Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
Encyclopedia
Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is a video game developed by IO Interactive
, published by Eidos Interactive
under Square Enix
available on Microsoft Windows
, PlayStation 3
and Xbox 360
. It is the sequel to Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
. On July 14, 2010, it was announced by IO Interactive that Kane & Lynch 2 would be releasing a week earlier than scheduled.
Announced in November 2009, the game is described as having a new visual style inspired by documentary films and user-generated content
. According to the press release, "every aspect of the game has been designed to deliver a fresh perspective to the words 'intensity' and 'realism'. This includes also a new audio style. Instead of using ingame music, German composer Mona Mur
was hired to create complex ambient soundscape layers generated from real city noises, vintage synthesizers, guitar amplifiers and unusual software. " A pair of teaser videos accompanying the announcement present game footage from a distorted surveillance camera perspective. Dog Days was presented from Lynch's point of view.
A single player and multiplayer demo was released on the PlayStation Network on July 21, 2010 and on the Xbox Live Marketplace
on July 26, 2010. A demo was released on Steam on July 27, 2010.
with a girlfriend named Xiu although being involved in a crime organization led by English-born ex-pat Glazer. After Glazer tells Lynch about a high paying operation involving smuggling guns to Africa
, Lynch calls Kane for aid in return for a split in the deal. Not only the job would help them retire but also benefit Kane's estranged daughter Jenny (who survived the events in Dead Men).
The next day Kane and Lynch attempt to talk to Glazer about the smuggling operation, but they are ambushed by the city's gang and then the police force. After a firefight on the highway and through the streets while protecting Glazer, they find out that the attack was initiated by a gang led by crime lord Hsing. Kane, Lynch and Glazer's men raid Hsing's headquarters. During the interrogation, Hsing reveals that the girl Kane shot the day before was the daughter of a corrupt government official named Shangsi. In order to save themselves from Shangsi wrath, Glazer's men turn on the pair, forcing Kane and Lynch to kill them to hide the truth from Glazer and escape the police and Hsing's gang while they stay low for a couple of hours. Lynch tries to call Xiu to leave Shanghai as soon as possible but to no avail. Later that night, the police chase down Kane and Lynch who are racing to Xiu's apartment hoping to find her. Both Kane and Lynch discover that the apartment complex has been taken over by Hsing's men, hoping to lure them into a trap. Fighting through multiple levels of the complex, Lynch finds Xiu and stops any of Hsings's men coming for her until Hsing himself takes her hostage. Kane suggests that Hsing should be taken down immediately but fearing for Xiu's safety, Lynch knocks Kane unconscious and surrenders.
During the following day, Kane, Lynch, and Xiu are brutally tortured by Hsing in a bathroom. Believed to be near death, Lynch is thrown into a dumpster. When he regains consciousness, he kills Hsing and saves Kane, but is too late to save Xiu, who had been raped and killed by Hsing. Naked, both Kane and Lynch escape into the city trying to find clothes while being chased by the police. Believing that the weapons deal is still intact, Kane and Lynch arrive at the site where it's occurring. However, Glazer already knows the truth about Shangsi's daughter's death and has his men try to kill Kane and Lynch. Glazer is eventually cornered, revealing that he has a plane that Kane and Lynch can use to leave Shanghai but is killed by a military sniper. After fighting through military and police forces, Kane and Lynch jump onto a train, thinking they're finally out of trouble. But the train is immediately stopped and Kane and Lynch are captured by the military and police.
In a helicopter, Kane and Lynch immediately take control, throwing their captors out of the helicopter and forcing the pilot to land on Shangsi's building. Through multiple firefights in the building, Kane and Lynch corner and confront Shangsi himself. Impressed by their skills, Shangsi gives them an unspecified offer that will pardon Kane and Lynch of their crimes. Taking no chances of betrayal and as revenge for being involved in Xiu's death, Lynch kills Shangsi.
In order to escape from Shanghai, Kane and Lynch arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport
to find Glazer's private jet. But when they arrive at the warehouse containing the plane, it is partially dismantled. With no other choice, Kane and Lynch escape Shanghai by hijacking a commercial airliner heading for Balzar
, Ecuador
.
through a button press. While still having regenerating health, players can get knocked down while being able to immediately get back up.
The end of each match will allow players to buy new weapons from their heist money.
There is also a single player variant called Arcade where players must accumulate as much money as possible for high scores while surviving increasingly difficult rounds.
gave the PC version 65.38% and 66/100, the Xbox 360
version 62.51% and 63/100 and the PlayStation 3
version 60.87% and 62/100.
Jeff Gerstmann
of Giant Bomb
scored the game a 3/5 stars appreciating the visual style and the multiplayer modes. He criticized that the short single player completion time and providing only six multiplayer maps (with some available through pre-order) might not be enough to warrant a full price purchase. Gerstmann also scored the Xbox 360 version 2/5 stars after experiencing a major bug where the game locks up for seconds when using the shotgun after extensive play.
