August 16 - August 20

Section: 

I can't possibly begin to fathom how there is any interest in Kane & Lynch 2. Not only was the first game mired in review controversy and shady tactics, it was just a pretty crappy game. Maybe this sequel will be some genius work of action and gunplay artistry, but mostly I feel like Eidos and Squeenix are just doing everything they can to ram interest down our collective throats.

I realize there is some good buzz out there around this game, but to be honest I just don't buy it until I start hearing it from people I trust. Maybe K&L 2 will turn out to be a genuine turnaround and deserving of some attention, but until there is a quorum of positive opinion, I shall not be budged from skeptical cynicism.

So I'm throwing the Game of the Week behind Ys Seven on the PSP. After all, this is a nice chance to put the spotlight on a game I'd not normally even notice, and on top of that apparently they're still making stuff for the PSP. Who knew?

PC
- Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

360
- Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
- Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (XBLA)

PS3
- Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

Wii
- Gold's Gym Dance Workout

PSP
- Ys Seven

Coming Soon
- Mafia 2 (PC, 360, PS3) : August 24
- Metroid Other M : August 31
- Civilization V : September 21
- Fallout New Vegas -- PC, PS3, Xbox 360 : October 19
- Rock Band 3 -- Xbox 360, PS3 : Oct 26
- Fable 3 -- PC, Xbox 360 : October 26
- DC Universe Online : November 2
- Kinect : November 4
- Little Big Planet 2 : November 16

Comments

This wounds me, sir. K&L got screwed over by the clumsiness of both Eidos and Gamespot, but it was hardly the game's fault. It was just the catalyst.

Second, K&L was fascinating! It was great settings and characters tied to a semi-competent shooter, but if you were willing to put up with mediocre gameplay, it paid off in other areas. Kane and Lynch have maybe the best character arcs I've ever seen in a shooter. You can write it off as a bad game in some ways, but it remains an interesting one.

Ys Seven will be great. They are still making quite few things for the PSP. Over the next 4-5 months there's a few extra Ys games, 2 more Nis games, Valkyria Chronicles 2, and a few others. Domestic developers aren't doing as much with it, so it's mainly a system for people who enjoy Japanese games these days.

No need to take other's word on K&L2. There's a demo available. It convinced me to preorder it, as I find the aesthetic (gameplay, story, & visual) to be interesting and unique enough to pry the $40 (Thanks to amazon's rolling preorder credit) from my wallet.

K&L got shafted due to Eidos's marketing {ableist slur}ation, it sucks that IO got the brunt of it despite not being involved. It was a fun interesting game, and if the demo is indication, the sequel will be even better.

Kane & Lynch was much more tolerable on the PC. It certainly had its issues, but it was at least playable. The settings and characters were great. Hell, a shooter set in a completely realistic, modern setting with no aliens, dragons, or occult anywhere to be seen is certainly a rarity these days and I liked it for that alone. The story kinda went to hell at the end, but it had a great premise, and a nice bit of humanity at its core. I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel.

The demo for K&L 2 certainly was interesting in both visuals and gameplay, but I'll wait to read some reviews from trusted sources before picking up a copy.

I'm excited for Kane & Lynch 2. Been meaning to make a thread but everytime I remember it's too late in the day. Like now. I love stylization and it feels like they've implemented it well. Games rarely cast us into the role of bastards that aren't caricatures. People I can believe in. The gameplay felt good and I had some fun in multiplayer, something I could see myself going back to without the mic spam.

It's honestly going to be a hard wait for me. I'm getting it through Amazon for their credit and the fact I can put it on Steam via a Steamworks key. This, and maybe Other M which the credit is going towards, is the last must have game for me this year. Oh wait, Kirby is is year, right?

Poyo!
o.o
O

OXM UK gave K&L2 9/10 which surprised me. I haven't tried the demo yet.

Oh man - Civ 5, Mafia 2, FO New Vegas and Fable 3 all within the next two months? Looks like there won't be any money left for presents for Christmas this year.

Another week of Dragon Quest IX for me. Thanks for not releasing anything worthwhile, guys! I really appreciate it.

I kind of like Kane & Lynch. The gameplay is mediocre, but the atmosphere and the characters had me finishing the game twice.

