14 DAY TRIAL // What we know:
Shank 2 is the next iteration in the side scrolling brawler series made by independent studio Klei Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts.
While the original impressed with its sharp visual style, as well as with the surprisingly deep combat mechanics, its successor wants to improve pretty much every aspect. This includes the combat, which has been extensively polished, as well as problematic areas, like the boss fights, which no longer rely on difficult puzzles to complete.
Klei also revealed that subtle tweaks, like a longer respawn time, had also been added, in order to give players a bigger period to analyze their combat strategy. This will help throughout the story campaign as well as in the all-new Survival cooperative mode.
Those who played Shank with a buddy remember that the co-op mode acted as a sort of prequel to the single-player story, and saw Shank, together with his friend, Falcone, go through legions of enemies across different environments.
The new Survival mode in the upcoming game will see Shank and a mysterious lady friend fend off waves of enemies, while trying to protect three stashes in various environments. While this experience may seem like a downgrade when compared to the story-based one from the original, Klei has added plenty of unlockable outfits and upgrades that can be uncovered by playing with a friend, either locally or online.
Why it matters: Shank 1 was a great game, despite its pretty short length and annoying boss fights. With its sequel, Klei Entertainment has seemingly addressed complaints from fans, while further tweaking and polishing the combat. Couple these things with the same impressive visual style and Shank 2 might become even more popular than its predecessor.
Shank 2 is currently scheduled to appear next week as a downloadable game, on February 7, for PC and North American PlayStation 3 owners, and on February 8, for Xbox 360 owners and European PS3 users.