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Former Hitman, Kane and Lynch creators launch Reto-Moto
The founders of Hitman and Kane and Lynch developer IO Interactive have left to form Reto-Moto, a Copenhagen, Denmark-based studio "committed to redefining the online multi-player space." While the team isn't talking about its initial project, a press release announcing the company notes that Reto-Moto is in "active dialogue with strategic industry partners."In a rather incestuous twist, it turns out that Reto-Moto was actually established in 1997, and was the former parent of IO Interactive before it was handed off to Eidos in 2004 as part of a £20 million acquisition. It looks like Thomas Wolfe was wrong; you can go home again.
Kane & Lynch sells a million copies; [obligatory reviewer firing joke goes here]
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men has hit the million-sold milestone – and somewhere a journalism fairy just died. Unfortunately, the achievement has been overshadowed by parent company SCi's current woes. Despite strong Kane & Lynch sales, SCi still plans to declare an operating loss for fiscal year 2008.SCi said in a statement that it expects Kane & Lynch to "firmly establish itself as another key franchise" in the company's arsenal. In other words: Sequel confirmed! Start practicing those superlative adjectives game reviewers because Kane & Lynch got no problems rubbing your career out – allegedly.[Via X3F]
Kane and Lynch: Dead Men, Live demo
Kane and Lynch have gotten a bum rap lately as the guys responsible for double-handedly ripping the internet asunder and scattering the pieces to the wind. But did you know that they also starred in an electronic video game? And it's a game which, despite the negativity, is actually sporadically pretty fun. A reminder is now available on Xbox Live with a new, single-player demo.What we hope is that more people getting their hands on the demo with re-establish the game as what it should have been all along: A decent action game, not a pariah. Give it a try yourself, we'd bet that no matter what your impressions are, they're going to be better than "symbol for all that is wrong with games journalism," which is where we'd imagine several of you now have it ranked.
Kane & Lynch demo breaks onto XBLM
Today's most controversial Xbox Live Marketplace offering: a demo for Kane & Lynch: Dead Men from Eidos. It's strange that Kane & Lynch, for many gamers, will be remembered more for the controversy surrounding it than for the game itself. Frankly, we're eager to see what all the fuss was about. In all honesty, we've been curious about the game since it was first revealed. The demo features one level of the single player campaign (co-op is also available). Most will recognize the level from the trailers in which Kane, Lynch, and his crew rappel down the side of a skyscraper. Give the demo a try and see if the game is worth remembering for the right reasons.
Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thorton rumored for Kane and Lynch
In a bit of news that seriously calls into question the rumors (that we attempted to start) of Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Zachery Ty Bryan filling the lead roles in a fast-tracked Kane & Lynch film, Times Online is reporting that A-listers Billy Bob Thorton and Bruce Willis are in talks to take on the roles of the hardened criminal and his psychotic, GTA-lovin' buddy.Judging from some of the reviews we've read, the story and characters are the strongest part of the recently-released game, so a film seems to make perfect sense. But Bruce Willis as a hardened thief? Does Hollywood never learn?[Via 1UP]
Metareview: Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Poor Kane & Lynch. We were thinking they'd do better (and be better) than this, especially considering Eidos dropped them at Ground Zero in the holiday game release insanity. Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is apparently a game driven by story but stifled by gameplay. Guess we'll wait and see what type of review Variety gives it since they seem to prefer one over the other. As for the video game press, they give Kane & Lynch a thumbs "meh." From the reviews it sounds like the title would have been perfect for a delay to work out the kinks -- and really, that wouldn't have been a bad thing given the amount of games coming out just this week. 1UP (75/100): "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." IGN (70/100): "As well constructed as the plot is, one would assume the game would play smoothly. Unfortunately, it does not. Instead, it plays like a game that lacks focus and needs a few more months of polish. But then, most of the gameplay feels like it was pulled directly out of a game from the last generation, so perhaps more time wouldn't have done any good." GameSpot (60/100): "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. Considering the nearly ridiculous number of extremely high-quality shooters available recently, there's not much room for something like Kane & Lynch. But the multiplayer is a really great idea that's worth seeing, even if playing it makes you wish that it was used in another, better game."
