Shank Review

8.5

Review Score:

The first thing you’ll notice about Shank is that it’s graphic, in every sense of the word; the artistic direction the developers, Klei, have taken is strongly reminiscent of that of a graphic novel, whilst the brutal moves the eponymous character can enact upon his enemies are bloodthirsty and graphically violent in themselves. But can the rest of the game live up to the standard set by the visuals? Or is Shank just a pretty, blood-soaked face?

The story behind Shank is fuelled by one man’s desire for revenge, and, as such, when Shank does find his targets, they meet their ends by stylistically brilliant (and satisfyingly brutal) methods. Every element in the game is detailed, vibrant, and in-keeping with the style and overall feel of the title, from the smallest snarling dog up to the biggest Boss characters, which are exceptionally well characterised in terms of animation and image; whether you are attempting to slay a blood-soaked butcher or a sleek but deadly mistress, every fight feels individual and, most importantly, fun, even if they are simply a disguised pattern of finding the weakness, attack, dodge, and repeat. One of the games strongest features is its excellent animation. Having contracted professional animators and artists to devise Shank’s various villains, environments, and attacks, developer Klei have succeeded in producing a game bursting with finesse and purest cool.

At its core, Shank is essentially a side-scrolling, beat ‘em up platformer. Players travel from one end of a level to another, encountering a variety of foes as well as the occasional section which requires you to utilise Shank’s acrobatic training to move forward. The latter pieces do become significantly more difficult as the game draws to a close, as elements such as missile barrages attempt to hinder your progress. Whilst these sections remain fun, the title’s biggest success is in its smooth fighting system, which allows players to combine light, heavy, and ranged attacks to devastating effect in smooth succession. The grapple and pounce attacks aid in maintained a varied, but still fast paced combat style, with Shank being capable of not only shooting people in the face whilst holding them in the dirt but also shoving grenades into their gaping mouths. Admittedly, at first it is quite a difficult thing to get a hang of, and some of the animations can take a little longer to complete than you would perhaps like, but once you get it, you will be pulling off 100 hit combos in no time. Shank’s weaponry is a lesson in badass hardware. Not only do you start off with a chainsaw, dual pistols, grenades, and two shank knives [already a pretty awesome kit], but these can relatively quickly be swapped around into different combinations as dual machetes, shotguns, an Uzi sub-machine gun and more are provided to aid in Shank’s slaughter. It’s also worth noting that there are alternate costumes up for the unlock here as well; ranging from a Jason Vorhees-esque hockey mask all the way to Kill Bill style yellow threads, each and every costume somehow manages to fit in with the essence of Shank’s world.

There is also the option of co-operative local multiplayer, which seems to have been at least thought out and not tacked on at the last minute as a gimmick; it tells the back-story to the main campaign, which is interesting enough, but the appeal of the idea is overwhelmed by the inconveniences. For a start, the two main characters in the campaign look similar enough that when in the heat of battle, it becomes difficult to identify your own location and can lead to some general confusion over not only where your character is but who you are actually playing as, due to each player having identical move sets. This ‘Back-story’ campaign is also significantly more difficult to its single player brother due to the fact that it is accommodating for the presence of two players, meaning that the number of enemies is increased as well as the Bosses health bars. Whereas this would appeal to the hardcore, Klei may have shot themselves in the foot akin to the recent Scott Pilgrim game due to the fact that no online co-op is available, forcing gamers to not only have friends [shock horror!] but also have some willing to submit to the punishment of battling through the campaign itself.

In summary, Shank is a game which is not only visually appealing but is also moderately rewarding to its players if they can master it’s combat system effectively. It should be noted, however, that just because it is in a comic-book style does not mean it is for the kids; Shank remains as brutal as any 3D title, and its language, references, and violence ensure its audience are not only firmly rooted into their seats but also are of an older age group. Klei have managed to produce a title that is undeniably cool, and obviously well loved by its creators. The main question to ask yourself is whether or not the lack of online co-op play is as big an issue to you, but rest assured that even without the multiplayer Shank is still as lethal as a sharpened spoon in a prison cafeteria; it just has a few small chips missing here and there.

NXT Score: 8.5/10

Pros

• Beautiful, consistent art design and animation
• Well crafted, smooth fighting system
• Strong sense of character and style

Cons

• No online co-op
• Relatively short at 3 hours long