Kane & Lynch: admittedly not delivering 'the whole online package'

Online Co-op is a must in this generation of games, this is a huge mistake. I was really hoping this game would have it. This game just changed from a buy to a rental in my mind

Dropping $60 on a game demands replay value of all kinds and single player or split screen co-op doesn't cut it.

If they provide a unique and enjoyable single player experience, than who cares. It still has local co-op. If we hold every game to the "Halo standard" than we will all lose out.

i don't think i'll ever use halo's online coop...

I thought going back to E3 (and a GI article I think) this was a online co-op game? I'm not buying it now, in fact I'm pulling my reserve for something else, it won't be missed there are plenty of other games out that month. Co-op seems like the obvious for this game since there are two characters, like Gears, Army of Two, H3... disappointed.

Online co-op really should be standard fair. There isn't much more to say.

Sorry, but online co-op or an online multiplayer mode is NOT a "must" these days. If the focus is on making a great single-player title, and that is what happens, than that is more than enough.
Offline co-op is a bonus here and should be quite fun. Why not have a friend over and play together?

In many cases, developers believe they need some sort of online MP and tack it on. There's also the risk of shortchanging the single player experience. Most games are still single-player, so I don't know where you get this "must" notion. Social gaming is on the rise but games are still, for the most part, very skewed toward single-player.

Hitman has never had online beyond a statistic upload feature in Blood Money. I say that if they want to focus on making the single-player kick ass, by all means, let them do so.
Having said that, Kane and Lynch is certainly a different game from Hitman. A case could be made for online multiplayer in a faster-paced game like this--but there's the thing; it could be too frantic to balance effectively. Max Payne 2 did quite well with its "Dead Man Walking" mode for modders to use. Adding a split-screen mode is a great concession, very much like Goldeneye.

no online co-op. um so?

For *this* game it seems like a huge omission. I wasn't too interested in it anyway, but real (as in full single player) online co-op is something that usually gets me aboard.

Yup, I agree with Maurice. For *THIS* game it's a huge smack in the face. It's like Army of Two not having online coop. For a game like Call of Duty, you don't really expect it to be there. But this game has always seemed to be advertised as being heavy on cooperative play.

the online play it does have is mostly cooperative though, it just isnt the main storyline from SP.

I honestly don't care about the lack of online co-op. I'm more interested in the single player (which is looking good), and maybe on occasion the MP. Besides, there's a chance that future titles in the series may have online co-op.

Just because a game doesn't have online co-op (which isn't really a 'must'), doesn't mean the single player game is gonna suck. Maybe it'll still be great.

I really don't know why everyone's got such a hard-on (for lack of a more appropriate and less graphic phrase) over online co-op. Maybe it's just because I hate everyone, especially people online, but if a game can't stand on its single player merits- or, at the very least, its offline multiplayer (Perfect Dark for the N64?)- then I'm not even going to give it a second look. I frequently play video games by myself, or in the company of people who just want to watch, and I either want to keep it that way, or can't afford/don't want to pay for playing online. That, or I just hate people too much, which is likely.

I play video games either for the story or for really good gameplay, not to make myself look good, or even just to be social. For me, it's find people near me who want to play too, or enjoy single player. Maybe that's why I'm aggravated at Halo 3- because single player is pretty okay, but then the Flood show up and it gets boring and repetitive... but then, that's another rant for another time. I digress.

I've played these things since the Super NES, and I've played them because there's a good story and/or it stands on its own mechanics by itself. Multiplayer should compliment a game, not drive it, unless it's got some good bots built in.

Yes, online co-op is cool, but it's not the essential feature that everyone's making it out to be, nor is multiplayer in general. Just because something has multiplayer doesn't mean it NEEDS to be online, especially if it's just co-op (also, don't get me started on games where multiplayer is online/system link ONLY). I'm often in places where I don't have friends near me, and I get along just fine.

Now, before the flames begin, I'd like to again point out that I'm not against online multiplayer, or online co-op, I just think it's not as game-breakingly vital as everyone seems to think it is (again, go play Perfect Dark on the N64.) I dunno, maybe I'm just an angry old man. Metaphorically of course, I'm not even twenty yet.

Okay, now that we're clear, get flaming, kiddies.

I think the main issue here is that game already has co-op as a feature. This isn't like BioShock where the game has one main character and no co-op at all... hell, it doesn't even have multiplayer. This game already has offline co-op (and online MP!), so why not go all the way with it and give us online co-op? Doesn't seem to make much sense.

Of course, perhaps they'll pull a Bungie. Remember when Bungie said Halo 3 was only going to have 2-player offline co-op and the internet exploded? Then just a week or so later they came out and said, "Surprise, bitches! We actually have 4-player online co-op". Wishful thinking, I know, but one can only hope.

purchase = lost

As a person who used to shy away from playing on-line, Co-op gaming is where it's at and should stay!!! Not until halo 2 did I jump into the On-Line/Co-op gaming scene and never looked back!!
I can't stress how awesome it is to be playing with my brother and friends in Halo 3 co-op!! Every game developer should take note from Epic and Bungie and try and make it better! This needs to be an option in every game because it makes playing a companies title more intresting and adds a longer play life the game!!

I dont mind not having co op in a good single player game. But since the beginning this game has been screaming out Co op...The story is about 2 "criminals" and their exploits. Bioshock and metroid make sense to be single player games because they are about ONE SINGLE person. To use a cliffy b reference this is like making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without the chocolate...Wait, is that right??

That's really, really dumb. This game went from being highest on my watch list to being something I'm merely interested in. They bothered to implement split screen coop, but no online co op? Get your net code together guys! Jesus... The game is centered around TWO guys, TWO characters with interesting interplay between them. This is not hitman. I'd gladly wait another 6 months for this game (I'm interested in it, but I'm not exactly aching for it) if it had online coop. This was a huge mistake for them and will really drastically impact the game's sales.