Shanked: Blood, blood, and more blood

This poster pretty much sums it up. 

Image courtesy: Jeff Gala

Shank,
PC, PS3, Xbox 360

"Shank" has been out for quite a while, and to be fair, I've even owned it for quite a while, but only recently have I gotten around to giving it a whirl. Created by Klei Games and published be EA, "Shank" is side-scrolling beat-em-up whirlwind of violence, and profanity. "Shank", like the recently reviewed "Rochard", uses classic gameplay style, and cartoony visuals; that, however, is where the similarities end. Playing an anti-hero instead of a hero, and a plot based on revenge instead of justice, "Shank" is more akin to games like "No More Heroes" or "Ninja Gaiden" than "Castlevania" or "Metroid"; providing action based on hack'n'slash gameplay, rather than puzzle solving, or complex platforming. There is a bit of platforming in "Shank", to be fair, but it's the exception rather than the rule; with most screens becoming a mess of blood and violence, rather than figuring out how to get to the next section.

You can fire your pistols in front and behind you.
Or in this case just keep firing over the head of a downed enemy. 

While I normally love side-scrolling beat-'em-ups, "Shank" left me wanting more. While the visuals are great, and fit the games storyline perfectly, with their cartoony, yet gritty, look, it seemed that almost everything else could have been improved. The controls, while decent, could have been much better. Several times I found myself falling to my death unnecessarily when trying to pick up an item; or worse, trying to dodge an enemy only to get shot to death. Another problem I had was delay in using some weapons. While I understand this is used as a strategic element, once you've gotten halfway through the game battles become more frustrating than fun. 

Oh, so I just hit the "grapple" button then.
That makes perfect sense. 

While speaking of the controls, I would also like to voice my biggest complaint in the game: the button labels. Instead of labeling buttons as "a,b,x,y", or color coding them, to explain their functions, like most games, "Shank" instead shows you a picture of what each button does, but since every button shown is only a red circle with a picture of what it does in the game, I had to figure out the controls on my own. Figuring out shoulder buttons were grenades, and the difficult to use block function, would have been a lot easier to do if color coordination, or even shapes of the buttons had been used. I played this on PC, admittedly, but used an Xbox 360 controller. This might seem like a minor problem, but it was actually a very frustrating way to start the game, especially considering that the game actually recommends using a controller. If using a controller is recommended for optimum enjoyment, why not give the player a better explanation on how to use it?

If I were living in this city, I'd probably call the phone
company about those skulls... Or maybe not. 

As mentioned the visuals are great, and PC players have the option of higher resolution than console owners. Every cutscene is animated smoothly, and brilliantly, and every background is detailed and picturesque; even in levels taking place in meat packing plants. The graphics and animations are definitely the high point of "Shank". The soundtrack was very well done, so good I even bought it separately, and the voice acting fairly well done also. However I felt like nearly ever cutscene could have been done better. I felt many of them replaced emotion, and true drama, with strong language and "shocking" subject matter. While it's certainly true  many of these characters would probably talk if this was "real life", the cartoony visuals, gritty or not, seemed to clash with the subject matter. I would certainly expect this in say "God of War" or even "Grand Theft Auto", but it felt out of place in such a highly stylized cartoon environment. While watching them I found myself wishing they weren't taking themselves so seriously, or at least were a bit more lighthearted in subject matter. Parents, or gamers who are averse to such subjects, will want to note that many cutscenes use strong language, and the entire game has adult subject matter, and lots of violence.

The Anti-Hero walking away from the sunset, at the beginning of the game.
The opposite of every western ever. 

All in all I was a bit disappointed with "Shank". I went in with high hopes, looking forward to a good hack'n'slash, only to be let down by spotty controls, and frustrating gameplay. While visuals and sounds can carry a game far, in this case it wasn't far enough. "Shank" is at best mediocre, and at worst a frustrating let down. If you absolutely need a hack'n'slash fix, and you can't find it elsewhere, give it a try, but otherwise pass this one by.

I give "Shank" 2.75 out of 5 stars.

Until next time, game on.

EDIT:  Referring to the controls it was pointed out to me that, yes, the "controls" section of the menu, labels each button "a,b,x,y,etc". However, I was referring to the actual in-game instructions for using the control setup. At no point in the in-game tutorial does it explain which button is which; that was my complaint. I did at one point refer to the menu to figure out the controls, after I had already struggled to figure out what I was doing, however I am sticking with my guns on saying that gamers shouldn't have to refer to an instruction manual when basics controls are "explained' in-game. It just seems silly the developer didn't think to do so.