Publisher: Square Enix

Developer: IO Interactive

Release Date: 8/17/2010

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The original game stunk pretty bad and was dubbed one of the worst games of 2008. With the sequel on the way most people expected it to be just as bad, but it’s not much better. The original’s only stand out was the cops vs. robbers, an undercover cop multiplayer mode. The undercover cop mode selected a random person to partake in a bank heist, but the other players didn’t know who it was. At the right time, you need to take the cash and bail while everyone chases after you. While all these fun returns nothing was added or changed really.

The single-player campaign is pretty decent for a weekend rental. The game’s story is about two men (Kane & Lynch) who get involved in a bad arms deal and are running from one of the most powerful men in China. While the plot isn’t very interesting the game has some high points such as the torture scene and the fact that these two men are stranded in this communistic country and everyone is against them. You do get a sense of helplessness every so often thanks to the video camera-type camera. It looks like you’re running behind Lynch with a camcorder. Unfortunately, the gore and nudity are blurred out for some reason despite this being an M rating. I found this irritating and it detracted from the game a bit.

There are a good amount of weapons and the game is just hiding behind cover, shoot every guy in the room, and move on. While it’s tedious the game ends before you end up dying of the monotony. Despite this the game makes you switch weapons often because different situations call for different weapons. Some are just more useful than others, and the fact that there is plenty of help. The game also has a balancing issue since some missions will be a breeze and some require tons of restarts. I also wish there are more epic moments like riding the helicopter towards the end or saving your main guy in his limo and protecting it.

The game is also ultra-linear and is a literal corridor shooter. The environments are pretty bland and are just current day China with lots of neon lights and gray rainy backdrops. The game isn’t too technically impressive with graphics that look like they are about 3-4 years old. There is just a lot of potential the game could have had if it just took its time and really developed these two characters better. But despite all this, the game is worth a decent weekend rental if you like mindless shooters with a mature storyline. If you hated the original you probably won’t come back, but people on the fence should jump on this side.

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