Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Summer Game Fest
  • New games for 2025
  • Upcoming Switch 2 games
  • Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
Jubei, Ekei, and Magoichi set out for the mines in Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny remastered
Action Games Onimusha 2's remaster is a wonderful celebration of a messy and bloated sequel to one of my favorite PS2 slashers
Cropped key art for Revenge of the Savage Planet showing two player characters running away from lots of green goo, flanked by various googly-eyed wildlife
Action Games Revenge of the Savage Planet review: "An underrated sci-fi platformer gets a beautiful third-person sequel, but I'm left cold by shallow busywork and an over-reliance on toilet humor"
Using the poison sword in Lost in Random: The Eternal Die to attack foes at a distance
Roguelike Games Lost in Random: The Eternal Die review: "This sequel's roguelike shift squanders the potential of its Burton-like world, yet I can't stop rolling the die for one more go"
Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Open World Games Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
A cat crew member springs free in Skin Deep
Stealth Games Skin Deep review: "A genuinely stellar immersive sim, replete with chaos"
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
Action Games This Metroidvania-tinged old-school 2D action game is more than another Sega retro revival: it's the highlight of my Summer Game Fest
Doom The Dark Ages
FPS Games Doom: The Dark Ages review: "Some may appreciate the greater focus on close-quarters, but others will find themselves nostalgic for the simple joys of double jumps"
  1. Games
  2. Action

Shank 2 review

Shank returns with some slight improvements over the original

Reviews
By Lorenzo Veloria published 15 February 2012

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Improved control layout

  • +

    Fast-paced

  • +

    gory action

  • +

    Art style

Cons

  • -

    Difficulty spikes

  • -

    Slice

  • -

    dice and repeat

  • -

    Nonexistent story

Shank returns in another chainsaw wielding gore fest that fixes some minor annoyances of the original game with smoother gameplay and a smarter control layout. But, Shank 2 still has a few wrinkles to iron out with inconsistent difficulty spikes that quickly turn the fun into frustration.

The meat of the game lies in the campaign mode where Shank can dispatch literally hundreds of enemies with a variety of weapons. At the beginning of each level the player chooses the load-out for his heavy weapon like the chainsaw or a pair of machetes, long range weapons including pistols and a shotgun, and disposable weapons like grenades and Molotov cocktails. Aside from the chosen load-out Shank can pick up weapons dropped by enemies. Baseball bats, lead pipes and even frying pans can be wielded and thrown giving players a few more combat options.

The controls feel smooth and accurate and we rarely ran into a situation where the button layout lead to our downfall. It is simple to chain combos, counter attacks, and roll-dodge away from flailing enemies. There is no longer the issue of accidentally picking up heath power-ups or dropped weapons since the action is mapped to the right shoulder button rather to the attack button.

Slashing up enemies and watching the counter move animations where Shank shoves a baseball bat down a minion's throat are satisfying, but only as long the the game plays fair. Some sections throw way too many enemies on-screen at once making it ridiculously difficult to dodge the barrage of bullets, knives and baseball bats. While perseverance won us through in the end, having to repeatedly get our butts kicked was a lot more frustrating than enjoyable.

The beat ‘em up gameplay, with its gory animations and use of weapons, is fun but it doesn’t last throughout the entire game. Mid-way through the game dispatching enemies ends up feeling like a grind. Besides some enemies that carry shields that need to be destroyed using heavy attacks most enemies can be defeated by simply by mashing the attack buttons. On top of that, there are no other elements of gameplay that break up the button mashing other than mounted gun segments and minor platforming, but those are few and far between. With a story that does nothing to motivate pressing on, hacking up bad guys can only be fun for so long, and unfortunately, that is basically the only thing you do the entire time.

In addition to the campaign, up to two players (local or online) can work together in the game’s Survival mode. Players must defeat waves of enemies while protecting weapons caches from being destroyed by enemy demolitionists. The longer players survive the more upgrades and weapons they can purchase to keep up with the increasingly difficult enemies. Survival works well and is fun to play with one other friend, but being limited to only three different stages the experience becomes stale, quickly.

Shank 2 stays safely in the bounds of a typical side-scrolling action title. It never takes any chances but delivers an overall solid beat ‘em up. Inconsistent difficulty, nonexistent story and a lack of gameplay variety hold Shank 2 back, but those looking for a better playing experience from Shank’s last outing might want to give the sequel a try.

