GAME
Kane & Lynch
Dead Men

Format: Xbox 360
Eidos
£44.99

4 005209 063081
Age Restrictions: 18+
Available
23 November 2007


Join two men on a dark and gritty drama. One is a flawed mercenary and the other a medicated psychopath. Forced together on a violent and chaotic path of redemption and revenge, no action is considered too harsh as this volatile partnership is pushed beyond reason in this brutally realistic, character-driven third person action shooter...

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is brought to you by the developers behind the Hitman series of games. So, right off, you know that the chances of this being a family friendly outing is going to be pretty slim.

The game revolves around mercenary Kane and his schizophrenic partner in crime Lynch. Neither character likes the other but the two are forced to work together in a series of violent third person shoot outs. You play as Kane and depending on what mode you are playing in, Lynch will either be controlled by the computer, or a friend.

As the game progress you will also be able to recruit a team of mercenaries, who can all be given orders to ensure that they carry out the mission successfully. You can order each of your men to head off and take up their positions in any given area, fall back to your position or unleash their fire power on a certain target. And if you run out of ammunition they are there to offer you some of theirs. However, you can't always rely on them. Occasionally they will tell you to get lost when you issue a command or, if you've already used a lot of their ammo, they'll tell you to go and find your own from elsewhere.

This game is quite ambitious. Probably the easiest way to describe it is as a cross between Hitman and Full Spectrum Warrior, sadly though it never quite delivers what it promises and there are a few too many bugs that weren't ironed out for the launch. Firstly the AI of your men can be pretty poor. They'll simply stand there and fire while they are being pumped full of lead. Also, they have a nasty habit of getting in your way when you have the enemy in your sights. Twice I managed to get myself trapped when the game accidentally let me go to an area I wasn't supposed to. The end result was that I had to switch the console off and reboot the game. Then there's the fact that all the enemy seem to target you all the time, even when there are other men on your team attacking them from another angle.

There are some great levels but they range from simple to practically impossible. And this provided another headache. There's nothing more annoying than spending ages trying again and again to get past a certain point and then it being a question of luck more than any actual skill.

While the abseiling element was a neat touch, sadly it just felt a little too tacked on - it's not like you can actually do anything like fire as you descend.

There is a particularly beautiful looking level that involves Kane and Lynch entering a nightclub to talk with the owner. As you walk through the club the lighting, sound and number of dancers is really impressive, so I was pleased to see that you can later walk back through the crowds firing your gun to cause a stampede. Another highlight involves sitting in the back of a truck throwing grenades and emptying the contents of your weapons into chasing police cars.

Your health is oddly configured. There is no health metre as such. But, if you sustain too much damage then you'll see your screen start to go red. The best thing to do is find cover until it all calms down, and then head back into the thick of the action. However, should you be killed, there is a strong chance that one of your men will reach you before it is too late and inject you with adrenaline. This will have you back on your feet in seconds - however you can't rely on this too often as it's easy to overdose. You'll also need to keep an eye out for your men, as you'll need to rush over and inject them if they become incapacitated. Leave it too late, and they'll die, bringing a swift end to the game.

While there is plenty of fun to be had here, probably the best elements of the game are experiences while in multiplayer mode. This game is certainly worth a look, and missed out on being must own game simply down to it having a few too many bugs.

Nick Smithson

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Play.com exclusive - Includes free bonus DVD
   
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Game.co.uk exclusive - Includes 2-disc digipack, exclusive artwork, 5 track soundtrack by Jesper Kyd amd 4 art cards
   
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