Inglourious Basterds. Review of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. The Good, the Bad, the Ugly Kane lynch dead men reviews

game genre Action/Third-person shooter

Developer IO Interactive

Publisher Eidos Interactive

Publisher in Russia 1C

Similarity: Max Payne, Stranglehold, Freedom Fighters

System requirements OS Microsoft Windows XP, Vista Processor Pentium 4 3.0Ghz or Athlon 64 3000+ Memory 2GB RAM Video 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible 256 MB 3D Accelerated Card with Vertex Shader 3.0 and Pixel Shader 3.

Sound Microsoft Windows XP/Vista compatible sound card (100% DirectX 9.0c -compatible)

The day started out quite normally. Clerks scurried back and forth, carrying papers. The guards were bored, walking slowly along the bank hall, and looked around with empty eyes. Depositors withdrew money from the account, asked questions at the reception, and especially irritable cursed that they could not be served in any way and demanded a manager. But suddenly a cloud of tear gas crawled out of the ventilation shaft, automatic bursts crackled, and the guards fell dead. The townsfolk squealed and scattered. Two men in suits emerged from a cloud of smoke. The first, whose face is distorted by a scar, was holding an H&K MP5. The second, long-haired, about 40 years old, clutched a shotgun and yelled at the frightened crowd. Yes, there can be no doubt, they are. Kane and Lynch. Dead men with nothing to lose.

Double shot.

Kane was a mercenary who started working for a gang called The 7. Things were going well for him, he was moving higher and higher up the "service ladder". The leader of the group was imbued with confidence in him, treated him like a son. The influence of The 7 brotherhood was very great, the bosses made serious deals for the sale of cocaine and billions of dollars revolved around them. Kane, realizing that he was trusted at the top of the gang, grew bolder and decided to play a cruel joke on fate. He stole suitcases, the contents of which are priceless to The 7, and fled. But hiding for a long time did not work, and the police found Kane, because he had long been put on the international wanted list. The court delivered a disappointing verdict. The death penalty. Kane was already prepared to answer for all his mistakes, wrote a letter to his wife and daughter, and reflected on what he had done, sitting in an armored truck that transported the convicts on their last journey. Suddenly, his long-haired neighbor said to him, "Cover your head and stay close to me." In the next second, bullets drummed on the body of the truck, the screams of shot cops were heard in the street, and masked men opened the door and ordered the two brothers in misfortune to go outside. After fighting off the chase, Kane was brought to the meeting he feared the most. Bosses 7 found him, and very angry. They ask to return what Kane took from them, otherwise his wife and daughter will be killed. In addition, his "accidental" neighbor, the long-haired psychopath Lynch, who killed his wife in a fit of madness, is assigned to him. Kane needs to act.

Heavy everyday life of a robber.

The gameplay of the game, the creators of which gave us the Hitman series, cannot be boring and uninteresting. You will be allowed to feel what John McLane (yes, yes, the same "Die Hard") feels in a shootout with 10 terrorists in cramped offices. Everything happens very quickly, the player is not given even a minute to take a break and reload the weapon. Today, Kane and Lynch are robbing a bank, escaping from a chase that takes place on the busy streets of the city. Tomorrow, the daughter of the leader of the Yakuza is kidnapped. Not even a moment passes, as the heroes find themselves in Havana engulfed in civil war. All this is accompanied by beautiful skirmishes, shooting from around the corner blindly, and an abundance of phrases with the word "Fuck". The developers did everything to make us feel like real robbers. The team management system is worked out for a solid five. You can give three types of orders (follow the leader, attack, hold position) both to the whole group at once, and to each of its members individually. The interface is maximally adjusted to the gameplay of the game. There is no health indicator, nor a scale showing the number of cartridges in the clip. Therefore, when it hits the player, the screen turns red, the hero loses coordination of movements, and eventually falls to the ground. Then Lynch runs up and gives an injection of adrenaline. The show goes on. But if after a few minutes you again do not keep track of your ward, the second shot of adrenaline can be fatal. Also, the game will end if you lose one of your allies before you can heal them. But it is worth remembering that Kane is not made of steel, and a shotgun blast at point-blank range or an automatic burst will instantly knock him out. The rich arsenal present in the game will help you prevent this. In your hands will fall and machine guns, and pistols, and sniper rifles, and finally pampered with a bazooka. Everything is like in movies about damn tough guys. Having made the game short (the passage will take just over 7 hours), the developers have provided multiplayer so that you do not get bored. The essence of online battles is that on the map a team of robbers and a security team controlled by artificial intelligence. The task of the players is to collect the white dollar signs that are on the level. It is worth being careful, as any hit threatens to lose money. If you lose all your "hard earned" get ready to play for former enemies. If you die this time, you will have to watch the action from the side. The original solution of the developers is the ability to steal money from the "common fund". This number of evergreens will instantly increase your ranking in the table. But the fact of theft, and the shameful inscription "traitor" above your head will not let you play calmly.

