I finally got a chance to play through the PC port of the side-scrolling death fest known as Shank yesterday. It unlocked earlier this week on Steam for $14.99, which is a bit steep considering that it will only take you a few hours to beat the game – and that’s including the time it takes to watch the (often hilarious) cut-scenes.

That aside, however, Shank is a pretty good game. The graphics are hands down the best that I’ve ever seen in a flat 2D game and the combat is intense. I played with an Xbox 360 controller designed for Windows. I had a few problems with the controls but overall they were solid and everything responded as expected.

Unfortunately, the story lacks any real depth and there’s no real incentive to go back and play through the game again once you’ve beaten it. Some of the levels felt a bit uninspired – but the blood and chaos more than make up for that. Still, I would suggest waiting for this one to go on sale before you buy. $14.99 is just too much to ask for so little gameplay.