Frankly, Mr [Shank]ly

Cannon Goose

This game is awesome! It's out right now on Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network! Get it! 1200 points/$15! Shank! (It's also coming out on PC in Spring [or Fall for the US])

Shank? Is this Game About Prison?
No sir, Shank is a 2D side-scrolling beat (shank) 'em up made by independent developer Klei Entertainment (who brought you the XBLA version of N+). It's main features are the extremely fluid animations that blend seamlessly into one another, kill combos and of course, shanks.

You play as the titular character Shank who is looking for his girlfriend in a dilapidated city. You can stab, shoot and chainsaw your way hordes of enemies alone or in co-op with the second player playing as Shank's friend Falcone.

2D? But ain't stuff all in the Three Dees now?
Yes! But this game is in 2D. And it's BEAUTIFUL. Here are some screenshots:

But they really don't do the game justice. Please enjoy the awesome smooth animations featured in these video productions!
http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-shank-again/17-3123/

http://www.giantbomb.com/a-few-of-shanks-ridiculous-combo-strings/17-3042/

Oh hey, this game looks pretty good! How do I play it again?
It's out right now on Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network for $15/1200 points. It's also coming to PC next month.

So go forth, people, and grab this slick-ass game!

UnbreakableVow

I tried the demo last night

It was super-repetitive, wow. By the end of the ten minute demo I'd had enough. I can't imagine going through that for hours more.

But it looks really slick, and the cutscenes are fantastic. I hope this means we'll see more things of this style, just applied to games that are more enjoyable to play.

Darmak

I really, really want to get this game but I don't have the money right now. I shall definitely pick it up later though, I love these sorts of games.

Kyougu

Played the demo and was generally impressed by everything except two things:

1)Cutscenes-Quality reminds me of flash animation and the sounds seems off.

2) Dodging is pretty wonky.

adytum

Will be playing the demo toniiiiiight.

tofu

Any word on how long the game is?

Cannon Goose

It's a 2GB download but I have no idea how long it is.

Tallahasseeriel

Looks pretty goddamn cool

Kinda looks like Brock Samson the game.

Cannon Goose

Word on the street is that it's roughly 4-5 hours long.

Olivaw

UnbreakableVow wrote: »

I tried the demo last night

It was super-repetitive, wow. By the end of the ten minute demo I'd had enough. I can't imagine going through that for hours more.

But it looks really slick, and the cutscenes are fantastic. I hope this means we'll see more things of this style, just applied to games that are more enjoyable to play.

You don't know what a beat-em-up is, do you

UnbreakableVow

Olivaw wrote: »

UnbreakableVow wrote: »

I tried the demo last night

It was super-repetitive, wow. By the end of the ten minute demo I'd had enough. I can't imagine going through that for hours more.

But it looks really slick, and the cutscenes are fantastic. I hope this means we'll see more things of this style, just applied to games that are more enjoyable to play.

You don't know what a beat-em-up is, do you

Sure I do

This is nowhere near the level of something like Final Fight or something a bit deeper like River City Ransom/Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Maybe because it's strictly on a 2D plane, you're not moving up and down, I feel that helps matters a lot in both of those games to avoid repetition of "go right, press Square, repeat and you're good."

Evil Multifarious

man

classic 2d style beatemups are the exact opposite of deep

at least in this you have a dodge button and you have to vary your attacks to be successful and not take damage, and fighting bosses requires a bit of movement and defense

the false 3d plane doesn't add anything except weird slow movement along one axis and the potential for enemies to slide one pixel out of your punching range

tofu

Evil Multifarious wrote: »

man

classic 2d style beatemups are the exact opposite of deep

at least in this you have a dodge button and you have to vary your attacks to be successful and not take damage, and fighting bosses requires a bit of movement and defense

the false 3d plane doesn't add anything except weird slow movement along one axis and the potential for enemies to slide one pixel out of your punching range

Yeah pretty much, I couldn't even finish Scott Pilgrim's demo it was so boring

Magell

I really enjoyed the demo for this game and I'm quite tempted to buy the whole game. I've been wanting a good side-scroller beat-em up.

Drake

So the PC release is going to be on Steam?

