Review: Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

[Greg Tito]

this game is by no means a happy game if you want to get that play something else the console version never crash and also you have to think for a sec, this guys were criminals that have spent some time in jail, cover system is great and over all the history was the best part thumbs up!! i cant wait for 3

For me, it wasn't the fact that this wasn't a happy game. I can get into the style and the despair, and I like the departure from videogame stereotypes. But if you're going to make the world suck that much, there needs to be a decent story or at least a progression of character. In K&L2 all we see is more and more misery, with no narrative arc supporting it.

I'm all for non-happy endings and dark, gritty characters. But I hate bad storytelling.

 

[Cliff_m85]

Loved the Arrested Development quote, however I was disappointed with the obvious disgust of the male ass. Who cares? It's just an ass.

 

[fozzy360]

The KL series gets no love from reviewers (and most gamers).

I fucking love both games. First, it's a very, very welcome departure from all those charismatic/wisecracking/romantic/super/patriotic heroes, like in every other fucking shooting game. In KL one can finally play as a dirty ugly gangster. Especially in the first game. KL2 feels more like Gears of War, but still retains the KL formula.

Plus, KL2 is the very first game since Half-Life and Crysis, where I actually feel like the enemies are there to get me and not just to peek from corners like in a shooting gallery.

I want more games like this!

what he said ^^

this game is by no means a happy game if you want to get that play something else the console version never crash and also you have to think for a sec, this guys were criminals that have spent some time in jail, cover system is great and over all the history was the best part thumbs up!! i cant wait for 3

I agree as well. I hate the fact that the campaign is so short and ends so abruptly, but I love the rest of the game. I loved the hell out of the first one despite the flaws because the story was so downbeat, gritty, and brutal, it just made for a nice diversion from other "mature" games. However, I can understand why not everyone can get into a game like that. Still, I loved this game as well. It was difficult, chaotic, and fun, even with the lack of a substantially long campaign.

 

[Swifteye]

Hmm, yet another mixed review. I haven't bought the game, and I don't really plan on it, but so far we have "crap crap crap" from Blistered Thumbs, "Freaking awesome" from Game Informer, and "it's okay" from here. We literally have an entire spectrum of review scores. I wonder why it's getting so many mixed feelings.

It's probably a middle of the road game which means you will probably have to judge for yourself if it has things you might like.

 

[Greg Tito]

Loved the Arrested Development quote, however I was disappointed with the obvious disgust of the male ass. Who cares? It's just an ass.

Did you watch the video? That man ass is covered in open wounds.

 

[Smokescreen]

Interesting. At this point I almost feel like giving K&L a shot because the characters seem to be so irredeemable. There is something to be said for dark characters doing dastardly things.

However, Mr Tito brings up a good point; if the series is just about shitty people doing shitty things and nothing else changes, then that's a very specific kind of story you're telling and it generally doesn't bode well. Character arcs are what make dark, fucked up stories worth paying attention to (for me, anyway) and without them I am generally left cold.

 

[The Rascal King]

Loved the Arrested Development quote, however I was disappointed with the obvious disgust of the male ass. Who cares? It's just an ass.

Did you watch the video? That man ass is covered in open wounds.

IN THE RAIN

 

[Kuchinawa212]

Wooooo! go good menu design. Who ever made that menu, should get a metal

 

[Cliff_m85]

Loved the Arrested Development quote, however I was disappointed with the obvious disgust of the male ass. Who cares? It's just an ass.

Did you watch the video? That man ass is covered in open wounds.

Yes, I watched it. I guess I didn't notice the wounds on the asses of the men, only the wounds on their backs. I'll rewatch it, specifically looking for the ass scars now.

 

[Cliff_m85]

Loved the Arrested Development quote, however I was disappointed with the obvious disgust of the male ass. Who cares? It's just an ass.

Did you watch the video? That man ass is covered in open wounds.

IN THE RAIN

I rewatched it. Yes, there are wounds on their asses.

I'm more disturbed by the wounds, to be honest. But I think what the programmers were going after is a sense of uncomfortableness. We've all slaughtered thousands of Nazis, zombies, mobsters, and innocent civilians in games. Toss some nudity in the mix and it becomes a little more disturbing, which I can appreciate as a gamer. I enjoyed Rockstar Games usage of full frontal male nudity as shock value, after all. *shrugs*

 

[Vrach]

Um, did I hear/see that right? They censored violence? As in, you shoot something, it goes pixelated? Is that a shitty censor version you guys got or the only one?

Also, I noticed the game has a co-op, just to check, can you play through the whole story in co-op (would make sense, but really have to check after some games >.>) or is it a special missions campaign crap?

 

[Quiet Stranger]

What the hell is a hop-on?

 

[Azure Knight-Zeo]

I'll pass this one for sooo many reasons:
1. I don't play games for realism
2. I can have the same experience but better with over ten other games
3. Any game that has a 30+ second ad automatically gets added the the pass pile

 

[SantoUno]

Despite the costant criticism this looks like fun! I'll try it out eventually.

 

[Solodini]

Yay, Arrested Development reference

 

[Mr. Fister]

Hmm, yet another mixed review. I haven't bought the game, and I don't really plan on it, but so far we have "crap crap crap" from Blistered Thumbs, "Freaking awesome" from Game Informer, and "it's okay" from here. We literally have an entire spectrum of review scores. I wonder why it's getting so many mixed feelings.

Perhaps some critics are scared of being the victim of another Jeff Gertsmann fiasco?

But seriously, this usually happens with most games of middling quality. You'll get reviews from every part of the spectrum because there will be some people who can put up with the bad to get to the good and some who can't.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

I remember the first getting mixed reviews but I really loved the first.

It was a bit twitchy but I quite enjoyed the story.

Where it was amazing was online... fragile alliance is one of my favourite online gametypes ever.

I was such a bastard... everyone gets out first round so I have enough money to buy the best weapons and armor... then good luck to anyone I find in the second round who isn't carrying their weight.

I didn't run ahead and grab half the maps money to share it with someone who hung back and has nothing...

 

[VondeVon]

Naked man ass?! I'm there!!

Naked PIXEL man ass? Er... maybe not.

 

[Remission]

I thought is was a good game. Multiplayer is fun, ending was terrible but all in all it was enjoyable

 

[fisk0]

Um, did I hear/see that right? They censored violence? As in, you shoot something, it goes pixelated? Is that a shitty censor version you guys got or the only one?

Also, I noticed the game has a co-op, just to check, can you play through the whole story in co-op (would make sense, but really have to check after some games >.>) or is it a special missions campaign crap?

I think the point of it was partly to not show the headshots graphically because that stuff rarely looks realistic in games, mostly just hilarious - and by not showing but just letting the player image/infer what that might have looked like it creates the sense of being much more brutal. Also, it fits with the visual style of the game, it's made to look like recovered video footage from someone who followed K&L in their killing spree, which is then shown on youtube, and would probably have to get somewhat censored not to get removed from the site.