Eventually it’s revealed that Kane’s crewmates from the Venezuela mission, known as The7, managed to survive the ordeal and like anyone who’s been betrayed, are out for blood. At first Kane is confused as to why The7 would set him free, but he quickly discovers they want him to do one last job and are holding his estranged wife and daughter captive as collateral. No matter how it ends, Kane’s life is forfeit, but if he can complete his mission at least his family will be spared.
It’s at this time we discover Lynch has actually been hired by The7 to serve as Kane’s handler. What we don’t know, and won’t discover until much later, is that Lynch is a heavily medicated sociopath who’s prone to blackouts and random acts of violence. Lynch’s instability plays heavily into the first few chapters of the story, but it seems to be all but forgotten by the time you reach the games first major turning point.
Like most story based games, Kane & Lynch is divided into chapters, each based around an overall objective or theme such as robbing a bank or kidnapping a businessman’s daughter. While game play is fundamentally the same across all missions, the rich variety of locations, characters and objectives keeps the game’s fairly basic cover and shoot style interesting even though you’re essentially doing the same thing for six hours.
Despite its short length, the story of Kane & Lynch is written and structured in such a way that it doesn’t feel unnecessarily long or annoyingly short. It will keep you gripped the whole way through and has an ending that epitomizes the expression “Damned if you do. Damned if you don’t”. So much so that the two ending achievements are actually named, “Damned if you do” and "Damned if you don’t”.
With Kane & Lynch essentially being a Buddy-action flick, IO interactive decided to go ahead and implemented a Co-op mode. Unfortunately they made the same mistake as nearly every Co-op game released this year and decided to forgo online support in favour of vertical split screen. It’s a bonehead decision as nearly everyone and his mum is crying out for online co-op these days but hey offline co-op is better than nothing. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the games controls.
Article comments
1 - Matt Paprocki
Wow. There's something I've never seen on the internet. Someone justifying their opinion on a crappy product by claiming their smarter than everyone else because they like it.
Maybe you should jump around and do a Homer Simpson dance while saying "I am so smart, I am so smart."
Oh wait, you're not. You chose to trudge through a miserable pile of crap, horribly coded to the point of being unplayable at times, just to get through some dialogue and proclaim to the internet that you're smart for doing so. The difference between this and Bioshock? Bioshock's gameplay wasn't broken, was completely open to the players choices, and the story was done almost entirely through gameplay.
You were immersed in Bioshock's world and never taken out of it. Kane and Lynch, well, not so much. It looks like hell, the frame rate is junk, and it doesn't matter what gun you have. You can't shoot people, and in crowded areas, forget about it. And no online co-op? That's a product killer given that, you know, the whole game is based around it.
And if those "douchebags" stop playing online, there won't be anyone left. In a year of Call of Duty, Mass Effect, Halo, Bioshock, Simpsons, Orange Box, and certainly more I've forgot, why in the blue hell would I or tell my readers to play a game as clunky as Kane and Lynch? Right, I wouldn't. Because I'm smarter.
2 - Jason "Njiska" Westhaver
"I am so smart, i am so smart. S-M-R-T i mean S-M-A-R-T"
Ah Matt, the noble critic who decides to lambaste the game by playing only the first level and nothing past it. A man who routinely plays games that are about story and then skips the cutscenes so he can bitch about gameplay. That's some real GameFaqs quality reviewer integrity, right there.
Now as for your rebuttal. I am not trying to justify my opinion by saying, "I'm smarter than everyone else," but rather, "Get your expectations right because if you don't know what you're getting into you won't enjoy it" and if you question me calling out that fact i suggest you go read around. I did a lot of research on what the complaints were before i wrote this, specifically because of your objection and the biggest complaint was that the shooting wasn't like Halo. In fact everyone who criticized the accuracy seemed to begin their statement with, "I've played hundreds of FPS games and this is terrible". If you go into anything with the wrong expectations, which a lot of players have, then of course they're going to have a hard time enjoying it. Kind of like you complaining about the whole Assassin's Creed future time-line. Besides, the accuracy is still way better than Tomb Raider Legend.