Because I wants to buys it from Steam.

When it's on sale.

For two dollars.

I'm a horrible bad person (cheap too).

UnbreakableVow

tofu wrote: »

Evil Multifarious wrote: »

man

classic 2d style beatemups are the exact opposite of deep

at least in this you have a dodge button and you have to vary your attacks to be successful and not take damage, and fighting bosses requires a bit of movement and defense

the false 3d plane doesn't add anything except weird slow movement along one axis and the potential for enemies to slide one pixel out of your punching range

Yeah pretty much, I couldn't even finish Scott Pilgrim's demo it was so boring

Exactly how I felt about the Shank demo

I finished because I figured there'd be a boss at the end

And there was

And all I did was press Square and jump once in a while

EDIT: Again, reiterating that I'm speaking solely from the demo here. Maybe the full game will actually make you change it up and vary your attacks, but in the demo there is absolutely no reason to. Melee works just fine throughout.

elevature

Best thread title ever.

Charles Kinbote

a shot-for-shot remake of the movie of my autobiography, just fyi

Cannon Goose

This is a game that rewards creativity. Even in the demo you might not have to use all your weapons to get through it but if you do it looks incredibly badass. Chaining combos together is really where this game shines.

Evil Multifarious

i bought this game after all

and then i discovered that immediately after the demo the challenge shoots WAY up. you really do have to start dodging and defending or you'll die, vs pouncing dogs, charging guys who can't be stopped but can be dodged through, and various other mooks attacking you simultaneously.

it's fantastic.

12GaugeRage

I'm at the last boss and stuck, this game is pretty tough. Like the dude above me said, after the demo area the game really opens up and gets a lot tougher. Reminds me of classic 2D brawlers, and there will be times you're going to want to pull your hair out, cause the game can get cheap, but even more enjoyable once you conquer parts you get stuck at.

Overall I'm pleased, I still had points left over from Lara Croft so I ended up only dropping $10 to get it, and I'm glad I picked it over Scott Pilgrim. The art style is rad, the graphics and gameplay are fluid, and the killing doesn't ever stop. I've only unlocked one of the alternate costumes, but I think there's like 10-12 unlockable. A solid 4 out of 5.

stevemarks44

Just so you don't feel like the odd man out, Unbreakable, I felt the same way about the demo. Again, maybe (and it seems to) it changes after the demo, but I felt less like I was playing a really good 2D brawler and more like I was playing a game I could've loaded up in a browser on my lunchbreak. It just felt like a $12 armorgames game to me.

Chance

12GaugeRage wrote: »

I'm at the last boss and stuck, this game is pretty tough. Like the dude above me said, after the demo area the game really opens up and gets a lot tougher. Reminds me of classic 2D brawlers, and there will be times you're going to want to pull your hair out, cause the game can get cheap, but even more enjoyable once you conquer parts you get stuck at.

Overall I'm pleased, I still had points left over from Lara Croft so I ended up only dropping $10 to get it, and I'm glad I picked it over Scott Pilgrim. The art style is rad, the graphics and gameplay are fluid, and the killing doesn't ever stop. I've only unlocked one of the alternate costumes, but I think there's like 10-12 unlockable. A solid 4 out of 5.

Here's how to beat the last boss, the really, really (well, pretty) easy way:

Y'know how sometimes you'll clash and you have to hit... I think it's R1 to headbutt him? What you do is get some distance between you (dodge through him when he lunges), then leap at him and use your shank. If you time it right, you'll auto-clash and be able to headbutt him.

Here's where the "cheesing" part comes in:

If you only headbutt him and never shoot him or hit him with your weapons, he won't go to stage 2 and 3 of his AI. You can headbutt him over and over during his first phase until he's dead, then finish him off with a single shank swipe.

If you want to cheese it, never hit him with your weapons because the window for R1ing him is a lot smaller during his other phases

PatboyX

I'm in.
But only for the thread title.

cooljammer00

RISE

So this is the only Shank thread I could find. After finally setting up my PS3 controller to work with my PC, I started playing this game. It was going alright until I got to Cassandra, and now I am just getting my ass handed to me over and over. Maybe I'm missing a QTE or something.