Review by Willsy
After reading the initial reviews on the net, all of them slamming this game, I was a little nervous about the purchase to say the least. However, in the spirit of adventure, I decided to part with $50 (Thanks Ferrit) and have a go at a game that I have been long awaiting, Kane and Lynch: Dead Men.
The premise of the story is that you play Kane, a dodgy old mercenary sentenced to Death Row for some massacre of 25 Venezuelans, (Nice..). Here you meet up with Lynch, a psychotic wife-killer who assists in your break out, and then chips in to help you get revenge on the guys who set you up, a Merc group called “The 7”. Not one for the kids, obviously..
The initial opener has you in a prison van, with Lynch, and the van is jumped by some balaclava heads who bust you out. This then becomes the tutorial, as you gather your wits, get hold of a gat and leg it to the Donut Shop for pick-up, after one of the guys who opened up the van very nicely decides to break your nose and swear at you.
This then leads on to mission after mission of you getting slowly closer to the 7’s head honchos, moving from Downtown LA to Cuba, with the ubiquitous showdown, and a twisty-turny ending.
As is mentioned in some other reviews, the controls (especially the cover mechanic) aren’t quite as sharp as say, Rainbow 6: Vegas. But that’s about the only bug in the game, and the rest of it runs like silk. Aiming and shooting are trigger operated, and weapon reloads are done automatically, as well as by button. Throwing grenades and changing weapons is a breeze too. And Kane has a nice line in melee, using a punch dagger to quietly dispatch his opponents. Or loudly, if your Lynch. Who uses his knees and head..
Some of the scenarios enable you to assemble a team of guys and they become your crew, with the ability to control their actions to a certain extent. The AI for your team-mates, including Lynch in single player is not brilliant, but does the job. Using them and cover effectively is the key to cracking K and L, especially when the cops bring SWAT in, and their associated snipers.
Dolby 5.1 is supported, as well as High Def, and the graphic quality is great, if nothing new to 360 aficionados. The multi-player aspect is taken onto Xbox live, with support for a scenario called “Fragile Alliance” pitting your crew against the cops to take down scores, (as they say in the movie Heat).
The Heat reference is quite apt, as one of the first scenarios take you to a bank to get some secrets out of the vault, and the ensuing fire-fight could have been lifted straight out of the movie, with our anti-heroes blasting cop cars to shreds, and sprinting off down the streets of LA, using bus stops and streetlights for cover.
All in all, if you want a fast paced, out of the ordinary, 3rd person shooter, which supports co-op, Kane and Lynch: Dead Men is one for the collection.
Its super over the top violence and language take it out of the reaches of the youngsters, and as such gets a manly Hardcore rating of 8/10.
Guns, swearing, gore, mercenaries and a psychotic. Who could ask for more really?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1s6Z4TGUdA&noredirect=1