More info

GenreAction
Platform"Xbox 360","PS3","PC"
US censor rating"Mature","",""
UK censor rating"","",""
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
More
TOPICS
PlayStation Network
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PlayStation Xbox Platforms
PRODUCTS
Shank 2 PlayStation 3 Shank Shank 2 Xbox Live Arcade
Lorenzo Veloria
Lorenzo Veloria
Social Links Navigation

Many years ago, Lorenzo Veloria was a Senior Editor here at GamesRadar+ helping to shape content strategy. Since then, Lorenzo has shifted his attention to Future Plc's broader video game portfolio, working as a Senior Brand Marketing Manager to oversee the development of advertising pitches and marketing strategies for the department. He might not have all that much time to write about games anymore, but he's still focused on making sure the latest and greatest end up in front of your eyes one way or another.

Read more
Jubei, Ekei, and Magoichi set out for the mines in Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny remastered
Onimusha 2's remaster is a wonderful celebration of a messy and bloated sequel to one of my favorite PS2 slashers
Cropped key art for Revenge of the Savage Planet showing two player characters running away from lots of green goo, flanked by various googly-eyed wildlife
Revenge of the Savage Planet review: "An underrated sci-fi platformer gets a beautiful third-person sequel, but I'm left cold by shallow busywork and an over-reliance on toilet humor"
Using the poison sword in Lost in Random: The Eternal Die to attack foes at a distance
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die review: "This sequel's roguelike shift squanders the potential of its Burton-like world, yet I can't stop rolling the die for one more go"
Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
A cat crew member springs free in Skin Deep
Skin Deep review: "A genuinely stellar immersive sim, replete with chaos"
Aran does a jump strike at an enemy charging up an attack in Blades of Fire
Blades of Fire review: "Following up Metroid Dread with a dark fantasy soulslike full of inventive ideas that I find delightfully infectious"
Latest in Action
Death Stranding 2
I'm glad the heatwave is over, because if it wasn't I'd think I hallucinated these weird Death Stranding 2 moments, from dancing dolls to sci-fi directors fighting while making pizza
Hollow Knight
As Hollow Knight: Silksong gets 7 new Steam updates in less than a week, the SKONG community reaches levels of cope hitherto unseen: "The wait is almost over"
Fighting enemies in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Switch 2 Edition
2 years and one Switch 2 release later, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom hoarders are still celebrating their item duping glitches making it past Nintendo's patches
Death Stranding 2 screenshot
Hideo Kojima's fabled USB stick full of ideas contingency plan has been put aside, as it was actually put in place during a 2020 health scare long before Death Stranding 2's release
GTA 6 Lucia
GTA 6 will "remain" the most expensive game ever, former Rockstar dev predicts, because GTA 7 will see the "bulk of the work" replaced by AI
Link is in a barrel in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker on Nintendo Switch 2
Twink Link is being freed: Nintendo apparently backtracks, says you are allowed to call yourself Twink Link as it works to unban a Switch 2 it "flagged by accident"
Latest in Reviews
A review image of the Flydigi Vader 4 Pro controller
Flydigi Vader 4 Pro review: “I’ve never run into as many issues with one gamepad as I have with this”
Asus ROG Azoth X gaming keyboard on a wooden desk with red backlighting
Asus ROG Azoth X review: "a top-tier mechanical deck with the price tag to match"
RedMagic Astra gaming tablet running Xbox Cloud gaming on a wooden desk with blue backlighting
RedMagic Astra review: "small form factor, big potential"
A T-rex in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
An array of Space Marine and Plague Marine models on an orange battlemat littered with MDF ruins
Kill Team Starter Set (2024) review: "A great introduction to the mechanics, but it doesn't always capture what makes the game special"
A reviewer holding the Nacon Revolution X Unlimited
Nacon Revolution X Unlimited review: “As OP as pro controllers get these days”
  1. Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
    1
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  2. 2
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  3. 3
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  4. 4
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  5. 5
    Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter"
  1. A T-rex in Jurassic World Rebirth
    1
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  2. 2
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  3. 3
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  4. 4
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  5. 5
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...