Shank 2 Review
Shank was released 2010 and went down very well with fans of the 2D side scrolling
genre (minus a few problems) and this year Klei are back with shank 2.
Side scrolling hack and slash games often feel like they are on the verge of dying and disappearing but luckily Klei know exactly how to keep the life support machine running.
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First of all I have to say "I love the theme tune" listening to emotional guitar riffs never gets old and I'm glad Shank 2 included this greatness.
Anyway you play as Shank a man that has to eliminate enemies that are a little too close for comfort to his friends and family.
The story is not great but it will do. It gives a little more to the game than just running around killing for no reason but it will be forgotten.
Graphically Shank 2 looks great with it's comic book shades and matte colours and again Klei have captured the environments well.
The controls are pretty simple and well laid out, but at times I feel they let me down. It's not as simple as pushing one button and doing what you need to do.
At times you feel the need to use a combination of buttons in order to do a simple move. This can become frustrating especially when you are fighting a boss and his goons. I guess the controls are easy to use but hard to master.
As I said above, the game can be frustrating at times to the extent that you may want to chuck your controller. At times I would be getting wasted by bosses and had to come back to the game later.
There are very few bottles of liquor for you to drink and regenerate health and throwable bombs such as Molotov’s, grenades and mines are few and far between .
Also, I would also like to add that games tend to have difficulty options such as easy, normal and hard but Shank 2 only has Normal and Hard.
You would think that Normal means you will be able to play through the game with little difficulty and tlet it take you through each level so that you can enjoy the story and the game as a whole but honestly, I’m not sure everyone will bother to complete it.
Another gripe is save points. Save points are non existent so if you want to play for half hour but don't finish the level you will be forced to start from the very beginning next time you decide to play.
Klei have added survival multiplayer and even though it's fun I would have preferred a solid Co-op experience to play with a friend.
Overall Klei have yet again made a solid side scroller but hopefully Shank 3 (if released) will have Co-op, less frustrating difficulties and check point saves.
Shank 2 is great but even at 800 msp I think you should check out the trial first.
7/10
Review By Wicket2961
