Kane & Lynch: Dead Men

"Dead Men make for a Livid Game"

Kane and Lynch is basically one of the most underrated games I've played. That comes from a person who thoroughly enjoyed Jericho, in case you want to critique me, but I feel compelled to share the reasons why here. It was hyped a little, but, it sure made itself up to be the hype AND more. I figure there's two demographics, who make up a large portion of Xbox Live, who gave this game it's bad reputation, and that's Halo fanatics who got used to the unrealistic shooter combat there, and the people who take it upon themselves to adapt the opinion of whatever they happen to read or see on TV that the most other people picked up, perpetually fuelling the bandwagon.

We'll start with it's main selling feature: it's storyline. I'm not going to say the overused 'visceral' term. I instead feel it's more realism I get from this game than anything. I know, it's a mercenary who's middle aged, once hired by some crime organization, but the spin, language, and storytelling of this game allow it to feel real. Maybe it is visceral, if visceral is the feeling you can inhabit the character itself. This might be because I'm no goody goody, but I felt like I can relate to both Kane AND Lynch. The characters get developed enough in-game to give you that feeling, ESPECIALLY during co-op play. They make realistic decisions on their current situation and use logic to assess the situation, it's not like they just decide to walk through the toughest path, and although you usually end up blasting your way through innumerable enemies, their language, the superb voice acting, and mood let you know they wouldn't if they couldn't. You really get the feeling of desperation these two get at times, and Lynch's cynicism, are things that although not exactly welcoming, give you the feeling these 3D avatars are human. I can go on about this subject, but that's the gist of what it feels like to let yourself enjoy the show.

That's not to say gameplay suffers, although it is INDEED a steep learning curve. You will need definite skill, reason, and speed to get through this game. I guess most of the Halo obsessed preteens wrote most of these reviews raving of difficulty, because if you make smart decisions and have a good finger, although the game is difficult, it becomes quite enjoyable. The AI isn't all that bright, but I have been at times, outflanked. They take cover in decent positions but there are some events you can rely on. However, here's where an element of realism comes in again: you are so very vulnerable. If you're not bulletproof, it won't take long for you to find out even a bunch of idiots with guns still have guns, and can figure out how to fire one efficiently. They appear and place themselves in good positions. Trust me, do not play this as you would Halo. You do not aim on a dime, due to a tiny almost non-existent crosshair among other things, which would affect someone in reality, but never seem to affect Master Chief. Firing from the hip is incredibly unreliable making the aim button your friend. Recoil with most weapons is powerful enough to keep you from raining down endless streams of fire. It's hard, but it's not like anyone can be a sharpshooter in real life either. Just play it smart and quick, and you'll get through. Beware though, Havana, which was not all that bad for me, will be insane if you do NOT learn to be patient and play correctly. Refer to my sentence regarding Halo. Finishing off the gameplay, the squad mechanics are polished in my opinion, and I could not have beaten half the game without them, and the online is quite decent, being just a little short. All in all, skill makes for thrill here. Fragile Alliance is relatively lag-free in my experience, and that's coming from someone who gets usually red bars in Halo 3 during the daytime, and is quite addictive with a moderately-sized community. It feels like rolling through a campaign scenario in hyper-speed, and some of them are really fun, especially in more controversial circumstances, like say, you plan to betray your teammates only to be betrayed by the first one you planned to kill before anything is even done. It's worth your time, and the achievements are relatively easy, some more difficult.

The sound, although not perfect, is good enough. The bullet effects and whatnot usually overwrote the music in my experience and I played it low, but the music and SFX and the voice were quite polished through most the game. This is not a shining point but it's not failing or bad in anyway, if anything, above average to a degree.

Basically, if you're prepared for difficult times adequately, or possess skill and patience, this will be amazing. However, for my brother and anyone immature, impatient, or who plain off fails without lack of recoil and sharpshooter aim, do not pick this up. It'll take some getting use to if you're one of those in the middle ground, but I trust you'll come to like it over time, hands down. Give these Dead Men a chance.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/28/08

Game Release: Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (US, 11/13/07)