16 Feb, 2012
Title: Shank 2
Platforms: PC, Mac, XBLA, PSN (Reviewed on XBLA)
Developer: Klei Entertainment
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Tagline: Tequila Fueled Hack and Slash Action
Family Friendly: Click here for more information.
Verdict: Wait for a Sale
When I finally had a chance to play the first Shank, I found it to be a decent sidescrolling title. It had a colorful look to it, and the over the top violence took me by surprise, but its difficulty and issues with collision and hit box abnormalities let me at a point where I did not care to finish it. Shank 2, set as a follow up to the first game, looked to address these issues as developer Klei Entertainment took community complaints to heart. While Shank 2 has its moments of fun, it is still plagued by many of the same issues, and adds a few new ones into the mix to make for an uneven gameplay experience.
Shank 2 takes place shortly after the first game, with our main hero looking to sink into a relaxing vacation, when of course, things go awry. Shank finds himself in the middle of a dictator’s rage upon a populace, and is driven into action when one of his friends is kidnapped by henchmen. Picking up his blades and other implements of destruction, he set out on your way to save his friends from the ruthless enemy.
If it sounds generic, it is for the most part. Broken into eight levels, Shank 2 never seems to keep a cohesive narrative running at any point in time. One minute you are fighting in a village that is being purged by flame and in the next, you are fighting a mystical priestess, and you never really understand how all of this blends together to make a story. I mean, I don’t come to a game like Shank 2 to find an award winning narrative, but after the first game put together a good revenge premise, Shank 2 just seems to mix together levels for the sake of diversity.
Thankfully, gameplay does remedy some of the complaints about story as the animation of the levels is colorful and the combat seems faster at every point. Stringing together massive combos and techniques seem to flow together like a well-oiled machine. At one point, I found myself dispatching my enemies with precision and grace as I racked up 30, 40 and 50 hit combos, going from heavy to light attacks, firing with my guns and tossing a well-placed grenade as well. Developer Klei Entertainment knows how to make combat fun and graceful, if only when you are able to take the offensive to the enemy.
More often than not however, you will find yourself overwhelmed by mobs of enemies, and as you move on, heavy attackers as well. I am no stranger to sidescrollers being difficult, but Shank 2 seems to revel in the idea of making you its bitch. Many times, you find yourself knee deep in enemies, to the point that you get looped into attacks until you die. Other issues come up with drops from enemies, as they get cluttered on the floor and when you think you are going for a health pickup, you instead grab a baseball bat due to placement and you end up dead instead of reclaiming health.
When it flows properly, Shank 2 is fun to play, and that fun becomes more evident when you jump into the co-op survival mode. Here, you can play solo, or with friends in a wave based survival, where you have to defeat enemies that are trying to destroy supply points. Multiple levels along with all sorts of unlocks and purchases that you can make to boost your chances; Survival mode has all the elements to be very addictive, especially when you mix in leaderboards.
Shank 2 does offer up some sense of replayability, as you can unlock new weapons, characters to play as and costumes, but after you work your way through the main story, there is no real compelling reason to go back unless you are a completionist. Sure, I would love to get some of those cool costumes and unlockables, but not at the expense of my sanity and keeping my controllers in one piece.
Even with Shank 2 feeling like a hodge podge of gameplay, I still enjoyed myself with the co-op and through many sections of the game. Yes, the difficulty can be excruciating and the issues with collision and cheap deaths will lead many to quit before they finish the game. Shank 2 is a fun game to watch in motion and I continue to go back to try my hand at beating my scores in Survival mode, but with so many issues creeping into the game, I find it hard to recommend. If you loved the first game, you will find more to enjoy here, but the rest might want to wait a bit.
The Good:
- Fun and exciting co-op Survival mode
- Combos seem to be fast and fluid
The Bad:
- Bosses are extremely difficult
- Uneven difficulty
- Uninteresting story
Family Focus
Shank 2 is a violent and visceral experience that is full of blood and guts, normally spewing from people. Enemies scream and writhe in pain from limb involuntary limb removal and even cut scenes depict scenes of extreme violence. Keep this title in the hands of upper teens and adults only.
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