There’s something strangely compelling about the characters Kane and Lynch, the two antiheroes created by IO Interactive. While the first entry into the series was riddled with various issues, I reserved hope that IO would manage to give them a much more refined sequel. While Dog Days is steps ahead of the previous in terms of visual style, the lack of refined gameplay plagues the follow-up and the plot fails to deliver any sort of intrigue other than a few scenarios that push the boundaries of the game’s Mature rating, of which I will avoid spoiling. Kane and Lynch are gifted in the art of getting caught in the sights of everyone with a gun, and not unlike the first the duo gets caught up in a massive firefight spanning Shanghai. Kane flies out to Shanghai, where Lynch has taken up a new life with his girlfriend Xiu. Lynch has a compelling business deal that Kane hopes will be his last bit of dirty work before he can finally leave his heist-infested life. Of course, everything hits the fan when Lynch takes Kane to deal with what is supposed to be a quick errand.
To avoid spoiling it, the two more or less step on the wrong toes and the errand turns into an attempt to save Xiu and escape the city. I would say it’s your typical two against the world story, but the absurdity of the majority of the game compels me to say differently. While it contains a typical action plot, some of the outrageous scenes push the boundaries of typical, some in a laughable manner, others quite disturbing. One mission in the game will go down as possibly one of the most graphic scenarios placed within a game. While the mission is absolutely absurd, I couldn’t help but feel that it was one of the higher points in the game. Ultimately the mission will be a major turn off to some, while to others it will be a display of Kane and Lynch they were hoping for. I avoid commenting on what parents should and shouldn’t allow their kids to play, but due to the disturbing nature of the game, I implore adults picking up the game to keep it from their young, because Dog Days contains everything you could get through the ESRB without being rejected. While the campaign has its ups and downs, it clocks in at a disappointing 4-5 hours depending on the person. You do go through a pretty wild set of environments, much better and more eventful than those found in the first game, but Dog Days can be easily completed in a night. All issues aside, Dog Days has a very unique visual style made to look like a third party is chasing the two across Shanghai with a low-quality hand cam. When you run, the camera bobs up and down as if the cameraman is chasing you as well. Loading screens are replaced with “buffering” screens.
The cut scenes are poorly edited intentionally to look as though the camera has been temporarily turned off. This all culminates into a very different look from anything you’ve really seen. Personally, I thought the poor look to the film and the thought of a camera man documenting the insanity was a very cool touch that kept the game from being a complete disappointment. The textures in the game aren’t very appealing, but the gritty look to the game masks the design flaws well. People will inevitably take sides on the aesthetics, especially with the fact that it would be nauseating but all in all I believe this unique look gives the game character. Gameplay on the other hand, hold Dog Days back from being one of the year’s standout titles. In fact, the gameplay doesn’t feel all that different from that found in Dead Men. You play as Lynch this time around, but that might be the biggest difference. There is a cover system implemented which works typically OK, but can cause some frustration if you stick to the wrong side. The A.I. is pretty unintelligent and won’t typically try to flank you. From time to time, you might even be standing on the opposite side of cover as an enemy and they won’t try to get around to you whatsoever. The weapon selection, while there are various models of each weapon type, there doesn’t seem to be a large variance between each model. The assault rifles and shotguns are really the key to success and you’ll alternate between those two most of the game. The difficulty level can also prove to be quite high no matter which setting you place the game on.
This feature review concludes on the next page, please click below to read our final thoughts on Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days.
