Common Sense Note
Parents need to know this game embraces the criminal world and vicious violence. Since you're on the wrong side of the law, your enemies are often cops, who you kill. Attacks are pretty bloody, employing a variety of guns and grenades, and you can sneak up behind enemies and break their neck or kill them with a punch. A heavy drug presence permeates a story littered with excessively profane language.
Families can talk about the game's mature themes. What makes crime-based action titles so appealing? Is the excessive use of foul language necessary? Are violent games simple fantasy or do they desensitize players to levels of brutality? Kane eventually seeks revenge for the death of his wife. Is vengeance the answer when wronged?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Brett Molina
Hitman developer Io Interactive departs the world of stealth-based action for in-your-face crime drama with KANE & LYNCH: DEAD MEN, a very violent and unoriginal escapade.
You control Kane, a lifelong criminal accused of betraying a mercenary group called The 7. The organization abducts his wife and children, threatening to kill them if he doesn't retrieve money they believe Kane stole. To ensure you finish the job, you're escorted by Lynch, a heavily-medicated psychotic.
Kane & Lynch easily earns its mature rating, with ferocious, bloody attacks and an excessive use of swear words.
While the Hitman series excelled with clever levels and intuitive controls, Kane & Lynch is an uninspired, frustrating action experience.
Kane & Lynch is essentially a third-person shooter with some simple squad commands. Kane comes equipped with the standard arsenal, from pistols and assault rifles to grenades.
Cover is essential to surviving firefights. It's also one of the game's biggest problems. In order to jump into cover, you simply run up to an obstacle. Sounds easy enough, except you have to run into a wall or obstacle a couple times before you "click" into cover.
Targeting is just as irritating. Gunshots seem a hair off almost every time. Computer-controlled players prefer to play hide-and-seek rather than to engage in heated battles. Also, when gunshots are fired, enemies sometime stand around oblivious to the sounds.
Missions and locales look quite intriguing, particularly the nightclub level set in Tokyo. However, your time is always spent running and gunning.
The high point for Kane & Lynch is the multiplayer mode called Fractured Alliance. You join a group of players on a heist. Once the loot is stolen, you can opt to stick with your team, or turn traitor and take the money and run. The mode's unpredictability makes the mode entertaining for a while, but grows old after a few rounds.
Kane & Lynch boasted promise with a strong story, but after a few levels, turns up dead on arrival.
Younger players seeking squad-based third-person action may enjoy the Batallion Wars series from Nintendo. Other more age-appropriate action titles are Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction or LEGO Star Wars The Complete Saga.
Rate It!
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Sexual Content |
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ViolenceAttacks are pretty bloody, employing a variety of guns and grenades. You can also sneak up behind enemies and break their neck or kill them with a punch. Since you're a criminal, your enemies are often police officers. |
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LanguageThis game probably sets the record for use of the "F" word. Expect profanity throughout the dialogue. |
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Social BehaviorYou control a deviant seeking vengeance against a mercenary group. You'll encounter and kill many police officers along the way. |
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Commercialism |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoDifficulty levels are named after drugs: Aspirin, codeine, and morphine. When Kane nears death, a teammate must inject him with adrenaline to revive him, but use too much, and it will lead to an overdose. Some missions incorporate drugs as well. |
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Educational ValueAbsolutely no educational value whatsoever. |
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