I am a geek

A golden sun shines over a desert city, its streets empty save for the determined stride of one man. It is you, Shank! You are a particularly angry, agile and musclebound man in a land of angry musclebound men (and strippers), and are on a hellbent mission for revenge upon those responsible for your lover’s death. Armed with a pair of daggers, duel pistols and a chainsaw, you wreak carnage of the very best hack-and-slash variety on hordes of henchmen, guard dogs, and bulky bosses.

The best word to describe this game would be “glorious”. It’s gloriously stylised – imagine the storyline of Kill Bill animated like Samurai Jack. It’s gloriously violent, addictive and, well, epic, as if Devil May Cry had been recreated in 2D, but best of all though, it’s gloriously fun. There is no denying that Shank’s character is a badass, and the game’s unashamedly macho feel is endearing and somehow validates its OTT insanity. It’s an easy game to pickup and play: you can get away with button-bashing your way through the first few chapters, and by the time the game becomes more demanding you’ve generally learnt the control system, making it noob-friendly while retaining a depth that takes time and patience to master. On hardmode a good degree of command is needed, which is where I do have a small complaint. The controls occasionally seem a touch unresponsive and awkward to manoeuvre, which is somewhat of a letdown for a game that rewards you for chaining attacks and combos. It just doesn’t feel as crisp as it could be.

The same issue of lag can also be noted for the camera, which sometimes has to catch you up. When running down a corridor waiting for the next batch of baddies to jump out, occasionally you’re left at the “end of the map” for a few seconds before the camera finds you and the enemies spawn in. Here it’s only mildly annoying, but in the platform-heavy sections of the game it becomes a potentially deadly nuisance. On quite a few occasions Shank was happil- no, vengefully swinging from skull to skull, and jumped again in expectation of another bit of pole or tree, only to be instantly greeted by a grenade-launching heavy or Uzi-wielding sentry who was stood just out of sight. This flaw caused Iain, on numerous occasions, to vocalise his displeasure by yelling “TWAT”, “CUNTY BOLLOCKING FUCKBATONS” and “AAAAAARGH”. A reaction that’s definitely hilarious to watch, but one that does indicate it might annoy people. I dislike that sections of the game are, arguably, impossible to navigate through death-free the first time you try. After a few attempts you learn that off-screen enemies can be shot down or grenaded from afar, but it hardly seems the most intuitive way to complete a level, when all that would be needed to remedy this is a more zoomed-out shot of the level or a faster camera in general.

Whilst I’m griping, let me mention the bosses. No-one likes a boss fight that takes five hours, but the idea that it should be pretty tough is a fairly accepted one. Shank‘s boss fights come across as a bit lacklustre.They look and sound the part (some of them were a monstrous 3 times Shank’s height), but for most part all that’s needed is some strategic dodging until an opening for a counter-attack comes along. The most difficult boss is also the only one that continually calls in more minions. Towards the end of the game, it was becoming trickier to defeat the average horde of heavies spawned en masse as you ran through a level than it was to defeat the boss facing you at the end, which just feels dissapointing.

Dodge dodge, shoot meat, choke butcher to death with chain, dodge dodge...

None of this however stops Shank from being a throughly enjoyable game. I’ve already mentioned how satisfyingly violent the gameplay is, something which is especially apparent in the multiplayer campaign. Double the amount of players dealing out more than double the amount of carnage. An enemy being grappled by both players results in a spectacular slow-motion dispatch, and moves like chucking enemies into your partner’s swing add more depth to the gameplay. Another great feature is the various unlocks. Weapon upgrades allow you access to katanas, machetes, shotguns and more, and costume unlocks grant you the supreme pleasure of new character skins. As if Shank wasn’t cool enough, you get to fight as an icon of the badass hero world. Personal favourites are a suspiciously Wolverine-esque “Wildman”, King Leonidas style “Spartan”, and “Kung Fu Shank” a la Bruce Lee. Unlock methods range from tests of skill (hitting a 150-hit combo to get a red ninja outfit) to displays of geek knowledge (entering the Konami Code to unlock a robot suit), and are delightful to play around with.

All in all, Shank is definitely a game worth getting. It’s simple but superbly done, and doesn’t make the mistake of trying to be more complex than necessary. It knows it’s just a simple bash-them-up and sticks to delivering exactly what it promised. It’s well polished with a good soundtrack, sleek level design and lovely artwork – even an interesting storyline, which is always an unexpected bonus. Whilst the game isn’t very long, it has excellent replay value and is guaranteed to still entertain. All of which have helped make Shank one of my favourite games.

Post written by Zan