The Benny (Macho)

I've now played through the whole game in co-op and the PSXE score (and the general opinion around the web) is definitely accurate. Gamespot did mark it a little low but they were simply more critical of obvious flaws, rather than inventing them for the sake of being negative (which might have gone some way to explaining all the fuss that kicked up over it). The game is fun with some intense firefights but the automatic cover system takes some getting used to (a manual button would have been so much more useful) and the final few missions are an exercise in frustration, throwing in a stealth level, then an escort level, an on-rails level with ridiculously narrow fields of fire and finally a level with an uncontrollable AI companion you need to keep alive.

Had the game stayed with the kinds of missions it has at the start of the game (the whole Tokyo sequence was pretty great) it would have been much better. Once you reach Cuba it starts looking like a military shooter without ever being on par with them (mainly because of the team AI) and once you're in the jungle it all gets very annoying and really lets the game down. Assuming Gamespot and Eidos haven't managed to kill the series I'd love a sequel though. IO have shown with the Hitman series that they can both refine and improve upon existing gameplay so a sequel would likely only improve on what I think are fairly solid foundations. A stronger focus on the earlier urban missions, a larger mercenary element (being able to choose the weapons you start with, for example), a refined cover system and smarter team AI would get the game much closer to earning the reviews Eidos felt the original game deserved.

A mildly interesting sidenote: IO's original Hitman was a stealth game with an annoying jungle level that forced you to play it like a shooter, while IO's Kane & Lynch is a shooter with an annoying jungle level that forces you to play it like a stealth game...

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The poster formerly known as Macho Man!

Gabriel013

I wasn't impressed with the demo at all. I turned it off before I got to the end.

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\"...and he shall ascend from the fires of Hell...\"
"everyone knows second hand squirrel kills." - Svosen

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