Kane & Lynch 2 - Dog Days

RopeDrink

Right, I post this knowing full well that there are plenty of people on the Games Forum who have either played the first, or heard about it, and hated it.

Personally I quite enjoyed it - The game was flawed and clunky but the story was fun despite reknowned, hateable characters being the only ones in the game and some of the playable scenes where clearly carbon copied from famous movie scenes, such as the Tokyo Street level being very similar to the post-bank Robbery scene in "Heat".

I didn't really look but eventually stumbled on the trailers on YouTube for it's SPlayer, MPlayer and general story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUFPVlI3Sy0

Thats just the one for the general look and typical fast paced snazzy bulletfest to sell the gameplay.

For those who MAY have played the first, seems that the Second is all about Lynch seeing as the first was all about Kane - About time - Lynch was definately my favourite of the team in the first and it was a shame how sloppy they had the co-op in the first - People trying to play MPlayer or Co-Op on the PC version couldn't do so without XBox360 controllers, which was pretty stupid. I HAVE a Controller (Not an XBox one) and, naturally, there is mouse and keyboard - Neither gets registered.

GamesForWindowsLive is your sign in for K&L so that didn't help MPlayer at all - I've never once seen it because it was impossible to get a game on the PC and now, years later, there's nobody playing it.

Still, it was worth the money to me, more than I can say for other titles I blew cash on, so no complaints - I won't be able to run K&L2 on my current machine without severely dumbing it down (Assuming it's coming to PC).

So, would it interest anyone?

I have a movie of above mentioned HEAT influence which people may enjoy from the first one but if you want to check out more about K&L2 it's all over YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAJfNXNIKG4

The game would look better if I didn't have it on 800x600 and on low settings at the time

BlitzKrieg

played the demo there back to back with mafia 2.

sort of strange classic formal mafia style vs dirty gritty tarintino gangster style mixing there...


I really liked a number of things

the youtube style presentation is very cool, the focus on lynch mixed with the confusing shanghai setting is a great combination, cause lynch is confused most of the time anyway so its a nice pairing the hit detection effect is rather nice, especially with a shotgun and the story seems to be better then the first which i found lacking when it kept jumping around the place and little development on the background characters.

But like the first, all the presentation gloss in the world cant hide a frustrating gameplay mechanic, taking cover is slippery and annoying, the guns feel castrated and the sense of progression feels very artificial (go to arena, get wailled on by spawning cops for 5 minutes as you hide behind cover picking them off, walk to trigger [door] enter new arena repeat). Wasnt until the last segment that it started improving. I do like the knock down mechanic, its a nice revenge moment though it can be rather clumbersome.


Overall if the reviews come back that the story is an improvement (as hinted with the betrayed angry hurt lynch elements) then i might pick it up on the cheap, but it does another nose dive like the first then i'll give it a miss.

BlitzKrieg

I was kinda hoping they'd get Billy Bob Thornton as Lynch, least then you'd have two good actors and chemistry.

After shoot em up I say give it to paul giammati

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7RSQ-d6QR8

he even looks like him

madrab

Wasnt a massive fan of the first game, but it was ok. The best part, possibly one of the coolest things ive seen in a multiplayer game was when:

in the bank robbery level, i was playing lynch and my friend was playing kane, while he was down stairs i was up top watching the hostages when all of a sudden a load of cops appear and star shooting me, naturally i start shooting them all up telling my mate to come up and help me out. when he does it turns out they arent cops (as seen on my screen) but innocent people (seen from his screen). i really liked the way they used it to shoe lynch's complete psycho tendencies

Azza

madrab that actually sounds really smart. K&L one is going cheap down at my local xtra vision I may give it a try.

Ropey what have you got against Steam. Just install it, download and install the demo, play it then un-install it along with steam. Steam install and un-installation is fast. 2 Minutes tops although you will need to register an account for free which will take a little longer.

cherryghost

I don't like it. Multiplayer was fun enough though.

BlitzKrieg

Ropey what have you got against Steam. Just install it, download and install the demo, play it then un-install it along with steam. Steam install and un-installation is fast. 2 Minutes tops although you will need to register an account for free which will take a little longer.

its also going for 27 pounds (sterling, uk based atm) on steam if you pre purchase now.

though I rather pre order mafia 2 and get mafia 1 to play on steam instead...

Saying that I intended to get it for the 360 anyway

BlitzKrieg

after which I suspect can be downloaded by other means in the future.

not if its shipped with steamworks http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Kane-And-Lynch-2-Comes-Steam-Packed-With-Steamworks-25997.html

doesnt that mean its pretty much exclusive to steam (like DOW2 or Empire Total War)

BlitzKrieg

if it switched to steam for its DRM which is hinted at in this article http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.204014-Kane-Lynch-2-Switches-to-Steam

then yes you will need steam to play the game regardless as the steam software is the DRM.

v3ttel

When was/is this game supposed to be released? I thought it wasn't out until Aug 17th (after a quick google - maybe that was the US date?), but seen HMV in the Crescent, Limerick selling it. Didn't look to be in Gamestop.

