Microsoft
Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
By Philip Smith
Aug 24, 2010, 7 :03 am

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days brings the dead men of gaming back from the grave in a new adventure that will see Shanghai showered with a hail of bullets. After killing the daughter of a corrupt government official during a job gone bad, the duo has to outmaneuver rival underworld thugs, the local police and military as they scramble to save Lynch's girlfriend, Xiu, and make a break for the border. In 48 hours, the pair will battle it out in the streets and throughout apartments, malls, restaurants, and airports – basically, any place someone could plausibly be with a gun.

Despite the team reuniting for another job, this isn't the old days. Kane is looking to get out of the business for good, and Lynch is looking to lay low and start a new life with his girlfriend. This shift in temperament doesn't end up paying large dividends, but it does offer for an interesting twist in their dynamic, with Kane becoming irritated with Lynch's violent outbursts. For the archetypal "One more and I'm out" criminal, a psychotic partner out for revenge is about as bad to have around as the police.

Needless to say, Kane's idea of sticking to 'the plan' for the last big deal is routinely thwarted by Lynch's outbursts. And it is with that that the two are followed by what appears to be a documentary crew, up to their final hurrah. The visual style is the most immediate change from the original, with an optional wobbly camera whose image shifts between favoring green and blue, filled with static, lens flairs, and other $200 HD camera-prone artifacts. The camera itself is an oddity, with the two seemingly recognizing its presence as well as it having a physical space during some scenes while being nothing more than traditional in others. The entire setup is certainly eye-catching, though the extra bits of chaos it creates might be too much for some.

Aside the newfound visual flair, Dog Days is much the same as the original: a third-person cover-based shooter. As Lynch (or Kane in co-op), players will frequently be jetting from one object to the next, seeking any sort of precious cover as the enemies' bullets riddle whatever protection they found. The destructible objects are pretty cool, but the enemy doesn't know quite how to handle them. Whenever I fired at an enemy hiding behind an object, I would blast it to pieces, and then the unaware exposed soldier. In fact, the AI is downright quirky. In some cases, enemies would display some pretty clever tactics, such as trying to flank or blind firing. Most of the time, however, they would completely ignore cover and simply run straight on, blasting away. Even worse, some enemies wouldn't even react to what was going on. One encounter in particular was actually surprising as I didn't spot them until I had ended a five- to seven-minute exchange, then turned a column to find a soldier kneeling, right there, not moving. Rest assured, he was quickly dispatched, but the idea of him kneeling an inch from a completely oblivious me, doing absolutely nothing the entire time, and then not reacting as I went around him is mind-boggling. AI hiccups aren't limited to the enemies, either, as Kane would seek cover inside doorways, not on the outside, and receive a shower of lead. Although such circumstances are largely mitigated by the fact that Kane can't actually die; he, like the player and enemy, can become wounded and limp around, but unlike everyone else, he always gets back up.

The computer is almost Kane-like in its ability to withstand pain. Enemies routinely took five or six rounds before falling, only to then shake off the damage and get back to the fight. Trying to peg them while down also proved difficult as the hit detection is pretty erratic. Like most games, the targeting reticule expands as rounds are fired, favoring a more realistic short-burst method, but sometimes the bullets will wildly miss their mark; oddly enough, other times, the reticule seems to snap onto an enemy for one-hit kills. Questionable bullet trajectory isn't so much a problem during Story Mode, since there's no real rush, but it can be a pain in multiplayer. It's not a terrible pain, though, thanks to the heartily satisfying arsenal. Pistols, sub machineguns, assault rifles, and shotguns all look, sound, and feel great, allowing for some very enjoyable carnage. The shotguns due appear to be favored, with some hitting from almost midfield, faring better than some assault rifles. This rarely causes any significant problems, primarily because a variety of weapons are scattered around after each engagement, allowing for the two-item inventory system, of any weapon type, to allow for guns appropriate to any situation.

