Dead Men Walking: Kane & Lynch Interview

We find out more about the new action game and its unique online mode.

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By Sharan Dev Jain & Alex Wollenschlaeger

IO Interactive is no stranger to violence. The Danish developer has built its reputation on an unflinching approach to action games in the popular and critically successful Hitman series. For its new game, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, the team is passing over lone-wolf action for a gregarious play style and more than a hint of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Most obviously this new approach is demonstrated by the two main characters: Kane and Lynch. The former is a bereaved father who tries to forget his tragic past by becoming a soldier of fortune, while the latter is something else altogether. After murdering his wife, Lynch is locked away to spend the rest of his days on death row. And that's where our "heroes" meet.

Escape is, of course, the only thing on the minds of the duo and the game picks up with a prison break. The situation is intensified by the hostility and tension in the relationship between the two characters who genuinely despise each other but are forced to work together to achieve their separate goals.

This antagonistic relationship is constantly reinforced in the gameplay, Frederik Fusager of developer IO Interactive explained to us recently. "Lynch and Kane are constantly nagging each other," he told us. "Kane is doing real things and Lynch is trying to figure out what's going on," he said.

At one point, we were in a scene where we were controlling Kane. Lynch meanwhile, was off in the distance. Fusager explained that it's possible to take control of him if you want, but "without his medication, there's too much violence, and he's drifting off on his own little crazy adventures down there".

There's a full co-operative mode to the game where you'll get to play as both of the characters. For the most part, this will pan out just like in the singleplayer experience. From time to time, Fusager told us, the pair will split, "because Kane is doing stuff that Lynch shouldn't see and Lynch is having his own bits that Kane shouldn't be part of."

Though the emotional aspects of the duo's relationship are complex, IO has made sure to make its game as simple as possible to play from the outset. The game will ease you in to the controls, teaching you as you go along. The cover system, too, gives you more time to think, as well as adding that extra tactical element to your approach to situations. It's simple too.

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