Exact revenge with a machete and a 40 oz. in-hand.
Shank has attitude. It fulfills all the prerequisites needed for the vibe: lewd, crude language; over-the-top violence; a beefed-up protagonist; buxom babes of the night; and sex appeal (of the literal and innuendo sort).
All qualities set on the outskirts of Mexican pueblos where the 40 oz. malt liquors -- left behind by downed enemies as a handy health boost -- and ferocious guard dogs run freely.
Klei Entertainment, with Shank, further cements downloadable titles as a viable, gaming source with great production values and a fighting system as deep as it is ridiculous. Chainsaws, kitanas, machetes, portable Gatlin guns, flamethrowers? All the crowd-pleasers are there to fill out your arsenal.
The lack of restraint from the developers is immediately visible as soon as the story begins with blood splattered all over the wallpaper at a run-down bar and everyone either turns a blind eye to the carnage or joins in on the rumble.
Shank's visual consistency would have it no other way. When everyone is, admittedly, a different shade of the same meathead character, why not? The game will never win any awards in the story department, but it contains a serviceable B-rated movie narrative thread that aptly encompass your violent acts towards avenging your girlfriend's death.
Snappy, ridiculous one-liners are littered throughout the single-player campaign and follow suit in the separate (slightly more difficult) co-op mode that dishes out the back story to Shank. Remember, only after completing single-player will you unlock new, more powerful weapons to aid you in both game modes -- making it a bit easier to blast through co-op with a friend.
Sure, while Shank's creative battle system reminiscent of the melee-plus-gun combos in Devil May Cry make its 2D side-scrolling wish fulfillment enjoyable...it is Klei's ingenious boss encounters that really steal the show. Unlike most games (even those in sixty-dollar boxed copies) where developers are happy to bombard you with generic end-level bosses that just so happen to be unfair, stronger, and, relatively invisible, Shank takes another route. It provides creative bosses that require some experimentation and definite cooperation in two-player mode.
About the only thing I can think to complain about Shank are its -- some times -- imprecise controls that force you to use the left analog stick with no option to go with a more accurate d-pad setup. It's not such a big deal once you get used to it, but there were definitely some times where it became bothersome to keep fighting the controls when the gameplay asks you to be more surgical with your movement and attacks.
The length of the game seemed perfect to me (finished both single- and co-op modes in under seven hours), but I can also see that as a point of contention for some people. Ultimately, the value is there. And for $15, it is one of the shining examples of excellent downloadable titles that forego incredible development costs for a more streamlined, focused, and thoroughly enjoyable experience.
Grade: A