Shank Impression Review

hank is a game that had slipped beneath my radar up until a few weeks ago when I saw a trailer for it. I was initially intrigued by the 2D art styles but was unsure if the gameplay held up. Let’s find out!

Graphics/Presentation: The 2D graphics and animation in Shank are impeccable. The art style reminds me of the reminds me of old Hanna-Barbera cartoons but the subject matter is way more mature than anything from those days, making it more similar to The Venture Bros. which was inspired by those old shows. It’s ultra-violent, sexual, and built around revenge, also making me think about Tarantino. Art and subject matter aside, seeing this game in motion is what makes it a great visual experience. The cinematics themselves are humorously over-the-top. The animations are detailed and stylish. I really like slowly creeping forward while shooting with the shogun because with each successive shot, Shank fires in a different pose. This could have easily been done lazily with an animation being cycled over but it isn’t and I think it adds a lot to the experience. There are also great transitional animations. Changing from shooting with the shotgun to slashing with the machete to pouncing on an enemy to shank him to death to grabbing another guy to and interrupting that shank session with some shooting to keep approaching enemies at bay is a seamlessly animated experience. The game is full of good cinematic effects including some slow motion and blurring during death defying moments such as jumping over death traps. There are other cinematic moments like one with a background brightly lit due to a setting sun with the foreground darkened to silhouettes with only the muzzle flash of your guns revealing the full action. Another rather nice touch is that there are times during gameplay where a box will pop up in the corner to reveal a plot development, further adding to the cinematic quality of the game.  I would say that this game is a very enjoyable experience not participant of the on-screen chaos but also as a member of an audience because of the detailed art and animations.

Sound: The sound is something of a mixed bag. The fidelity of the sound could be better. The voices sound like they were recorded in a padded room. The acting and writing are pretty lame but it is consistent with the over-the-top B-movie atmosphere the game is channeling. The music is good and appropriate to the aforementioned atmosphere. Speaking of the music, you can grab it for free over here.

Gameplay/Controls: Shank makes use of the 2D sidescrolling beat-em-up mechanic of old and with that retro inspiration comes the retro difficulty. There are three basic attacks: a light melee (shanking), a heavy melee (you start off with a chainsaw), and guns (you start off with dual pistols.) You can also carry up to five grenades. Actions include jumping, grabbing, pouncing, and dodging. Almost all these actions and attacks can be used together in combinations with appropriately detailed animations. For example, grabbing someone then pressing the button to throw a grenade will result in you stuffing your victim’s mouth with the grenade. Limiting action to 2D actually results in what I think is greater control over your character. It’s possible to shoot in two directions at the same time with the pistols. You also have control over the verticality of your shots. Shooting from mid-air also results in a kickback, there’s an especially strong one when you do it with the shotgun. You’re encouraged to switch moves and weapons constantly and accordingly depending on the situation. Making long combos as a result of wise choices in attacking and maneuvering is very satisfying and vital as it’s very easy to be overwhelmed by a large number of enemies. Mashing the same attack over and over will only end poorly.

These mechanics reminded me a lot of Devil May Cry. There’s some platforming involved that can include wall running over death pits and swinging off skulls to land on walls. That element of the game never supersedes the action. It serves as an interesting way to get from Point A to Point B. The bosses can get hard but once you get their pattern of attack down, it’s all up to your timing. That’s easier said than done because I ended up dying many times attempting to master those patterns. That’s where a good portion of the difficulty comes from. The other part comes from the number of enemies that can end up ganging up on you if you’re not careful. I like this aspect of the game as it makes progressing a lot more satisfying. Unlike another recent retro-inspired game, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, there are a lot of checkpoints and no penalties for dying so if you do die, know that you won’t lose too much progress. The only times the controls come close to being unresponsive are during some kind of animation that can’t be interrupted or would look weird if it did get interrupted, which makes sense. My only real issue with the controls is that the shank button is also used for picking up health. This would result in picking up health I didn’t need yet while in the middle of battle. I must admit, it did help half time time as health gets dropped by fallen enemies at seemingly opportune moments when I’m about to die.

Conclusion: I highly recommend this game for anyone who not only appreciates good 2D art and animation but also to anyone who likes a challenging and rewarding game. I played both the single player and co-op modes which were both very fun. My only warning is that it might be a little frustrating to some gamers out there.

*Shank was purchased by GameBlurb for the PlayStation 3 for review purposes.

1UP

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Joystiq

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IGN

The fundamental level design issues later in the game, combined with the eventual tedium of the combat it relies on, makes Shank a good game for a particular audience rather than a great game worthy of everyone’s attention.

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