At right under five hours, Story Mode is pretty short. Although I don't think it should've been any longer because the encounters became routine at around the half-way mark. In a system similar to Modern Warfare, enemies seem to appear out of nowhere, even after killing a good 15-20 of them. The process of mowing down aggressive but often dimwitted enemies and having another half dozen appear right around the corner, just out of sight, or out the same door as their comrades becomes monotonous. It's actually best to play Dog Days in 30- to 45-minute increments because in short spurts, the game provides nice, bite-sized chunks of thrills. Unfortunately, the encounters never reach the same level of interest as the characters and wild scenarios.

Fortunately, single player isn't limited to Story Mode this time around. The new Arcade Mode is a solo version of Fragile Alliance, where the player and a team of likeminded criminals (bots in this case) rush an area, loot all the valuables, and leave before their four minutes are up. There is one slight difference here, which is, unlike in Fragile Alliance, dead criminals do not respawn as cops. Everything else, however, is the same. Well, it's supposed to be the same. Maybe it's to keep the player sane or emphasize its importance as a way to practice for online play, but the bots are only mildly enthusiastic about looting and have no desire to turn traitor. Turning traitor means that the person can be killed with impunity, but being marked as a traitor also means escaping with extra loot. I dabbled with turning on my crew, but I found that they and the guards were often too much, with or without human shields. The best way to get it all is to be the first to the getaway vehicle and offer the driver half the score. Alternatively, the first can also direct the driver to wait, which results in a larger split as more people are able to toss their stash into the pile. In addition to loot, money is also earned by taking down guards and others that get in the way. It's easy at first, but the AI squad slowly becomes less of an asset as the seventh round approaches and they're all wiped out within the first minute. This is still an excellent addition, and I ended up spending hours running around with the bots – and it made me feel as if I was Val Kilmer in Heat, which is always awesome.

In addition to Fragile Alliance, multiplayer consists of online and splitscreen co-op Story Mode, Cops and Robbers, and Undercover Cop. Co-op comes across halfhearted because it never feels as if the story is being experienced through Kane, only as if the second player is tagging along for the ride. Lynch remains the focal point of the story, so non-playable characters and story triggers center around him, leaving the Kane player to feel very much the second fiddle. It's because of the Lynch-centric design that it helps to play with someone familiar as they can increase the novelty by not speeding around, which cuts down on other characters zipping around to catch up; also, the match ends if a player leaves, so it's nice not to have a session dropped halfway through a mission. As Fragile Alliance has killed robbers respawn as officers, Cops and Robbers goes the whole way by having alternating teams square off as cops and criminals. Continuing the theme, Undercover Cop finds one player randomly chosen as a police officer whose job it is to make sure that the criminals don't get away with the loot. To that end, the undercover cop can kill criminals without being labeled a traitor. Earned cash can be used to purchase new weapons, which are gradually unlocked as players gain rank; also of note is rank's sister stat of how trustworthy a player is. In most modes, dying results in losing any purchased weapons, so deciding what to purchase becomes a nice side strategy. Unfortunately, as enjoyable as multiplayer can be with others, and how well the mechanics play with quick smash-and-grab design, a limited number of maps (six) and scripted guard encounters limit the component's longevity.

There is one pet peeve I have with multiplayer, and that is how the implementation of downloadable content (DLC). Up until this point, I thought BioWare's slightly different camp follower offering an additional quest for purchase in Dragon Age was a haphazard implementation of paid DLC, but it's downright elegant when considering IO's approach. Each weapon category and map selection have downloadable items displayed, making it seem like there are more than are available, as there are at least two in each along with a handful of maps that are off-limits until purchased. Especially irritating was being dumped into quick matches which have a premium map selected, which becomes apparent when all other player names show up in red along with a notice on the map mini image that the session can't be joined. Well great, thanks for dropping me in it. Considering how much buffering the game has to do to get into and out of a match, a little forethought would've been nice.

Overall: 6.5/10

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is more interesting than it is entertaining. What's surprising is just how sound many of the mechanics are, and yet they never manage to come together to form a cohesive, solid package. The single-player component is a short excursion consisting of absentminded enemies and protracted encounters, while multiplayer is limited to a handful of maps with static enemy spawn points. This isn’t all to say that the game is bad, it's just disappointing and a little too unpolished. It would, however, make for a decent rental: the Story Mode is short enough and multiplayer offers enough solid bangs for a weekend.

(This review is based on a retail copy provided by the publisher.)