kane-and-lynch posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Livingstone: Kane & Lynch 2 aimed for Sept., more Hitman, Tomb Raider en route

by Ben Gilbert { May 11th 2009 at 11:00AM }

In Mumbai for the Golden Cursor Animation Awards, recently appointed Eidos "life president" Ian Livingstone sat down with the folks at GamingIndians and spilled a full bag of beans. Unsurprisingly, he says the Square Enix acquisition was "a great deal in many ways" and that the various Eidos development studios would remain largely independent. "It's great news for the brand and for the people," he says.

And also, apparently, great for sequels, as Livingstone confirms work on the next Hitman game, a sequel to Kane & Lynch currently targeted for a September release date and -- big shock! -- a re-imagining of Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider series. "The next Tomb Raider, I think, will surprise a lot of people and reinvigorate the franchise," Livingstone notes, stressing the relevance of game characters in mainstream media these days. Incidentally, he more than intimates that Eidos Montreal is working on Thief 4, though now we know that to be a fact -- the "worst kept secret in the industry," in fact.

85 million Final Fantasy games sold, global takeover imminent

by Ben Gilbert { Apr 23rd 2009 at 1:42PM }

Hot on the heels of yesterday's official acquisition of "the house that Lara built" (Eidos, folks), Square Enix has released a load of numbers on its biggest IPs -- including some that it just acquired yesterday. Unsurprisingly, the Final Fantasy series flies high above its brethren (in a fancy airship, of course) with over 85 million units moved over the series' lifetime. We imagine after the company releases its flurry of FFXIII titles, that number will jump considerably.

Among other details in the release is Dragon Quest's lifetime sales, reaching nearly 50 million units, and the Tomb Raider series showing up with 30 million units sold in the past 13 years. Also of note is Kane & Lynch: Dead Men selling nearly two million shameful, shameful copies. Can we expect the layoffs to stop for now?

[Via Edge]

Source (warning: PDF)

Square Enix explains why it wants Eidos

by Justin McElroy { Feb 16th 2009 at 10:30AM }

Like a middle-aged woman who spends half of Feb. 15 explaining to her mother why a new toilet brush and a night of darts is as much a Valentine's Day as she can expect from Lyle, Square Enix has gone on the record with the precise reasons it has an interest in buying struggling publisher Eidos. In addition to the dev houses included in the deal, the company has its eye on Hitman, Tomb Raider, Deus Ex and Kane & Lynch.

Meanwhile, and surprising no one, 20-percent Eidos shareholder Warner Bros.* says it's putting its support behind the deal and honestly, it's kind of hard to blame it.

*Did you know Time Warner is our parent company? Well, now you do.

Source -- Warner backs Square Enix's bid for Eidos
Source -- Square Enix Cites "Major" Eidos Franchises

GameTap Thursday: Kane & Lynch, Grimm

by Alexander Sliwinski { Sep 11th 2008 at 7:00PM }

GameTap adds a pair of dark tales this week for subscribers. American McGee's Grimm keeps "improving" childhood classics with the addition of The Devil and His Three Golden Hairs (remember, it's free to everyone for the first 24 hours). Also, the dynamic duo of Kane & Lynch get all violent up in the joint.

Grimm: The Devil and His Three Golden Hairs (Windows) - Much like Harry Potter, it just keeps getting darker.
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (Windows) - You think we're going to put some Gerstmann-gate crack in here, don't you? Well, we're not! We aren't going to mention it at all.

Once again, there aren't any additions to GameTap's free games list this week. The full list of free-to-play titles can be found after the break.

Continued →

Kane & Lynch devs talk pain of low scores

by Justin McElroy { Sep 10th 2008 at 1:50PM }

We fear the inevitable day when video games will be crafted by machines (besides the robot that adds $60 worth of "better" to Madden every 12 months, of course), but it will also have its share of upsides. For example, we'll no longer have to worry about hurting actual people's feelings when we say awful, curt, snide things about their labors of love.

