Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

1. dragonfire

   Aug 17, 2010

   10

   This game is not so bad. Forget the review scores. Let your mind go, relax, drink beer, chill out and blast your way through a catharticThis game is not so bad. Forget the review scores. Let your mind go, relax, drink beer, chill out and blast your way through a cathartic experience. Forget ya troubles, just shot and kill. Who knows, ya might get a promotion....… Expand

   • 9 of 33 users found this helpful
2. MakgSnake

   Aug 17, 2010

   9

   This is a perfect example of "HEAT - The Game", if it was ever made. Excellent storyline, amazing characters, with great characterThis is a perfect example of "HEAT - The Game", if it was ever made. Excellent storyline, amazing characters, with great character development, and on top of everything, photo realistic graphics. This game screams to be played at high volume, of course its not for the faint of heart. The camera angle will take a little while to get use to, but like we all say "Buckle Up, its going to be a bumpy ride" IO has done it again, in my opinion. Their Hitman series were always awesome and intense, and Kane and Lynch really changed the pace. Even Part 1 got not so good reviews, but the game is one of the best when it comes to true/hardcore/action. Also dont forget that this game offers one of the most intense and original online multiplayer modes. Extremely fun to play and will keep you on your toes at all times. Excellent game - Do give it a try - In my case, own it have fun in one of the best co-op games to date!… Expand

   • 4 of 15 users found this helpful
4. Bob_H

   Aug 20, 2010

   8

   This game looks fantastic. The graphics are not top-tier, but the weird pastel look of the last game is done away with through a clever filmThis game looks fantastic. The graphics are not top-tier, but the weird pastel look of the last game is done away with through a clever film effect. A shake-cam (which can be disabled) really improves the tension of the action. It is a unique style. The shooting is solid, a major improvement over the previous game. The game is difficult but feels rewarding. In addition to the story mode, an "arcade mode" allows one player to play up to ten rounds as members of a heist in different locales. I don't play on Xbox Live, but arcade mode is very cinematic and offers a ranking system similar to online games. It is addicting, even if the lackluster A.I. can't compete well in later rounds. The game has some major flaws. The story is quite short (it took me 3 1/2 hours; medium difficulty on split screen). The ending is abrupt. There is a strange problem in late-game that can possibly pause the screen for up to around fifteen seconds whenever a headshot is landed. Despite these problems, the story is definitely worth playing through. While $60 may be a little steep, I am content with where IO is going with this franchise.… Expand

   • 2 of 6 users found this helpful
5. TheQuietGamer

   Dec 16, 2017

   5

   What sets Kane & Lynch apart from the majority of other games out there is that it puts players in the role of violent, morally bankruptWhat sets Kane & Lynch apart from the majority of other games out there is that it puts players in the role of violent, morally bankrupt criminals who are only looking out for numero uno. It gives the game the tone of a gritty crime-drama. The kind that would usually make for a successful movie. The grimy locations and unsympathetic, scumbag characters who make up this seedy experience allow the game to have a unique sense of style. Where Dog Days stumbles is in it's gameplay, and it's enough to kill the experience.
   
   The game is presented in a unique found-footage sort of way. It's as if you, the player, are following the characters around with a camcorder. A cool concept, but one that works better in theory than in execution. The grainy visuals and the way the camera shakes when you run do add a sense of believability, but can obscure the action and honestly seems like a way to try and hide the dated graphics. The visuals aren't quite up to par with other 2010 games. The story itself is little more than a "we ticked off everyone" setup. The ending is laughable in it's immediacy. There's a missing final act.
   
   Not that I would've liked to play through any more chapters than what the game has. This is some very flawed 3rd-person cover shooting. Most guns feel underpowered, level design if often haphazard, and there were plenty of time where I was getting shot despite being in cover. Mix in the fact that enemies often take way more punishment than they should and you've got a recipe for some frustrating shootouts. What really sucks though is how basic it all feels. Gunfights feel like a slow game of whack-a-mole as you wait for the numbskull, generic-looking enemies to pop their heads out of cover. These certainly aren't the brightest AI combatants out there. I swear the positions in cover are not organic at all. Sections I was forced to retry often found my attackers going to the exact same place they were before I died. When they do have to move locations it all breaks down. They often just run out in the open or take cover beside a barrier instead of behind it, allowing for easy kills. What caused my death more than anything was the shear number of them, along with the fact that sometimes they'll just bumrush you. The story simply isn't much fun. Even if you decide to bring a buddy along.
   
   Multiplayer fares a bit better. The game really makes use of the whole backstabbing criminal element by allowing you to screw over teammates at any point in the game across all game modes. Unfortunately there's nobody online. This also causes the arcade mode to be rendered practically worthless as well. It puts the larger emphasis on potential treachery in the group, and while you can play with AI, it's just not the same as playing with randoms and constantly looking over your shoulder. You could get some friends together, but that would force all of you to own this crappy game.
   
   With a dull campaign that honestly isn't that gritty or shocking in content, flawed gameplay, and a basically dead online component, there isn't much reason to give Dog Days a look. A shame because there is potential here. It's just not capitalized here very well. Instead of a realistic, dark, and disturbingly violent look at what it's like to be on the other side of the law, what we got is an unremarkable 3rd-person shooter. One that's just not worth playing.… Expand

   • 0 of 3 users found this helpful
6. Pickle

   Oct 6, 2013

   3

   Playing Kane & Lynch 2 it's like falling into the spiral of inconsistency, that just gives as a result a punishing experience and a confusingPlaying Kane & Lynch 2 it's like falling into the spiral of inconsistency, that just gives as a result a punishing experience and a confusing a mediocre storyline.
   
