Kane & Lynch: Dead Men - first look

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When one psycho hitman isn't enough, it's time for two

The single-player game puts you in control of Kane, a once-happy father who completely lost it after his son accidentally blew his brains out. So, like any grieving father would do, Kane toured the world as a mercenary until a super-huge job goes south... leaving everyone dead but him. Eventually arrested and put to trial, we meet Kane on a prison transport, sentenced to death. Until, that is, a group of people bust up the truck and set him free.

Lynch, on the other hand, is a schizophrenic crazy that's stuck in a constant blackout. His normal personality seems totally gone, leaving only a bloodthirsty thug who's also on the same prison transport, assigned to watch over Kane and make sure he plays nice with his liberators - who could be the very people who died during the botched job all those years ago.

Later missions plop other mercs in your control, with basic squad tactics like "go here" and "cover me." If you played any of 2003's Freedom Fighters, you'll recognize the setup right away. Like Lynch, these guys have their own things to worry about and may even ditch the job once their goals have been met. Similarly, they may outright refuse to share weapons or revive you - Lynch in particular is not planning on letting anyone borrow his shotgun, so don't even ask.

Brett Elston
Brett Elston

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.