Marcus Fenix is pissed! First the community showed their support for the survival of Carmine, the weak link in his squad of Locust terminators. Now he has been stripped of his C.O.G. armor, forced to wear a Rambdana, and delivered a one-way ticket south of the border to seek revenge on Bucho. Oh, and he has changed his code name to Carlos Spicy Weiner…I mean, Shank.
Shank (by developer Klei Entertainment) is out for the Xbox 360 (via XBLA) and the PS3 (via PSN). If you love pulp action and over the top combat then this puppy is right up your alley. It is a 2D side scroller splattered with a unique art style (Samurai Jack meets graphic novel) and a satisfying combo building system. The action is fast and gory. You are Shank, a one man army of death and destruction who is out for revenge, armed with a blade, a chainsaw, and dual pistols. Each weapon represents a type of attack: the blade is your melee, the chainsaw is your power attack, and the pistols are your ranged. As you progress you unlock additional weapons for each “slot” and can toggle between them during game play. Continuous hits builds up chains and different button combos result in a ton of stylish attacks. The game even features 11 costumes that can be unlocked for your character.
If you are rockin’ any mini-me’s then expect to be firing this game up late at night (when they are asleep) or while your significant other has them out at dance practice for the afternoon. Gore, profanity, and juicy audio will pump out of your TV and speakers throughout the duration of your campaign of vengeance.
One thing to be aware of: there is an issue that the team at Kei is working on fixing that is resulting in choppy playback of the opening cinematic and long load times between levels on the Xbox 360. Sounds like they will have this fixed soon so don’t hate. Besides, they kick ass. Need proof? Their game rocks and they released the soundtrack for free! Get it here.
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