Kane and Lynch is shaping up to be a fantastic game, with an innovative (though perhaps a little too streamlined) multiplayer game, fantastic co-op and a talented and passionate team behind it. That much had been proved to me for the second time.

I do have concerns though. The last level which I played was of such stark contrast to the previous levels that I had some misgivings about the direction the consistently brilliant story had taken. Knowing that this level came at the end of the game didn't help matters much either and made me think the game had an overly Hollywood-ised endings.

Interestingly, endings are something that IO Interactive has had trouble with in the past too. The original //Hitman drew considerable scorn for changing pace abruptly in the latter stages, forcing Agent 47 to switch from a silent and stealthy figure of detached doom into a minigun toting symbol of freedom and self-hatred as he mowed down dozens of clones of himself.

However, comparing //Hitman and //Kane and Lynch shouldn't reflect badly on either and, if anything, reflects well on IO's new kid on the block. //Kane and Lynch may possibly have a fly in the ointment regarding the latter part of the game, but if that's all there is to worry about then it's highly possible that we could have some game of the year material on our hands in the near future.