Kane & Lynch 2 targets 60FPS

By Richard Leadbetter Published 5 July, 2010

Full analysis of limited release 360 demo.

There seems to be a certain formula for a great many third-person shooters in this console generation: target 30FPS, slip out of v-sync if you need to, perhaps use Unreal Engine 3. Square-Enix's Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days immediately makes an impact because it breaks away from that recipe. IO Interactive has targeted 60FPS, making for far more responsive controls and more arcade-like visuals.

IO has also opted for a very specific visual style inspired by reality documentary makers and on-the-spot video filming. There's a very strong grain filter added to the framebuffer, along with harsh lighting and contrast and a generous dollop of camera-shake, which perhaps becomes a bit too jarring when Lynch is running along at full-pelt. A pretty cool dynamic depth-of-field effect is in place, while damage is signified by the inclusion of macroblocking and artifacting, again calling to mind mobile video footage.

So, how well does Kane & Lynch 2 maintain its high performance level?

A selection of performance analysis video taken from the major action points of the 360 demo.

In internal scenes, and outdoor environments where long view distances are occluded, 60FPS is sustained fairly well, with just the odd dip signified by cascading screen tear. On the street scenes, frame-rate can dip very significantly. There's a section where a shop blows up that sees performance dip to around 10FPS: is this some kind of bug, or another homage to the "on the hoof" camera style?

The move to 60FPS inevitably leads to some compromise. Similar to Infinity Ward's Call of Duty engine, the move to the fastest-possible frame-rate incurs a drop to resolution: 1024x576 or something very close to it in this case. 2x multi-sampling anti-aliasing is in, meaning that the framebuffer sits nice and snugly within the Xbox 360's 10MB of eDRAM - the memory directly connected to the graphics chip with stupidly large amounts of bandwidth - so it will be intriguing to see how the PS3 version compares.

Similar to Splinter Cell: Conviction and Alan Wake, Kane & Lynch 2's image quality manages to belie its relatively modest resolution. Art and lighting styles seem to be tailored to the amount of pixels available, and big gotchas like specular (shiny) aliasing are very limited. Post-processing, choice of colour scheme and anti-aliasing combine to ensure that harsh edge-aliasing simply isn't an issue based on what we've seen so far.

Overall impressions from this Xbox 360 demo are positive from a technical perspective and in terms of gameplay it's clear to see that the move to 60FPS offers big advantages to a shooting title. There are some concerns about AI (running around in a crowded street armed with a rifle doesn't seem to arouse much panic) and there does seem to be some inconsistency in which trouser-height barriers you're able to jump over.

Also, the omission of the split-screen mode from the demo is a bit of a disappointment. It will be interesting to see if that max 60FPS is maintained when dealing with dual-player gameplay, which we should be able to do in the retail release on 27th August. Look out for our review around that time.

Picture of Richard.

About Richard Leadbetter

Rich has been a games journalist since the days of 16-bit and specialises in technical analysis. Commonly known around Eurogamer as the Blacksmith of the Future.

Read more articles from Richard by visiting the Richard Leadbetter archive page.

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Comments (36) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • DUFFMAN5 #1 2 years ago

    Spent sometime on the demo and enjoyed it, looks nice, plays nice. Tried demo, but the host of the games kept leaving...and we all got dumped back to lobby. I will play soem more though.

  • Frybird #2 2 years ago

    It's completely weird that a game that would be STYLISTICALLY ALLOWED to lag and slow down goes all the way to get to a framerate most games that could use it more struggle with.

    But then again, given how horribly outdated the game would look without it's cool "Youtube Cam" look, i guess it's a good thing they make the best out of it.

  • Deckard1 #3 2 years ago

    nice looking game. Played the demo a few times - love the style and the shooting mechanics feel pretty solid. The AI seemed pretty impressive as well - the games refreshingly difficult. Looking forward to playing through this with my mate.

  • waggy79 #4 2 years ago

    Seems a huge improvement on the original. My interest has risen from 'don't care' to 'hmm..'

  • brseg #5 2 years ago

    demo looks v good, plays super-smooth. Kudos to the devs. I am finding it v difficult though!

  • Distributor #6 2 years ago

    "it's clear to see that the move to 60FPS offers big advantages to a shooting title."

    Would that include making a bad game better?

  • Enkeixpress #7 2 years ago

    ... It's wierd that a game of this sort runs at 60fps, It's not something that you'd expect, really

  • chrisola #8 2 years ago

    i think the shop explosion is supposed to drop the framerate - it distorts the screen and sound aswell, pretty cool effect i think..it's like the games saying 'yep - if that happened to you in real life you would feel it!'


    EDIT -- i wonder if the limited release demo will help or hinder the full game? In a way it should create buzz and it seems to be well received...but then how many people who would have enjoyed it have just not bothered?
    Edited by 1 at 05/07/10 @ 20:58

  • mooseman721 #9 2 years ago

    I liked it, don't know if i liked it enough for a full price purchase tho.... Massive improvement over K&L 1, you could see that immediately.