Debriefing.

In terms of graphics, the game has nothing to brag about. The developers worked only on the models of Kane and Lynch. Everything else remained at the level of Hitman Blood Money, sometimes even worse. Opponents are very far from the cloned soldiers from F.E.A.R. They behave predictably, shoot accurately only at the last levels of the game. So it's better to play high level difficulties. But physics pleases. Bullets chip off pieces of plaster, destroy columns, and leave wounds on the body of the heroes. So the interactivity is up to par, although no, no, yes, bulletproof light bulbs come across. The picture of the environment after the skirmish speaks for itself. Broken glass is scattered everywhere, interspersed with the bodies of guards and police, there is not even a living place left from the columns. This is what we, the players, need. You don't need to worry about the music in the game. Composer Jesper Kyd, who wrote music for everyone hitman games, as well as the Freedom Fighters project, knows his business perfectly. Compositions emphasize the dynamism of what is happening, making the action even more like a Hollywood action movie, and immerse the player in what is happening with his head.

Exactly".

In conclusion, I would like to note that Kane & Lynch: Dead Men gave us what we play shooters for. This, oddly enough, is the feeling of a real battle when you squeeze the handle of a machine gun and pull the trigger, sending a bullet into the enemy. Previously, only F.E.A.R. managed to do this. Yes, and the story of two suicide bombers has long been interested in Hollywood, so we should expect a film about the adventures of Kane and Lynch. The IO Interactive team promised to give us a killer action. And she kept her promise.

Verdict: Great action, but unfortunately not without flaws.

pros

+ Dynamic action

The plot, in the spirit of first-class Hollywood action movies

Feeling the real fight

Minuses

Short single player campaign

Outdated Graphics

Predictable AI

Another game that I stumbled upon when I bought a burned pirated disk in the distant pre-Internet times :). Then I still did not understand anything in games, and only a beautiful cover pushed me to purchase a disc, but not that. that the game was developed by IO Interactive - the creators of the great Hitman, which I was just about to meet.

United by a common problem

We are drawn into the plot by the introductory video, where Kane reads his letter to his daughter Jenny. From it it becomes known that he is sentenced to death, which will take place on the same day. But he is not afraid of death, does not repent and regrets only one thing - that he did not meet Jenny. They put him in the car. To his left sits Lynch.
Already in the game, Lynch tells Kane to cover his head. A moment later, Lynch kicks the door of the van with all his might. Kane is shell-shocked, but still sees how Lynch gets him out of the car, kills a policeman and injects him with adrenaline. The street is already full of gunfire. Lynch shoots through Kane's handcuffs and leads him along. As it becomes known, Kane and Lynch deliberately wanted to steal.
In short, after all this bloodbath, Kane and Lynch get into a car with mercenaries and run away from the scene. Then they put bags over their heads...
I won't describe the plot. I can only say that he is in the game, and he is interesting. I personally enjoyed replaying the game several times. There are no peculiarities in it, beautiful phrases, etc., it entails a misunderstanding of what is happening and why, a subconscious desire to find out what's what.

Minor spoiler: along the way you will have to deal with the Retomoto family. IO Interactive was founded in 1998 by the Reto-Moto development team, formed from former employees of Lemon and Zyrinx.

