Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days Review

It’s official. Kane and Lynch 2 is marmite. Love it or hate it? To be honest, it depends on your point of view, and the console you play it on.
Now the first Kane and Lynch game was a start, but it wasn’t strong enough to hold many fans, which is most likely the reason why people had doubts with the second game, but this game is definitely a huge improvement. In the first game, it had two endings which kind of ended in similar ways. If you left via helicopter, Kane’s daughter would hate him for being a traitor and leaving behind your men. Lynch would end up staying behind and also call you a traitor. If you took the other ending, Kane, Lynch and Kane’s daughter would go out to rescue the men. But in the end, only one of the men survived when they were found in the church, Kane’s daughter is shot and somehow still hates Kane even though he did the right thing (according to the second game), and Lynch is left behind.

The second game doesn’t have too much of a story really. Kane arrives in Shanghi and meets Lynch after quite a long time. They do a deal against an informant named Brady. After a long gang chase through the streets, Brady’s girlfriend, completely naked, is shot dead accidentally by Kane. Just after Brady notices, he takes out a knife and slits his own throat. Kane and Lynch believe the deal can still be struck with Shangsi, but the problem is, the woman they shot was also Shangsi’s daughter. Kane and Lynch are then on a hot pursuit trying to escape many gang heists and trying to think of a way a deal can be struck, so that they can both retire and settle down with their lives. But nothing is ever that simple….
The campaign was a little short, and it took me around 4-5 hours to complete. There are 11 missions in total, some of which are a little difficult to complete the first time, especially in the easiest mode which helps as it makes the game last longer. But as it has been said, it’s more of a co-op game than a single player game, meaning not only can you complete the story in single player, but also in 2-player co-op, making the campaign last between 8-10 hours, which is good enough. The story is a little confusing, as one minute a deal can still be struck, then it seems all hope is lost, then it seems the deal can be struck again and so on. The game ends so sudden, which is rather disappointing, but it’s too late to be changed now.

The gameplay is one of the reasons why most reviewers give the game a bad score. What’s different in this game than the first is that the mechanics work as if you have a camera following your every move from behind. So when you are sprinting, it’s as if a person is holding a camera and running with you, as if it were a documentary on these sort of events. I honestly found that one of the most interesting mechanics, as it adds a sense of realism. Unlike games such as Modern Warfare, the camera is pretty much steady. If you really want things to feel more real, you have to have a realistic effect, which is exactly what the game mechanics do. What I was disappointed in the gameplay is that all the campaign really was, was a shoot to kill game. Basically you get a cutscene, bam people are killing you, you kill them, cutscene, bam people are killing you etc etc. It was kind of predictable when people were about to attack, but this is possibly what is expected in a setting like this. Despite it being repetitive, there was a mission in the game where you are required to shoot people, but whilst you are in a helicopter. Not only that, but you need to shoot down an enemy helicopter trying to shoot you down, so just when things started to get a bit boring, what do you know, an interesting mission.
When playing in co-op, almost everything in the campaign is the same, except for a few things. If you are downed and are shot, you should normally die in the solo campaign, but this time, you have to keep tapping a certain button to keep yourself alive until your partner comes to help you. If your red bar empties, you die, so your hand will ache as hell when you’re trying to stay alive. When you are trying to open doors, you always need your partner to help, unlike the solo. And in a particular mission, which I shall not give away anything, there is a cutscene in a section where you would otherwise run back to your partner. In a way, it’s best to play in the solo campaign and then the co-op campaign, as you learn a bit more the second time around you play. And you know what to do, so you don’t end up acting like you don’t know anything when playing.

To be honest however, I prefer the single player to the co-op, because it is very annoying when your partner dies and you’ve killed 90% of the enemies, and it’s all your partners fault, but still fun none-the-less.

The multiplayer see’s the return of Fragile Alliance, along with two new modes, known as Undercover Cop and Cops and Robbers. For those who don’t know Fragile Alliance from the first game, is your team going in and obtaining as much stash as possible whilst escaping from police and traitors. The two new modes are a little similar but have their differences. Cops and Robbers is the same as Fragile Alliance, but when you die, you become one of the police. Once you die again, you are out of the round. Easy peasy. Undercover Cop is where one of your team; bare in mind this could be you; is an undercover cop. Let’s talk as if you are the undercover cop. Your team are unaware that you are the cop, and you must follow them as if you are about to get some stash too. The traitors and cops will not attack you, so this may give it away that you are the cop, so just be cautious here. Once one person in your team has committed a crime (stealing some of the stash or killing one of the cops/traitors), you can then begin to kill the team. But once you’ve killed, or accidentally kill those on your side, your cover is blown, and you must kill the team before they kill you. You succeed in your mission if all of the team are killed. You may loot cash yourself even as the cop, which will help towards your overall total in your stats. Out of all three of them, Undercover Cop is by far the best of the three. It’s fun, and it gives you a sense of distrust in your team on if they are the cop or not, which is what you might experience in a real life event such as this.

One thing that is annoying in the multiplayer, is that you always need 8 players to play a public match. There are times where you can play 4-7 player matches as well but that’s only with the players that decided to carry on playing from the previous match. Overall, the multiplayer is very enjoyable, despite not being the best multiplayer game out there. It has it’s flaws and cons, but that doesn’t stop you from wanting to play more of it.
The game is certainly a step up from the first game, and no doubt the developers have tried their hardest to please us. What I think people don’t get from the game is a sense of realism. People can’t stand the camera angle which many other applaud. It does confuse other people though, as why can Kane and Lynch take such a beating with bullets with no protection, even when they are naked and beaten (you’ll see what I mean), and yet the police with their padded armour take a few shots and they are dead? It’s a realistic game, but unrealistic at the same time. Yes, sure it’s a game, but why be realistic, and unrealistic at the same time? It makes no sense. Aside from it’s short campaign, the multiplayer is certainly a step up from the first game. No doubt many fans would like to see a third game, but from the same response as the first game, that may not happen.