If that date sounds familiar, it’s because it’s also the specific release date for a few other anticipated games. Microsoft is releasing BioWare’s Mass Effect for the Xbox 360 on November 20, while Sony has Naughty Dog’s Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune for the PS3 set to drop the same day. And while Rock Band’s release date isn’t official, GameStop is guaranteeing customers who preorder that it will have the game to them “on the street date of Tuesday, November 20.” And then there’s Assassin’s Creed, Unreal Tournament III, and a number of other titles floating around with vague “November” release windows.

I am a fan of Io Interactive. I love the Hitman series, probably more than is healthy. I’ve gotten some hands on time with the game, and my impressions were pretty positive. I think that released at the right time, it could be a sleeper hit, as it does some cool things narratively and stylistically with a gravitas that hasn’t really be seen in many other games. But it really does seem like Eidos wants Io’s new game to fail. I hope they prove me wrong; the game should be pushed back.

-Aegies

Medal of Honor Heroes 2 (PSP, Wii)

Kane and Lynch (360)

Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron Hands-on Multiplayer (PSP)

Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron (PSP)

Jam Sessions (DS)

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness Episodes I (PC, 360, Mac, Linux)

So, as you can see, I have been busy. Lots of meetings, talks, travels to game companies. All in all, it’s been amazing. Either way, just wanted to share, some of these games are looking pretty good.

Chufmoney

If you read the site a lot (and thanks if you do), you may remember my previous optimism for the title. It’s pedigree establishes legitimacy for me, as I’m a big fan of the Hitman games, and its thematic motifs are what really sell me, as it has a very heavy Michael Mann (director of Heat, Collateral, Miami Vice, etc)sensibility going on. It’s the closest we’ve really come yet to a heist based game, and that’s something I feel like I can get behind. And the characters are interesting.

The good news is, it largely delivered on its promise in the time I spent with it. While admittedly short, it gave me time to get comfortable with the controls and the squad and cover mechanics. The cover doesn’t work as it does in, say, Gears of War or Rainbow Six Vegas; instead, you’ll walk up to cover (be it a column or wall or other object), and the game will lightly attach you to it. Move the stick lightly, and you’ll stay attached to cover, and lightly tapping in the direction of the corner will switch your shoulder to that side. You hit the L-trigger to go into a tighter over the shoulder aiming perspective (we might as well call the left trigger the “aim” button in third person shooters at this point), and if you’re attached to cover, the L-trigger will pull you around the corner a-la-Gears to aim and fire from the cover position. You can also blind fire. Really, there’s not a lot new to the game in this respect from the recent horde of third person shooters we’ve seen for the last 9 months, but I suppose we’re in an “ain’t broke” phase in the console generation, and hey, it works.

The squad based mechanic is a little different than we’ve seen in other third person shooters though, as the X button cycles you through the four members of your squad while the B button assigns positions or targets to them. It’s similar to the Ubisoft squad shooter mechanic, and to a degree it is, but it’s streamlined and much simpler to use, which is good, because if you don’t, you’re going to die. A lot. But! Your squad mates will often come to your side and revive you. I say often though because they’re supposed, but there were a couple times where I lay on the ground writhing in agony, waiting for a squad mate that would never come. This is bad when you basically won’t die unless all your squad members are dead (or so I surmised after about 45 seconds without any criminal assistance).

The demo level was the Japanese skyscraper scene that’s been such a prominent fixture in the trailers for the game. I started on the roof, as we came out of a stairwell and eliminated the light complement of guards on a helipad. I then went to the edge of the building and rappelled down to the ledge of the office where an old acquaintance of Kane’s is holding a briefcase he and his cohorts have been tasked with retrieving. I moved forward and placed an explosive charge on the window and stepped back as the window blew inward, and then we moved in and took out the guards and delivered a little revenge to the target. I don’t want to get too expository so I’ll leave it at that. The graphics look good, and they get the job done. Kane & Lynch isn’t winning any beauty contests so far, but it has a lot going on the screen and the engine has come a long way from Hitman: Blood Money, with much better texture detail, a lot less random shininess, and improved character animation. The faces on the main characters especially are pretty expressive, and Kane’s ugly scar and Lynch’s receeded hairline are convincingly rendered.

The demo ends with a showdown with the police outside of the building as your team tries to make it to their van. Again, it’s a very convincing heist scenario with some heavy Heat influences, which is about three different kinds of awesome. We didn’t get a chance to see the co-op in action, and it was too loud to get an idea of the dialog that’s played so prominent a part in the trailers, but the game looks good and performs well, and it’s fun. The only problem is that official release dates are still saying late this year, and I can’t see the game doing as well as it otherwise could in a less crowded release season. I can tell at this point though that they’re getting my money.

-Aegies

The story is interesting, and moderately complex, too complex to describe easily here, but I’ll try: Kane and Lynch are on their way to Death Row, when the bus they’re on is waylaid and the two of them are “rescued”. Kane is told that if he doesn’t go along with his new employer, they’ll kill his captive daughter. Lynch, on the other hand, is insane, and homicidally so, which means he’s doing the job for money and for fun. Make no mistake, they’re both bad guys, but they’re multifaceted, interesting bad people. So take that kind of narrative hook, and combine it with the aesthetic of films like Ronin and Heat, and you’ve got the makings of something that could be amazing. Or it could blow. Such is the danger of ambition.
In the meantime, they released a new trailer for the game that reminds me why I was so excited in the first place. I just hope that game doesn’t get buried in the holiday madness, as I fear it might. Check it out below.

Here’s the new trailer:

And here’s a couple of the older ones, just to get you up to speed:

Please, please don’t suck.

-Aegies