Reviews// Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

It's not all bad news though. Kane and Lynch 2 does offer one thing that no other game really has been able to before, and that is a completely acceptable non-player-controlled side kick. Kane knows where he needs to be to back you up, smoke out enemies and stay within ear shot for important story telling conversation. If he is using a wall for cover that you want to use, simply walk up to the wall and he'll move to a different location for you. He never gets in the way, he's completely useful and you don't have to babysit him throughout the game. In terms of a computer controlled co-op character, he is perfect.

The alternative is to have a friend alongside you for the ride in co-op mode. As with all games, the fun-o-meter raises by 600 points when played with a pal and this is no different. The only gripe I have is that when played in split-screen or online, it won't sync up with your single-player save. So, if you're half way through the game on your own and you do a few levels with a friend, the moment your friend goes home you'll have to reload from before he even got there. With the hop-in hop-out option displayed in Gears of War showing that there is a solution to this, it makes me wonder why it was overlooked.

As for the story mode itself. It's short. I clocked in the normal setting at around six hours. Now I've never had a problem with short games but this one feels short. It's six hours of pretty much the same thing. Constantly shooting at brainless enemies with the same few guns in the same locations with the same characters means that by the time the credits roll, you don't feel as though you've actually done much in that time other than cover-shoot-move-repeat. This wouldn't be bad if the story was up to it but sadly that word 'Mediocrity' pops up again.

There is a level in the middle of the single-player that sticks out. With enough substance to raise an eyebrow and enough gore to turn your stomach but after the initial hope raising minutes it soon turns back into Kane and Lynch.

With a short story always comes a multiplayer. What is surprising is how good it is. All based around the same concept: you have to work as a team to commit a robbery and get out alive. The options: Cops and Robbers, Undercover Cop and Fragile Alliance make for some fantastic moments.

In Undercover Cop one of your team has been assigned the role of a dirty stinking rat and his or her job is to muff up the robbery on purpose without being outed by the rest of the group. As my Dad always told me “Never trust a man with white shoes”. My dad's a mental though so I'd take that advise with a pinch of salt.

Fragile Alliance sees you working as a team to get your hand on loot, but you all have the option to turn on your teammates. Succeed in doing so and you'll be a far richer man. Be warned though, the moment you shoot a friend face in, you'll instantly be a known target within the gang. In fact, you'll be lucky to last more than a minute as your co-robbers will take the opportunity to splatter your brains, all the while having your victim respawn as a cop hungry for your blood.

Cops and Robbers is simply the same concept but with everyone split into two teams, either defending or attacking. Despite the multiplayer suffering from some of the issues created by the campaign, all modes are great fun. However, they do rely on everyone playing the game properly, something that will never happen when you pop into a random room of randoms.

Conclusion
Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days needed to take a huge leap in every area to break away from the albatross that was Kane and Lynch: Dead Men. It has failed to do so. What it has done though is added a fun multiplayer, some improved graphics and created the previously unthinkable; a computer controlled co-op partner that doesn't make you want to smash your front room up. It has taken the series away from the tag of distinctly average. Unfortunately, not by much.

SPOnG Score: 55%