Reviews// Kane & Lynch (Xbox 360)

A whole new raft of tactics is opened with squad-based gameplay. Doing the team thing, you issue commands to Lynch to follow you, defend a spot or attack a location. You're soon thrown into situations where a single-player approach would require careful planning to take out surrounding threats, but squad tactics give you the option to quickly fight back from multiple angles. A couple of chapters in and you're charged with commanding three further team members, each with up to four grunts of their own.

Your team's AI appears convincing; they run where commanded, take cover and attack any threats. If they come under fire from a different angle they'll move around to avoid a pummelling. Similarly, enemy characters act in a believable manner, running for cover and attempting to out-flank your group. Watching a fire fight unfold is entertainment in itself – it's like watching a mini-movie, as cover gets destroyed, pillars and walls crumble, vehicles explode and the characters run to new locations.

However, you can't stay too far away, as your constant command is required – more on that later – and if any of your team falls, you have to administer a 'lifeline' adrenaline shot pronto, otherwise they'll die and with them, your game. That's a mechanism that works both ways – if you fall, one of your team can give you adrenaline, essentially granting you another life. You can take as many shots of adrenaline as required, but too many in close succession will cause an overdose.

On the surface, it's a clockwork arrangement, but problems become evident very early in the game. Firstly, the script sucks. The overall story is fine. It's a little infested with clichés, but I can live with that – every year I pay good money to see it at the summer blockbusters. The dialogue, however, is rubbish - a B-movie affair replete with swearing . If I didn't know better (which to be honest, I don't) I'd suspect it was written by a 15 year-old. This is a shame, because it lets down an otherwise interesting story and is integral to Kane and Lynch's edgy 'Reservoir Dogs' world of mercenaries, psychotic murderers and treachery. Hammy dialogue is neither cool nor edgy and skipping cut scenes, while possible, isn't advised, as the content is needed for the following sections.

Despite the shocking dialogue, the delivery is excellent and well produced. The voice actors have delivered their best given the words they've been told to spout. Audio throughout is well constructed and executed. Your team chatter isn't too repetitive, though Lynch's responses to your commands could have been expanded, and their comments often help to guide you in the right direction should you wander from the planned path. Incidental music picks up the pace during key moments, but otherwise the soundtrack to your game is the distant rattle of weapons fire and the zings and thuds of bullets flying around you, delivered in surround and providing cues to the source of an attack while you're taking cover.