DOWN BOY! the story of a man and his shank... and the people he shanked

Suffice it to say, this bar far is one of the prettiest games I have played in a very very long time. I first heard about it at PAX 2009 when the developers (still without a publisher) were showing off this retro styled side scroller filled to the brim with bullets and bloody violence! Struck with awe I followed their Dev blog to get any and all info about this game. Finally got in on XBOX Live Arcade and played the hell out of it... here is my review.

Setting: The entire backdrop of this game is a piece of art in its own right. The the backgrounds are beautifully hand drawn and blend so well with the character models. In particular its how they approach scenes like the image above, lighting is actually pretty dynamic in this game... especially for a side scrolling beat em up. The sunset bridge scene pretty much dropped my jaw when I first played it, and I found myself failing time and time again because I wanted to stare at the backdrops longer. I found all the levels very well designed and really enjoyed the dynamic of shifting from climbing walls to running and even the parts where Shank has to slide down an embankment or ledge and jump to at the right time, lest he face a gruesome death. The levels design had its challenging points and at the same time was very easy to navigate. The placement of certain ledges where gunmen shoot down at Shank while he's being bum-rushed by what I can only surmise as an army of crazy motherfuckers created some pretty intense gameplay set pieces. Suffice it to say, I enjoyed everything from the times I executed an awesome combo to when I got my ass handed to me by a hooker with a giant staff... yes there are hookers with giants staffs. 5/5

Graphics: The visuals are gorgeous! The character models to the backgrounds and also the fluidity of the animations make this game an absolute treat for the ocular sensory inclined. While the gameplay may be reminiscent of classic beat em ups like Final Fight or Double Dragon, they never looked this pretty. The characters remind me of those classic cartoons on Cartoon Network like Samurai Jack and Dexter's Lab. Strong, pronounced outlines with lots of vivid color. Throw in some very over the top blood effects and some pretty graphic deaths, and we have Shank. The hand drawn models carry enough variation to not feel too much like killing the same guy 1,576 times, and I appreciate that they took the time to make several different character models of the same enemy type (not just cheap color palette swaps). You'll find yourself playing this game again and again, solely for the visual orgasm. Looks like I'll play it again after I finish this review. 5/5

Gameplay: Controlling shank is fairly simple. Each face button controls his quick melee attack, strong melee attack, shooting, and jumping respectively. Block is mapped to LT/L2, with grenades to LB/L1. What adds a bit of dynamic to fighting with Shank is using the RT&RB/R1&R2 buttons. RT/R2 makes Shank lunge and grab an opponent, where at this point you throw in a combo or shove a grenade in his mouth, this makes for a great way to neutralize some of the bigger regular enemies that seem to be able to take alot of punishment before being knocked down. With RB/R1, Shank pounce on an enemy, at this point you can punish the poor bastard with your repertoire of weaponry and even control the oncoming crowd by firing your gun at oncoming enemies. Now here is the part where I get critical, the charm of the control scheme does the trick and is alot of fun to play, but like any beat em up, it can get old pretty fast. There only so much you can pull of and without much variation this ends up playing alot like a repetitive button masher. Now I'm not knocking the formula, I loved the control scheme of Scott Pilgrim (check the last review) and how they broke the monotony with some easy Street Fighter esque moves built in with the existing combo system. Now while the overall combo system of Shank is better, the repetitiveness of it does drop it a point. Also, the lack of an online multiplayer for the Co-op campaign is somewhat disheartening, much like how I wished they had it in Scott Pilgrim, I doubly wish it was here... I mean they did it in Final Fight! C'mon devs, there's gotta be a patch to let me Shank bitches with a friend yeah? 3.5/5

Story: There really isn't much story here but the cut scenes are very well integrated into the gameplay. They're not in game graphics but still retain the Saw meets Dexter's Lab appeal of the gameplay. But my complaint isn't how the story is portrayed but the story itself. A revenge tale about a man who hunts down the people who killed his beloved and drove him to a maddening murderous craze prompting him to Shank hookers and dogs and all the other low life denizens of this world he's from... we've heard it all before. Whether it's the tame "you kidnapped my girlfriend/daughter/unrequited love" of Final Fight to "you killed my g/f and now I'm gonna kill you" type of story arc, it's been done and honestly I found myself caring less about the story as the game progressed and more about the gameplay, it was just cheesy, like eating a grilled cheese sandwich with extra cheese using sourdough asiago cheese bread and a side of mac and cheese... the story cut scenes and dialog were wrought with cheesy lines and sub par story development. I'll give credit where it's due and say that the story did not detract from my enjoyment, but it was pretty much a throw-away. 2.5/5

overall 4/5 GREAT GAME!