As for my comparison to Bioshock I stand by it. Those life chamber's completely broke gameplay. There was no challenge anymore. Without the fear of death for me playing Bioshock became more about making it from story section to story section and the in between fetch quests drove me insane. If you want to see how a game like that should be done go play System Shock 2. Same gameplay more or less, except there's a cost for death and it's actually challenging.
I'm not trying to say Kane and lynch is a better game than Bioshock, just that i feel that Bioshock has been over praised for what it really is, while Kane and Lynch is getting the shaft by the community.
I'd also like to point out that your claim about framerate is grossly untrue. Yes there are one or two spots where it dips, namely due to explosions or the whiteout effect when you get dropped, but the rest of the time it's smooth. It even features an incredible night club level, which you haven't seen, where there are hundreds of actors on screen with no slow-down.
If you wish to argue properly i suggest you go finish the game first. And don't skip the cutscenes like you do in every other game you review. Then we can talk.
3 - Ken Edwards
Of course you are right Matt. No one else liked the game, or gave it a high score.
4 - Matt Paprocki
"Ah Matt, the noble critic who decides to lambaste the game by playing only the first level and nothing past it"
I didn't review it. And I can assure, playing any deeper would have only caused me to bitch more.
"A man who routinely plays games that are about story and then skips the cutscenes so he can bitch about gameplay."
Yeah, damn video games and their gameplay. Who cares about that? If the game's gameplay is engaging enough (BioShock, Mass Effect), I'll get involved in the storyline. If not, why the hell would I waste more time with a game I didn't like?
"Now as for your rebuttal. I am not trying to justify my opinion by saying, "I'm smarter than everyone else,"
really?
1. I don't know why the rabid trolls of the Internet thought it'd be wise to drop $60 on a game that is so clearly above their Neanderthal level
2. I suggest you go back to school and relearn the basic concepts of narrative.
3. Perhaps in a few weeks once the "Douchebag" effect has worn off you might actually be able to find some decent competition.
4. you will enjoy this game, if you don't than just go back to Gamefaqs.
"In fact everyone who criticized the accuracy seemed to begin their statement with, "I've played hundreds of FPS games and this is terrible""
So, it's wrong to assume that aiming a target over an enemy and firing should result in a hit? Maybe in something striving for perfect realism I could see it, but this is hardly realistic.
"Kind of like you complaining about the whole Assassin's Creed future time-line."
I didn't expect to enjoy Assassin's Creed for the same reasons I don't enjoy Splinter Cell and such. However, the futuristic parts completely threw me off and destroy the immersion of this detailed world they created outside of it.
"just that i feel that Bioshock has been over praised for what it really is, while Kane and Lynch is getting the shaft by the community."
It's called gameplay, which means no constant distractions and irritation because you can't shoot an enemy you've clearly got a shot on.
"I'd also like to point out that your claim about framerate is grossly untrue."
From other reviews and forum posts:
Gamespot: Both games (PS3, Xbox 360) have occasional frame rate issues
Forum poster: How does a game with graphics on par with first generation Xbox games still suffer from frame rate slowdowns?
Eurogamer: Slight frame rate issue I noticed
Gametrailers: The frame rate is horrible
Jubox: the frame rate isn't that stable to begin with
"while Kane and Lynch is getting the shaft by the community."
Probably because there's no reason to trudge through it or waste money on it when there's so much else to play this year. It needed more development time, period.
"Of course you are right Matt. No one else liked the game, or gave it a high score."
Those are hardly high marks, and the other versions are rated even lower. A few even scored it in the 50's. Earth Defense Force scored higher (and rightfully so).
5 - bob dole
nope disagree sorry i had loads of laughs messing around shooting people. especialy the great bank level. but i would have rather carried on in civi life than fighting the local rebels! good game. good story but i only suggest this game for people who can concentrate and be patient longer than a 2yr old which doesnt seem to be any of you!
6 - Chanc
The only thing i did not like aboout this game was the Accuracy issues, thats it.<-- period