  • MegaCadet #10 2 years ago

    "Similar to Splinter Cell: Conviction and Alan Wake, Kane & Lynch 2's image quality manages to belie its relatively modest resolution."

    Alan Wake ran at a sub-HD resolution but had 720p PP effects and 4xMSAA. If Kane & Lynch 2 is indeed running at 576p then I would have expected 4xMSAA.

  • Huxley82 #11 2 years ago

    Looks cool, is the demo still available?

  • M4RV #12 2 years ago

    @Umbriel:

    GT5 Prologue NEVER ran at 1080p, but rather at something like 1280x1024 upscaled... That's a considerabe difference to say the least. Also, you're comparing games that don't run most of the time at 60fps, with the exception of Prologue. Fill your mind first with knowledge, then express yourself properly; I can assure it won't hurt you.

    - - - -

    Pretty cool footage, but still, I felt the same towards the original before getting my hands on it.
    Edited by 1 at 06/07/10 @ 02:41

  • Zaiz #13 2 years ago

    Looks better than I thought it would in those early screens. They honestly should have released video first. Looks brilliant in motion, lots of little effects. 60 FPS works a sort of magic that makes games that would look awful look much better. If they throw in brilliant motion capture and tight controls they might have a real star.

    Provided the story isn't shit(and I am the Objective Truth when it comes to plots, obviously) and the online multiplayer isn't bolted on.

    EDIT: Oh, and for the record, M4RV already nailed on Umbriel on what needed to be said, but I'd like to add that I'm astounded he managed to misspell genius the same way twice. Oh, wait, it does need to be said how ridiculous you have to be to think that Killzone 2 is at 60 FPS. It certainly responds faster than KZ1, but it still feels like molasses. I get a faster response time out of my independent little muppets in Company of Heroes!(Then again, Relic likes to set defaults to 60 FPS, but still! A gaggle of british(Canadian in early versions) soldiers in that game have to pack their tea sets up(or maple syrup) before trying their hardest to avoid tiring themselves by doing anything other than going for a brisk walk without a lieutenant around.
    Edited by 1 at 06/07/10 @ 04:28

  • BitmapBrother #14 2 years ago

    @M4RV

    You're pretty ignorant about the resolution of GT5 prologue. You should try and do some research before embarrassing yourself next time. The native resolution is 1280x1080 in game & 1440x1080 in replays. So yes, it is a 1080p game. I know it's difficult for an xbot, like yourself, to accept but that's just the way it is.

  • BitmapBrother #15 2 years ago

    @Zaiz

    Well, at least Killzone 2 is a true 1280x720p 30FPS HD game. That's something your Halo team still can't even accomplish on the Xbox. Halo 3, Halo ODST, Halo Reach all sub HD games.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #16 2 years ago

    My Wii runs at 480p, take that you cock waving pixel counters!

  • orangpelupa #17 2 years ago

    @der
    btw My Wii running @ 1440x900,. Much higher than 720p............... (using PC :D :D)

    now back to topic :D
    is K&L will be released on PC?
    from the video, it seems i would love to play it :D
    and hopefully it not need ultra fast GPU.

    @bitmap
    err... 1080p is 1920x1080.............
    if you talk about upscaled 1080p, then both X360 and PS3 can do it.

    the only difference is, xbox game can be upscaled from any resolution to many kind of resolution including weird resolution (PC resolution), like 1440x900, 768p and so on..

    in PS3, the developer forced to have different resolution mode for 720p and 1080p. Because PS3 GPU (nvidia something..) cant scale vertically.
    So game to be able to upscaled to 1080p it need to have 1080vertical, but whatever horizontal, ps3 can upscale it to 1920.

    CMIIW.
    Edited by 1 at 06/07/10 @ 08:19

  • Der_tolle_Emil #18 2 years ago

    btw My Wii running @ 1440x900,. Much higher than 720p............... (using PC :D :D)

    I hope that one day I will be as cool as you.
    Edited by 1 at 06/07/10 @ 08:22

  • DoctorFraud #19 2 years ago

    Who gives a fuck about the PS3 and what it can/cannot do?

    This article is about the 360 demo of Kane and Lynch 2.

    Incidentally, 60fps = major plus point for me. I just wish the demo was available to all.

  • BBIAJ #20 2 years ago

    Loving the demo, really visceral and intense!

    Went back to the original the other night, took out a Hind (maybe it had just swatted down a couple of bothersome flies), and visited a jungle, managed to get three Acievements into the bargain as well.

    Who knows, maybe I'll finish it in time for the sequel, I've only had it for three years already!

  • RodHull #21 2 years ago

    Hopefully the sequel will be improved to the same standard that Assassin's Creed 2 was over the original.

  • Eurolamer #22 2 years ago

    As shallow as this may sound, the fact that this runs at 60fps has made me seriously look out for this. There's something about the smoothness of a shooter at 60fps that just makes it more engaging than one running at a lower rate.

    Frame rate > graphics every time for me.

  • theonlyix #23 2 years ago

    Give me the demo goddamnit!

