It's for milking mice! Once again lets IO interactive opportunity pass to create a really great game! As with the first part of the Kane & Lynch series was made from the really very promising template too little.
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (1)
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (1) [Source: See picture gallery]
Actually, in Kane & Lynch 2 everything you need for a blockbuster game available. The characters are brilliant (in a youth-endangering way), they are the perfect anti-hero. The atmosphere is great, the technique is correct - all it still would need would be a decent story and there you would, even with average gameplay, can deliver a superbly entertaining game! But just here it hooked - just like with the first part - quite formidable! But we all go through in detail.
The Story
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (4)
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (4) [Source: See picture gallery]
Now, I am not a flamer, not an overly demanding players. That is why I am surprised that, for example, so kudos for the story once enough of the PC Games Kane & Lynch 2, as well as the similar thin predecessor? It is a real deja vu, that feeling either miss something, or suddenly have a completely opposite feeling of entertainment and fun! The story in Kane & Lynch 2 is indeed very, very thin. Basta. I see here is simply no "exciting story"! It has consistently no idea what this is all accurate, only the respective situations are explained in some subordinate clauses. But here is revealed not just something that deserves to be called plot ..
Lynch and his old colleague Kane want to handle an arms deal for an English Kingpin. Unfortunately, they make the move unintentionally a Chinese crime boss enemy and will henceforth be taken nonstop under fire. That's all, the story is hereby told! One, two small events alongside (not a really surprising and lame twist and a single view of dramatic light), and you're done. As the "bright spot" I call here the only haunting and hammer hard "naked" chapter that is briefly indicated already in the short intro as Flash Foward. More should not be betrayed. Here very briefly illuminates the narrative and atmospheric class, the Kane & Lynch in the first part could have achieved, and set them apart in Part 2 again, different from the above scene, fall far short.
Games with a story that are worth to be praised, for example, Mafia, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Gabriel Knight or Metro is 2033. Comparing these games with the hitherto two-part Kane & Lynch series, you can see that is-! Cooked here on a very low flame There are besides the main actors no interesting or even complex characters, there is no "large entity" of the story or the game world through which shoot our two lunatics, only brief and limited to the respective level is one-way scenes. Exciting's is never really, except perhaps by the action itself - but it does it also just does not need a story.
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (7)
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (7) [Source: See picture gallery]
Had to - once again - been a bit more effort to write a good and grim little story, and is not satisfied with a little showmanship and rely on the two main characters as a unique selling point, then had Kane & Lynch 2 wirklichet what are can. It should not be an epic yes! No Elder Scrolls in Shanghai with fully automatic weapons. A small but fine (!) Dark story would have been enough! What was on offer here, captivates not, do not care does not touch - with the one exception already mentioned above. What a pity!
Gameplay
Here suffers Kane & Lynch 2 even more than with the thin story. The gameplay is abysmal! You play most of the time Lynch, so the long-haired gentleman who still gave the total psycho in the first part. He is no longer in Part 2. Sure, a nice guy is not happened to him, but he is not inclined on it than his colleague Kane.
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (8)
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (8) [Source: view picture gallery]
But to return Gameplay: The whole game is a single linear level hose geballert in the UN-UN-TER-BROCH-EN is what keeps the stuff - and because of the insane and of fucking stupid opponents masses that hurl a developer here. Great action cinema is certainly not, it is dull arcade Plink.
The gameplay can be summarized as follows: short cutscene, the level starts, within 3 seconds, ten opponents have holed up in space, you are looking at coverage and now pops from anyone who pushes his short turnip out of hiding. Are all ten away, the next ten come storming into the room. Everything is finally quiet, you sprint in the next section and everything starts all over again.
The whole is broken only by very short cutscenes that only this are apparently there to justify the change of level environments. Because after five unspectacular records everything goes back on as usual, just not more on a street, but in a hall ... great.
The controller is also not optimal. While the cover system works, but is not nearly as pleasant as, for example, in Mafia 2, Mass Effect 2 or Splinter Cell: Conviction, although it is actually about the same mechanics. The Handhabing is too notchy, you can just by pressing certain keys again quite separate from the cover (just go away does not work) and the round-Herhechten between the different positions stinks against the obvious example Splinter Cell: Conviction from mercilessly.
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (11)
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (11) [Source: view picture gallery]
One is the move to 95% on foot, towards the end there's a short sequence in a helicopter, but what we have also seen better in Modern Warfare 2. The aiming with the mouse is at the beginning still a pain are the crosshairs, except assault rifles, huge, the objectives usually small. Nevertheless, one often meets amazing, but probably only thanks to a somewhat immature Aim-Assist mechanism. Did you get used to it after some time, you can Kane & Lynch 2 gamble quite passable, never makes it fun but really. It's more work.
The own health regenerates always fix by itself, the teammate (mostly so Kane) is, as far as I could tell, immortal. If you have the misfortune to be gehechtet the wrong way, you will be riddled from the middle of difficulty within seconds of tens of balls. Fortunately (? Idiotic or) as keeps our character but some pounds of lead in the body quite good - even if she is naked!
