Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days review

The game really should carry a health warning as there have been many times that I would have happily become one of those many pixelated dead bodies that scatter the game. After the first game that set-up the titular duo as gaming’s most dislikeable characters, something that is the same in the sequel, this game follows the same theme. You run and gun through the city streets, this time in Shanghai, killing pretty much anything that moves.

Having just about survived the game, the frustrations of so many holes got the better of me and instead of destroying  my now poorly bandaged controller even more, I had to give up on what has to be one of the worst games I’ve played in a long time, well... since the first Kane & Lynch. That is in single player at least, but more on multiplayer in a bit. The single player setting is very similar to the setting of the first game, but this time it’s pretty much all out war against the duo. The plot starts off with Lynch, now living in Shanghai having a quasi-normal life with a girlfriend, meeting up with former partner in crime Kane for one last big bang before going their separate ways. But on the way things go a little pear-shaped and the duo end up murdering the daughter of a high ranking Chinese official. Of course, the official in question is about as straight as a pipe-cleaner, and thus orders near-enough all of China’s police and Army to deal out some bullet-flavoured revenge on Kane and Lynch. The two then spend the rest of game trying to escape from an early grave. While the plot is about as common as a shiny trading card, at least it’s not the game’s biggest problem. IO has redesigned a lot of the game since the first entry and unfortunately it’s not for the better. The game’s only, yes only, mechanic is broken, firing off shots is about as hit and miss as a rookie on a firing range. While many have defended the gunplay as realistic, it seems that realism to them is being able to hit a headshot on a guy some 300 metres away with a pistol but a un-body armoured guy can take three or four shotgun blasts to the head and chest at point-blank range without dying. It’s worrying really. Not only is it ridiculously under-powered at times, bullets fly wide of the mark so often that you kinda think that it would have been more useful to shoot blanks. Even single or short bursts from an assault rifle will miss without any kind of recoil shown on the actual weapon. But at one point, upon throwing a gas canister (these litter sections of the game that have two or three waves) it so happened to hit an armoured SWAT member, and not explode I would like to mention, who promptly died I’m guessing of shock or something I’m not sure. Another problem with the game is something that was so right with the first game was that you could order your partner around as you wish but in Dog Days, Kane (as this time you play as everybody’s most hated Psychopath) stands around in the background either not doing anything or when he does move gets in your way and uses his bullet-sponge ability to soak-up enough lead to make him impervious to even Superman’s x-ray vision. Without actually even showing a moments slowdown. In addition, for a game that is purely based on a cover and shoot based system, the cover part doesn’t really work either. On the harder difficulty, it seems that IO have added AI characters with magic bending bullets as there has been numerous times that I have been safely hidden in cover and a bullet will just land a perfect headshot from a guy a few hundred metres away. Wooden cover is destructible and does add a very simple layer of tactical play to the game, but metal cover such as cars or buses that litter streets that you enter, are completely bullet-proof. No matter how many bullets you pound into a car or a pick-up truck it will not explode. The only times vehicles will blow up is when you are either tasked to blow them up or protect something. Unluckily for Dog Days, the Single Player is not the only mode included in the game and this is where the game actually fairs better. Anyone who has played the first game will know the Fragile Alliance mode in which you and up to seven other players are part of a criminal cartel and tasked with robbing a assortment of locations that are guarded by AI controlled characters. But that isn’t the best part, as you can gather from the name this alliance isn’t exactly shipshape and you can turn on your fellow partners to collect as much money as you can. This leads to you not only having to takedown cops and soldiers, you also need to watch your back for any suspicious behaviour from your cohorts. The most interesting mode online is the Undercover Cop mode in which one of your number is secretly told that they are an undercover cop and need to take down the criminals without being seen. This adds an extra layer to the mode as you now need to watch out for being back-stabbed by your other criminal friends as well as the undercover cop taking you down. Unfortunately, while the multiplayer is by far better than the main game, it just can’t save a sinking ship and Kane and Lynch 2 is actually worst than the first game. There are so many holes in the gameplay that it makes Swiss cheese look whole. The game really has no redeemable features, as even the multiplayer still suffers from the terrible gunplay. If you want to have an enjoyable experience then look elsewhere, if you have an unending conveyor belt of controllers to break in frustration then Kane and Lynch is your game.

Rating: 4/10

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