Forgoing the usual glossy, cinematic look, Kane & Lynch 2 goes for a hand-held documentary feel, with artificial compression artifacts, blown out lighting, even digital mosaics super-imposed over nudity and gore, such as headshots. On the other hand, the art direction for the game is bold, risky, and for the most part it works. There are no twists or turns in the story, no development to make the characters interesting, and the conclusion ends on a ludicrous note that I won’t go into detail about here. Both of them are still largely unsympathetic, although it seems like the game has put more emphasis on making Lynch, the main character as unappealing as possible. Narratively, there’s little to care about here, as the game frequently cuts out any meaningful character development in favour of the simple anxiety of two criminals on the run. Then Kane shows up, ostensibly brokering some kind of shady job, and things quickly go downhill as the pair screw up a routine “disciplinary measure” that has the entire Chinese mob gunning for them. He’s settled down in Shanghai, shacked up with a nice local girl, and seems to have life under some semblance of control with the local underworld. The sequel puts players in the shoes of Lynch, the psychopath. But art direction can only go so far, and while it creates a palpable, more engaging environment, it is undermined by some problematic game design. This time the action moves to Shanghai and with it, one of the most interesting choices in art direction seen in this entire generation of games. Kane and Lynch are the eponymous pair of the sequel to the 2007 3rd person, cover based shooter about a sociopath and a psychopath bringing gunfire and chaos wherever they go.
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