Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days - Complete Edition

This game is easily the most mature game I have played that actually feels convincing. Instead of having gory kills and some suggestive female models to make the game edgy and mature this game presents itself in a logical way that justifies the blood, violence and even male nudity. I like that the developers gave a big FU to the whiners of the first Kane and Lynch by making this game the way it is. Did you play the first Kane and Lnych and want a longer sequel? Devs: FU, this is shorter. Did you want and end boss fight? Devs: FU, no boss fight here. Did you find the look of Kane and Lynch 1 generic? Devs: FU, here is a unique VHS filter over the entire game, with shaky cam too! Kane and Lynch 2 plays like one of the best gritty Asian gangster movies you've ever seen. Everyone, including the main characters are a**holes and the violence unfolds because Kane or Lynch triggers a gang war that sees you shoot your way through the slums, streets and business areas of Shanghai. The guns sound great and the voice acting is excellent. You feel like you are caught up in a terrible situation where your only option is to shoot your way out. The camera controls never present a problem and the action never stops. No puzzles, platforming or even unnecessary dialog plays out. You are along for a ride with Kane and Lynch as they descent into chaos. Despite this non-stop action, you have to think about using cover wisely and conserve ammunition. The enemy AI especially on higher difficulties are relentless and do not allow you to find camp in one spot. The enemies actively work together to either flank you or flush you out. I recommend this game to anyone who likes third person shooters, gangster films and those who want to actually play a mature game that earns its stripes in a realistic way. Ignore the critics, except the VHS look and prepare to play a game that pushes you ever forward into chaos.

If Kane & Lynch: Dead Men was the Watchmen of third-person shooters, then Dog Days is the genre's Funny Games. A visceral deconstruction of modern game design down to its barest elements that never ceases to indict both the characters and the players themselves for their complicity in the escalating carnage. Aesthetically, this game is unmatched. Mona Mur's absolutely brilliant drone soundtrack complements every scene of the game, producing an all out assault on the senses that couples with the grimy, pixelated DV imagery to produce a sheer sensory overload that fully embodies the chaotic post-noir storytelling this game sets out to achieve. This game is UGLY. It revels in in it. You're either Lynch or Kane. One of you shot that girl. Neither of you will take responsibility for it, just like Kane never took responsibility for anything in Dead Men. You're going to kill everything in your path and you're going to do it with predominantly mass produced chinese knockoff firearms. You will miss a lot. You will treasure the opportunities you get to wield an accurate assault rifle or a good shotgun. This is a game about sublime, perfect failure, a swiss watch of consequences building to an absurd climax that must be experienced to be understood. I cannot recommend this game highly enough.

Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days takes the previous experience of the first game and refines the third person perspective so that it resembles RE4 more than Spec Ops: The Line. After having played the first game, I appreciated how much more responsive and focused the gunplay was in Dog Days. I also really liked the found footage effects in the graphics, how the camera distorts when bullets fly and the mosaic censoring of stuff deemed "inappropriate" to show the film. That's about where my praises end, because unfortunately Dog Days takes the formula from Dead Men and somehow takes a few steps back. The story is too simple and doesn't have the same weight that Dead Men has, and even that was basically a ripoff of a Michael Mann film. It's serviceable, but it could have been more. Gameplay-wise, each of the levels are going to feel like a meatgrinder: unloading bullets and tearing into flesh until the bodies pile up on top of each other. It's purely a numbers game, and the only other thing it does to up the challenge... is to add tougher enemies along with the huge number of enemies. After a while, it becomes mindless shooting, but not in a way that's satisfying - just empty. So: I played this game literally day one in 2010, and while I don't regret playing the game, I definitely regret paying full price for what I got. If you're interested in the game itself or for the sake of completion with Dead Men, wait for a sale (currently $5.24 USD, marked down from $20.96).

This game is a pure gem. I loved it when it originally came out despite its flaws and I still love it, despite its flaws. This game has such an unique atmosphere that basically cannot be found anywhere else at all. The VHS filter fits the beautiful old school Hong-Kong action movies from the 80´s and the shaking camera just adds the needed adrenaline for a game of this type. There are bugs, there is the main flaw (the infamous shortness), there is no way to turn off or at least reduce the shaking which can be really difficult to handle sometimes, but the shooting/cover system works and it´s fun, at least on EXTREME difficulty, the action is brutal, the intro is just cult, not to mention the mission when Lynch is completely naked, full of scars, deep cuts and bleeds from all his natural (and unnatural) holes on his body and runs through the rainy streets and shoots everything that moves. The game is short but sweet. There is a lot of brutal, almost gore scenes, that you just do not find in modern videogames. I am actually wondering how come it even passed through rating boards. Well, definitely a game of its age with all its cons and flaws. To be honest? Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days feels even better than before and I am glad for it as it proves that my judgement from 2010 was not mistaken. I recommend this game even for its full price 20 EUR on GOG. It is just a must have for all fans of movies like Killing Angels, Devil Hunters, Under Police Protection or In the Line of Duty.