Demo Review: Shank

Shank!

Stop reading now if you don't like Mexploitation films.

I don't think I can talk about Shank without thinking about the upcoming mega hit super summer smash film Machete. It's not that I haven't seen other films in the genre, it's just that the name Shank is so reminiscent of Machete. It's almost like I would accuse the makers of Shank for ripping off and cashing in on the clear popularity that Machete is receiving. If I cared. I don't. I think derivative works are great.

Our hero, Shank, was recently beaten close to death and had to bear witness to listen while his lovely girlfriend was raped by a giant lucha libre guy named The Butcher. Strong start. The animation and character design are all there. We have giant beefcakes looking menacing. Throw in a bar scene that's clearly evocative of the opening to Desperado and a shadowy figure, and we're good to go.



Alright, it's not THAT awesome, but you get the idea.

The game play is pretty solid and engaging, especially for a 2d beat'em up, enough that upon a replay of the demo I was still entertained trying new things. Shank starts his vigilante career with a chainsaw, two knives, and two handguns, all of which he gets to use in interesting ways to savagely murder his opposition. Clearly we're looking at strong, light, and ranged attacks. For our added depth we're given the grapple and leap options. Both are pretty self explanatory, but the key in their use is timing. It seems like other enemies can't, or won't, attack Shank when he's holding onto someone.
And you can shoot the guns in two directions at once! COOL!

As far as the environment is concerned... it's pretty standard fare as far as backdrops go. You've got your run down desert city that looks like it would be a nesting place for scum and villainy. However, there was one bit that blew me away:


Now that is some cool stuff. I just enjoy the heck out of the shading and the badassery it contains. It's just a short part of the demo, but it really elevates the experience.

For breaks between busting the skulls of a seemingly endless wave of goons, you get to fight mini bosses and boss battles. Mini bosses are a lot like the normal goons, except that they deal more damage, have specialized attacks, and are harder to damage (harder to grapple specifically.) They add a healthy amount of thought into what could be hack and slash game. The first boss battle was solid as well. You fight against a guy who is easily four times your size and only a very limited range of attacks are effective against him. While the first boss wasn't entirely complicated, I remain hopeful that other boss battles are more inventive.

I'll probably get around to buying this someday. The promise of more levels, more weapons to play with, and more of the story has me pretty hooked.