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Kane & Lynch: Dead Men

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men comes to you from IO Interactive, the creator of the popular Hitman game series. After four titles in a row for that series, IO have tried something different: a disturbing tale of two desperate convicts on a murderous rampage. Where Hitman was all about stealth and disguise, rewarding missions that were carried out unseen and unheard, in Kane & Lynch you make a lot of noise and spill a lot of blood.

Nobody gets away with what you just did

Kane and Lynch are Dead Men because at the beginning of the game, they're on their way to death row. Kane, the protagonist, has nothing: he has lost his freedom and with that everything his bloody work earned him, and now he's about to lose his life. However, his former comrades aren't willing to let him die and take his riches to the grave with him. The7, a group of mercenaries that Kane once belonged to, break him out with the help of an insider, another convicted murderer called Lynch. They have Kane's estranged wife and daughter, holding their lives ransom against the loot he took during a failed heist in Nicaragua. His life is forfeit regardless, as The7 accuse him of treason and will take their revenge, but now he has a purpose: he's desperate to save his wife and daughter.

Other people's lives and safety or principles like friendship and honor mean nothing to Kane, who's single-mindedly obsessed with his task. If there is a message in the game, it's one of warning: violence and greed will alienate you from society, your friends and your loved ones, and will finally cost you everything you value. Kane's past actions have put him in a terrible spiral where his only course of action is to kill. Even though the game's final chapter is called Choice, the player has no way of righting Kane's descent. Killing is pointless, it solves nothing, but there's a lot of it in the game. For the player, this can be a frustrating experience, as the only possible way of interaction with the game world ultimately brings no real reward. However, once you start to understand Kane, the despicable sociopath that he is, the game's powerful storytelling takes over.

The opening minutes of Kane & Lynch set the tone for the rest of the game. We see Kane's nihilism replaced with fear for his family, and his disdain towards Lynch and the two men's distrustful relationship turn into an uneasy alliance - all this against a backdrop of violence, insanity, betrayal and revenge. The criminals fight with such extreme aggression that it overwhelms local law enforcement, and early on the gameplay is strongly reminiscent of scenes from Michael Mann's movie Heat.

With the help of Lynch, the inside man, and several masked gunmen, The7 carry out a violent attack on Kane's prison transport. Kane and Lynch have to fight their way through the streets and alleys of Los Angeles to escape, and confront The7 in a scene familiar from any number of crime movies. Lynch is out of his league here: he's not a soldier, only a badly unhinged individual who hasn't received the right treatment. The game takes a stab at medicalization and the use of drugs as the only solution to psychological issues.

Page 1: IntroductionPage 2: Single Player CampaignPage 3: Multiplayer: CO-OP and OnlinePage 4: Graphics and TechPage 5: Conclusion and Final Scores

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