 "Kane and Lynch: Dead Men")
No matter how long a game stays in development, its publishers should never rush the product to the finish line or they will end up with a half-assed product that not only doesn’t sell, but tarnishes the reputation of everyone associated with it as well. In case you haven’t got it by now, Kane and Lynch: Dead Men is one such half-assed product. Even though it hasn’t been in development for all that long, Eidos felt the need to push this game to retail when it clearly requires at least a year’s worth of work.
In today’s day and age, when gamers are spoilt for choice with phenomenal stuff like Call of Duty 4, Halo 3, BioShock etc, it’s practically suicidal to release a game like Kane and Lynch during these times. Had the game hit the stands back in 2003-04 (which is when Freedom Fighters was released), it may have done well, but today, it’s guaranteed to sink faster than a 20-pound dumbbell.
Now we’ve already spoken about the game’s premise in our preview, so feel free to head there and get acquainted with this crazy duo before we get into the review.
Kane and Lynch would have played out like a standard third person shooter, but the game’s horrible combat mechanics prevent it from doing so. Aiming in the game just doesn’t feel right and for some reason weapons have an unrealistic amount of recoil, making you kill more birds than opponents. Hit detection is also extremely messed up – there were times when I nearly emptied a clip on an opponent’s head but he just kept coming right after me.
As if shooting wasn’t all that bad, the game also boasts of one of the most unresponsive and nightmare-inducing cover systems ever devised. Instead of going the Gears of War or the Rainbow Six way, the developers thought it would be fun to introduce an anal cover system that has you pressing your character against the wall hoping that he sticks to it. Effective? No. Annoying? Yes.
Throughout the game, you’ll have your squad (Lynch included) by your side who surprisingly aren’t as brain-dead as I expected. You can use them to flank enemies (to an extent), and even make all of them concentrate their fire on a particular spot. If you end up taking a significant amount of damage during a fight and find yourself on the brink of death, one of your squad mates will come to your rescue and pump you with a shot of adrenaline (you’re expected to do the same for them as well). Just make sure you don’t take too many shots or you’ll end up ODing and dying.
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Enemy AI, on the contrary, was as brain-dead as I expected. Most opponents would blindly run to their death without bothering to take cover, and I came across many of them standing still doing absolutely nothing while I gunned their compadres down before their eyes. Bravo!
The game fares horribly on the visual front as well. While the two lead characters (Kane and Lynch) are decently detailed, the rest of the game looks like utter crap. Buildings and other structures lack any form of detail, character models look as bland and lifeless as humanly possible, and the whole game looks like a PS2 title at times. Add to that minuscule amounts of environmental destruction and downright embarrassing explosions that are as lifeless and dull as the game, and you’ll understand why Kane and Lynch could never be as visceral as Stranglehold or even F.E.A.R. for that matter.
Voice acting, on the other hand, is pretty wicked. Both Kane and Lynch seem to have been voiced by guys who know what they’re doing. The constant abusive banter these two share with each other at all times is reminiscent of certain Hollywood flicks and seems to have been pulled off pretty well. Your squad is voiced by some decent voice actors too, but the tremendous amount of abusive language (some of which feels a tad forced) may turn some people off.
If you think the game’s online component is strong enough to save it, you’re wrong. For one thing, the game’s co-op element can only be experienced via split screen. For another, the multiplayer aspect suffers from all the flaws that plague the single player campaign.
The game’s MP aspect is called ‘Fragile Alliance’ and at the start of every round all players on the server spawn as robbers who are tasked with robbing a bank or stealing diamonds and so on. To successfully obtain the bounty you have to make your way through AI controller guards and if you happen to die in the process you respawn not as a robber but as a guard. Once you manage to get your grubby little paws on the stash you have the option of eliminating your teammates to significantly increase your share; but be warned they can do the same to you. The more money you make, the better weapons you can purchase before the next round begins.
It’s an interesting concept marred by sloppy execution… and that’s how I feel about the entire game. Sadly, it had the potential of becoming a classic action game akin to the works of Michael Mann. If only Eidos had improved the visuals, the combat mechanics, the AI, and slapped on a killer cover system a la Gears of War or Rainbow Six Vegas, we could have had one of the finest action games of 2007. Instead we have something that’s barely worth a rental.
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