14 DAY TRIAL // 
The original Shank impressed through its sharp visual style and pretty hectic combat, which saw its protagonist carve his way through legions of enemies in order to get to his wife.
Now, with Shank 2, developer Klei Entertainment and publisher Electronic Arts are trying to continue that story, while bringing quite a lot of improvements to its gameplay, especially the fighting mechanics or the boss battles.
What's more, Shank 2 also makes major changes to the cooperative mode, which is no longer based on a story like in the original game. Instead, players are just required to withstand enemy waves in different environments.
Does Shank 2 succeed in polishing up its predecessor's faults or does it require a proper beatdown? Let's find out.
Story
Shank 1 was all about helping the hero, or more like anti-hero, get to his wife. With the sequel, we find a troubled Shank looking to drown his sorrows by going back to the little town from Central America where he was raised in an orphanage.
Sadly for him, things aren't looking so good for his childhood home, as it's now overrun by a militia led by General Magnus who, apparently, wants to eliminate the bad guys from the country. As you quickly realize, his militia doesn't exactly have the best of intentions.
Throw in the fact that they've kidnapped Shank's foster mother and you've got a perfect recipe for a revenge story. Shank's already on edge and this narrative, which sees him go through all sorts of environments, from run-down towns to fishing bays or even a temple inhabited by witches and cannibals, really highlight his violent talents.
It won't win any Oscars, but at least you won't get bored with the same sort of enemies or challenges throughout the single-player campaign, which lasts around 3 to 4 hours, depending on your skill level.
Gameplay Shank 1 was pretty good but it had its fair share of annoyances. Thankfully, the new game improves on plenty of aspects, from the combat to the boss fights, so you don't feel like you're in a Shank 1.5 experience.
First in the list of improvements is the combat. It feels much more precise and there's a bigger emphasis put on strategy and loadouts. At the beginning of each chapter, you get to choose your weapons, but you can also do that whenever you feel like it during the game.
While you can't separate Shank from his trademark shanks, you get to choose amongst heavy weapons, like a machete, a chainsaw or a sledgehammer, as well as a long range firearm, from the standard throwing knives to dual-wield pistols or a devastating shotgun. Last but not least, you can equip items like grenades, molotovs or mines, which can prove essential when dealing with multiple enemies. In case you get bored with these weapons, you can always pick up stuff that’s laying on the ground, from bats and wrenches to boxes or even a kitchen sink, which can be used against enemies.
Speaking of opponents, the game doesn't have that many different enemy types, but their appearances change quite often and there are always new ones being introduced throughout the campaign. A big improvement over the original game is that you can finally perform counter moves just before the enemy attacks. As such, you can use their own weapons or brute force against them.
Evading some enemy attacks, especially during boss battles, is crucial, although it still doesn't feel all that natural. There are some situations when simply jumping over enemies accomplishes the same thing, but you can't really do that during boss fights, as these characters are much bigger.
While the final level encounters with bosses are less frustrating than in the original, they still provide a lot of challenge. Most of them can be mastered after a few attempts but there is one in particular, when you get to control Shank's childhood lady friend Corine. This fight is quite hard, as the boss' attacks feel cheap and you also need to look out for constantly spawning minions.
There were moments when I was close to flinging the controller or punching the screen but, after you cool down and make changes to your strategy or loadout, you can succeed. The game doesn't pull its punches, however, as you'll often have to endure lengthy fights before getting to refill your health with a bottle of tequila. Throw in the fact that there are only two difficulty settings, normal and hard, and you'll have to spend a lot of time with Shank 2 in order to master it.
Gameplay is a bit more varied this time around, as you have more dynamic environments that involve things like crushing your opponents with big metal containers, mowing them down with special turrets or throwing them into saw blades or pits of fire.
While we played the game on the PC, it's not that suited to a mouse and keyboard control setup, so it's highly recommended that you use a controller if you want the best experience.
Overall, while it's quite challenging and does have some frustrating moments, Shank 2's gameplay is quite an improvement over its predecessor.
Multiplayer
Shank 1's cooperative mode was quite fun but its lack of an online component meant you could only try it out with a real life buddy in the same room. Shank 2 changes that by adding online support, but also the whole mode completely, as it's no longer a story-driven experience like in the original.
Instead, players endeavor on a Survival mode, where they need to withstand waves of enemies in a single location, while protecting three stockpiles from opponents that want to blow them up. While it's a grave departure from the story mode in the first game, it's a pretty fun experience, although it becomes slightly repetitive after several matches.
You only have three maps to choose from at the moment, but the experience is still pretty complex, as you can unlock different character skins, each with their own bonuses. During actual gameplay, you earn currency that can be spent in an upgrade store. Here, you can get anything from a health-boosting tequila bottle to a friendly wild boar that takes out opponents, a minigun to mow them down, or even an automated turret.
You'll need these upgrades, however, as once you progress through the waves, things become increasingly hectic. As such, working as a team and using the traps in each of the levels, from pits of saw blades to sewer canals, is essential if you want to survive.
Visuals and Sound Graphics-wise, Shank 2 is as pretty as ever, with animations feeling fluid, environments looking alive and enemies always staying varied. In-game cutscenes also look pretty good, although some angles are a bit unflattering for certain characters.
In terms of sound, there's the same type of soundtrack seen in the original, with heavy central and south American themes and influences. You won't notice it that much, however, as combat in Shank 2 requires full concentration.
Voice acting is decent, but the characters don't say a lot of things, so don' go expecting standout performances. There are a few issues with lip syncing, especially when enemies taunt you, but they aren't that annoying, as the only sounds you'll keep hearing come from your weapons as you kill your enemies.
While I'm certainly missing the story-based co-op mode, the Survival one, which can be played online, makes up for it in some regards and will no doubt keep me and my friends entertained.
The Good
The Bad
Conclusion