The NPCs are, as I said, shit stupid. Opponents run a straight before the gun (if they move because times), Kane catches per level estimated three hundred head shots, and extremely frustrating it is when the person you should really protect, in a burst of inhuman stupidity one meter in front of a heavily armed opponent to the ground "in coverage kneeling". This has been compared with the predecessor, virtually nothing improved!
The ability to give the team mates rudimentary commands, incidentally, was deleted in its entirety, on the other hand, Kane and Lynch are most of the time anyway just for a romantic escapade. Nevertheless, to, can give the fellow a few statements here and there would have been nice.
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (14)
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (14) [Source: view picture gallery]
The biggest mistake, however, is probably the season! If one keeps fairly ran, one is well under four hours. This is poor! The end is also really very abruptly and there is not even an outro. The game simply stops after a level. The "story" was told though fundamentally over, but I was a little surprised. Apparently one wants to here late filing (in accordance with the current fashion) more content via DLC, which could backfire wicked '! Am I love to be prepared to spend at Mass Effect 2 a few euros for more exciting stories and extras because I'll entertain excellent here, I'll do not loose a penny for Kane & Lynch 2. The main game was his money already absolutely not worth it, I think it is absolutely unlikely that any DLC worth buying here. Free DLC? Maybe so. But even here keeps my enthusiasm in check. If the game already fails to be in gameplay and story so, then the DLCs will not be able to save.
Graphic
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (18)
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (18) [Source: view picture gallery]
The appearance of Kane & Lynch 2 is a matter of taste, I liked it very well. The engine is not quite up to the amount of time, but the levels and characters are very vivid and detailed, the atmosphere mostly really impressive. The actually gag is that the whole game is to act like a, well, we say "mobile video". We have small image distortion, flicker, streaks, lens reflections, over sharpened contours overexposed white areas, video artifacts like a highly compressed to Youtube video, and so on. The look (! Not the graphics) is thus purely technically speaking qualitatively rather poor - and it fits very well. It's definitely something new and is the dingy mood very beneficial. The picture is even here and there amazingly realistic, and this is precisely the imperfections that make up our reality, normally imittieren hardest.
What is slightly annoying sometimes really extremely shaky camera. If you sprinting for example, and in some cutscenes you have really exaggerated. It invoked the eye at very. On the one hand, therefore, it is probably good that there is no motion blur in Kane & Lynch 2 - on the other hand would probably have once again made the look more realistic.
An interesting stylistic device is the Pixelize of juicy details, such as genitals and headshots. Especially the latter acts but exaggerated, as the game has significantly harder Content that is not censored, and it irritated sometimes when you play a little. But now and this little idea was actually implemented quite effectively.
Much Abwechlsung level there is technically no way, Kane & Lynch 2 plays completely inbzw. near Shanghai. Although it is sometimes at an airport, then in a skyscraper and then in an apartment house, but the dingy gray cold city in the cheap video look is omnipresent.
The characters are graphically a mixture of partially beautiful textures and striking, though sometimes not quite perfect shader effects and - unfortunately - very wooden and stale facial animations. Unfortunately, precisely THAT which should make game characters. No chance to make a comparison with the now really getting on in years Half-Life 2Go to exist in this area. Much like Metro 2033 characters see often (but certainly not always) very good, but they lack "humanity" in her face and movements.
Sound
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (20)
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days (20) [Source: view picture gallery]
After the truly awful "soundtrack" from the first part (the catchy title tune times left outside), visit Kane & Lynch 2 actually ... so I think ... no music! I would daily again, but due entirely to the "Mobile Phone Video realism," there is as far as I can remember, no music. The sound effects are okay, I would say genre standard. Nothing that really stands out somehow. Here and there the noise is maybe a bit thin, but that can get over. Loud explosions by the way, similar to the optics, artificial anything, "deteriorated", override them and thus drag. A nice effect, even if huge shootas'd also be fun. :-)
The Speaker (English version) make again a really good job! The first part I liked it here, although a little better, but that may be because the two characters Kane and Lynch were still more different characters and thus already somewhat believable and interesting seemed to be. Here they were now somewhat ironed and therefore might affect their spoken words are not quite so great. But was basically worked here very solid. The few other characters are also well staffed and sound very cinematic.
Conclusion
Again, a wasted opportunity! Like its predecessor, far too little potential was exhausted. A few highlights can not hide the miserable gameplay that really thin and unspannende story and the unsatisfactory end after a few hours. The Kane & Lynch series seems to be doomed to disappoint, at least for me. Although I still have hopes for the series, but it's depressing to see how little learned and improved the makers after the first part. Apart from the graphics namely to nothing. Very, very sad! I love dark and adult games, shattering dramas and effectively staged curing. But Kane & Lynch 2 offers everything either not at all or far too little. It is polished, slick and quickly forgotten. Without draft, without a great idea. A game with good initial ideas that have not hatched or even further developed.
Individual scores :
Story: 4 -
Gameplay: 4 -
graphics: 2
sound: 2
Total: (! enough - but really no more) 4
The whole thing is of course a little whining at a high level, there are finally so many games that are much worse than Kane & Lynch 2 Because like a grade 4 appear hard. I play and review, however, only so-called blockbusters, so prominent and often long-awaited games that play high in their own league. And in this league lose Kane and Lynch unfortunately - again. Too bad!
