Kane and Lynch 2 Dog Days review

The first Kane and Lynch game was a bit of a disappointment really. The controls weren’t great, it screamed for a co-op mode but didn’t have one and felt disjointed. This sequel aims to fix all that and in some ways it does and some ways it doesn’t. So years later, Lynch is living in Shanghai and Kane comes to see him for one last money making exercise – an arms deal. This soon goes wrong when they accidentally kill a very powerful kingpin’s daughter and the whole of China seems to be after them. Cue lots of running and gunning as they attempt to save their own hides and escape.

The first thing you’ll notice is the camcorder-type feel of the game. The camera has a film grain applied to it and constantly wobbles as if someone is actually there filming a sort of documentary. It’s certainly an edgy look that works even though it gave me a bit of motion sickness, especially when sprinting during combat. Moving through the levels is a case of finding cover and trying to flank and shoot your enemies and they do a very good job of trying to flank you too. In fact, these seem to be some of the most intelligent enemies I’ve come across since playing Killzone 2. Unfortunately the game’s let down a bit by the lack of variety and some places where it just seems unfinished.

Sometimes scenery is completely destructible and sometimes it’s not. Sometimes character movement is convincing and other times they stand there like mannequins whilst delivering dialogue where they really should be waving their arms about in panic.

Your weapons also seem underpowered considering everyone in China seems to be a crack shot if you poke your head out of cover for even a second. The single player game is also very short and just seems to get going when it ends very suddenly.

Luckily there are plenty of other modes to keep you busy. Arcade mode sees you as part of a team of four looting areas and escaping to safety. The twist being that any of you can turn on each other during the mission to grab more money for yourself.

You can also play through the single player story in co-op mode both online and split-screen and also take part in a few other online game modes that pit you against others round the world competitively.

There are much better 3rd-person shooters out there such as the Uncharted and Gears of War games but if you like anti-heroes and want something a bit grittier then this sequel could be for you. Just be warned though, just like the main characters in the game, it’s a bit rough round the edges. Kane and Lynch 2 gets a good but flawed 6 out of 10.

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