The gameplay department of Kane and Lynch: Dead Men really suffers and it is sad because but for these problems the game could have been really great instead of just average. For the most part the single player campaign overall is solid, there are some small enemy AI issues and a few balancing problems but overall people who finish the game will be happy with the experience. Playing it again with a friend in co-op mode is just a bonus and then there is the all-original, defiantly next-gen multiplayer mode known as Fragile Alliance. In this mode the developers took a huge chance and decided to create something that is so different from the norm for this genre game that it scores points just for originality. Fortunately it deserves those points because it is one of the more fun online modes I have played in a long while. The basic premise is up to six people are taking part in a robbery of some sort and whoever ends up with the most money wins. The drama comes in because everyone starts out as a team, working against the “bots” as a team to collect the loot. Once the time has ended the monetary awards are split up between the team-members left alive. Because this is Kane and Lynch: Dead Men and not Care Bears the developers give online gamers the choice of being honorable, and splitting the money with their teammates, or being a bastard of a person and killing them off one-by-one, stealing their part of the pie in the process.
Once someone is killed they become a member of the other side, a police officer or SWAT member whose only objective is to stop the robbers from making off with the goods. The feeling I got capping someone and taking their part of the stash was the exact same as the one I got when I got my revenge on the guy who shot me to steal mine. While most of the maps are straight from the single-player this intuitive online mode was what helped boost Kane and Lynch into the “good game” category and worthy of a complete purchase. Graphically the game is not everything some of the trailers make it look like. If it were not for a few fancy textures, character models, lighting effects, and animations the game could easily be played on any last generation system. There are also some major tearing issues that may bother the picky gamer. What the game does do really well is create an atmosphere and carry it graphically throughout the entire game. There wasn’t a moment that I didn’t feel like I was in the world of Kane and Lynch, taking part in their lives and their crimes.
With all the different stuff to do this game should be able to keep most gamers pretty busy for at least a couple days. The already strong story is helped along the way by some really good voice acting and a fantastic musical soundtrack that fits the game perfectly. There are plenty of recommendations already on the internet for who should play Kane and Lynch in the movie version of Dead Men, my favorite is Billy Bob Thornton and Bruce Willis. After playing through the single-player campaign and spending some time online I walked away from Kane and Lynch: Dead Men with an overall satisfactory attitude. Considering what other games are coming out this month it is really hard to recommend it for a first-week or first-month purchase. With the serious gameplay/control/graphical issues it ends up bringing down one fantastic storyline and even better script writing. If only to check out the co-op mode and insanely original (see fun) multiplayer mode this game should be placed in your Xbox 360. Because of all those other blockbuster games I mentioned earlier I am recommending Kane and Lynch for that stocking stuffer from your 80-year-old grandmother. The irony that a nice old granny is giving one of the most vulgar games ever created, as a Christmas gift, is just too good to pass up.