Brothers in Arms

The gameplay of the game is also mediocre, but "edible".
In campaign mode, you play Kane. In his arsenal, as you move forward in the story, the most different kinds firearms: MP5, M16A1, 100 series AK, M249, RPG-7, SG552, P228 and many more, including sniper and regular automatic rifles, impact grenade launchers, shotguns and revolvers. It is difficult to find fault with the variety of guns. There are also fragmentation grenades, smoke grenades and tear gas grenades (they can be thrown back). In some missions, it will be possible to shoot from a stationary machine gun (bullets are not wasted, but there is overheating). By the way, such an important thing as reloading weapons is implemented a bit strangely. The character is sometimes stupid and does not immediately begin to change the store. And you can just quickly change weapons and it will reload. When the cartridges are exhausted, they can be taken from partners, but this can be done 3 times - then he will simply refuse due to lack of them in stock.
Although the game is already old, it already has a cover system. Because of the corners, boxes, containers, cars and many other items that can protect you from bullets, it is possible to conduct aimed and blind fire. There is a small drawback here: "ducking" occurs automatically and sometimes when it is not necessary at all. But this is not so important - over time you will get used to it. This trick will often save your life.
Lynch and your other allies, in principle, are not very stupid. The game has a lot of interactive features built into it. Allies can be given commands. There are three of them: attack, follow me and stay in position. Some little thing, but game process becomes more interesting.
The character's health is based on HP damage recovery. But if you are seriously injured, then you will begin the agony and only ... morphine can save you. Lynch or one of your guys should run up to you and inject, otherwise you will die after the time has elapsed (during a seizure, Kane remembers the past, and also carries all sorts of nonsense). You can also die from an overdose when you get shot too often (a partner will tell you when the next shot can kill you). You need to save your own in the same way.
Weapons can be swapped with your mercenaries. To do this, you need to approach them and throw weapons, or exchange barrels (by the way, only by exchanging weapons with Lynch, you, playing for Kane, will be able to shoot from a revolver and SPAS 12).
There is also a feature with snipers. When he aims at you, a window appears where you can see how he sees you through an optical sight. With the help of this thing, you can easily determine where the bastard is.
And that is not all. In short, it's fun to play. In order to say something in response, first play yourself, and not for five minutes, otherwise I know such critics ...
The developers have relied on the cooperative. I played a pirate (Piaastry, pAastry! :) and could not personally evaluate the co-op. I apologize, dear readers. But from the reviews, I realized that the cooperative is very interesting. Of course, playing with someone at the same time is much more fun than mercilessly enduring bots yourself. Look for a description from other sources, but rather buy licensed copy, if not broke, and play with your sidekick yourself. The game also has multiplayer. At least 4 people can take part in it. Sorry for that.

oil painting

The graphics card in the game is not very good. IO Interactive in the game used their traditional "Hitman" Glacier engine, which was created back in 2000, but seriously modified and detailed. But that doesn't make the game super visually beautiful. In Hitman, not quite well-developed graphics said goodbye - a different genre, not binding on a megagraph. But here, in an almost cinematic action shooter, this is a fairly significant drawback. The game even has a certain destructibility, but it is, so to speak, scripted - it is only where there will be skirmishes and only in the most prominent places. Well, thanks to the developers for that. Still, they haven't worked in the brutal shooter genre before. Again, judge for yourself.