   The game's biggest problem it's that it doesn't follow the rules that the game presents to the player in the first minutes of gameplay, and story. The characters that you know and meet throughout the game seem to forget completely why are they even in Shanghai, (the city where the game takes place), not only that, but some of them tend to be unfamiliarized and forgotten, since one of their most noticeable elements as characters, manage to be forgotten and left into the darkness, seemingly trying to forget that there was a game before this one.
   
   Gameplay wise, the game is also at it's worst, sadly. Each game mechanic is doubtful, and punishing, because non of them tend to follow the basic inherent rules, that the game gives you, as a player, often times i found myself, dying immediately, meanwhile other times, i found my character falling down, like a sack of potatoes, before i started mashing the, "a button", in order to get up. The worst part of the game lies on the outgoing repetition, the problem is that, Square Enix, had several different times where they could, and should have, added a lot more variety into the gameplay, there are often times where the game could have used, stealth mechanics, or even times where character development could shine if it was represented in a better way.
   
   You can tell that what, Square Enix, was trying to do, was to create a somehow, "cinematic experience" such as games like, "The Last of Us", or "Shadow of the Collosus", or even "Half Life 2", do, but sadly, they try, and fail miserably at it, mostly because the game it's trying really hard to shock the player, and give some, attachment, to some, irrelevant characters while doing it.
   They start relaying a lot in the superficiality of "violence", in order to get a point across, when they don't realize that the point they're trying to sent is something irrelevant, to the plot line, and the game itself.
   Trying to shock the player by adding a scene of torture, and then a mission where all you do it's the exact same thing you been doing the entire game, only cut up, bleeding, and naked, doesn't mean anything, and only appears out of place, the way that Square Enix does it.
   
   So truly all you're getting it's a pathetic, excuse, for an, "adult oriented", game that, brinks into the concept of insanity at times, respecting only it's true level of inconsistency, and giving mediocre excuse, of not following, even at it's slightest, it's own plot line, only to, try, and i repeat, try, to "shock the player".
   It's a huge waste of potential, of what could have been one of the most mature, and complex, adult themed, games, aside from Grand Theft Auto. Yes, i truly believe this game could've been revolutionary, even while keeping the core of the concept of the unapologetic result that was, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
7. Bonedaddy

   Aug 30, 2010

   2

   Yikes! What the heck? Bad action. Bad story. Bad graphics. Bad this, bad that, bad everything. There is so little value in this game that IYikes! What the heck? Bad action. Bad story. Bad graphics. Bad this, bad that, bad everything. There is so little value in this game that I feel completely ripped off. I only give it a 2 because the game is not buggy to the point of non-playability. But I can't recommend this to anyone who wants more than a few hours of lousy game play and absolute garbage story and game play mechanics.… Expand

   • 1 of 3 users found this helpful
8. RavenousRaccoon

   Jul 13, 2017

   0

   This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I just spent the last five hours playing this game for Xbox 360 all the way through...
   It's currently free on Games With Gold on Xbox Live (as of July 2, 2017)
   
   Good god....one of the worst shooters I have ever played. Two of the most unlikable protagonists ever, who practically are terrorists by the end. Redundant and terrible gameplay, awful dialogue, a racist undertone throughout the whole game (Two white American dudes pillaging Shanghai and killing a lot of people, like police and airport security guards, and, optionally, innocent bystanders). Not to mention an incredibly boring storyline.
   
   Here's a very watered-down, brief description of the story:
   
   Two dudes try to cash in on an arms trade deal. It goes south. Protagonists kill a corrupt government official/mob boss's daughter. Said person kills one of the protagonists' girlfriend. They raid a skyscraper and kill the guards and then the mob boss. Then they break into an airport, massacre the guards and force their way into a commercial airline to escape China.
   So yeah, they're terrorists at the end.
   
   Full of cliches and generally poorly written.
   
   I wonder if the first game makes the protagonists likable? This game definitely doesn't.
   
   Now to the gameplay:
   
   Try to imagine the run-and-gun action of Max Payne 3 combined with the East-Asian gangster action of Sleeping Dogs, which is another Square Enix game (Yes, I know both games came out after this one but this game became relevant again after becoming available on Games With Gold).
   
   Now water that down. Not just a sprinkle, but an entire reservoir.
   
   The shooting is wildly unstable. It usually took me half a magazine to get a single kill, unless I were shooting at point blank range. Sprinting is useless, because stamina drains so quickly. All the missions have the same exact general play-style: Massacre everyone, and open some doors sometimes. That's literally it. The gameplay does not change at all from this cycle except in a mission where you ride a helicopter, in which it is just shooting at everything without any moving.
   
   The "camcorder effect" is unnecessary and makes the cutscenes and visuals during gameplay extremely annoying. Non-sexual nudity is pixelated, which, in my opinion, is unacceptable in a Mature rated game (take a look at Grand Theft Auto V). Either uncensor it or make the full nude scenes into partially nude scenes. Bodies who were killed by headshots are also pixelated, which makes no sense in my opinion, since video games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops II and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim depict uncensored decapitation. Whenever the player takes heavy damage, the screen flickers and parts of it get pixelated as well, which is straining on the eye.
   
   Nothing at all would make me recommend this game to anyone. It is a shame that Microsoft chose to list this game as its 2017 Xbox 360 Games With Gold title.
   
   Even though it is free, do not get it. It is a waste of time and hard drive space.
   
   Go find something better.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful

See all 46 User Reviews