Review by: Mike Thompson

The moment you unlock the chainsaw, it's obvious that Shank 2 is something special. By this point, you've already seen the ridiculous violence, gotten to enjoy a few virtual gallons of blood, and enjoyed the hyper-macho storyline. But when the eponymous Shank gets hold of that damn power tool, there's a gleam in his eye that promises unspeakable horrors for his enemies. This is the moment when you realize just how nuts the game's going to be and how much fun you're going to have playing it.

So here's the story: Ex-mob hitman Shank is returning home to his South American town when his bus is stopped and robbed by guerilla soldiers. Because Shank is a Man's Man, he will not stand for this, so he starts to rip through the soldiers' camp in order to remove the roadblock. Once he arrives at the village itself, it turns out that he left some loose ends dangling when he moved away, and now he needs to save everyone if he ever wants to tie things up. Honestly, the story's tongue is planted firmly in its macho cheek, but it is seriously fun all the way through.

Like Shank before it, Shank 2 is a 2D beat-em-up, composed of long levels peppered with lots of hostile characters and occasional bosses. As you play, you pick up beers to replenish health, random weapons — like meat cleavers and shovels — from fallen enemies, and unlock new weapons and outfits.

The game's hyper-violent and literally bleeds style. While Shank was certainly a good-looking game, the art this time is more polished and the animation more fluid. Everything here looks great, including the way characters are designed, how they move, the ways environments dynamically change, and (especially) how your enemies bleed. There are frequent cutscenes that look like they were pulled straight out of a high-end cartoon, and all the voice-acting is delivered with scene-chewing intensity.

In fact, everything about this game feels like it was better than its predecessor. The gameplay is faster and smoother than what was present in Shank, though that game didn't exactly need a lot of improvement. The controls, though, definitely are a little tighter and more responsive than last time.

Aside from the main campaign, there's also a Survival Mode that lets you choose from a wide variety of characters to play and then fight off waves of enemies. You can even play this mode with a friend, either locally or online, which is a lot of fun. If you've ever played any type of action-adventure title, though, this'll immediately feel familiar.