Kane and
Lynch: Dead Men
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?
