that just isn’t good enough for such a high profile release.

In the end IO Interactive have produced a distinctly average shooter, coated in a unique gritty visual style, and well, not much else. The endless combat can only sustain your interest for so long, and the seemingly unfinished engine reeks of a rush job to market. The controls and action may be better than the first, as is the overall polish behind the game. But it comes at the expense of any real substance, and doesn’t do the underlying idea of playing a mentally unstable psychopath any justice. Kane & Lynch 2 then, is wasted potential that perhaps warrants a rental or a cheap bargain-bin purchase for curiosity’s sake, but in no way deserves your attention as a full price product.

VERDICT: 5/10

Hands-On: Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (PS3)

You know the original Kane & Lynch was another one of those titles I’d rather forget, a game which not only failed to live up to its potential but also seemed oblivious to its failings, almost like it was content with merely being an idea, a proof of concept without proper execution. Coming from the developers of the successful, but slowly fading Hitman series we should have expected something much better, a title that maybe wasn’t so filled with sloppy control issues, poor AI, and repetitive online play.

Perhaps what is so surprising about this sequel, is that it manages to rectify a whole lot of problems found in the original creating a vastly more polished experience overall. Playing the brief demo for Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is quite an eye-opener when you look at just how much has been changed, and that what you have standing right in front of you is a largely different game on the whole.


Rather than resting on their laurels IO Interactive have managed to address many of the issues and concerns we had about K&L whilst also expanding on the atmosphere which worked so well the last time around with a new unique look that is as gritty and grimy as the game’s two lead protagonists. Set deep within the chaos of the Hong Kong underground, the developers have created a more tightly controlled, intense kind of game; a fast-paced third-person shooter reminiscent of a good John Woo actioner, making things all the more enjoyable as a result.

One of the main improvements with this sequel is that it runs a staggering 60 frames per-second most of the time, with only a few expected bouts of slowdown. The use of having such a high frame rate goes beyond making the game look reasonably impressive compared to the original, instead also improving the controller responsiveness and providing faster paced action overall. Upon booting up K&L2 this is immediately obvious; running around and swiftly getting that first headshot is faster and more immediate than before. Your level of control is improved not only in how quickly you can react, but also how accurate you can become at high speed.


Changes to the cover system also help in maintaining this fluidity. It is now possible to quickly move in and out of cover by pushing the ‘Cross’ button, or to move out by pushing on the analogue stick in the opposite direction to whatever your wedged hard up against. The system works pretty well, and is an improvement over the first Kane & Lynch, although isn’t as responsive or as manoeuvrable as the one found in Gears of War and Uncharted 2. I didn’t have any problems getting into cover, and then popping out and blasting a few enemies in the face before running towards the next suitable spot after a few minutes of play. Although things could be improved as there were times when I’d become stuck for a brief second or so in cover after pushing the required button to dislodge myself.

Gameplay-wise K&L2 is a much faster paced affair than the original. It really feels like the developers at IO Interactive have taken a leaf from Call Of Duty’s rulebook, specifically Modern Warfare’s. The way enemies pop up from behind cover and move between areas in order to flank you appears much like in Infinity Ward’s title. The same thing applies when they accurately take aim and attempt to gun you down with varying degrees of success, with foes constantly bestowing damage upon you if you get too careless, adding even more to the game's atmosphere and attempt at realism. Surprisingly, the constant duck and cover, run and gun nature of the game works very well, never feeling tired or strained throughout the limited time offered in the demo.

The action isn’t quite as furious as it is in Infinity Ward’s title, although is very smooth, and incredibly polished at the same time. Originality though is the one thing the game lacks, and in this case there’s very little outside the YouTube style presentation to set it apart from other comparable titles. Except perhaps the framerate, which improves things to no end, fully justifying the steep graphics cutbacks that have occurred in making this possible.


If there is one major complaint to be found however, then it’s with regards to the enemy AI. During various points throughout the demo I had several enemies jump out from behind cover and begin to run circles around Kane, while at the same time I could stay in my current cover position gunning them down as they did so. Not only that, when going around in circles they effectively failed to attack either me or my partner, instead looking like they had gone a little bit mad in the process.

This definitely needs to be cleaned up before release as not only does it make the game look a bit silly, it also breaks some of the atmosphere in the process. What they need to do is keep in some of the cool stuff; like how enemies pop in and out of cover, quickly moving to different spots trying to flush you out, whilst getting rid of the annoying glitches that break the illusion of a intensely staged gunfight.

Some of the NPC’s also suffer from quite stilted and stiff animations. These look rather outdated and much like the kind found in various on-rails arcade shooters. However, both lead characters move with much greater fluidity and rarely suffer from the same problems, with only occasional animations that appear out of place, or a little odd.


Visually, K&L2 looks reasonably impressive with regards to its smooth framerate but also has issues in other areas, mostly surrounding the game’s incredibly soft, and often fuzzy look. It is apparent that in order to achieve 60fps that the developers have sacrificed overall screen resolution, and in that respect the game falls down. K&L2 is decidedly sub-HD, with upscale artefacts being visible at most times and jaggies crawling the many clean lines on display. The varying inclusion of different filters used to create a security camera style look to the game, although a pretty nice touch adding even more atmosphere to the game, also do little to hide the low rendering resolution, and instead make things appear even softer and more undefined.

That said the grimy, understated, YouTube-esque screen presentation of the title fits in well with the characters and world that the developers are trying to create. The shady underworld of Kong Kong isn’t meant to look vivid, saturated and full of colour, its tone instead balanced against two unattractive and vile lead protagonists who would do equally as well at playing the role of the bad guys in this experience. Another cool touch is the ‘buffering’ message displayed when the game is loading, again adding that sense of being in a live surveillance feed of sorts.


So far, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is shaping up to be a huge improvement over the first game, and seems like a largely enjoyable experience from the small sample offered up to us in the demo. The much faster-paced gameplay reminiscent of a third-person Call Of Duty makes the whole package feel tighter and far more exciting than before. While the unexpected decision to target 60fps makes for a smoother, more graphically impressive and responsive game as a result.

A few flaws still remain, such as the dodgy enemy AI, and the stiff animations of the NPC’s, which feel rather outdated. But if both of these issues were ironed out by the time of the game’s release in late August, then there shouldn’t be all that much to complain about. Bar perhaps the low-resolution nature of the game, and the fact that the two lead characters are still initially as unlikeable as ever, spouting a myriad of abuse whilst keeping their stark moral indifference to the world intact.

Hopefully, IO Interactive will surprise us with that last one. This is supposed to be Lynch’s story after all - something far more personal, so we expect to see some kind of humanity to be brought to the surface of the character at some point. After all he isn’t a militarily trained killer like Kane, instead being a far more wild and uncontrolled type. Dare I say more emotional, and arguably this provides at least a good starting point to get underneath and into the inner workings driving him to this kind of lifestyle.

That is of course, if the script writing and characterisation is as good as the gameplay. But I guess we’ll just have to wait in order to find out.