SHANK
It’s been forever since my little blurb on Joe Danger, so might as well take a look at this gem I finished up a little while back! Shank’s a fun ride of a beat-em-up with a couple platforming elements splashed in. It’s a visual treat too, with some slick art direction and lots of style in all of Shank and his foes’ attack animations. The soundtrack does a great job setting the mood for the game as you cut your way through various locales in Shank’s bloody journey to get revenge on the crime lords that betrayed him and murdered his girlfriend. Basic story, right?
Controls aren’t anything too tough to get the hang of. You’ve got separate buttons for shanks (standard weapon), heavy weapons, and firearms. The more creative you are at stringing different attacks together, the longer you can keep combos going and cover yourself from every side. Aside from weapons there’s a button for blocking/evasion, another for grabs, and another for grenades—limited, but the best way to clear out a crowd or take down a big guy. You’ve also got a “pounce” option to single out a foe for a brutal takedown.
Weapon choice is the main draw to Shank’s combat: pistols, chainsaws, and machetes are just a few of the attack options you’ll get, and they each have their own benefits. Pistols let you shoot ahead and behind at the same time, the shotgun is strong enough to make large enemies flinch, the machetes have long range but less power than other heavy weapons, and so forth. You’ve got to switch up your tactics depending on what kind of enemies the baddies are wielding, since certain tactics/weapons. Blocking’s important too—lots of enemies are totally shut down by blocking, though without a solid offense you won’t be as efficient at mowing down large groups at once.
Bosses are a fun change from the usual waves of goons. Regular attacks are fairly useless, but every boss has some kind of weakness that leaves them exposed for a particularly nasty blow. None of them are too overwhelming, but the final boss is a worthy challenge that rewards your patience and reflexes. Overall difficulty is very reasonable once you get the hang of things, and if you think the game’s getting a bit too simple, give Hard mode a shot (no checkpoints) and let the frustration begin.
Replayability’s a bit limited once you’ve been through the story once, but the game saves your clear times for each chapter, so you can take a stab at plowing through stages even faster. There’s a few secrets here and there to unlock if you get a lot of kills with a single weapon or dish out a huge combo. In a nice move, there’s a co-op mode that’s a separate story, so if you’ve got a buddy you can take advantage of a couple nifty tag-team moves not possible in single player.
It’s a good solid play overall, and worth the $15 price tag for nice gameplay and presentation alone. At least try out the demo on 360 or PS3 if you can.
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