Prepare to die a lot if you aren’t constantly using some form of cover. The overall mechanics of Dog Days work, but they don’t feel like anything fresh, even compared to the original. Once you tear apart the campaign either on your own or via co-op locally or by means of Xbox Live, there are a few different multiplayer modes that are bound to keep your attention for a bit longer. Making its return from Dead Men is the Fragile Alliance mode. Fragile Alliance places the group of players into a scenario in which they must collect a pile of cash, and make a quick exit while fighting the cops on the way. The key element that makes Fragile Alliance unique is that you have the option to turn on your team to collect their cash. This will inevitably mark you as a traitor and more than likely your team will try to silence you before you take their share. If you are killed in this mode, come back as a cop to stop your crew from escaping. Two matches aren’t typically ever the same, especially if you continue to play with different players each match. Next up, is the Undercover Cop mode, which places a random player in the role of a cop while the rest are tasked with robbing whatever establishment they’ve been placed in.
Finally, you’ve got the Cops & Robbers mode pitting a team of cops against a team of robbers, both consisting of human players. Pretty basic stuff, but again, Fragile Alliance is probably the most chaotic and unpredictable mode in the multiplayer mode line up. If you don’t have access to live, or just want to play a few rounds alone, Fragile Alliance has an Arcade mode that allows you to team up with a set of A.I. companions to rob a target. It works, but it’s not as unpredictable as playing with some other people that might actually turn on you. That ties into a great piece found in the lobbies of a multiplayer match next to each player’s name. Next to each gamertag, there is an indication on how likely that player is to turning on the group whether it is Scum or Neutral; you’ll know who to keep an eye on during the match. I have to admit, Dog Days was a much better showing for the duo but not quite what I had hoped for in terms of gameplay. Visually speaking the game can often be flooring with its wild perspective and constantly changing set pieces, but the style is watered down by the so-so gameplay. While you will inevitably see some of the most outrageous scenes contained in a game, the ride is over far too quickly. I really like Kane and Lynch due to their unruly nature and disturbing means of survival so I can only hope that they’ll eventually star in a stellar game, but for now we have Dog Days which veils its inadequacies under a killer and stylistic aesthetic.