Sure the story wasn't the best and the gameplay can get repetitive, the campaign itself is fairly short and doesn't really have the length to make the shortcomings of the total package affect the overall package. I enjoyed this game very much and I think you will too! Give it a download on XBOX Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.

WAKE UP! *somethingsomethingsomethingsomething* MAKEUP!

Alan Wake Review (XBOX 360)

Goes to show how a creepy setting in a nameless Pacific Northwest backwater town can scare the shit out of the manliest of men. Now I try not to toot my own horn but I eat meat, spend time bulking, and share the same general anatomy below the best as Sir Chuck Norris, but even the man who could skewer three men with but a single strand of hair from his beard would scream at some of the set pieces in this really creepy game.

Alan Wake is about a writer who faces the nightmares of his imagination in the sleepy deer hunting town of Bright Falls. The setting is very reminiscent of some of the rustic island towns here in WA State (where I live) and was very familiar to myself having visited (and been creep'd out at night) by the towns here that served as the inspiration of Bright Falls, WA.

Setting:
The pacing of the game was spot on, and if it wasn't so damn scary I could have allowed myself to beat the main game in a few days (I kept my playing at night to a minimum or I'd never get to sleep). The game plays out in a mission format, with each mission playing out like an "episode" of a TV series, complete with an ending theme song and a "previously on Alan Wake" recap as you start the next mission. The main areas that you traverse vary from a diner or police office in the day time to various wooded areas complete with dilapidated buildings that serve as where you battle the darkness at night. The game plays out like a typical survival horror game, you fight creepy things that go bump in the night and scramble for supplies to keep yourself alive. The game features some of the most unforgettable set pieces and some seriously surprising scares along the way. The music and sound direction is one of the best I've heard in a game for a very long time, you'll find yourself being scared by everything from the wail of a taken to a light bulb cracking in the background.
Score: 5/5

Gameplay:
To fight the darkness you need to shine your flashlight on them until the shroud that protects the "Taken" (the many enemies you face) vanishes, then you can use all sorts of weaponry to make them your evil dual voiced bitch. The controls are very intuitive and battling the Taken is both simple yet challenging. Since light is your weapon, items like flare guns, flash bangs, and road flares play a very important role in your survival. Switching weapons is handled with the d-pad and LT and RT control your flashlight and weapon respectively. In lieu of health items, your health with slowly regenerate, but to get the most regeneration you need to take Alan to a safe haven (usually a lit lamp post or a building with the lights on). The game doesn't do much in the form of encouraging exploration, but a few side roads do lead to hidden caches of items and weapons. The game is very linear, but you never notice it because the pacing is so spot on.
Score: 5/5

Story: The main story behind the game is about a writer who comes to the town of Bright Falls to get away from his day to day life. Alan Wake is a successful novelist, having hit a bit of a dry spell he decided to take a vacation after his book tour ends. A series of happenings have him and his wife staying at a creepy house in an island on cauldron lake, after having a fight with his wife he steps outside to collect his thoughts; hearing her scream he rushes back to the house and sees that she may have fallen into the lake, Alan jumps in and he suddenly wakes up in his car... seven days after he arrived. The story is engaging but can be confusing at times, overall the highest point for me in the game were the moments in between story cut scenes. The acting is on point but can get pretty cheesy at times, overall it was enjoyable.
score: 3/5

Final Thoughts:
For anyone looking for a good scare, Alan Wake is a game for you. If you plan to play it once, give it a rent, but if you want to experience all that Bright Falls has to offer... Alan Wake would not be a disappointing purchase.

Final Score: 4 1/3 out of 5 (B+)