Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Developer: IO Interactive
System: Xbox 360
Genre: Action, Adventure
Release Date: Available Now
Reviewer: Jason Iatomasi

Kane is an ex-mercenary on his way to death row in a prison transport. Next to him sits a peculiar man named Lynch, also on death row, for the brutal murder of his wife. An explosion rocks the transport, and gunfire and smoke fill the area. Several masked gunmen help Kane and Lynch get to a pickup truck and take them away. When they arrive at their destination, Kane is surprised at the very angry and very familiar faces staring at him. They give him a choice: Return what you stole from us or we kill your family.

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is a gritty and violent third-person shooter about two criminals, with very different backgrounds, forced to work together. Kane pulled heists and acted as a mercenary for a crime syndicate known as The Seven, until a job went south. He left The Seven for dead and stole from them. Now they’re back and threatening to take revenge out on his family is he doesn’t return the stolen goods. Lynch is a psychopath who viciously murdered his wife while off his medication. He claims to black out during his periods of incredible violence, and doesn’t believe he’s the one who killed his wife.

The best part about Kane & Lynch is the story. The game is short, but the story it tells feels neither rushed nor dragged out. After breaking Kane and Lynch out of prison, The Seven make Kane an offer. The Seven bring Lynch in, claiming they will make him a member of their crime syndicate if he keeps tabs on Kane and makes sure he does what he’s told. As the story progresses, loyalties change and a lot of people get murdered while Kane tries to save his family. The only problem with the story was its endings. You’re left with a choice at the end of the game, and your selection determines your ending. After picking one and being severely disappointed, I went back and did the other, only to find myself equally upset at how lame it was.

The characters, however, are very well crafted. As the game progresses, you learn more about Kane’s past and his pension for swearing. You learn what Lynch did to his wife, and that he also loves swearing. The dialogue between the two anti-heroes is good, but is filled with curse words, and the “swearing just to swear” really hurts some of the scenes. There were some great scenes, but all the #!%$^$# swearing took the fun out of it. At some points, the dialogue pushes the story forward wonderfully. At others, it feels like it was written by an eighth grader who just learned what @%%&$#$ my ^$&$#@* means.