Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days demo impressions

Posted by Chris Holmes at 9:21pm on July 1st, 2010

The Kane & Lunch 2: Dog Days demo was released today (on the 360) to those lucky enough to get a download token from Square Enix. We were in the bunch that got a code, and have just finished up with our first play of the demo from the third person stop and popper. Immediately upon loading the game up, you can see the new CCTV-esque presentation and a fancy, clean UI. There’s a lot to try out here in the demo, including a small part of the story mode, arcade mode and a smattering of online modes.

Let’s begin with the story mode. For the most part, it plays well. The cover mechanic and gunplay is very smooth, with weapons each having a solid individual presence. Movement and pacing seem to be done well too, with ample space to run around and shoot cops. The biggest thing that will strike you when you play is the gameworld. Environments look fantastic.

There’s this one section in the demo where you have to run and gun down a typical Shangai street, and even though you can’t enter the majority of buildings there’s some lovely window/lighting trickery that makes shops have that typical eastern look. The CCTV-esque camera follows the action well, but if you’re prone to motion sickness the wobblyness of it all might send you over the edge.

Kane & Lynch are their regular chipper selves, with them both delivering some nice dialogue as you go through the level. It’s good to see a believability that characters are in the same environment as you and are reacting to the same things you are. Obviously this has been a part of games for a while, but it just ads to the feel of this game and it just feels solid coupled with the mise-en-scene and narrative. Lynch is now the single-player protagonist, but the demo didn’t show anything trademark Lynch-y.

Next up is arcade mode. This basically plants you into the shoes of a random character that has to join up with a load of non-playable AI-controlled folk as you all go and steal money (well the description says information, but in-game it says money) from a van. Even though you’re not playing as one of the game’s infamous twosome, the dialogue here is also solid. After you’ve stolen a load of money and killed the frankly annoyed cops, you have to get away in the back of a van. The twist is, during all of this you can go rogue and steal your allies’ money, or even go 50/50 with the van driver to make the most. It’s an interesting mode and serves a small distraction.

Finally, there are the multiplayer modes. The demo only supports multiplayer through Xbox Live, but does have three modes to try: Fragile Alliance, Undercover Cop and Cops & Robbers. At the end of each round you get to buy different weapons, but the game normally gives you a fine selection to play with normally. You can also take guns from fallen foes, like nearly every other gun-based game in existence. We bet that surprised you.

Fragile Alliance is basically the same as the arcade mode in the demo, but expect more rogue gits thanks to real-life humans being a bit more selfish. This mode is limited to four minutes, and when you die you respawn as a cop, fresh for corruption and revenge. I thought this mode was quite fun, and offered a degree of unpredictability. Surprisingly, my teammates showed camaraderie when a dude with a lot of money tried to go rogue on us. We put him down, shared his loot and got on with the job.

Undercover Cop is basically the same again, but the twist is that there’s an undercover cop in your midst. It creates a nice feeling of tension, akin to the Spy in Team Fortress 2. The undercover cop is chosen at random, and has to stop any of the naughty law breakers from escaping. They can only take down the rest of the group once a crime has been committed, which normally takes all of five seconds in this mode.

Cops & Robbers uses the same basic framework as the other two multiplayer modes and arcade mode in that there are (human controlled) robbers that want to steal a load of money and get away. However this time, there are also human controlled cops that have to stop them. This also played well, with both sides choosing some sneaky hiding spots and paths for the big ambush.

Overall, the Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days demo is surprisingly well-polished and features good old-fashioned shooting fun. It may not have the best gameplay or story, but it’s a good indicator that the full game should at least be entertaining. The multiplayer side of things is fun, but highly repetitive. Hopefully in the full version there will be more modes to choose from, or it could get rather dull quite quickly.

Eidos Interactive | News | Previews | Square Enix | Xbox 360 | Xbox Live

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