Also, Elemental: War of Magic is set to be released next tuesday (24 August). A new Master of Magic or not, it deserves to be in the "Coming Soon" list.

Rob Zacny wrote:

Second, K&L was fascinating! It was great settings and characters tied to a semi-competent shooter, but if you were willing to put up with mediocre gameplay, it paid off in other areas. Kane and Lynch have maybe the best character arcs I've ever seen in a shooter. You can write it off as a bad game in some ways, but it remains an interesting one.

ceson wrote:

I kind of like Kane & Lynch. The gameplay is mediocre, but the atmosphere and the characters had me finishing the game twice.

This is why I respect the title and anticipate enjoying the sequel. Though I feel it important to note that I have quibbles about backing a game that's weakest point is in gameplay.

Michael Barnes mentioned K&L 2 last week on Jumping the Shark, and made it sound really interesting. In particular, it seems to have some cool multiplayer modes. I played a bit of the demo last night, and it feels like it could be a fun solo game, as well.

I tried the K&L demo on PC and couldn't come to terms with the controls, but it's definitely a game I'm interested in, along with its sequel. Now I have a controller I must try again.

It does feel weird to potentially forgive a bad game for the sake of an interesting story though.

I picked up the original Kane and Lynch during the Summer Steam Sale, because everyone said the story was so interesting. I'm gonna have to give that one a shot, soon.

Yeah the K&L2 demo really won me over too.

I wasn't expecting much, but found the anti-hero vibe to feel authentic and refreshing, the bouncing camera delightfully jarring (and refreshing) and the digital camera effects to be, wait for it...refreshing.

All and all it left a great impression.

The demo for Kane and Lynch 2 did not grab me. For me it was just five minutes of bang-bang-die-shrug.

The Mafia II demo, however, was a blast to play. I never played the GTA games or any similar games, but Mafia II (via Steam) might be my first.

FIFA '11 is Sept. 28!!! I'm excited.

Also: NBA Jam (Wii) is Oct. 5. Definitely worth watching

ceson wrote:

I kind of like Kane & Lynch. The gameplay is mediocre, but the atmosphere and the characters had me finishing the game twice.

This is the reason I played the first two Hitman games over and over.

I'm interested in seeing how Ys Seven turns out, so I'm fine with Elysium's choice.

Kane and Lynch was pretty cool on PC. I picked it up in the recent Steam sale, and enjoyed it a lot. It owes a great deal of its gameplay and squad management to IO's brilliant Freedom Fighters, which was a favorite of mine from the Xbox/PS2 generation. The implementation of certain features is a bit unpolished--the cover system, for instance--but like Freedom Fighters, I found the whole to be much greater than the sum of its parts. It's also a game with a gritty, legitimately mature narrative that doesn't feel forced or aimed at 14-year-old boys, which is probably worth rewarding with a purchase.

K&L2 looks like an improvement over the first game in a lot of ways, and I definitely plan to pick it up.

By the way, a pro tip: if you're trying to run the first K&L game on a Windows 7 machine, you might run into a glitch where there is a brief hitch every 3 seconds or so. This is a problem related to USB keyboard and mouse hardware. You can make it go away by going into the device manager and temporarily disabling the Human Interface Devices that relate to mouse and keyboard while you are playing the game. It sounds like a pain in the ass, but it's really only about 30 seconds of inconvenience.

City of Heroes: Going Rogue also comes out on Tuesday.

I avoided K&L due to the negative hype, but picked it up on the cheap a while ago. It's far from perfect, but by no means was it a terrible game. The main characters were not the most pleasant and uplifting characters conceived, but neither were Mickey and Mallory.

Lynch was probably one of the more psychotic characters I've seen portrayed in a game, and his attitude was chilling. It was interesting hearing some of the back story (with contradictions) behind that pill-popping psychopath.

I was skeptical about K&L 2, but any doubts I had blew me away from the demo. It's not even in the same category visually, and it did an excellent job of getting the mood just right. Thumbs up for the beer gut and mullet too. After the demo ended, it pretty much confirmed a day one purchase for myself.

I didn't know there was a movie in the works - with Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx? Seems odd..

Just trying to clear out backlog so I can sit down and enjoy Metroid in 2 weeks.

Is that a Natural Born Killers reference two posts up?

Nice.