14 DAY TRIAL // After Shank 1 impressed gamers with its sharp 2D side scrolling brawler mechanics, Klei Entertainment and Electronic Arts have returned with Shank 2.
Promising to tweak the gameplay for a more fluid combat experience and to tone down the difficulty of end-level bosses, the new game is definitely looking like an improvement over its already decent predecessor.
So, is Shank 2 worthy of the hype or do its stylized graphics mask a shoddy experience? Let’s have a quick look at its single-player mode.
Shank 2 picks off some time after the events in the first game, with the protagonist, Shank, going south of the border to forget about his long lost girlfriend. As you can imagine, the quiet moment he’s enjoying on a bus ends when a bunch of paramilitary forces stop the vehicle and inspect its passengers.
After one soldier slaps the bottle from Shank’s hands, the protagonist quickly goes back to his good old self and punishes the unlucky guy by chopping his hand off, proving that Shank’s still the gory and violent guy we all know and love.
After this cinematic moment, you jump right into actual combat and find the same kind of experience as in the original game. Fighting is still quite gory and, while it did take me some time to get re-accustomed with the controls, it still feels great.
While core mechanics are a bit more responsive, there’s a bigger emphasis on weapon variety, as Shank wields his trademark shanks for quick attacks as standard, but can also use different things for heavy attacks, like a machete or a chainsaw, as well as ranged weapons, like throwing knives, and extra items, such as grenades or mines.
While the opening level can get a bit hard when facing off against many opponents, you quickly start to learn the controls and begin pulling off all sorts of impressive moves, from grappling enemies and throwing them at their colleagues, to propelling the unlucky guys in the air and juggling with them until their bodies hit the floor.
The end-level boss doesn’t have any special gimmick, as opposed to the first Shank, so you can opt to constantly attack him and slowly drain his health. You can also use special weapons like grenades to distract him and then trigger a cinematic move that causes lots more damage, but it’s not mandatory, like in the original game.
For a quick playthrough of the first level in Shank 2, check out the video above.