“Shank 2” is the latest offering from EA Games, and sequel to the hit 2010 game “Shank”. Shank 2 allows the gamer to fight as a samurai against a plateau of different opponents on a 2D plane, in a traditional side-scrolling ‘beat ‘em up’ format. The game also operates under a unique anime style, mixing gorgeous animated graphics with tonnes of violence, which in this case is certainly a welcome combination. In the game you play as Shank

The graphics are wonderful, and definitely enhance the gaming experience. They are truly unique, and whilst some may be think that the graphics will be unimpressive due to the 2D element of the game, they truly are not, and in fact the cool anime style of them take full advantage of this format for a unique gaming experience.

The controls in the game are very easy to use, well mapped out and smooth. Each button is dedicated to a different weapon (you can choose your different weapons at the beginning of each new level), and switching between weapons during a fight is easy, allowing for a combination of cool tricks and beautifully violent attacks to be performed all in the space of a few short seconds, which in all honestly looks pretty cool! The array of weapons to choose from is pretty good, with tools such as chainsaws, throwing daggers, grenades, molotov cocktails and of course, the classic machete, being on offer. You can also pick up any weapons that enemies drop during battle. Their weapons can sometimes be fairly random, but this just adds to the fun of the game. You can also pick up health pickups on the ground, and their is a dedicated key for doing so, meaning that replenishing your health is an easy task. General control with the analog stick is also easy, allowing you to aim your throwing daggers at enemies to achieve stealthy take-down attacks on them, and the right analog stick serves as a great tool for quickly dodging away from on-coming enemies.

Gameplay is very fun, largely due to the amount of violence involved. The 2D plane and extreme violence reminded me of the Mortal Kombat series, but the violence felt toned down due to its animated style, but this all worked in the game’s favour, as it leads to a really beautiful visual experience. I kept wanting to play on due to the large amount of enemies available to murder, and it became addictive. The game certainly makes you want to continue on and re-attempt each section until you manage to kill all the enemies presented to you so that you can progress through to the next stage. The levels also make use of the traditional platform style, which again works in the game’s favour as it allows several fun obstacles to be put into use against you, and it also means that there are a few handy obstacles for you to implement against stronger enemies as well.

Overall, Shank 2 is a very addictive game, and is certainly unique in its use of visually beautiful yet also violent graphics. It lacks in some departments, as levels can become a bit similar after a while, leading to some repetitive gameplay, but all-in-all this didn’t seem like an issue for me as I was so engrossed in the game and its wonderfully violent gameplay.