Video: Kane & Lynch devs on multiplayer, co-op
In the third of the Kane & Lynch Insider series, the developers at IO Interactive discuss the multiplayer mode of the game and the (offline only) co-op. One thing that stands out to us as we watch the video is that the graphics aren't all that spectacular. A petty complaint perhaps, but early trailers had us impressed. Maybe it's the bland UI, but something seems off. But, gameplay is paramount, and the multiplayer mode (called Fragile Alliance) looks to change things up a bit. As we've discussed before, players cooperate to pull off a bank heist, with victory being awarded to the criminal that gets out with the most money. To spice things up, players can betray their teammates to steal their cash, and those who are betrayed are resurrected as police officers.Honestly, it's a little hard to listen to the developers talk about how much co-op adds to the game. Call us jaded, but the fact that co-op is an offline only option is sorely disappointing, making the developers claims about how it changes the experience fall a little flat. Don't get us wrong, we love couch co-op as much as any gamer, but considering that nearly all major titles have online co-op now, it seems like a hefty oversight.Still, let's try not to dull our excitement for Kane & Lynch, hmm? Watch the video and tell us what you think.
Kane & Lynch excited for GTAIV
Never once have we thought to use the word "cute" to describe Kane & Lynch -- a game about robbing banks at gunpoint, among other things -- but it really seems the best word to describe the video embedded above. Most of the video is simply listening to Lynch talk about how much he likes the Grand Theft Auto series, and how excited he is to play GTAIV. Of course, we all know it's been delayed until next year, so it looks like he'll have to wait. As we said, it's a cute video (it's also got some salty language, so watch at your own discretion). Give it a watch and give the folks at Eidos some props for their cleverness.[Via Joystiq]
Kane and Lynch can't wait for Grand Theft Auto IV
How badly do we as a nation want the next iteration of the Grand Theft Auto series? Glad you asked. Our desire has become so rampant that it has actually broken the fourth wall and is plaguing fictional characters. Take Lynch, of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men fame for example. The guy's so eager for GTA IV that he can't stop jawing about it even moments before he ... well, does something very bad, we're assuming.The videos a lot of fun, but you may want to watch it quick. Who knows how long it will be before Rockstar freaks out and demands that it be pulled?[Thanks, Arsh]
Kane and Lynch arriving one week early
November 2007 is a rough month. No, not for you, dear gamer. For you it is a never-ending bounty of games, a Studio 54-esque bacchanal of electronic entertainment. (Until you run out of money.) But it's a tough time for publishers looking to find a little elbow room for their games.Take Kane and Lynch: Dead Men for example. GameSpot reports that the action duo has just made the jump from the Nov. 20 release spot it was sharing with Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Rock Band and Mass Effect to Nov. 14. Unfortunately, it's leapt headlong onto the same calendar spot as Assassin's Creed, Crysis, BlackSite: Area 51, Super Mario Galaxy and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, among others. It's a shame, really, that all these games have to fight for the spotlight. If only there weren't laws against releasing games before mid-November!
Kane & Lynch insider vid talks story development
The first in what a appears to be a series of video diaries, the Kane & Lynch Insider #1 has been released. The video focuses on the story development of the upcoming crime action game from IO Interactive. Jens Peter Kurup, the game's director, discusses how the story has developed over time. Interestingly, the game was originally based solely around Kane, with Lynch playing only a background role. As development progressed, Lynch became more central to the story, until the developers decided to essentially turn the game into "a buddy movie." Also, Kurup stresses that players may not necessarily like Kane and Lynch, but that players should still care about them at least a little bit. In this he compares Kane and Lynch to characters like Scarface. He's a horrible human being, but you still manage to care about him. Basically, that's the goal for Kane & Lynch. Here's hoping IO Interactive manages to pull it off.Warning: Video possibly NSFW thanks to violence and one instance of profanity.
