Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
North American cover art
Developer(s)	IO Interactive Nixxes Software (PC version)
Publisher(s)	Eidos Interactive
Engine	Glacier Engine
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer, co-op

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is a video game developed by IO Interactive, published by Eidos Interactive under Square Enix available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. On July 14, 2010, it was announced by IO Interactive that Kane & Lynch 2 would be releasing a week earlier than scheduled.

Announced in November 2009, the game is described as having a new visual style inspired by documentary films and user-generated content. According to the press release, "every aspect of the game has been designed to deliver a fresh perspective to the words 'intensity' and 'realism'." A pair of teaser videos accompanying the announcement present game footage from a distorted surveillance camera perspective. Dog Days will be presented from Lynch's point of view.

A single player and multiplayer demo was released on the PlayStation Network on July 21, 2010 and on the Xbox Live Marketplace on July 26, 2010. A demo has also been released on Steam on July 27, 2010.

Synopsis

Characters

Dog Days has players take control of James Seth Lynch for most of the game (while the second player in co-op is Adam "Kane" Marcus). After the Venezuela incident in Dead Men, both Kane and Lynch part ways. Lynch starts a new life in Shanghai with a girlfriend named Xiu although being involved in a crime organization led by English-born ex-pat Glazer. After Glazer tells Lynch about a high paying operation involving smuggling guns to Africa, Lynch calls Kane for aid in return for a split in the deal. Not only the job would help them retire but also benefit Kane's estranged daughter Jenny (who survived the events in Dead Men).

Plot

Following Kane's arrival at Shanghai, both Kane and Lynch soon deal with an informant against Glazer named Li "Brady" Lung. After a chase through gang territory, Kane and Lynch corner both Brady and his girlfriend. A quick firefight ensues where Brady's girlfriend accidentally gets shot to death by Kane and Brady commits suicide.

The next day Kane and Lynch attempt to talk to Glazer about the smuggling operation, but they are ambushed by the city's gang and police force. After finding out that the attack against Glazer was initiated by a gang led by crime lord Hsing, Kane, Lynch and Glazer's men raid Hsing's headquarters. During interrogation, Hsing reveals that the woman Kane shot the day before was the daughter of corrupted government official Shangsi. Kane and Lynch narrowly escape the police, Hsing's gang and Glazer's forces and stay low for a couple of hours. Lynch tries to call Xiu to leave Shanghai as soon as possible but to no avail. Later at night, the police force chases down Kane and Lynch who are racing to Lynch's apartment hoping to find Xiu. Both Kane and Lynch discover that the apartment complex has been taken over by Hsing's men, hoping to lure them into a trap. Fighting through multiple levels of the complex, Lynch finds Xiu and stops any of Hsings's men coming for her until Hsing himself takes her hostage. Kane suggests that Hsing should be taken down immediately but fearing for Xiu's safety, Lynch knocks Kane down and surrenders.

On the following day, Kane, Lynch, and Xiu are brutally tortured by Hsing in a bathroom. Believed to be near death after Hsing slit his throat, Lynch is thrown into a dumpster until he wakes up and kills Hsing. Although Lynch saves Kane, he was too late to save Xiu, who had been raped and killed by Hsing. Naked, both Kane and Lynch escape into the city trying to find clothes while being chased by police. Believing that the deal is still intact, Kane and Lynch arrive at the site where it's occurring. However, Glazer was aware of the death of Shangsi's daughter and has his men try to kill Kane and Lynch. Glazer is eventually cornered, revealing that he has a plane that Kane and Lynch can use to leave Shanghai but is then shot by a military sniper. After fighting through military and police forces, Kane and Lynch are captured.

In a helicopter, Kane and Lynch immediately take control and force the pilot to land at Shangsi's building. Through multiple firefights in the building, Kane and Lynch corner Shangsi. Impressed by their skills, Shangsi gives them an unspecified offer that will pardon Kane and Lynch of their crimes. Taking no chances of betrayal and as revenge for being involved in Xiu's death, Lynch shoots Shangsi.

Kane and Lynch arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport searching for Glazer's private jet. When arriving at the warehouse containing the plane, it is shown partially dismantled. With no other choice, Kane and Lynch escape Shanghai through a commercial airliner heading for Balzar, Equador.

Gameplay

Players in the campaign mode of Kane & Lynch 2 will take control of Lynch who is backed up by Kane (except in the last mission, where the player takes control of Kane again). The online enabled cooperative mode will allow players to play as Kane. Players can carry two of any weapon they can grab from dead enemies and cannot be swapped between allies. Players can take cover through a button press. While still having regenerating health, players can get knocked down while being able to immediately get back up.

Multiplayer

Fragile Alliance returns along with two new variant modes (Undercover Cop, Cops & Robbers). The returning mode still has a group of players attempting to grab as much money as possible while escaping police forces and possible traitors. Undercover Cop follows the same fashion while a randomly chosen player must prevent the team from escaping. Cops & Robbers has a group of player controlled police officers going against the criminals still planned to grab money and escape.

The end of each match will allow players to buy new weapons from their heist money.

There is also a single player variant called Arcade where players must accumulate as much money as possible for high scores while surviving increasingly difficult rounds.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	360: 63.71%% PS3: 61.03% PC: 63.82%
Metacritic	360: 63/100 PS3: 63/100 PC: 66/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
1Up.com	B−
Computer and Video Games	8.5/10
Edge	6/10
Electronic Gaming Monthly	7.5/10
Eurogamer	4/10
GamePro
GameSpot	6.5/10
GamesRadar+	7/10
GameTrailers	8.1/10
IGN	7/10
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	9/10
PC Gamer (UK)	70%
X-Play
Giant Bomb

Reception to Kane & Lynch 2 has been considerably mixed. Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb scored the game a 3/5 stars appreciating the visual style and the multiplayer modes. He did criticize that the short single player completion time and providing only six multiplayer maps (with some available through pre-order) might not be enough to warrant a full price purchase. Gerstmann also scored the Xbox 360 version 2/5 stars after experiencing a major bug where the game locks up for seconds when using the shotgun after extensive play. Footage of the bug has been sent to IO Interactive. A patch was released on September 13.

Yahtzee of Zero Punctuation gave the game a very negative review stating there was "nothing fun about the game", his closing comment being: "Kane & Lynch 2 sucks so many dicks that it breathes spunk instead of air."

Sales

In its debut week, Kane & Lynch 2 went to number one in the UK all-format chart. In its second week, the game slipped to number two on the UK all-format chart despite sales increasing by a third. It is currently still in the Top 10 of the UK all-format charts.

External links

• Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Official site