  • JensonJet #24 2 years ago

    ALL games should be 60 frames a second in this day and age! We are in 2010.

    The industry of electronics, computer processors, etc aren't in their infancy any more. Videogames are big business, yet the industry still employs monkeys who can't make their games run smoothly. For as long as Modern Warfare, Forza, and the couple of other games out there capable of running at 60 frames are out there proving it can be done there is absolutely no excuse.

    Recently borrowed one of the Battlefield Bad Company games and I have to say, regardless of the ability to destroy some scenery, the game engine is poor beyond belief. I'm not sure it's even running at 30fps at times. Developers have already proved inefficient at improving AI over the last two decades. And most prove creating a game beyond 30fps is beyond their skills too. Hopefully the next generation of game developers and their employees are more competent at their jobs.

  • Zaiz #25 2 years ago

    @Bitmap Brother

    I don't own a 360, and you are ridiculous for assuming I do just because I wasn't impressed by Killzone 2. That's assuming I'm not a member of the PC Gaming Master Race, which I am. And by Master Race I mean someone who thinks that console warfare is above me, ie, I think the games on all three platforms are shit, I just think there are some that are worth playing and enjoying. I also think, for the record, that KZ2 had good multiplayer which tried to do something different. Its campaign was just laughably bad, with a serious case of white and black morality, calling two guys "Alpha Company", and the sense that Helghan was being invaded by a frat(of eight people), but not so hilariously overdone as the frat of Gears of War.

  • karooo #26 2 years ago

    @android123 shut up !

    Rsx is just there to support the cell, it all depends on the spu usage. so stop blabberinig crap.

  • Zaiz #27 2 years ago

    @Umbriel

    GT5 Prologue had waaay less objects on screen, less effects to worry about, and all sorts of other things. It isn't quite fair to compare a racing game(which can skimp on polygons and pixels just about everywhere) to an action game, where the developers will assume that people might take the time to look at everything closely. The idea you can compare a racing game to any other genre is just silly.

    That comparison isn't very solid at all. For one, while bombarding me with grammar that shouldn't have made it past an editor, or a native english speaker, they throw out a bunch of technical terms without science, or proof really. Taking two entirely different screenshots is just silly, unless the games have a one for one environment it is really just personal opinion.

  • Zappa #28 2 years ago

    you would think Infamous 2 targeting 60 fps is bigger news than this poor game.

  • Zaiz #29 2 years ago

    @Umbriel
    I insulted that site's grammar, as I could tell they were likely native english speakers, and I knew you weren't. Sorry for the confusion, I am not perfect at english myself. Oh, and MW2 ran sub HD, at 600p to be precise. I think the only game that does 60 FPS and true 720p that isn't a racing game is Dante's Inferno. But I'm in no position to say anything about that, as I never even watched gameplay videos I was so uninterested. In short, I'm defending a sub HD game that runs at 60 FPS with antialiasing because very few games succeed at it, and I think it is unreasonable to have that expectation of the average game.

  • BitmapBrother #30 2 years ago

    @orangpelupa

    I think you're discombobulated again. GT5 Prologue is indeed a 1080p game because it ACTUALLY has 1080 progressive lines. A Full HD game is 1920x1080 native.

  • BitmapBrother #31 2 years ago

    @Zaiz

    I didn't say you did own one. Theoretically, you can still be an xbot without owning the console. As for calling the games on all 3 consoles 'shit', well that just shows ignorance because, unfortunately, in this day and age the best games only arrive on consoles.

    Incidentally, I'm also a member of the PC Gaming Master Race and my recent Steam sale purchases easily prove this (over 100 and counting). And like you, I actually prefer playing games on the PC over a console.

    As for getting into game story lines and trying to justify them with logic, well, you're sliding butt first on a slipperly slope lined with razor blades. The story line for every console game is ridiculous. Cue the screams for MARIA.
    Edited by 1 at 07/07/10 @ 04:24

  • ybfelix #32 2 years ago

    Wait.. it's a third person shooter now?

  • siro #33 2 years ago

    Can we get automatic bans for people that pass the threshold regularly?

    The game looks surprisingly interesting. I still have the first one shrink-wrapped, but maybe I should get on and finally give it a try...

  • Josh128 #34 2 years ago

    Well, in the comparison between Killzone 2 and Gears 2 that Umbriel posted, looking at the stills in my opinion Gears 2 looks hands down better. The upclose facial and wall shot comparison photos are especially favorable to Gears 2. The Killzone shots are significantly blurrier. Didnt watch the vid though, I'll check it out it if I have time.

    As to forced slowdown for effect, sometimes it is done. On Ikaruga for GC and Gradius V for PS2, both games have rock solid 60 fps gameplay, but boss explosions slow the frame rate down to 5 fps or so. Its done for effect in those games, and may well be the same for this one.

  • PS3User #35 2 years ago

    A Game Im Looking Forward to So Far My Suprise Game of 2010, Lets Hope PS3 Verison Gets Love..

  • flanker22 #36 2 years ago

    download the ps3 version, performance is pretty disappointing