Kane & Lynch: admittedly not delivering 'the whole online package'
While Kane & Lynch's bank heist multiplayer had us intrigued, we were quite disappointed to learn that the eponymous duo's criminal cooperation wouldn't extend beyond an offline split-screen mode. Eurogamer politely asked game director Jens Peter Kurup to explain the omission, to which he responded, "It's a matter of focus, choosing what you want to deliver at what time. We looked at it and decided it was too much of a risk to change our code to be very very good at that, and we're not going to be very very good at other elements." He noted that he'd miss the feature, "but not terribly."As that's not a sentiment likely to be shared by those enjoying the online co-op of a little game called Halo 3, Kurup places a divide between the two titles. "They are not only selling Halo," he said, "they are selling technology, they are selling consoles, they are selling Microsoft, the whole online package. That's not what we're doing." He's right on two counts! They are selling (by the boatloads) and IO Interactive isn't selling the whole online package. Instead of applause, let's offer some commentary. Regardless of Microsoft's intentions for its platform, Halo 3 is still a video game competing for the time and attention of gamers, as is EA's cooperatively themed Army of Two. With Gears of War well behind us and Perfect Dark Zero (thankfully) even further back, we're of the belief that online co-op is (or should be), where appropriate, a standard "next-gen" offering by now. Kurup made a valid point about increased development time when he said gamers "also want the game at some point," but when some point happens to be November, you'd best give your game a full pair of water wings before tossing it into that shark-infested maelstrom.
Kane and Lynch offers bank heist multiplayer
Deathmatch? Deathly boring. Capture the flag? Go capture it yourself. Assault? More like ass-ault. We admit that even we can get a little bored with traditional multiplayer game types. So you can imagine our excitement when the developers of Kane and Lynch said that their brand of online action was so fresh, so radical that they can't believe that no one's thought of it yet.When playing K&L online (known as Fragile Alliance), you'll be part of a bank heist. Basically, your squad will try to grab as much loot as possible, taking out cops and other security measures all the while. If you notice that a teammate has a sack a bit fuller than yours (or you just want to pad your sack a bit more) you can, as they say on the streets, kill him. But once you do so, the whole team knows, and they likely won't take kindly to it. Even if you do get popped, you're still in the game, reincarnated as a police officer, allowing you to take delicious vengeance on your killer.We don't know all the ins-and-outs of Fragile Alliance yet, but, suffice it to say that we can't wait to get our hands on it.
Joystiq hands-on: Kane & Lynch
"Get down!" That's the last thing you're told before your vision fades away. You hear what's going on: somehow, Lynch, the psychopath partner of yours, has managed to bust you out of a prison van. Your vision returns, blurry, as you limp away, following his directives.So begins Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. It's clear why the game is already optioned for a movie -- it's intense, visceral, in your face. Dazed and confused, you follow Lynch's directives and join your fellow inmates in a mad escape. The cops are on hot pursuit, and bullets fly in every direction. You're not just seeing a massive gunfight unfold before your eyes -- you're a vital part of it. The cons ahead of you are also fighting for their lives. You realize you have no choice but to follow, for the sake of your own survival. As your vision slowly returns and you're able to start walking normally, you see that the world developer IO Interactive has created is a very real one. Don't expect the gritty browns and grays that are so typical of modern action games. Instead, the colors are refreshingly un-stylized. As your progress through the first chapter of the game, you end up in a rather un-spectacular backdrop: a local diner, taking cover from an increasing barrage of bullets. This is where you fight back.
