I was sort of looking forward to Kane & Lynch: Dead Men as one of those rare games that's built for co-op, but the reviews make it look like the game is ultimately disappointing.
Gamespot Review: 6.0/10
"Once you get past the messy, meaningless story, things don't get too much better because you're saddled with clunky artificial intelligence on the part of your allies and your enemies, as well as a core shooting mechanic that simply doesn't satisfy."
"Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is a premise with promise, but the gameplay isn't sound while the story and characters go nowhere. And it's got enough random AI-based glitches to make you want to scream."
IGN Review: 7.0/10
"...most of the gameplay feels like it was pulled directly out of a game from the last generation..."
"...the cover system is unwieldy at times and useless at others."
"Without a good cover system, the game boils down to a pretty generic action shooter. Without a good cover system, the squad mechanics often break down into sending your team ahead as bait."
"While IO Interactive made significant steps forward in terms of presentation and story, the team appears to have been left behind by the rest of the development community when it comes to gameplay and graphics."
Ah, well. I'll still be witing for the next good co-op game this gen...
"'Casual games' are something the 'Game Industry' invented to explain away the Wii success instead of actually listening or looking at what Nintendo did. There is no 'casual strategy' from Nintendo. 'Accessible strategy', yes, but ‘casual gamers’ is just the 'Game Industry''s polite way of saying what they feel: 'retarded gamers'."
-Sean Malstrom
