Kane & Lynch: Dead Men

Kane & Lynch is a game that many people will play through and enjoy simply because of the forceful story and characters. Others will find the gameplay isn’t up to speed with the rest of the gaming world and wonder why anyone would bother.

Refining the cover and inventory systems would have gone a long way in making Kane & Lynch: Dead Men more user friendly. Hit detection needs work. The story is engrossing and well-executed.

Kane & Lynch is more "Freedom Fighters" than "Hitman", so it should appeal to action junkies looking for their next fix. [Dec 2007, p.67]

Artificial intelligence problems are present throughout, with squad mates continuously running in the line of fire. Furthermore, the promising co-op mode isn't available online, only locally through cramped split-screen.

There’s certainly a lot here to love, and a lot more that you want to love, but most of your time in Kane & Lynch is spent shaking or scratching your head. The problems are just too visible for it to be taken seriously as a gritty thriller.

Popcorn-crunching blockbuster in need of better scripting.

The single-player game starts off well enough but becomes grating and tedious as it progresses. It's a great shame because the multiplayer offerings truly are unique and, with the exception of some flagging visuals, the game could've been great with a better main campaign.

If you enjoy games with decent plots, developed characters and brilliant dialogue, this violent, offensive and witty action game is probably worth your attention, and if you're a shooting game purist, try not to expect too much and you'll still have plenty to enjoy.

Factor in an exceptionally short single-player campaign, an undercooked tactical squad element and a distinct lack of gameplay variety and it's impossible not to see this as a very big missed opportunity.

While the fast-paced and action-packed chapters have their share of spectacular moments, the game is held back by characters we do not really care about and dated gameplay that just doesn’t feel like a next-generation game.

It capably provides its gun and grenade ridden action entertainment, but disappoints only because of the massive marketing campaign that led us all to believe we were in for something extra special, rather than the adequate but ultimately not stand-out shooter we have here.

A missed chance at an iconic franchise that literally shoots wide of the target, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men will be enjoyed by a select few, so try it without expecting too much and you might just find yourself won over.

Only die hard action fans will find reasons to be interested, and only if they can get over the terrible plot structure and some of its gameplay problems. It had a lot more to offer, but leaves a bitter taste of disappointment. Not Io’s greatest moment, a company that’s really capable of so much better. [Dec 2007]

The single-player/co-op mode is underwhelming at best. With poor AI and thematic blurring, even the easiest difficulty – Aspirin – will leave you with a throbbing headache.

For everything it gets right – the gritty storyline, adrenalin-fuelled firefights and epic set-pieces – it falls flat on its face in other areas, like the stupid AI, disappointing co-op and occasionally by-the-numbers level design. Visually, it’s equally as unbalanced.

What’s more, the swearing is simply over the top. If you want to make a gritty crime drama, a few F-bombs here and there are expected, but this is just f***ing ridiculous.

Poor aiming and dodgy weapon accuracy ruins what is otherwise a spectacular story. [Christmas 2007, p.54]

Kane and Lynch reeks of an undercooked effort that should've baked a few more months in the development oven. If the care and polish that went into the wonderfully cinematic level presentation had also been applied to the writing and gameplay, it could've been a bar-raising effort for the third-person shooter genre.

In a season of really great shooters, Kane & Lynch is pretty much a dud. It’s sort of a style over substance kind of game, except the style isn’t even terribly impressive. The substance, what there is of it, amounts to a fairly so-so action game that’s kind of short.

Kane & Lynch is a good idea that is plagued by poor controls, unbalanced weapons, a boring story and some questionable writing.

An engrossing story and above-average presentation. However, flawed gameplay elements make the game less enjoyable then it should be.

An average game made all the worse for having come from a superb team. A letdown. [Jan 2008, p.64]

A sadistically satisfying experience that just feels too rough around the edges to become a true classic.

Multiplayer aside, the single-player story is short-lived, clocking in at around 7 hours from start to finish. Despite this though, you’ll be left with some great memories and a soft spot for the two characters before you’re finished.

Kane & Lynch is very much a case of what could have been. With a little more time for polish and tweaking Eidos could have had a game worthy of the hype and its British Academy Video Games Award nomination (which was somehow secured before the game’s release).

Sure, the gritty atmosphere and balls out gunplay offers up some thrills, and yes the multiplayer options hold some potential but the hard-boiled noir tone and interesting amalgam of varied ideas never truly comes together to form the cohesive action thriller that the game aspires to be. [Dec 2007, p.121]

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men has a lot of promise, but nothing in this game works out nearly as well as you'd hope.

For everything cool that the game does, from the heightened tension of breaking into a prison to a shootout in a Tokyo nightclub to some amazing chase sequences, it shoots itself in the foot with a terrible cover system, artificial incompetence, and a multiplayer mode that sums up everything that's half-baked about the experience.

There's an inconsistency to the overall design quality that really kept me at a distance while playing Kane & Lynch. [Dec 2007, p.75]

Its scenarios are striking in scope, but its gunplay can’t quite keep pace. It features some moments of truly cinematic vision, but the technology and framework can’t quite do them full justice. [Christmas 2007, p.90]

Kane & Lynch promises much more than it actually delivers. It’s still a fine game, but is let down far too frequently by a number of minor issues that could have been corrected with more development time. It’s got some great elements, just not enough of them.

Sadly the implementation and impact on the player the game has will most likely be overshadowed by the numerous flaws. The lack of replay-ablity of the single player, the omission of playing as Lynch for lone players, the poor graphics, terrible enemy AI, and the mundane Havana levels, really kill the single player experience for me.

Consistently entertaining until its final third. [Chrismas 2007, p.110]

With frustrating, glitchy gameplay, lackluster and boring graphics, and perhaps the least likable cast in video game history, it's difficult to recommend Kane & Lynch over the many similar, but better titles currently on the market. Even a unique multiplayer mode does little to salvage the title, and the lack of online co-op shoots its biggest feature in the foot.

IO's next big thing is a mish-mash of a few phenomenally great moments hidden inside a clusterf--- of nearly unplayable controls, bad level progression, unpredictable AI, and some seriously broken gameplay scenarios.

Struggles to implement its idea with any real purpose and falls completely flat towards the end. There's definitely fun to be had, but don't really expect too much. [Issue 27, p.88]

Overall Kane & Lynch is an interesting -- if overly violent -- take on the “buddy” game. The tag-team setup adds something to what would already be a solid action game and makes it that much better.

So if you have some extra time on your hands, Kane & Lynch is just barely worth a rental. Were it not for its story, we would undoubtedly give it a “Skip It” recommendation. However, it should be able to tide you over for a small while. Don’t expect anything great out of it though.

As it is - in this unfinished state - Kane & Lynch's all-too obvious lack of Q&A follow through makes it impossible to recommend for anyone other than hardcore shooter fans willing to trawl through hours of mediocrity in return for minutes of unfulfilled promise.