As you can see, Shank is a pretty fast-paced game that's pretty centered on killing. Sure, there is some platforming sprinkled throughout the game, but Shank doesn't muck about with puzzles, secret paths, collectibles or any of that. It's all about combat. Thankfully, Shank has a lot of moves at his disposal to keep things fresh. Like full-fledged disc-based games such as the Devil May Cry series, Shank has a light attack, heavy attack, guns, a grapple move a dodge move and grenades. He's even got his own unique addition to the standard mix of combat commands, a lunge move that launches him across the screen that knocks your foe into a downed grapple state. Using these moves wisely lets you chain together long, bloody combos that decimate your foes in a seamless torrent of violence.

Over the course of the game, you'll gain a few new weapons and moves (which can't be missed - all upgrades are automatic), which add a little additional depth to the combat. For example, the shotgun is perfect for taking out guard dogs (ooh, I hate them so much! Stupid dogs.), but it's pretty useless against enemies that shoot from inaccessible upper levels, forcing you to switch back to your dual pistols. Fortunately, all the weapon switching is wisely mapped to the d-pad, so if you're speedy you can swap guns without breaking a combo.

Combat is speedy and fun, and it's especially great late in the game when you've really mastered all of Shank's moves and can seamlessly leap from victim to victim and dispatch them in bloody, over the top fashion. Shank is not a shy game, with tons of cartoonish blood and really graphic death animations. It's never offensive or gratuitous, thanks to the game's excellent Grindhouse-flavored comic book style. Animation is fast and fluid, and half of the fun is watching the new kills that are unlocked with every new weapon.

But that's really about all there is to the game. It's super-short, ranging from about one and a half to four hours depending on how often you die. There's not a lot of variety to the levels, and certain sections feel a little unfair - like when you're climbing across a narrow pipe and unblockable rockets cascade from the sky in a completely random pattern. The control scheme feels a little convoluted at first until you master it (It uses every face button and all four shoulder buttons on the PS3 controller). But even with these complaints, it's a fun game. I did get a bit bored with it from time to time, but when I did I put the controller down for a while and came back to it later. If you're looking for a simple, straightforward action game with a killer visual style, then Shank is easy to recommend. But if you're looking for something deeper or longer, then your $15 might be better spent elsewhere.