Well, well....MyD's copy of K&L: Dead Men arrived today for the PC.
Windows Live for Fragile Alliance MP
Okay, got my Silver Account for Windows Live up and all. Kinda sucks you have to go through the Windows Live mess, to even get to MP of this game. Unfortunately, only like TWO other servers were running this game -- ummm....WTF??!!?!? One room was full, while the other only had...ONE PERSON in there! WTF??!!?!? I mean, you'd think there'd be at least more than that -- the game's not even been around for a SIX months even!!! :o So, due to the lack of players, I didn't start w/ Fragile Alliance; ain't tried it yet.
Maybe I'll try it, when people are actually playing the damn thing...if they ever play the damn thing. :P
Campaign (Single Player)
Okay, so here's what I'm playing, right now -- Campaign (SP Portion) of K&L: Dead Men.
The story...well, it just seems crazy. I won't ruin it too much in details, but -- it just seems like no matter what plans and schemes these guys go for to try and fix up a bad situation, it just results in...them making matters worse...LOL. And often, you just can't help but laugh at how more and more screwed-up, things get. A lot of it is still growing and growing, but so far -- I like the story.
Yeah, these guys are....nuts. The voice-acting that is delivered by the actors are pretty good. Though, the way Kane and Lynch get along -- well, the way they not get along, I should say -- is the very entertaining part of this ordeal...and does comes off as funny often; given what they say, how the actors deliver it, and whatnot. Probably b/c the game's so over-the-top, anyways, it's probably why the over-cussing Gertsmann complained about doesn't seem to be bothering me here.
Gertsmann complained about these guys not being very likable. The thing is, though -- you're not supposed to like these guys at all -- just look at their shady backgrounds, the way they use each other to their own selfish advantage, they way Lynch will just do psychotic things at the drop of a hat, etc etc; how are you ever supposed to root for them??? Everything that happens to them and those around them, Kane & Lynch basically deserve. They're basically two bad-ass screw-ups w/ problems galore -- and you just sometimes can't help but laugh, at the horrible situations they get theirselves into.
Complaint Department
I got the game on 800x600, most of the settings on LOW (Shadows, Textures, etc) or things are disabled (AA, AF). Still, the game does look decent, regardless. Just, nothing special. It's just -- well, I wish this game would perform better on its framerate, since I turned so much stuff off. One minute, framerate's through the roof around 40-50 frames; next minute, the framerate's around 15-20. More so than anything, a patch to polish game performance on this engine is where IO should really begin.
Duck and cover tactics are odd here. It's there, but automatically does it. And when you walk up against a wall, it usually takes a few seconds before it moves you into "cover" mode. They really should've took one from Rainbow Six: Vegas' gameplay book and let the gamer initiate it w/ the press of a special "cover" key themselves. Especially since sometimes when I don't wanna "cover", it suddenly moves into "cover" mode. That can be annoying.
Shooting Accuracy?
Gertsmann complained about shooting not being very accurate. Now, here's the thing w/ that. Like some other shooters, if you don't hold the aim key (RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON by default) and then fire, there's a chance you might be a little off. Without aiming on the shot, it's possible to be a little off -- still possibly connect, but not hit them right exactly where you want. Hold AIM and then fire, you'll connect every single time right exactly where you want it.
Near-Death and Death
Death's handled with a twist. If squad members are around you and you get brought down to a near-death state, if they can get there in a certain amount of time and inject you w/ Adrenaline before you are about to die, you're back and ready to go! Though, if this happens too much w/ you going down and they inject you with Adrenaline, you will die from an Overdose of Adrenaline -- heh!
Squad tactics and squad AI are okay -- they don't really do anything ultra-smart, nor anything really dumb, either. Very few times, have I failed a mission b/c a squad member died -- yes, you can fail, if a squad member dies. Which is kind of surprising, given how bad reviewers complained about the AI and how often they died. Maybe I'll experience more of that, later on....who knows :P
Memorable Levels, So Far...
Oh -- and that Tokyo Nightclub shootout scene was freakin' awesome. Awesome shootout, in that level -- with crowded dance-floors w/ strobe lights and enemies walking around w/ flashlights to try and find you and whatnot.
There's been some other memorable levels, besides the Tokyo ones -- such as the bank robbery and the sit in the back of a moving moving van w/ the door open mission that feels like something out of a "rail shooter game."
So Far...
So far, I do like K&L: Dead Men, despite it having its share of very rough spots -- such as namely the all over-the-place performance, the odd cover/duck tactics, and the AI really being quite average. K&L does have some good stuff going on -- such as plenty of action, entertaining/interesting plot, very good voice-acting, high cinematic production values, and some great music from Jesper Kyd.