For all of us who have seen movies like Heat or Collateral and thought "I want to do that!" — well, the good news is, now you can, but the bad news ... well, we'll get to that later. In Kane and Lynch: Dead Men, you and your group of well-dressed degenerates and criminal masterminds get the chance to orchestrate massive firefights, rob a bank, have a firefight in a crowded nightclub, take part in a civil war, and travel around the world on your quest for revenge and wealth.

You play as Kane, a mercenary with a mysterious past, and you are followed by your medicated, psychopathic sidekick, Lynch. Kane, who has recently escaped/been kidnapped from death row, has been contracted by a criminal organization called The7.

A former member of The7, until he double-crossed them on their retirement job in Venezuela, Kane is now due for a gunshot to the head. However, The7 postpones his death with a proposition: He has three weeks to return all the money he took, but if he should fail, he and his family will die.

During the players' travels, it is discovered that Lynch is accused of killing his wife and often has blackouts of extreme violence, and that Kane, despite his cold nature, cares deeply for his family and only wishes to save them.

Combine all that with the gritty style and the undying bond between a father and his hateful family, and you have the makings of an excellent game.

Now comes the game play. Fans of the Hitman series will recognize the over-the-shoulder view and simple interface, but many new features have been added, such as the ability to carry more than 20 pounds of ammo and grenades. You also can issue simple orders to your squad, making for a unique play style. In addition to this, there are several new features, such as the new adrenaline system that gives your character an added edge over the enemy. When your character is hit too many times, instead of dying you have about a 10-second bleed-out period; however, one of your teammates can revive you with a shot of adrenaline that gets you back up on your feet. But if too much adrenaline is used, you will overdose and die.

Even though it is painful to say, now comes the bad news.

As fun and heartwarming as this sounds, game play is sabotaged by frustrating controls and the occasional graphic glitches that fail to keep the story's momentum up and running. This sometimes makes playing the game more of a chore than a fun experience.

In addition, despite the fact that the game is character-driven, the characters fail to develop in any major way over
the course of the game, making many of their actions unbelievable (and the two abrupt endings don't help, either).

Then comes the problem that has plagued video games for years: The AI is terrible, and I mean terrible. Your enemies' only goal in is to pour boxes of
bullets into you with little
or no concern for personal safety on the easier settings, while on the hardest setting, they have progressed to the mental level of a third-grader and do a decent job of staying alive. The same goes for your allies as they occasionally have trouble following the simple commands you give them, though they do a good job of trying not to die and knowing when to take cover.

All in all, many innovations were added to make this game more fun, but in the
end most of those just fall short.

IO Entertainment has stated that it plans to make Kane and Lynch a franchise, much like Hitman and I can honestly say, I do hope so; those two abrupt endings need better explanation and little is discovered about the characters over the course of the game.

The game is full of wasted potential and has an unfinished feel to it (well, you
know what they say about games that come out on time). However, don't get me wrong. Kane and Lynch was a fun game to play despite its shortcomings, was an honorable attempt and is definitely worth a rent or a look through the bargain bin.

Francis Trujillo is a freshman at Academy for Technology and the Classics. You can reach him at fx-trujillo@hotmail.com.