Flaws

Eh, there are a lot of them. I will write only in general terms:
1) AI stupidity. Enemies are something. Sometimes they just come out in batches, not even intending to resist, and sometimes they fall from somewhere behind from the bushes on the sly and figs you will kill them.
2) Graphics. Some locations, if you look at them normally, until a new shootout starts, look just deserted. Plus low detail and destructibility. It ruins the whole atmosphere.
3) A lot of third-party bugs, shortcomings, omissions and bugs. Here are examples of stupid situations:
It often happens that on Kane and on other characters there is just an insane amount of holes from bullets filled with blood, and at the same time they run briskly. Looks a little sad.
CAREFULLY!!! SPOILER!!! In mission No. 12 "Capitol", when after the attack of all your loyalist supporters the machine guns are ironed out, their corpses with AK-47s in their hands will remain on the ground (and all in the same and some kind of awkward poses) and you will not be able to pick them up automata.
ANOTHER!!! BEWARE!!! In chapter 5 "Mitsuki" (and not only there), civilians constantly rush from side to side and do not even try to escape much, they just look for a bullet that will fly into their head, and then, when they have to go into the club a second time, then there is no one there at all (and corpses too), although Kane and Lynch were not there for literally 3 minutes.
But the game, in principle, is so good. Every game has bugs. The all-seeing eye of the authors is often blurred.

Results

Well, what else to say? The game is not bad. A good walkthrough, with boring shooters, with a normal plot, with charismatic characters. Speaking of voice acting. It is certainly amazing (after all, the music for the game was written by Jesper Kyd. Even in the Russian voice acting, there are not too many mistakes. All this in total gives you a reason to spend with interest at the computer or at the console, and not Definitely one, a couple of evenings.

PS: What I liked the most... of course Kane and Lynch. In the vast majority of cases, the heroes of the games are either sinless creatures, "God's dandelions" with blood on their elbows, or their literally only wrong or evil deeds are attributed to coincidence, misunderstanding, intrigues of enemies, etc. Kane and Lynch are real bad guys , this is not often seen in games. The authors do not try to express their opinion about the characters in any way, they submit them to us for our judgment. And Lynch... HE'S A FUCKING PSYCOT!!! And I love it.

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
(in Russia the game is known as Kane & Lynch: Death Rows).

Sometimes there are so many enemies that you can't really aim.
The hidden paths of fate have turned the exemplary family man Kane into a bloodthirsty mercenary who rides in a prison van to the place where he will meet with the highest court. The suicide bomber is accompanied by the psychopath Lynch, who, in a fit of insanity, killed his own wife (it is not entirely clear why he was like this: after all, in theory, the sick in the head should be in a psychiatric hospital ... well, God bless him). But it so happened that it is too early for Kane to go to the other world, while in this world he has debts. Some mysterious organization, which Kane once was a member of, raids a van, frees suicide bombers and puts them before a choice: either they do what they are told, or they are finished. Kane is required to get a case that this organization really needs ("The7"). In order for the former mercenary to think faster, motivation is added to him by the message that his wife and daughter are in the hands of thugs, and they are ordered to kill the women after a certain period. Lest Kane come up with something like that, "The7" is assigned to him ... Lynch. Apparently, they do not know him well, otherwise they would not have entrusted the psycho with such a responsible task.

However, getting a case is an impossible task for a freshly minted gang, so events are not developing at all according to the scenario that Kane apparently dreamed of. But angry (once again) at the villain-fate, he pulls himself together and decides to make a bloodbath. As you probably already understood, we will manage the game with Kane, but we will always be accompanied by at least one person - Lynch. These "heroes" are so different from each other that in any other situation they probably would not even have entered the same elevator. But you don't have to choose. The brutal Kane with a broken nose (he was “damaged” during his release) has thirteen years of experience of endless outrages, robberies and other outrages. It is clear that working in tandem with the long-haired bespectacled Lynch, who cannot control himself - what is there to stutter about the situation, he is not particularly pleased. Hence the constant messages of each other to hell, streams of curses and disassembly. But in battle, partners are much more useful: the fact is that there are no human saves in the game (oh, IO) - there is only a system of checkpoints, and checkpoints, for some reason, are located BEFORE non-skippable videos and other rubbish. So if Kane is seriously injured, then you don’t have to load the last checkpoint with sadness in your heart: a teammate will run up to the hero and inject adrenaline into him (however, you shouldn’t particularly flirt with death: adrenaline is not omnipotent).