Kane and Lynch dated, strikes November 20
We liked our time playing Kane and Lynch at E3; unfortunately, it appears the Gods That Be have given the title a rather arduous gauntlet. Eidos is bringing the title to PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 20.As if the holiday lineup wasn't crowded enough, this particular week will also see the deployment of BioWare's much-ballyhooed Mass Effect for Xbox 360 and Naughty Dog's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. We're not saying Kane and Lynch has a death sentence; it's a fun game from the makers of Hitman that has garnered enough interest for a movie deal. But the competition will be fierce.[Via X3F]
Kane and Lynch wreak havoc November 20th
So far we've been pretty impressed with what we've seen of Kane & Lynch. The blackguards at Joystiq seemed to enjoy their time with the game at E3 as well. Thus it's with both a little joy and trepidation that we report the game is scheduled to hit store shelves on November 20th. We are happy that we'll finally be able to give the game a proper once over, but also a little worried that November is fast becoming the most densely packed month we've seen all year. Mass Effect, Rock Band (presumably), Call of Duty 4, Blacksite, Army of Two, and now Kane & Lynch. Of course, we're probably forgetting some, too.Sorry kids, looks like we're eating hot dogs this Thanksgiving. Turkey's expensive, and these games won't buy themselves.[Via Evil Avatar]
Kane and Lynch movie gets fast-tracked
Apparently, Lionsgate likes what they're seeing in an adaptation of forthcoming Eidos action game Kane and Lynch: Dead Men. IGN reports that the studio has fast-tracked the film to start shooting in the fall from a script by Kyle Ward. (We'll save you a click, he's done one movie and you haven't heard of it.)According to IGN though, you probably have heard of at least one of the actors who are interested in playing one of the lead roles. If Lionsgate is looking for name actors here, we'd like to throw in a suggestion: Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Zachery Ty Bryan. No one would see that coming. Now, if they'd complete the Home Improvement trifecta and cast Taran Noah Smith as a cop hell-bent on bringing them to justice, we'd go ahead and pre-order our tickets today.
New Kane & Lynch trailer sets the bar high
We've been impressed with the IO Interactive (Hitman) title Kane & Lynch: Dead Men ever since the first trailer popped up nearly a year ago. While we haven't seen much in the way of gameplay, the trailers so far have shown that Kane & Lynch should offer a compelling story at the very least. There are emotional relationships, interesting characters, and, of course, plenty of action. The latest trailer is no different, giving us a glimpse at the life of Kane as he writes to his daughter prior to looks like an unexpected prison break. If the final game can live up to the cinematic caliber of the trailers (and judging from our E3 impressions, it might), Kane & Lynch could be a real treat.
Eidos' Livingstone presumes we need more iconic characters
Eidos' Product Acquisition Director Ian Livingstone, speaking at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, said that game developers need to create more iconic characters. Not just for games, but so they can be used in various other products as well. He showed the audience a series of iconic characters and mixed in there were game heroes ... some people in the audience couldn't put names to the characters. Livingstone said, "If we all work in the games industry, what does that say?"Eidos has definitely had a focus on iconic characters. From Lara Croft to Agent 47, to the upcoming Kane & Lynch. From what we saw of the game at E3, the characters exude bad-boy personality, which can also be seen in the trailer. Livingstone says that Kane originally looked much younger -- "a bit of a ladies' man." He says the decision was made to age him up and scar him to keep in line with the story. He also says that Lara Croft was originally going to be Lara Cruz, but then the decision was made to make her a posh British lady, so the team went through the phone book until they found the right name.
Joystiq impressions: Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
If you're unsure about the nature of content in IO Interactive's Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, you need only a single glance at the bench you're sitting on in the Eidos E3 demonstration room. Packed beneath a layer of glass you can find either a cache of machine guns and bullets, packets of suspicious white powder (baking powder, perhaps?) or countless rows of hundred-dollar bills. Judging by the brief demonstration of the single-player component of the game, these are all items that have been thoroughly used, abused and stolen by Kane and Lynch at some point in their dubious careers.Despite sharing similar criminal and psychotic tendencies, the eponymous duo don't get along very well. Their brutish behavior and decidedly harsh vocabulary stems from the Hitman developer's desire to keep things "raw and realistic," says product manager Matt Knowles. He sums the game up as "an emotionally intense crime drama," pointing towards a bickering Kane and Lynch as they prepare to enter a vibrant upmarket nightclub. They're certainly dressed for the part, but it soon becomes clear that those snazzy suits conceal a sinister kidnapping plot.%Gallery-4814%
