Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is set in 2007, where two prisoners, Kane and Lynch, are on their way to execution when their transport gets ambushed by a group of men. It's later revealed that the attackers were Kane's former associates, who demand money from the last coup they did together. To force Kane into giving them the money fast, they took his family hostage.
As Kane, you'll try to free your family after the transport is hit. The camera is behind Kane, and you can zoom in for over-the-shoulder views while firing. Kane will automatically take cover where possible, but if he's badly wounded, he needs a teammate to give him adrenaline to get back into the fight.
The gameplay involves shooting your way through police and special forces, using two types of weapons. You can also command Lynch to focus his fire on an enemy or trade weapons with him. In some parts of the game, you'll be accompanied by other members of the organisation, whom you can interact with like Lynch.
The game features an offline coop-mode where the second player controls Lynch, and online multiplayer mode called "Fragile Alliance" where players rob a bank. However, there's a twist: you can attack your teammates at any time, kill them, take their collected money, and become marked as a traitor.