In dynamics, it all looks even better. On powerful computers...
At first, a timid hope is born, if not for something like Hitman, then at least for a gang simulator. No matter how. The story quickly picks up pace, shell casings fly in all directions, skulls are crushed by knives, and the standard battle scene in K&L is a massacre in the spirit of Call of Duty 4 (adjusted for team actions and third-person view). To begin with, we slowly cut out a whole company of policemen, then we are waiting for the standard shooting chase, but then we suddenly find ourselves in a banana republic, in which, quite by chance, there is a war. It is quite natural that we take the side of the partisans - after all, The7 supports the local president. The first mission in the Endless Meat series is called Freedom Fighters. Bad surprise, but honestly.

There are not very many gameplay innovations in comparison with other games of the genre in K&L. Going down the cable from the roof of a skyscraper is cool, but, alas, caring designers have prepared only one single point where you can go down. The same people are responsible for absolutely linear levels, which can be conditionally represented as "hall-corridor-hall-corridor ...", where the hall is a place with a large number of columns or any other improvised shelters, and the corridor is the path to the next hall. But the ability to shoot from behind a corner is worth a lot: point the dot sight at the enemy, and Kane, prudently remaining around the corner, will produce a session of random shooting in the indicated direction. You can spend time aiming, but then there is a very high chance of getting a bullet in the forehead.

There are not very many means of killing enemies - perhaps, with the arsenal that is issued for the next mission, it is quite possible to pass it. We have shotguns, machine guns, a sniper rifle, pistols, grenades, plus light and stationary machine guns, as well as grenade launchers. Moreover, out of the three available “slots”, two are always occupied by a pistol and grenades, but you have to break your head over what to take with you on the road as a final argument. Kane also has an indispensable knife in his arsenal, which he puts into action in case of close contact with the enemy. Weapons can be transferred to associates, which is done by simple manipulations with the keyboard. In general, management has become noticeably easier even in comparison with Blood Money. The “E” key is responsible for all actions (Kane will not be able to break into a deep crevice, and if you can’t get somewhere, then you need to press ... right - “E”), but hiding around the corner is even easier - you just need to approach him. We turn off the brain, we plunge into nirvana - I personally don’t even remember such a simple control. By the way, close combat is also "activated" by the all-powerful "E"...

However, the AI ​​is not pleased with the special variety or desire to destroy its enemy. Having chosen a warmer place, the soldier lies behind a barrel and methodically shoots someone in Kane's team, allowing the latter to smash his rear with absolute impunity. The opponents are not particularly savvy in terms of martial arts - if one of them runs too close to the Broken Nose, the poor cop (soldier, bandit ...) has no chance. You don’t even need to think here - if there are several enemies in front of you, it’s better not to aim at them with a rifle, but run up closer and stick a knife into each of them.

The graphics are pleasing to the eye, but one must understand that this is not the next-gen that, perhaps, someone was waiting for. Bullets knock plaster and tiles off the walls, grenades scatter the corpses of enemies in all directions, and the engine copes quite quickly with a large number of NPCs. The sound in the game is great - the actors honestly worked out their bread, but the music, frankly, let us down. Either it does not exist at all, or it sounds extremely rare and inconspicuous. It's a pity.

Destroyed interiors, panicking townspeople - beauty...
We were promised a cinematic plot, hurricane gameplay and colorful graphics. Everything that was shown to us in the commercials and promised in the interview came true. It's true, it's all in the game. But K&L goes through in one Saturday night, leaving a whole bunch of questions, the main of which are: why so quickly and why so easily? It is not known whether the colorful characters of "Death Riders" will return to PC monitors (who knows which of all possible endings is the real finale of the game), but we already know that there will be a sequel. On cinema screens. Coming soon…

Enticing the player with an all-consuming cinematic and an interesting story, this game, nevertheless, leaves a dual impression. Even for those who are not personally familiar with the Freedom Fighters, it will certainly seem as if they have already seen something like this somewhere. And it's not about Hitman. IO Interactive does not give us time to think: unfortunately, having adopted the spectacle from the cinema, another project from the creators of the Silent Killer, has contracted the most terrible disease for games from filmmakers. transience.

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
(in Russia the game is known as Kane & Lynch: Death Rows).

