Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Game Review

Kane & Lynch 2 is the sequel to the highly controversial game, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. Dead Men was riddled with problems, awkward and frustrating controls, lack of any online co-op features, and a story which fell apart are just a few of the issues which plagued the first game. Dog Days follows on with the story in a violent and mature fashion continuing the brutal unforgiving theme of the first game, this time using handheld video camera style graphics which make the game stand out from any other on the market today.

Unlike the first game Dog Days is a rather streamline experience, you spend most of your time shooting and moving on to the next area of action. This is not a bad thing as the other parts to the original game such as heists, or stealth missions were really not too impressive anyway. This is quite refreshing and makes the game feel allot more like what you would expect from a story about two desperate criminals on the run.

The only downside is the game can feel slightly repetitive at times now that you seem to be doing more or less the same thing most of the time, but to be honest when the thing you are doing constantly throughout the game is being chased by cops down the streets of Shanghai fighting for your life, who can complain.

The shooting mechanics and cover system in Dead Men were frustratingly poor and were responsible for most of the criticism for the first game, thankfully in Dog Days improvements have been made. Although the game still feels slightly behind the times compared to other third person shooting games like Gears of War 2 and Mass Effect 2, it still manages to feel very responsive and reliable for the most part. Weapons have a much lower accuracy and at times they can make what should be a simple kill a tougher test than needed. This is meant to make the weapons feel more realistic and personally i think it is something that should be welcomed as it creates a much more challenging and realistic experience and adds to the tension and frantic pace of the action when you are on the run.



The real star of the show in Kane & Lynch Dog Days is the presentation, you most likely know by now through youtube videos and websites that the game has a handheld camera presentation style. Much like the first game which took inspiration from the movie Heat the sequel seems to take it's inspiration from modern and classic crime thrillers, most noticeable is the resemblance with the movies Collateral, and The Departed.

The handheld camera presentation is excellent and helps create a believable situation with the desperate criminals, the way the camera shakes as you run adds to the sense of immediate danger and frantic worry the characters must be feeling. When you kill someone if you walk up to their dead body and shoot their head it will get a pixelated blur which just feels creepy even more violent then actually seeing the results of your shot. Shanghai looks absolutely fantastic in this game as well helping to create a believable city and makes the player really feel like he is in this chaotic situation which is really happening.

To describe the story in one word i would have to say "Phenomenal" it's done exceptionally well. The story provokes feelings and emotions rarely felt in a video game. At times it can disturb you or even make you feel sick as you watch someone sob as they have lost everything and the violent brutal nature of the game which shows no remorse can at times be a bit hard to take for the faint hearted. The first game fell apart after the first half of the story, getting weaker and weaker. In Dog Days it just seems to go from strength to strength and the unforgiving nature of the characters and plot can be portrayed so well.

The multiplayer portions of the game are just as fun and thrilling as the frantic chaos in the single player campaign. Multiplayer is broken down into three modes, the returning Fragile Alliance and a pair of variations on the theme, Undercover Cop and Cops & Robbers. Fragile alliance partners you with other players giving you a strict time limit. You've got four minutes to get in and out collecting as much money as you can. The unique thing with this mode is any player can choose at any time to betray another and collect his cash, adding to their purse. If a player betrays another then the rest of the team will be alerted and the traitor will then have to deal with his former team mates and the computer AI. This creates a unique and nervous feeling amongst the players which has never been felt before in a game. The game will constantly have you looking over your shoulders in a nervous panic and paranoid mess wondering who might stab you in the back and when you are attempting to beat a tough mission within a strict time limit it can feel like you are under immense pressure. Undercover Cop randomly assigns a Serpico amidst the criminals who's goal is to stop the other players once the heist is in motion. Cops & Robbers splits players into opposing teams, one group playing as the cops attempting to prevent the other group, who play as the robbers, from escaping with the cash. Arcade mode simply takes the multiplayer modes and fills them with bots. Fragile Alliance is definitely the stand out mode and is where you will likely spend the majority of your time should you decide to dive into the multiplayer content.

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is a big improvement on the first game offering an even darker twisted story and characters than the first. The games presentation is perfect and captures the mode and feel of a crime thriller delivering a cinematic feel taking inspiration from some of the top Hollywood movies. The story is absolutely fantastic and will bring on emotion never before felt in a game like this.

Kane & Lynch are back, and it looks like they are here to stay 9/10