Kane & Lynch dev IO Interactive recently spoke to Games Radar about what getting negative reviews feels like, and you'll never guess the one that "really" hurt: "Then GameSpot reviewed the game. And they didn't like it one bit. I'm not quite sure why, but I remember that review hit the team like a hammer."

A heap of heartache as a result of GameSpot's Kane & Lynch review? Wow, and we thought Eidos and Jeff Gerstmann would never find common ground!

Bruce Willis in talks to star in Kane and Lynch film adaptation

by Ross Miller { Jun 3rd 2008 at 8:55PM }

Bruce Willis is in talks to star in the upcoming Kane and Lynch film adaptation, reports Variety. Willis will play Adam "Kane" Marcus. That's one-half of the rumor from back in November 2007 that said Billy Bob Thornton was in talks for the role of Lynch. According to the Variety piece, the filmmakers are still looking for Lynch, with shooting to begin before the end of the year. The movie will be directed by Simon Crane, based on a script by Kyle Ward.

Free Kane and Lynch Dope Bag now on the XBLM

by Dustin Burg { Apr 17th 2008 at 11:00AM }

It's another friendly Xbox Live Marketplace reminder alert. The Kane and Lynch: Dead Men The Dope Bag downloadable content is now available for download off the XBLM for the gotta have it price of free, free, free! This 442MB download will add four new scenarios to the game's Fragile Alliance including Clean Cut, Hookers' Trail, Flying High and Hasta la Vista. You should also be prompted to download a bug / feature fixing title update and be treated to some new Kane and Lynch achievements as well. Now get back to playing Kane and Lynch, if not at least to give the new DLC a little test run. It is free you know.

Kane and Lynch DLC brings title update and more

by Dustin Burg { Apr 14th 2008 at 5:30PM }

This Thursday, April 17th Kane and Lynch: Dead Men will receive new (and totally free) "The Dope Bag" downloadable content and with it will come other goodies.

In an interview with Kane and Lynch game director Kim Krogh, IGN learned that come Thursday the new set of DLC will be available alongside two other additions. One addition being a set of new achievements that was spotted a few weeks back that'll add an additional 250 Gamerscore. The other goodie we'll see on Thursday is a general title update that's aimed at fixing a few bugs and annoyances found in Fragile Alliance including friendly-fire between re-spawned characters. So, in recap: Free Kane and Lynch "The Dope Bag" DLC which adds new multiplayer maps, new achievements and a title update too. End recap.

Former Hitman, Kane and Lynch creators launch Reto-Moto

by Jason Dobson { Apr 11th 2008 at 4:30PM }

The founders of Hitman and Kane and Lynch developer IO Interactive have left to form Reto-Moto, a Copenhagen, Denmark-based studio "committed to redefining the online multi-player space." While the team isn't talking about its initial project, a press release announcing the company notes that Reto-Moto is in "active dialogue with strategic industry partners."

In a rather incestuous twist, it turns out that Reto-Moto was actually established in 1997, and was the former parent of IO Interactive before it was handed off to Eidos in 2004 as part of a £20 million acquisition. It looks like Thomas Wolfe was wrong; you can go home again.

Kane & Lynch ads banned in UK

by Alexander Sliwinski { Apr 9th 2008 at 3:00PM }

After receiving a whopping 26 complaints, the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK has banned a "graphic" and "shocking" poster (seen above) for Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. The Guardian reports the ASA ordered Eidos not to print or broadcast any ads created for the game again as they were deemed inappropriate for an "untargeted medium."

The print ad appeared in two Future Publishing magazines, while a TV ad portrayed scenes of graphic violence. The poster also included an overlay of this brilliant insight from OXM: "Grittier and nastier in tone than anything you've seen before, the violence here is visceral, brutal and very, very real." This was seen by the ASA as possibly "condoning and glorifying real violence." Sadly, none of the controversy Kane & Lynch seems to shake up makes the mediocre game any better, but it sure does help sell copies.

