While IO Interactive (IOI) is best known for their long running Hitman franchise, they have developed a handful of other titles. One of these was Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, which garnered a mixed reception from critics and indirectly led to the creation of gaming outlet Giant Bomb after GameSpot fired editor Jeff Gertsman for his 6/10 review score for the game. Despite the reception, IOI announced a sequel, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, which Square Enix would publish in 2010. Upon release, Dog Days received a mixed reception from critics, with criticism aimed at its short length, story and experimental visual style.
Despite all the negativity that surrounded the game when it came out, I actually always had an interest in playing Dog Days, largely due to the unique and gritty presentation that resembled footage from a cheap handheld camera. Sometime after release, I ended up ignoring the game until I was made aware that the game had developed a cult following over the years for the exact reason it caught my attention (and convinced that I didn’t need to play Dead Men beforehand). Although you can easily buy the game cheap secondhand for about $10-15, I bought a brand-new sealed PS3 copy off the Square Enix store (normally $20 now), largely because I could and partly so I could have the freshest experience in honor of this blog’s 12th anniversary.
As it turns out, while there is plenty that one could criticize about Dog Days, largely when it comes to its gameplay, there truly is something about its presentation, and to an extent its story, that keeps the experience engaging and worth (re-)visiting.
