Developer: IO Interactive
Publisher: Eidos
Genre: Third-Person Shooter, Action
Rating: M (For Mature)
Number of Players: 1-2 (Local and Online)
Release Date: November 13, 2007
Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men Offical Website

Story

You take the role of Kane, a scarred up, bad-ass glass eye toting mercenary who once worked for a group called The7.  While driving in a Police Transport Vehicle you are instructed by a person – who you later find out is Lynch – to put your head down. While questioning the person why, your truck is attacked, enabling you and Lynch to break free and run. With the assistance of the deranged psychopath Lynch and an unknown posse you make it to a field where you find out that he’s in debt to The7. Instead of killing him they give him an ultimatum: get a briefcase that belongs to them within three weeks or you die.  Lynch made a deal with The7 to watch you, Kane, and that’s how the love story begins.

Gameplay (Single Player)

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is not amazing by any stretch of the imagination. It is handicapped by awkward aiming, and in combination with the frequent FPS drops the game is a grueling, frustrating experience. However, the somewhat creative story line, no holds barred language, online co-op, and fantastic voice acting helps the game break even.

The control-scheme is fairly straightforward. In this third-person shooter you’re allowed to take cover and fire at enemies, throw grenades, and try to manage the horrific recoil of some of the guns. The pistol is the most accurate weapon in the game, as its bullets, for the most part, go where you want them to. Other guns tend to do the opposite, forcing you to one-shot burst and frequently stop shooting in the middle of gun fights to wait for the recoil to settle. I recommend adjusting the control settings through the option menu to speed up your look and aiming acceleration.

As you move throughout the game you assemble a team of killers consisting of you, Lynch, and two prisoners – who were once your enemies – you helped break out. Your job is to attempt to control your teammates to get you through the objectives presented to you throughout the game. I say attempt because sometimes the AI gets courageous and runs off into the open in the middle of a gunfight and gets himself “downed.” Yes, that’s right, downed, just like in Gears of War. You don’t really die in the game – at least in gunfights. After sustaining a certain amount of damage you are downed, then your nearest teammate runs to you with a vile of Adrenaline to revive you. After the screen goes white (Manhunt 2 anyone?) the magic potion is injected and you run amuck as if you were never hit with a single shot. However, get injected four times and you are prompted with a “You Overdosed” screen, forcing you to restart from the beginning of your last checkpoint. You may also die if a teammate is not near you to inject the Adrenaline. Also, if a teammate of yours should get downed you have to run to them to inject them; for some odd reason, your other teammates, who are alive and well, can't do this, only you can.