Jim Sterling, Reviews editor for Destructoid
, placed it as #1 on his list of "The Shittiest games of 2010." Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, creator of Zero Punctuation
, also placed it as #1 on his list of "the 5 worst games of 2010," calling it "as headache-inducingly unpleasant as impacted wisdom teeth
surgery in the middle of a rave."
Kane and Lynch 2 has sold over 1 million copies worldwide.
IO Interactive
IO Interactive is a Danish video game development company currently owned by Square Enix. The company was founded in September 1998 by the Reto-Moto development group. To date their most popular franchise is the critically acclaimed Hitman series...
, published by Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
under Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
available on Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. It is the sequel to Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is a cooperative third-person shooter developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The mobile phone version was developed by Kiloo and published by Eidos Mobile...
. On July 14, 2010, it was announced by IO Interactive that Kane & Lynch 2 would be releasing a week earlier than scheduled.
Announced in November 2009, the game is described as having a new visual style inspired by documentary films and user-generated content
User-generated content
User generated content covers a range of media content available in a range of modern communications technologies. It entered mainstream usage during 2005 having arisen in web publishing and new media content production circles...
. According to the press release, "every aspect of the game has been designed to deliver a fresh perspective to the words 'intensity' and 'realism'. This includes also a new audio style. Instead of using ingame music, German composer Mona Mur
Mona Mur
Mona Mur is a German vocalist - born Sabine Bredy in Hamburg to Polish parents, 1960.In 1982 she first collaborated with FM Einheit, Marc Chung, and Alex Hacke, all of Einstürzende Neubauten. As "Mona Mur und die Mieter " they recorded the 12" Jeszcze Polska...
was hired to create complex ambient soundscape layers generated from real city noises, vintage synthesizers, guitar amplifiers and unusual software. " A pair of teaser videos accompanying the announcement present game footage from a distorted surveillance camera perspective. Dog Days was presented from Lynch's point of view.
A single player and multiplayer demo was released on the PlayStation Network on July 21, 2010 and on the Xbox Live Marketplace
Xbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content...
on July 26, 2010. A demo was released on Steam on July 27, 2010.
Setting and characters
Dog Days has players take control of James Seth Lynch for most of the game (while the second player in co-op is Adam "Kane" Marcus). After the Venezuela incident, the pair part ways. Lynch starts a new life in ShanghaiShanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
with a girlfriend named Xiu although being involved in a crime organization led by English-born ex-pat Glazer. After Glazer tells Lynch about a high paying operation involving smuggling guns to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Lynch calls Kane for aid in return for a split in the deal. Not only the job would help them retire but also benefit Kane's estranged daughter Jenny (who survived the events in Dead Men).
Plot
Following Kane's arrival at Shanghai, both Kane and Lynch soon deal with an informant against Glazer named Li "Brady" Lung. After a chase through gang territory, Kane and Lynch corner both Brady and his girlfriend. A quick firefight ensues where Brady's girlfriend accidentally gets shot by Kane and Lynch. Brady mysteriously commits suicide.The next day Kane and Lynch attempt to talk to Glazer about the smuggling operation, but they are ambushed by the city's gang and then the police force. After a firefight on the highway and through the streets while protecting Glazer, they find out that the attack was initiated by a gang led by crime lord Hsing. Kane, Lynch and Glazer's men raid Hsing's headquarters. During the interrogation, Hsing reveals that the girl Kane shot the day before was the daughter of a corrupt government official named Shangsi. In order to save themselves from Shangsi wrath, Glazer's men turn on the pair, forcing Kane and Lynch to kill them to hide the truth from Glazer and escape the police and Hsing's gang while they stay low for a couple of hours. Lynch tries to call Xiu to leave Shanghai as soon as possible but to no avail. Later that night, the police chase down Kane and Lynch who are racing to Xiu's apartment hoping to find her. Both Kane and Lynch discover that the apartment complex has been taken over by Hsing's men, hoping to lure them into a trap. Fighting through multiple levels of the complex, Lynch finds Xiu and stops any of Hsings's men coming for her until Hsing himself takes her hostage. Kane suggests that Hsing should be taken down immediately but fearing for Xiu's safety, Lynch knocks Kane unconscious and surrenders.
During the following day, Kane, Lynch, and Xiu are brutally tortured by Hsing in a bathroom. Believed to be near death, Lynch is thrown into a dumpster. When he regains consciousness, he kills Hsing and saves Kane, but is too late to save Xiu, who had been raped and killed by Hsing. Naked, both Kane and Lynch escape into the city trying to find clothes while being chased by the police. Believing that the weapons deal is still intact, Kane and Lynch arrive at the site where it's occurring. However, Glazer already knows the truth about Shangsi's daughter's death and has his men try to kill Kane and Lynch. Glazer is eventually cornered, revealing that he has a plane that Kane and Lynch can use to leave Shanghai but is killed by a military sniper. After fighting through military and police forces, Kane and Lynch jump onto a train, thinking they're finally out of trouble. But the train is immediately stopped and Kane and Lynch are captured by the military and police.