I played the demo. Actually quite enjoyed it (although, it is a bit "clunky"), apart from the massive bug at the end. Apparently, its supposed to end with a cutscene (from the youtube videoes i've seen), but it wasn't triggered in my game. I can go beyond the last fence into an unrendered grey blur, and if i do, it crashes.

Didn't inspire me with confidence.

Mr Freeze

I am looking forward to this too, mainly the multiplayer aspect, I love the fragile alliance game, and 2 news modes in this look great too, undercover cop and cops v robbers.

I liked the 1st, I can't understand all the hate there was for that game, there are much worse games that don't get flamed as much.

Will definitely be picking this up anyways, and getting straight into the multiplayer for fear of its online play dying a death like the 1st game where nobody will be playing it in a few months.

Have to say the youtube\ documentary style too is excellent, it makes the action feel far more real (even if it is completely over the top).

DarkJager

Some reviews in, its definitely one to forget about from the sounds of things. While I liked the first game despite its flaws, this just looked poor and boring from the start. "Youtube" style camera just because you can't be arsed making the graphics half decent? No thanks.

Destructoid: 1/10
Eurogamer: 4/10

Mr Freeze

Reception to Kane & Lynch 2 has been considerably mixed. Official Xbox Magazine UK gave Kane and Lynch 2 Dog Days a 9/10, with Eurogamer awarding it 4/10 and Joystiq 2.5/5. Destructoid awarded it 1/10 or "Epic Fail".

Considerably mixed indeed.

Well I think I will make my own mind up, and I think the game is worth a look, I really enjoy the MP side of it, and IF the single player is good, it will be a bonus.

Chairman Meow

It unlocks on steam in about 4 hours.
Knew EG would give it a **** review, as theyre a fairly ****ty site to begin with.
Im not expecting this game to reinvent the wheel, but the demo was great fun, and seeing as how i love the visual style of it, and that was the reviews biggest complaint, then i dont really care what the review score is. It looks gorgeous on PC, plays really well, and so what if theres not much mroe to it than shooting? You dont see people pissing on DOOM because all you do in it is shoot things. Seriously anyone complaining about the graphics needs to see it maxed out on PC, its ****ing amazing looking.

Ciaran500

Chairman Meow wrote: »

Knew EG would give it a **** review, as theyre a fairly ****ty site to begin with.
Im not expecting this game to reinvent the wheel, but the demo was great fun, and seeing as how i love the visual style of it, and that was the reviews biggest complaint, then i dont really care what the review score is.

I've found EG reviews to be fair and accurate in the past as long as the games isn't some massive title (which they are hit or miss on). But the score they gave seems justified, they complained about the story, the controls, the aiming, the characters, the multiplayer and the visual style...

SeantheMan

I had the first on my shelf for months/years and never really got into it. Maybe some other game caught my attention at that time, but I picked it up yesterday and completed it.

The story is good, and I liked the characters themselves, there were some "shock" moments and it was well scripted.

There were however a lot of downsides, they tried to make you control squads, when there was no need, at all !...and it was terrible to try control them..idiot AI

Then the cover system, that was a sham, the controls were clunky, and the aim etc was awful, also half the time you didn't know who or what was shooting at you.

If it wasn't for the story ..movie quality..probably why they are making a movie, I'd have thrown it away.

I'll download the demo of 2 and see how it goes.

Wasn't happy with either of the endings of the first

jock101

I liked the demo, even though is was a bit clunky and not perfect. But Im going to get for the XB360 because 4 of my xbox live mates are getting it, so it should be a laugh on the multiplayer. If its pure dross, i'll trade it in for Mafia 2 next Friday.

Shuggana

Had a quick play today, I like the new camera. Seems like a big of a lag fest at the minute though, and players are now made of stone, taking copious amounts of bullets to the face before dying. Was really great though.

Mr Freeze

Well I enjoyed the game anyways.

Online is a bit annoying as ranked games are hard to find, and when you do get a game, the host quits if he is doing crap, very annoying.

Star Bingo

must say i love this game. hard as it tries to be loathed - other than that i can't understand the hate campaign against it n i'll never trust the reviews again - saw kids commenting they left this game feeling 'dirty' but truth is they should never have bn sold a copy - if ever a title justified that 18 cert this is it, is a snuff basically. reminds me of Killzone 2 in terms of redefining how a game looks ahead of gameplay but much rather the bleak realism of these blood spattered ceramic tiled walls of downtown shanghai than that half-arsed sci-fi nonsense of a plot.

actually feels like a new console's launch title to me due to this 'youtube' gloss masking the purposefully low-res environments n so not a frame gets dropped. maybe the general consensus left me underestimating this title cos its way better than i expected. immense set-piece shootouts on extreme!