Kane and Lynch to get free DLC April 17

by Justin McElroy { Apr 8th 2008 at 9:00AM }

With all the hubbub surrounding its Gamespot review and subsequent aftermath, there were plenty of areas in which Kane and Lynch didn't get enough credit. There were great characters and performances and style to spare, not to mention an innovative multiplayer mode that pitted cops against robbers and (in time) robbers against robbers and (if you were playing with dumb people) cops against cops. Now, fans of that mode are getting a little love with four downloadable maps for "Fragile Alliance."

The maps, collectively titled "The Dope Bag" will be arriving on Xbox Live and PSN on April 17 and, what's more, they'll be totally free. Here's to you, "Fragile Alliance," in hopes that you'll finally get that moment in the sun you've dreamed of.

Kane & Lynch gets free DLC for Store relaunch

by Andrew Yoon { Apr 8th 2008 at 1:00AM }

If for some reason you're still playing Kane & Lynch, Eidos has a nice surprise for you: four new downloadable maps for the game's Fragile Alliance multiplayer mode will be released on April 17th, the day the new PLAYSTATION Store relaunches. Entitled "The Dope Bag," this DLC will feature four maps, each featuring its own "unique scenario." At the very least, the price is nice. Unlike Stranglehold's multiplayer additions, this will cost a pretty sum of $0 (0 Microsoft Points on Xbox 360). With the release of the similarly priced "Still Alive" Rock Band add-on, April 17th is going to be a great day.

[Thanks, Godfree!]

Kane & Lynch DLC coming, and for free to boot

by Terrence Stasse { Apr 7th 2008 at 6:30PM }

According to Godfree over at gamertagradio, tomorrow Eidos will reveal their downloadable content for the controversial Kane and Lynch: Dead Men. Godfree's early info says that the DLC will take the form of four multiplayer maps for the Fragile Alliance gameplay mode. Not only that, but the maps are supposedly free, and are said to go live on April the 17th. The maps will not be separate and will be packaged together in a single piece of downloadable content apparently called, ahem, The Dope Bag, with each map within containing its own specific scenario.

While free DLC is always a good thing, we just can't seem to get excited about this one. How about you readers? Are you Kane & Lynch owners out there ready to give this a try?

[Thanks Godfree!]

Achievements hint at new Kane & Lynch DLC

by Dustin Burg { Mar 16th 2008 at 4:00PM }

Thanks to Xbox360Achievements.org and their never ending search for achievement news, we learn that Kane & Lynch: Dead Men will be getting five new achievements and an additional 250 Gamerscore. The only questions we have are when and how?

The five new achievements have been discovered via Xbox.com and are being hidden under the "Secret" achievements status, broken down into one 100GS, two 50GS and two 25GS achievements. We haven't the foggiest idea to what new Kane & Lynch DLC would be or who would be overly enthusiastic about such content, but if it's free or really cheap (80 Microsoft points?) we'd accept it with open arms. That said, achievement addicts would accept a 250 Gamerscore boost to almost any game no matter the circumstances.

Deal: Assassin's Creed, Kane & Lynch for $40 each

by Majed Athab { Feb 10th 2008 at 5:30PM }

Ah, deals. They're either a blessing or a curse, depending on how you want to look at them. Sometimes they're just an undeniably awesome steal; at other times, they're a cleverly disguised way to rope you in on puchasing games you were previously borderline on getting. Throw in the fact that today's deal involves two somewhat politically controversial games in the realm of game journalism -- one more so over the other -- and there's more to it than meets the eye.

But enough of this unnecessary analysis! We're all about the numbers and the savings, right? Right. If anyone's still thinking of picking up either Assassin's Creed or Kane & Lynch and hasn't done so already, then Best Buy probably has the deal for you. Both games are on sale at $39.99; that's 20 bucks worth of savings, politics not included in the box.

[Via CAG]