Kane & Lynch: Dead Men

So there are problems that prevent Kane & Lynch from fully realizing its potential, but its concept and execution are strong enough to survive them. We rarely see scenarios and story structure this good in a game, and that makes it easier to forgive some of the more hardcore technical game-design issues. It's definitely more of a popcorn game for the action-movie crowd than a hardcore shooter, but there's nothing wrong with that.

"Xbox 360 owners already saw what IO Interactive can do with next-gen hardware when they played Hitman: Blood Money. With that project done, the team is now hard at work on Kane and Lynch: Dead Men. By building on the engine of the acclaimed Freedom Fighters, IO Interactive is in the midst of creating a third-person action title that will draw players into the sordid lives of a hardened mercenary and a dangerous schizophrenic. These aren't your run-of-the-mill heroes. The game will take players through squad-based combat with gritty objectives and no clear definition of right or wrong."

"It's certainly shaping up to be the grittiest IO game yet, and certainly its most fully realised and ambitious in terms of its characterisations and plotline. However sinister and deadly Agent 47 was at times, Kane & Lynch appear to take the team's fascination for the seedy underbelly of society to the next level - quite whether it lives up to its billing will be interesting to follow. We'll be sure to report back again as soon as Eidos let us near a playable version."

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men has a lot of promise, but nothing in this game works out nearly as well as you'd hope.

It’s hard to determine at this point if the Kane & Lynch: Dead Men IP will have the kind of legs that I/O has created with Hitman, but the gaming formulas sure are similar. Hitman titles have all featured above-average stories told quite well, but an overall lack of gameplay polish have kept them from ever being considered one of any given year’s great games.