Star Bingo

that shows it stripped down to the bare bones some alright - hope u can manage higher specs for this cos the messed up washed out coloration n lighting effects r big facets of to the nightmare scenario they're embroiled in, along with extreme mode cos the AI shouldn't be that dumb theyre relentless in my game. ps3 version

Star Bingo

RopeDrink wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhfOKnnn8EA

here's the same section with everything turned up. visual effects, n difficulty on extreme, from 6:30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ2tAMVSP20

you're forced into taking cover most of the time as one bullet can drop you n they generally act sharper. more realistic n challenging - its just without those aspects i wouldn't be particularly vocal about my admiration for it, but the story still stands

Chairman Meow

Good to see some people enjoying this, i really dont think its as bad as its made out to be. Theres some great moments in it, its presentation is 100% unique, and overall its enjoyable if a bit short (but the fact that the gameplay is fairly repetitive means short campaign = not that big a deal)

Special credit should go to the audio designers. The core is mostly industrial scrachy noise but it sounds like something youd hear in satans chill out room and is genuinely ****ing uncomfortable at times.

Star Bingo

not gonna plug this anymore as it seems it is a major release with big funds behind it - n big returns. the curious reviews have not harmed sales.. but apparently a gamespot journo got sacked for not giving a good rating on the first K&L, so it may be payback en masse - but this stuff about 4hrs total campaign? took me nearly that to complete one of the latter chapters last night (extreme) of which there's 10 or thereabouts

a guy called Jim Sterling, writes for Destructoid any game he doesn't like n sells well he dismisses as a chav game. or a jersey guido game, whatever - they are solely responsible for its high chart position apparently. i am responsible. i am a chav cheers jim :cool:

Chairman Meow

RopeDrink wrote: »

More on med/low settings - Game can be very smooth when not recording with FRAPS so thats also another reason I had to downgrade the settings a little bit. Find it hard to NOT record when playing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzWfiSViKpk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJt5DiCGZqo

Would really like to get a Co-Op going just to record it for the channel.

FRAPS halves your FPS, or thereabouts, so i find when i record footage that i do it in a section ive already played so i can just have a muckabout to get some good footage rather than actually trying to play the game.
I dont know if co op is bugged to **** tbh but i tried playing it on sunday with a friend on steam and it was horrendous. So much so i just went back to SP. Really not alot of fun and just unbelieveably laggy

heres a bit of footage i took myself, all settings maxed, fps drops to a low of 25 in the crowd scenes but thats about it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWrjMbQtDI

i got the compression all wrong tho, i always do...not great quality

dreamers75

Record fraps at 60 fps and when playing it back in vdub, save it as xvid 25 fps. doesnt matter if your pc is a gibbering mess whilst recording.

Ever wonder who you see these glorious videos and wonder how the **** did they record that ?

Chairman Meow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN2P_47Tnds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgVQGrx6m2Q

couple more videos, much better compression and video quality

Burning Eclipse

Available on the cheap today... details here.

Grumpypants

This could be up there as one of the worst games ive played all year and ive played a lot of garbage. The way the game is "shot" is retarded its as if its on a hidden or handheld camera but unless im missing some big plot reveal later that there are 3 people in the game this makes no sense. If the camera is handheld then you need someone else to hold it but no reference is made to the camera at all. Having this "style" is someone trying poorly to make it edgy but it just makes the game look terrible.

The shooting sections turn into little more than a shooting gallery where you keep shooting targets that pop up and down with guns with increasingly poor accuracy in increasingly bland locations.

I wasted 30 euro on this only good point is xtravision will give me 28 back for it as trade in.

humanji

I only got to play the demo last night and really enjoyed it. I despised the first one, but I'm considering picking this one up. I actually like the grungy, over the shoulder shaky-cam (which is odd, because I hate it in movies) because it fits the game perfectly, and the combat seems really frantic and fun.

Chairman Meow

Grumpypants wrote: »

This could be up there as one of the worst games ive played all year and ive played a lot of garbage. The way the game is "shot" is retarded its as if its on a hidden or handheld camera but unless im missing some big plot reveal later that there are 3 people in the game this makes no sense. If the camera is handheld then you need someone else to hold it but no reference is made to the camera at all. Having this "style" is someone trying poorly to make it edgy but it just makes the game look terrible.

The shooting sections turn into little more than a shooting gallery where you keep shooting targets that pop up and down with guns with increasingly poor accuracy in increasingly bland locations.

I wasted 30 euro on this only good point is xtravision will give me 28 back for it as trade in.

Fair enough you dont like the style, personally i think its very original and theres no other game around that looks like K&L2. Also, worst game of the year? No chance, that award goes to Heavy Rain.