Kane & Lynch 2's equivalent of the load screen is a "buffering" icon that we've become so accustomed to seeing in this post-YouTube world. Oh, yeah, it's a different kind of game. Clean, crisp, HD graphics are traded in for a muddy screen lathered in Crisco, obstructed by a grain filter, and pixelated censorship when you commit unspeakable crimes like, say, shoot a guy in the face. Style, the game has -- unfortunately, IO forgot to include an engaging story line or combat that is more than slightly above average. It's like the developer had the great inspiration to create a game around the unique setting of Shanghai and phoned the rest of K&L2's development in. A shame really, because I'd say it is worth at least a rental for the aesthetics, multiplayer, and, at times, quirky ideas if little else.

Grade: C-