Dog Days Indeed
IO Interactive’s sequel lives up to its subtitle, delivering a game that’s as stagnant as it is hot.
Published: September 1, 2010
One of the inevitable truths of the video game release cycle is that things are intentionally back-loaded -- the last three or four months of the year are when nearly all of the big games hit, a byproduct of it being the biggest buying season of the year. Interestingly, though, the past few years have seen a curious shift as those big-budget games have slid, either because of a too-crowded market or simply because the game have needed more time, and it's meant that the start of the year is almost as packed with major releases.
This creates something of a slump in the summer, a no man's land of titles that get shunted into the middle of the calendar. At times, there can be entire weeks without a major release, and those that are doomed to rest in this trough are often the dregs, games sent to die without a marketing push or left to wallow in their mediocrity alongside others.
Which is why it's rather interesting that Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days has such a fitting title. These are the weeks and months where things tend to slow, where the games that hit more often than not fail to break new ground and where the drought between great releases seems a ponderous length of time. But Dog Days is not a quickly shat-out effort, nor is it one without considerable ad backing, but in the four or so hours it takes to plow through the game on normal difficulty, it was made abundantly clear that there are some elements of these long, hot months that are shared with the final product.
The most obvious is that the gameplay isn't anything you've seen before -- at least not to any appreciable degree. This is a cover-based shooter with regenerating health, and in most respects it follows rote third-person pew-pew rules to a T. Barring perhaps the ability to grab explosive things like tanks or fire extinguishers and lob 'em into a crowd, simply tapping the button to detonate them regardless of obstructions, you'll find a nearby wall or dense object, scoot up next to it and then plink away at enemies in relative safety. The absence of traditional grenades means many firefights are stalemates, with only the occasional flanking maneuver being attempted and little in the way of covering fire from enemies.
The actual challenge comes from the sheer number of enemies you'll be dealing with. Anyone who dealt with the first game will be well aware that the titular leads are anything but remorseful when it comes to the expulsion of human life, but until one actually takes stock of how many enemies were felled in a given level does it actually hit. You'll be gunning down dozens of guys that would rather do the same to you first in any given section, and the fact that targeting only works while you're popped out of cover means judicious use of quick aim and a more measured pace to actually taking out enemies is important.
It makes for an interesting, albeit increasingly repetitive process of wandering into a room, finding something to stand or crouch behind and then slowly thwipping away at targets until the process is repeated, often with some angry banter happening in the short stretches between sections. Though this is most definitely a co-op-focused shooter (you'll rarely split up, and the handful of times where it happens are the only chance to see something you wouldn't in single-player), it's quite possible to solo the whole mess -- just don't be surprised when the final mission seems to drag on forever without a friend. Having someone to play with and coordinate attacks over a headset makes things infinitely more enjoyable, even if the game should have ended one level earlier.
This creates something of a slump in the summer, a no man's land of titles that get shunted into the middle of the calendar. At times, there can be entire weeks without a major release, and those that are doomed to rest in this trough are often the dregs, games sent to die without a marketing push or left to wallow in their mediocrity alongside others.
Which is why it's rather interesting that Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days has such a fitting title. These are the weeks and months where things tend to slow, where the games that hit more often than not fail to break new ground and where the drought between great releases seems a ponderous length of time. But Dog Days is not a quickly shat-out effort, nor is it one without considerable ad backing, but in the four or so hours it takes to plow through the game on normal difficulty, it was made abundantly clear that there are some elements of these long, hot months that are shared with the final product.
The most obvious is that the gameplay isn't anything you've seen before -- at least not to any appreciable degree. This is a cover-based shooter with regenerating health, and in most respects it follows rote third-person pew-pew rules to a T. Barring perhaps the ability to grab explosive things like tanks or fire extinguishers and lob 'em into a crowd, simply tapping the button to detonate them regardless of obstructions, you'll find a nearby wall or dense object, scoot up next to it and then plink away at enemies in relative safety. The absence of traditional grenades means many firefights are stalemates, with only the occasional flanking maneuver being attempted and little in the way of covering fire from enemies.
The actual challenge comes from the sheer number of enemies you'll be dealing with. Anyone who dealt with the first game will be well aware that the titular leads are anything but remorseful when it comes to the expulsion of human life, but until one actually takes stock of how many enemies were felled in a given level does it actually hit. You'll be gunning down dozens of guys that would rather do the same to you first in any given section, and the fact that targeting only works while you're popped out of cover means judicious use of quick aim and a more measured pace to actually taking out enemies is important.
It makes for an interesting, albeit increasingly repetitive process of wandering into a room, finding something to stand or crouch behind and then slowly thwipping away at targets until the process is repeated, often with some angry banter happening in the short stretches between sections. Though this is most definitely a co-op-focused shooter (you'll rarely split up, and the handful of times where it happens are the only chance to see something you wouldn't in single-player), it's quite possible to solo the whole mess -- just don't be surprised when the final mission seems to drag on forever without a friend. Having someone to play with and coordinate attacks over a headset makes things infinitely more enjoyable, even if the game should have ended one level earlier.
