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Shank
PC (Steam)
It's Pretty Shank-tastic
3.5/5 stars
Klei Entertainment might be better known for their crafting/survival game Don't Starve, but they have other games under their belts as well. Shank is straight-forward but fun beat-'em'-up with a story that combines every 80s action/revenge film with a hefty dose of Quentin Tarantino thrown in. It's a lot of fun, easy to pick up and, for masochists, a hardcore mode. The game is super violent, so those with weak constitutions (or families) need not apply - otherwise, this was a fun trip.
Presentation: The game is presented in side-scrolling, 2-D action - and almost looks like a graphic novel come-to-life. It's very vibrant, with some sections set in shadows and others that pop with color. The game features fully animated cut-scenes that flesh out the story of love, betrayal and revenge. The sound effects help punch up the grind-house feel, as does the voice talents - no big names, but they all sell their respective characters. The music is likewise solid if unremarkable. For a simple beat-em-up, it really does a good job of setting itself apart from the masses.
Story: Shades of Kill Bill here - our main character, Shank, is part of an elite mercenary group - but he makes the mistake of choosing love over this "family". When his mentor learns of this love, he decides the best course of action is to send his colleagues (all killers, of course) to kill them both. Too bad they can't quite seal the deal on Shank, as he survives and vows revenge. The game follows his course at tracking down all the people who betrayed him and systematically taking them down - leading to the biggest showdown with the big boss, Cesar. It very much reminded me of Kill Bill, along with pretty much every 80s revenge movie ever made (but with better quality). So what if it shamelessly copies other media - it worked for me.
Gameplay: A standard beat-'em-up with some new mechanics. Shank is equipped with three different attacks, standard melee, heavy melee and guns. As the game progresses, he unlocks different weapons for these attacks - each with their strengths and weaknesses. As an example, the starting pistols are weaker, but hold a decent amount of bullets. You unlock the shotgun - strong but with limited ammo and later, a machine gun - great at crowd control but weak overall. In order to take down most enemies (or groups of enemies) it requires you to switch between weapons and attacks.
Enemies come in a few different types - melee, ranged, heavies - and sometimes dogs. Some enemies throw grenades, some heavies have grenade launchers or rockets. Later levels throw out waves of enemies that can get hairy. Luckily the game provides decent save points (in normal mode, anyway). Each level also has at least one boss and some have a mid-level boss as well. Usually boss enemies have some gimmick where you have to stun them before dealing out the real damage (most other attacks shave off a sliver, nothing else).
The level design is well done - it's not just boring, straight-forward runs - there is plenty of jumping and swinging and it keeps things interesting, though there are a few jumps that the timing is a bit too much - one especially with an enemy on the edge that had me raging for a bit. In normal mode it's not that bad but I pity the person who plays it in hardcore mode where there are no save points.
Replayability: As I said - the most replay you'll have is for people who like killing a lot and who like punishment. I didn't attempt to play the no-save, harder mode. There were just too many times that I barely missed a jump or go killed by an enemy that I would enjoy that mode.
Overall: As long as you don't mind loads of blood and slightly repetitive gameplay, Shank is a fun beat-'em-up that is short but entertaining.
Presentation: 4/5
Story: 4/5
Gameplay: 3.5/5
Replayability: 3/5
Overall (not an average): 3.5/5
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