Sometimes there are so many enemies that you can't really aim.​

However, getting a case is an impossible task for a freshly minted gang, so events are not developing at all according to the scenario that Kane apparently dreamed of. But angry (once again) at the villain-fate, he pulls himself together and decides to make a bloodbath. As you probably already understood, we will manage the game with Kane, but we will always be accompanied by at least one person - Lynch. These "heroes" are so different from each other that in any other situation they probably would not even have entered the same elevator. But you don't have to choose. The brutal Kane with a broken nose (he was “damaged” during his release) has thirteen years of experience of endless outrages, robberies and other outrages. It is clear that working in tandem with the long-haired bespectacled Lynch, who cannot control himself - what is there to stutter about the situation, he is not particularly pleased. Hence the constant messages of each other to hell, streams of curses and disassembly. But in battle, partners are much more useful: the fact is that there are no human saves in the game (oh, IO) - there is only a system of checkpoints, and the checkpoints, for some reason, are BEFORE unskippable cutscenes and other rubbish. So if Kane is seriously injured, then you don’t have to load the last checkpoint with sadness in your heart: a teammate will run up to the hero and inject adrenaline into him (however, you shouldn’t particularly flirt with death: adrenaline is not omnipotent).

In dynamics, it all looks even better. On powerful computers...​

There are not very many gameplay innovations in comparison with other games of the genre in K&L. Going down the cable from the roof of a skyscraper is cool, but, alas, caring designers have prepared only one single point where you can go down. The same people are responsible for absolutely linear levels, which can be conditionally represented as "hall-corridor-hall-corridor ...", where the hall is a place with a large number of columns or any other improvised shelters, and the corridor is the path to the next hall. But the ability to shoot from behind a corner is worth a lot: point the dot sight at the enemy, and Kane, prudently remaining around the corner, will produce a session of random shooting in the indicated direction. You can spend time aiming, but then there is a very high chance of getting a bullet in the forehead.

There are not very many means of killing enemies - perhaps, with the arsenal that is issued for the next mission, it is quite possible to pass it. We have shotguns, machine guns, a sniper rifle, pistols, grenades, plus light and stationary machine guns, as well as grenade launchers. Moreover, out of the three available “slots”, two are always occupied by a pistol and grenades, but you have to break your head over what to take with you on the road as a final argument. Kane also has an indispensable knife in his arsenal, which he puts into action in case of close contact with the enemy. Weapons can be transferred to associates, which is done by simple manipulations with the keyboard. In general, management has become noticeably easier even in comparison with Blood Money. The “E” key is responsible for all actions (Kane will not be able to break into a deep crevice, and if you can’t get somewhere, then you need to press ... right - “E”), but hiding around the corner is even easier - you just need to approach him. We turn off the brain, we plunge into nirvana - I personally don’t even remember such a simple control. By the way, close combat is also "activated" by the all-powerful "E"...

However, the AI ​​is not pleased with the special variety or desire to destroy its enemy. Having chosen a warmer place, the soldier lies behind a barrel and methodically shoots someone in Kane's team, allowing the latter to smash his rear with absolute impunity. The opponents are not particularly savvy in terms of martial arts - if one of them runs too close to the Broken Nose, the poor cop (soldier, bandit ...) has no chance. You don’t even need to think here - if there are several enemies in front of you, it’s better not to aim at them with a rifle, but run up closer and stick a knife into each of them.

The graphics are pleasing to the eye, but one must understand that this is not the next-gen that, perhaps, someone was waiting for. Bullets knock plaster and tiles off the walls, grenades scatter the corpses of enemies in all directions, and the engine copes quite quickly with a large number of NPCs. The sound in the game is great - the actors honestly worked out their bread, but the music, frankly, let us down. Either it does not exist at all, or it sounds extremely rare and inconspicuous. It's a pity.