In a helicopter, Kane and Lynch immediately take control, throwing their captors out of the helicopter and forcing the pilot to land on Shangsi's building. Through multiple firefights in the building, Kane and Lynch corner and confront Shangsi himself. Impressed by their skills, Shangsi gives them an unspecified offer that will pardon Kane and Lynch of their crimes. Taking no chances of betrayal and as revenge for being involved in Xiu's death, Lynch kills Shangsi.
In order to escape from Shanghai, Kane and Lynch arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Shanghai Pudong International Airport is the primary international airport serving Shanghai, China, and a major aviation hub in Asia. The other major airport in Shanghai, Hongqiao, mainly serves domestic flights...
to find Glazer's private jet. But when they arrive at the warehouse containing the plane, it is partially dismantled. With no other choice, Kane and Lynch escape Shanghai by hijacking a commercial airliner heading for Balzar
Balzar
Balzar is a city located in northern Guayas Province, Ecuador, on the Daule River, near Los Ríos Province. It is the seat of Balzar Canton, and the agricultural center in northern Guayas....
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
.
Gameplay
Players in the campaign mode of Kane & Lynch 2 will take control of Lynch who is backed up by Kane (except in the last mission, where the player takes control of Kane again). The online enabled cooperative mode will allow players to play as Kane. Players can carry two of any weapon they can grab from dead enemies, but unlike the previous game, cannot swap said weapons between allies. Players can take coverCover system
A cover system is how a video game lets a virtual avatar avoid dangers usually in a three-dimensional world. This method is a digital adaptation of the real-life military tactic of taking cover to dodge enemy gunfire or explosives. Similar gameplay elements can be traced back to as early as 1986,...
through a button press. While still having regenerating health, players can get knocked down while being able to immediately get back up.
Multiplayer
Fragile Alliance returns along with two new variant modes (Undercover Cop, Cops & Robbers). The returning mode still has a group of players attempting to grab as much money as possible while escaping police forces and possible traitors. Undercover Cop follows the same fashion while a randomly chosen player must prevent the team from escaping. Cops & Robbers has a group of player controlled police officers going against the criminals still planned to grab money and escape.The end of each match will allow players to buy new weapons from their heist money.
There is also a single player variant called Arcade where players must accumulate as much money as possible for high scores while surviving increasingly difficult rounds.
Downloadable content
Soon after its release, 3 DLC packs were made available to download on all platforms. This included a weapons pack, multiplayer mask pack and 3 new multiplayer maps. As a preorder bonus, one of the three DLC packs was given free of charge depending on which retailer it was purchased from.These items are only available in either Multiplayer or Arcade game modes.Reception
Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days received mostly mixed reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave the PC version 65.38% and 66/100, the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
version 62.51% and 63/100 and the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
version 60.87% and 62/100.
Jeff Gerstmann
Jeff Gerstmann
Jeff Gerstmann is an American video game journalist and former editorial director of the gaming website GameSpot and the founder of the gaming website Giant Bomb. He began working at GameSpot in the fall of 1996, around the launch of VideoGameSpot when GameSpot separated PC and console games into...
of Giant Bomb
Giant Bomb
Giant Bomb is an American video game website and wiki that includes gaming news, reviews, commentary, and video, created by former GameSpot editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis in collaboration with Whiskey Media...
scored the game a 3/5 stars appreciating the visual style and the multiplayer modes. He criticized that the short single player completion time and providing only six multiplayer maps (with some available through pre-order) might not be enough to warrant a full price purchase. Gerstmann also scored the Xbox 360 version 2/5 stars after experiencing a major bug where the game locks up for seconds when using the shotgun after extensive play.
Jim Sterling, Reviews editor for Destructoid
Destructoid
Destructoid is an independent video game-focused blog based in San Francisco, California that was founded in March 2006. It has since grown into one of the most widely read video game sites on the Internet, reaching more than 3 million unique visitors per month...
, placed it as #1 on his list of "The Shittiest games of 2010." Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, creator of Zero Punctuation
Zero Punctuation
Zero Punctuation is an ongoing video game review series created by comedy writer and video game journalist Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw and published by the online magazine The Escapist.-Background:...
, also placed it as #1 on his list of "the 5 worst games of 2010," calling it "as headache-inducingly unpleasant as impacted wisdom teeth
Wisdom tooth
A wisdom tooth, in humans, is any of the usually four third molars. Wisdom teeth usually appear between the ages of 17 and 25. Most adults have four wisdom teeth, but it is possible to have fewer , or more, in which case they are called supernumerary teeth...
surgery in the middle of a rave."
Sales
In its debut week, Kane & Lynch 2 went to number one in the UK all-format chart. In its second week, the game dropped to number two on the UK all-format chart despite sales increasing by a third. After less than one month on sale the game dropped out of the Top 10 of the UK all-format charts.Kane and Lynch 2 has sold over 1 million copies worldwide.