Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days Review

Welcome to the criminal underworld, where a single day of work can result in a person becoming a made man or a dead one. The difference between the two often depends on a bit of skill, some luck, and a good partner in crime. In the case of Kane and Lynch, all three are needed, so it’s a good thing a (hopefully) trustworthy friend can come along for the ride. Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days (Dog Days) is the latest cooperative offering by Edios and Square Enix, and is a follow up to the high selling, though controversial original from 2007. The duo is back together once again, but have they been able to improve with age? Or were they better off retired in the first place? Perhaps they’re missing a fourth piece of the puzzle, because they are once again bathing in the blood money of mediocrity.

Dog Days follows the story of Lynch, a medically unstable sociopath and his more level-headed partner in crime, Kane, as they attempt one final job that’ll set them on easy street for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an easy job in the underworld. A little shakedown goes a bit too far and Lynch ends up messing with the wrong people, turning a simple job into a fight to get out of Shanghai in one piece. Along the way there a couple of predictable plot twists to elongate the simple premise of escaping town, but for the most part this is where the story ends. There is a tiny bit of character development heard within loading screens and random in-game babble, but neither character changes throughout their series of mishaps. This is one of the largest downfalls of the game, because very little actually happens from the beginning to end of this game, and Lynch has to be one of the least likable characters in gaming history.

Much of Dog Days is spent listening to Lynch’s incessant grunting, yelling, or mumbling on about one thing or another. Simply put: he’s crazy, on plenty of meds, and the game makes sure the player knows it. Nothing this man does is sensible. He makes terrible decisions when rushed or upset, he can’t be reasoned with, nor can he be trusted to keep himself from screaming wildly for more then a minute. During the odd times when Lynch isn’t yelling death threats at enemies or groaning in pain though, the sound of gunshots can be heard as bullets unload into various people and surfaces. Glass shatters convincingly, office supplies are ripped through in a way that makes the action sound wild and frantic, and enemies groan when they’ve been injured. Once the bodies are strewn across the floor full of hot lead though, the world quiets down quite a bit, to the point that only random banter between characters breaks a near silence. In these times, it seems like the invisible man holding the incredibly shaky camera (thankfully this can be turned off) behind the player could pipe up and say something. Although it’s understandable if the section about an hour in had scarred him for life, because it’s quite unpleasant, and not something I personally wish to see recreated in future games. It would have been great if they quickly covered up their naked bodies after being lacerated in a torture scene, rather then playing a level of the game uncomfortably exposed to the elements.

Speaking of cover though, the cover system in Dog Days is ripped straight from games of the past, which involves just a simple press of a button to snap to corners.  From there, it’s possible to blind fire, pop out and shoot, or grab nearby items like fire extinguishers to throw and blow up. Technically speaking it works well, and yet it still doesn’t seem to function as it should. Enemies can often shoot the player even when they appear to be concealed, so finding a safe place to duck and cover after taking a few hits involves more luck than planning. To add to the cover issue, there have been a couple instances where the enemies have shot through walls as well. Despite their incredible accuracy however, the police officers and military trained enemies will still run out in the open at random, take cover on the wrong side of an object and essentially beg to receive a bullet or ten in the face. To break up the intense action, there are even a couple areas where stealth is recommended and limited access to silenced weapons is granted. However, it’s impossible to use them effectively because if one guard notices you, every other one knows exactly where you are.

Even the simple act of shooting can prove difficult in Dog Days though, as the majority of the weapons in the game are incredibly inaccurate. If the enemy isn’t close to the character, anything after the first shot fired has a good chance of missing, even with short bursts. It’s clear that the gameplay was designed with an emphasis on close quarters combat, though there are still plenty of larger areas that require either a long range weapon or a slow cover to cover crawl towards the enemy while they shoot at you. The player will have to quickly learn which weapons to stock up on to ensure they’ll have the right tool for the job, because lacking an appropriate weapon for any situation can result in rough times against better prepared enemies. Another issue when facing adversity is the fact that, with the exception of the players, there is a lack of fluid motion in humans and dogs alike. They kind of appear to be on rails at times and can change direction at the drop of a hat or disappear back into cover instantly. It’s the little things like this that make Kane and Lynch feel so off when playing, as if the characters weren’t real people because they lacked any sort of weight.

The Shanghai of Dog Days is a beautiful city filled with sweatshops, dirty market places, and plenty of back alley trash. All right, so this isn’t exactly the kind of beauty you often hear about in the travel guides, but this is the underworld and for what it’s worth, it actually looks pretty good. There is a lot of detail given to the streets the player will fight through in Dog Days, and thankfully it’s fairly varied as well. Flea markets have detailed tables full of trinkets, necessary items such as sewing machines are present at each desk in the sweatshops, and residents haven’t the time to take out their mattress or properly dispose of their garbage bags. Overall, Dog Days is visually exciting and an interesting place to travel through, but one major issue prevents it from being fully enjoyed. There are a bunch of video filters used to add a unique style to the game, but they actually end up making it look worse in almost all aspects. Film grain can get so strong at times that the game begins to lose its high definition look, as the scenery becomes dull and faded. Effects such as this aren’t constant either, as they seem to depend on where the character is and what the player is looking at. There are also blur spheres used occasionally to cover up private parts or some violence, and one can only assume this self-censorship is there for dramatic effect…or because everyone gets the Australian version of the game this time.

Kane and Lynch unfortunately fall a bit flat once again, as this game is about as fun as their crime was successful. That said, there is still a bit of enjoyment to be found in the co-op mode, whether it be online or off. Let’s just hope they’ve given up the life of crime for good this time, since it never seems to work out for them anyway. They could use a break to reevaluate their situation in life, and if they decide for any reason to give it one more shot (again), perhaps they should instead take an extra dose of meds and relax. Judging by the sudden and completely anticlimactic ending of the game, it seems as though the developers themselves realize it . Better to retire while you’re ahead than to wind up dead.