Preview: Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men was a game full of imperfections. In fact, I’m being too kind by even calling it that. A lot of it was quite poor; the shooting mechanics, the hit detection, the animations, the overall graphics. Most people who picked it up probably didn’t play it all the way through, and you really can’t fault them for it, because it was an unpolished game that never should have made it to shelves in the state it did. But many who did play it look back at it fondly. It had a simple story, but it worked for the kind of game it was. Same goes for Kane and Lynch, the game’s main characters; poles apart, but equally despicable and yet likeable at the same time. And despite little co-operation from the gameplay department, the balls-to-the-wall action was undeniably fun.

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But eventually, Dead Men was a frustrating game to play, because it got the tough parts – the story and characters – right, but faltered in technicalities like gameplay and graphics. A little over two years later, IO Interactive are ready with a sequel, and I had the opportunity to play through a few levels of the single player campaign of Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days. There are many obvious similarities between this and Army of Two: The 40th Day. They’re both fairly linear third-person cover-based shooters built around two-player co-op, and they’re both set in Shanghai. The difference though is that Dog Days is infinitely better in almost every way.

So it’s been a while since the events of Dead Men, and from their first interaction in the game, you can tell that Kane and Lynch haven’t exactly kept in touch. Lynch now lives in Shanghai with his girlfriend Xiu and partakes in petty crime to get by. When a big arms deal presents itself, he enlists the help of Kane. Predictably, things go south soon enough; it wouldn’t be a Kane & Lynch game if they didn’t. You play the single-player campaign as Lynch, and while the first game was mostly centred around Kane, this time around, there seems to be more of a focus on the more mentally-unstable of the two. Even during the loading screens, you’ll hear voiceovers of Lynch leaving voice messages for Xiu, each giving you an insight into his frame of mind following the events of the level you’ve just completed.

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Gameplay has seen a massive improvement over the first game. The cover-based shooting works well and although snapping to and popping in and out of cover does have its issues at times, it works pretty well for most part. You can also now toss gas canisters and fire extinguishers towards enemies to clear areas more easily, and considering how this game tends to throw enemies at you in large numbers, that’s a welcome option. The enemy AI isn’t the brightest around, but again, what they lack in brain acumen, they more than make up in numbers.

Taking too much damage now means that you’ll drop to the ground and get the wind knocked out of you, which is represented by visual effects that are designed to disorient you (more on that later). You can get up and regroup from such situations, but keep taking damage and you won’t last a lot longer. One level in the preview also throws attack dogs at you, and they’re pretty unnerving, firstly because although you can hear them bark, it’s hard to tell where they’re coming from, and secondly, because the running animations are so poor that they tend to change direction in 90-degree angles, making them pretty hard to shoot at.

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The biggest talking point so far, however, is the game’s visual style. You can tell that Dog Days isn’t the sharpest looking game around, but some brilliantly implemented visual effects go a long way towards making it look uniquely gritty. First off, there’s a constant camera shake as you play similar to Cloverfield. It’s a little disorienting at first, but you’ll quickly get used to it. Several added effects give the game a visual style that is similar to a recording off a cheap camcorder. Bright lights create intense glares that show up as streaks of vertical coloured bands, explosions and bullet damage are represented by pixilation in the video feed similar to that seen in low quality video streams, and headshots are covered up by TV broadcast-like mosaic censoring.

It’s a daring visual style and one that I think will see contrasting reactions from gamers. Personally, I think it’s brilliant. From watching the initial trailers, it seemed like a way to cover up the poor graphics, but it actually makes you feel more immersed in the action. It’s almost like there’s a little fearless Chinaman following Lynch around with a camcorder. But what helps sell all these effects is the environments that you play through. Shanghai is wonderfully realised and although the levels I played through were set across low level rooftops, sweat shops, markets and narrow city streets, you’re often given a fleeting glimpse of the glittering skyline, just to show you the contrast that exists in the city.

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The four levels of Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days that I played have only increased my anticipation for the game further, because for all the over-the-top action that I’ve already played through, it was pretty clear that Kane and Lynch were still only getting warmed up. Kane still underestimates the situation and thinks this is a routine job, Lynch still seems to be taking his pills, and neither knows about the other’s ulterior motive behind taking up the job. August 20 can’t come soon enough.

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is scheduled for release on August 20 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

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