Shanks Aren't Just For Prison Anymore...

Gameplay - 9/10

Storyline - 8/10

Graphics - 8/10

Game Score : 25/30

Shank 2 is an upcoming brawler game developed by Klei Entertainment, released on February 7th, 2012. The main character carries three main weapons: a chainsaw, dual pistols, and dual knives. The weapons are mapped to a face button which allows players to seamlessly switch weapons. Shank also contains many basic elements of platforming games, which include the players jumping and scaling buildings, and using knives to climb. The fast paced combat system and stunning artwork definitely are the two major incentives to play this game.

The game features an all-new Survival Mode, allowing the player to team up with friends to take down increasingly difficult waves of enemies. This replaces the Co-Op mode from the first Shank game, sadly yhey have removed Co-Op campaign all together. The game will also feature richer and interactive environments that the player can use to take down enemy goons, all in a unique and stunning visual style. The player also has the abillity to use enemies weapons against them. Using the new, multi-weapon combat system, you now have countless of ways to take them down, ranging from counter moves to weapon combos! There are many weapons and ways to dispatch of your enemy which is a great bonus to the replayability and fun factor of this game. Tie in the addition of a wide cast of characters to unlock and choose from and you certainly have the makings of a truly entertaining title.

Even though the typical expectation of games of this nature is repetitiveness Shank seemingly diverts your attention to this detail with various rewards. From characters, to weapons, to achieving medals through completing goals; Shank 2 keeps you ever moving and ever working towards some greater objective. Not to mention the story-line which is engaging even if you didn't play the first game you don't feel alienated from the flow of the story and character development. Some of the many weapons available include: Katana, Chainsaw, Shotgun, Dual Pistols, etc. You also have weapons that can be picked up from your environment or taken from enemies after killing them. For each weapon you have a specific counter attack kill action linked to that weapon which is another nice addition to help forgo the repetitiveness. So there you go; give it a shot, you will probably like it.