Destroyed interiors, panicking townspeople - beauty...​

"Hitman meets Freedom Fighters" is how IO Interactive defined the genre of their new big-budget project Kane and Lynch. The name of the developer alone was enough to get people talking about the game. Such a crazy hype, as around Crysis or BioShock, was not raised, but a toy

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"Hitman meets Freedom Fighters" - so IO Interactive has defined the genre of her new big-budget project Kane and Lynch. The name of the developer alone was enough to get people talking about the game. Such a crazy excitement, as around Crysis or BioShock, was not raised, but many were waiting for the toy. eidos announced that a sequel is already in full swing even before the release. Charming confidence...

And bad boys get in trouble
The creators themselves position the plot as one of the main elements. However, at first glance, it is rather banal. We play Kane - a professional mercenary sentenced to death and wanted by The Seven for treason. Lynch - a psychopath, also condemned to death for the murder of his wife, by the will of fate was next to a traitor-loser at the time of the attack on the van transporting them to the place of execution. The 7 want to punish the renegade and take back what is theirs. Kane's family is being held hostage, and they will be killed if he doesn't repay the debt. The psycho was promised to be accepted into the gang and assigned as a warden so that he would not try to fool. Reluctant partners, they hate each other, but are obliged to work together. A typical crime drama, in a word. With obligatory stamps in the form of betrayal of old friends, death of companions and intimidation of the main villain. And if the first half of the game somehow manages to disguise it with a frantic pace of change of scenery, characters and situations that the heroes find themselves in, then the story being told then turns into chewing gum. The ending, however, is not so hopeless. The player is given a moral choice, which affects not only the ending, but also the duration of the game.

Vigilantes
Despite the fact that the game is not just a third-person shooter, but a team-based TPS, do not rely on tactical tricks at least the level of the latter ghost recon. "Hollywood" is no less here than in any Medal of Honor. Shooting the next battalion of special forces, you will certainly feel it.
For the local party members (of which there are a maximum of four), only three orders have been prepared: “follow me”, “attack the chosen target” and “take a position”, modestly, what can I say. The accomplices themselves are an important part of the gameplay - they act as an inventory - if you run out of ammo, just walk up to a nearby ally and he will share his. It is also possible to independently rearm the detachment at any time - not all of Lynch wear the deadliest Colt Python. Arsenal small arms the game is not too diverse - a couple of pistols, a couple of shotguns, a few rifles, sniper rifle and grenades. At predetermined moments, they give out something heavier - for example, a rocket launcher for a battle with a helicopter or a machine gun. In addition to guns, everyone in the team has a set of hand-to-hand combat techniques. Most often, these are different variations of blows with a butt, only the main character has a dagger, with which he cuts the throats of gaping guards and performs spectacular finishing moves. Also, partners can reanimate wounded comrades with an injection of morphine and show themselves well in skirmishes, they do not stand in the crossfire, but quickly look for shelter. Locations are filled with a mass of items that can serve as protection from bullets, and they are not recommended to be neglected. The protagonist goes to the "other world" after several hits. The high damaging ability of the barrels, a large number of opponents and the checkpoint save system make you fight carefully without leaving cover, the closest analogue is magnificent Gears of War. Also, the morphine injections that NPCs use to revive Kane have a bad effect on his heart, so they should not be taken too often.

With a kind word and a shotgun
Criminals in their misadventures will have to visit places scattered around the globe- the story begins in the American metropolis, and ends in the Cuban jungle. The levels do not shine with special architectural delights and are completely linear - all the "extra" lanes and streets are carefully blocked off by insurmountable obstacles. At press conferences, the developers boasted that they managed to turn each map into a well-functioning system that would adequately respond to the player's actions. Unfortunately, nothing like this is observed. The civilians who were at the scene of the shootout are only enough to squat down and cover their heads with their hands. As an alternative, they may begin to randomly rush around the room, bumping into walls and other boobies. The apotheosis of insanity can be considered an episode in a Tokyo club, when, after the start of the battle, only a few people raise panic, while the rest continue to dance as if nothing had happened. A pile of corpses in the middle of the dance floor, apparently, does not frighten them.
The artificial intelligence of enemies also leaves an unpleasant impression. The only thing the antagonists can normally do is hide and open fire. They are very reluctant to change shelters, while often stopping in an open place, substituted for bullets. I have not even heard of such a thing as well-coordinated interaction of AI. The police completely ignore the grenades thrown at their feet, do not know how to retreat and cover their wounded.
It is the tasks that save the gameplay from the stupid mochilov, to which it nevertheless slides towards the end. Taking hostages, racing with the police through the streets of the city, and even a few so-called "stealth missions" - all this greatly diversifies the gameplay. Tasks will not surprise you - we have already seen all this in other shooters - but they will not let you get bored either.
The scriptwriters focused on the characters of the two main characters. Lynch is not a professional bandit, so he is noticeably nervous, often finishing off already dead opponents several times and generally behaves like an amateur. But besides this, he is also mentally ill - he has attacks of exacerbation of schizophrenia, he loses control of himself and begins to shoot at everyone. The relationship between Kane and Lynch is revealed during cutscenes in the engine, which, I must say, are well directed. Dialogues are no less colorful - tough, raised tones, with an abundance of profanity.

