Video Game Vintage Title: Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is a third-person shooter video game developed by IO Interactive, published by Eidos Interactive under Square Enix for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the sequel to Kane & Lynch: Dead Men.

Announced in November 2009, the game was 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'. 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.

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Plot

Immediately after Kane arrives in Shanghai, Lynch forces his friend to help on an errand: threatening an informant named Li "Brady" Lung. The plan goes badly and a chase through gang territory ensues. After shooting a number of gang members, the pair corner Brady and his girlfriend in a wet market. A quick firefight ensues, and Kane accidentally shoots Brady's girlfriend. Brady calmly commits suicide.

The next day Kane and Lynch talk to Glazer about the smuggling operation, but their limousine is ambushed by Brady's gang. After a firefight on the highway and through the streets, they are told the leader of their attackers is a crime lord named Hsing. Kane, Lynch and Glazer's mercenaries raid Hsing's sweatshop headquarters and capture him. During interrogation, Hsing reveals the girl Kane shot was the daughter of an exceptionally high-ranking Politburo official called Shangsi, and that anyone friendly with the two men is effectively open season. Upon hearing this Glazer's men turn on Kane and Lynch, who are then forced to kill their former associates in order to hide the truth from Glazer. They then escape the police and Hsing's gang.

Lying low in a restaurant for a couple of hours, Lynch tries to call Xiu and tell her to meet him so they can flee Shanghai, but she doesn't pick up. Suddenly a Chinese SWAT team arrives. Kane and Lynch kill the policemen, then race to Xiu's apartment as she must also be a target. Discovering her apartment complex has been taken over by Hsing's men, the pair fight through the building, and find Xiu being held at gunpoint by Hsing. Kane suggests they kill Hsing immediately, but fearing for Xiu's safety Lynch knocks Kane unconscious and surrenders.

Kane, Lynch, and Xiu are brutally tortured by Hsing in a bathroom. Believed dead, Lynch is dumped in an alleyway. When he regains consciousness he kills Hsing and saves Kane, but is too late to save Xiu, who has been raped and killed. Both Kane and Lynch are naked and badly lacerated with box cutters, but they still escape into the city, fighting their way through another SWAT team in the process.

After finding clothes, the pair arrive at Glazer's arms-deal in a shipbuilding complex, naively hoping Glazer hasn't heard about their problems. Glazer does already know the truth about Shangsi's daughter's death and orders his men to kill them - but Kane and Lynch manage to annihilate the gang and corner Glazer, who begs for mercy and reveals that he has a plane that can be used to leave Shanghai. He is then killed by a military sniper, whom they realize was sent by Shangsi who has used Glazer entrap the pair. After fighting through many PLA soldiers and police, Kane and Lynch board a freight train leaving the area, thinking they're finally out of trouble. However the train is stopped and they are captured by the military.

While being transported by helicopter to meet Shangsi, Kane and Lynch hijack the vehicle, use the onboard weapons to gun down other helicopters, and force the pilot to land on Shangsi's skyscraper. They slaughter security and destroy much of the building before confronting Shangsi in his own office. Impressed by their skills, Shangsi offers them a pardon in exchange for serving as his employees. In revenge for Xiu's death, and fearing betrayal, Lynch kills Shangsi out of hand. Kane is distraught, realising they now have no chance of redemption or mercy in China.

Some time later, Kane and Lynch sneak into Shanghai Pudong International Airport in order to fly Glazer's private jet out of the country. However, the authorities are alerted and after shooting their way through several areas of the airport they find the jet partially dismantled in a hangar. With no other choice, the two are forced to flee on to the runway, police hot on their heels, and hijack a commercial airliner heading for Balzar, Ecuador.

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Gameplay

Players in the campaign mode of Kane & Lynch 2 take control of Lynch who is backed up by Kane (except in the last mission, where the player takes control of Kane). The online enabled cooperative mode allows one player to take control of Kane. Players can carry two of any weapon they can grab from dead enemies, but unlike the previous game cannot swap weapons between allies. Players can take cover through a button press. While still having regenerating health, players can also get knocked down, though are able to immediately get back up. During single player missions, allies are invulnerable and cannot be given commands, making it unnecessary to look out for them. Unlike Dead Men, the PC version does not support split-screen co-op.