Glacial beauty
The project is built on a modified "veteran" engine Glacier , which was successfully used in the series about agent 47. Evaluating the picture unambiguously is a rather difficult task. Character models are well done, weapons are also drawn on a solid top five. But the environment is already weaker - obviously they regretted the polygons. The same with the enemies - ordinary cops are practically no different, except for hair color and gender (yes, women will also have to be killed). The special forces all, as one, wear masks and look like clones. Weakly worked out specials. effects - explosions are gray and unsightly, no newfangled graphic "features" were noticed. But the "blur" was not spared. AT certain moments the total "blurring" of everything and everything begins to annoy. And this is despite the fact that the Video menu is simply replete with various settings. With physics, the situation is very similar, the potential of technology Havok not disclosed. Bodies freeze in completely unnatural poses, get stuck in the ground and walls. On the other hand, light sources break, just like glass. The wheels of cars are shot through, wooden surfaces are smashed to pieces from shots and explosions.
As for the sound component, everything is decent here. Voice actors work their money honestly, never once there was a feeling of falsity. When a policewoman, writhing in a pool of her own blood, in a trembling voice, begs not to kill her, because she has a family and two daughters, you really believe. Music written by famous composer Jasper Kid, the person responsible for the superb soundtrack of the series Hitman. It is only episodic that separates it from a score of ten points. It manifests itself in all its glory in moments of especially hot skirmishes and caresses the ear with energetic electronic rhythms, and then gradually dissolves into the screech of sirens.

More fun with a friend
The game has multiplayer. It has only one mode, but not a vulgar thing like deathmatch or Capture the Flag, everything is much more interesting. First, players appear on the map as robbers, only NPCs protect the money. The task of everyone is to collect as much money as possible and manage to escape. All the money collected by the bandits will be divided equally among its members. There is a tricky option here not to share with anyone and thus score the most points. To do this, you need to become a traitor by shooting someone from your team. After that, anyone can finish off the “rat”, even bonuses are relied on for this. All those killed as robbers become policemen, and now they are obliged to protect the money from encroachment. Cops get money for killing raiders.
The single part can also be played in co-op. We planned to make this mode online as well, but, alas, there was not enough time. Therefore, for joint game you need a joystick and a free friend, during the "co-op" the screen is divided in two.

About the shortcomings, Windows Live and other little things
Yes, this very system, which allows PC and XboX 360 owners to play together with its glitches, is quite capable of spoiling the impression. For online battles, you need to register, create your profile, and on this moment this is implemented very inconveniently. You won't be able to unlock without your own Live account additional content, and for a lot of people the game just throws out with a service error message.
Unfortunately, Uncle Bill's creation is not the only problem with the game. The last levels are able to inspire boredom, thereby greatly interfering with the perception without exaggeration of a great story. The general attachment is also not for the future - the hero himself recharges, hides in shelters, all actions with environment"hung" on one button.
But to hell with doubt! All these shortcomings are more than compensated by the indescribable atmosphere of the films. Brian De Palma and Michael Mann, literally saturated with "Tarantino" brutality characters and great music!