History VideoGame / Shank

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Both {{Big Bad}}s and {{Final Boss}}es of the two games.

* DropTheHammer: The last weapon you get in ''Shank 2'' is a Sledgehammer. It's somewhat slow, but packs quite the punch.

* GutturalGrowler: Shank has a very gravelly voice.

* BadHabits: As revealed in the co-op campaign, Angelo acted as a SinisterMinister ''after'' gunning down a priest, then posed as him because while people knew the priest was coming, no one ''knew'' what he looked like. When Shank enters the church Angelo took over in the single player campaign, it's also shown that one of his henchmen runs around crossdressing as a nun.

* PrecisionFStrike: [[KinderAndCleaner Swearing is less common]] in the second game than in the first. This allows Shank to emphasize that right before he executes Magnus, he is not happy.

* LighterAndSofter: The second game, relatively. While the gameplay is significantly BloodierAndGorier and as [[RatedMForManly manly]] as ever, its tone is subtly lighter than the first game's: Shank's side is much less morally ambiguous[[note]]A rebellion against an oppressive military government, in contrast to the first game's cartel, which he intially works for in the co-op campaign and later seeks revenge against on his own in the main single player mode.[[/note]], the plot features less tension and tragic elements (despite its outreach within the setting being far larger overall), and the cutscenes are much more exaggerated[[labelnote:Spoilers]]Compare Magnus' death from a grenade punched into his chest, to the lingering shot of Cesar as [[WhiteShirtOfDeath blood from his mortal wound spreads across his white shirt]].[[/labelnote]]. [[KinderAndCleaner Swearing is also less frequent]], and [[TamerAndChaster sexual themes are barely touched upon]].

** Exaggerated when Mello gets his arm sliced off by Shank and is then told to go give Angelo a warning. By the time he gets there, it's already morning and he's still bleeding!

* PreAsskickingOneLiner: "Forgive me [[SinisterMinister Father,]] [[spoiler:''for I will sin.'']]"

* RememberTheNewGuy: ''Shank 2'' opens with a cutscene of Shank reminiscing over a photo of him with two women (Elena and Corina). When he finds them they act as if they've known him for a long time, and according to a [[AllThereInTheManual Rebel Intel]], they were his family of sorts as he grew up in an orphanage. Of course, none of this was evident in the first game.

* ThrowABarrelAtIt: The boss fight against the Butcher in the 2-player campaign has ExplodingBarrels on the corners of the aren. If he sustains enough damage, he will retreat to the corners and start chucking them at Shank & Falcone, however the two can start shooting at the barrel [[HoistByHisOwnPetard so it'll hurt him instead]].

* LighterAndSofter: The second game, relatively. While the gameplay is as brutal and [[RatedMForManly manly]] as ever, its tone is subtly lighter than the first one: Shank's side is much less morally ambiguous[[note]]A rebellion against an oppressive military government, in contrast to the first game's cartel, which he intially works for in the co-op campaign and later seeks revenge against on his own in the main single player mode.[[/note]], the plot features less tension and tragic elements (despite its outreach within the setting being far larger overall), and the cutscenes are much more exaggerated[[labelnote:Spoilers]]Compare Magnus' death from a grenade punched into his chest, to the lingering shot of Cesar as [[WhiteShirtOfDeath blood from his mortal wound spreads across his white shirt]].[[/labelnote]]. [[KinderAndCleaner Swearing is also less frequent]], and [[TamerAndChaster sexual themes are barely touched upon]].

** Cesar has a pair of shiny, engraved knives and a cutlass.

** The Butcher just dies after strangled by Shank with a chain. He no longer gets dropped in a meat grinder offscreen.

* CainAndAbel: Cyclops' Rebel Intel in ''Shank 2'' reveals him to be the Abel to Magnus and Inferno's Cains. He tried to assassinate Magnus for abusing his power, but was stopped by Inferno, whom he [[EyeScream took an eye out]] in the process. He was then imprisoned in a tanker for a year, leading to his status by the game's events, but not before Inferno [[KarmicInjury extracted his eye in return]].

A sequel, ''Shank 2'', was released on February 7, 2012. Shank's attempts to settle down and leave his criminal past behind him are abruptly ended when a power vaccuum was created after Shank destroyed the cartel, forcing a military intervention. Unforunately, this only caused them to take over the operations and create a new crime group called The Militia, ending up threatening the lives of those closest to him. Now, Shank has to once again take up his weapons and take the fight to the enemy, with assistance from the local resistance and an old friend.

* WouldHitAGirl: Gender matters not to Shank, which is first shown when he comes to Club Stardust in the first game. There, he fights the fourth boss, Cassandra, who is a woman, and after he kills her, he takes on numerous other working girls in the club.

* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedEvil: Inverted. Cesar was Shank's martial arts mentor, and he used to consider Shank as one of his cartel's most honored members, until he turned the whole cartel against Shank after the latter proved unwilling to go through with the rite of passage of killing his recently-acquainted girlfriend Eva.

* UndeadCounterpart: Zombie variants of the typical enemy types appear in a specific wave from time to time in ''Shank 2'''s Survival Mode. They're faster and deal more damage than their normal counterparts, but have the same amount of health.

* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Averted. Shank does it to Cassandra after the cutscene after her boss fight.

* WouldHitAGirl: Gender matters not to Shank, which is first shown when he comes to Club Stardust in the first game. There, he fights the fourth boss, Cassandra, who is a woman, and after he kills her, he takes on numerous other working girls in club.

** In the second game, Shank wears a red T-shirt to go along with his headband, which is fitting since he's now actively fighting for a more heroic cause (albeit reluctantly).

* LighterAndSofter: The second game, relatively. While the gameplay is as brutal and [[RatedMForManly manly]] as ever, its tone is subtly different: "your" side is much less morally ambiguous[[note]]A rebellion against an oppressive military government, vs. an ex-cartel enforcer out only for revenge[[/note]], and the cutscenes are much more exaggerated[[labelnote:Spoilers]]Compare Magnus' death from exploding from a grenade punched into his chest, to the lingering shot of Cesar as [[WhiteShirtOfDeath blood from his mortal wound spreads across his white shirt.]][[/labelnote]]. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Swearing is also much less common.]]

** Exaggerated when Mello gets his arm sliced off by Shank. Shank tells him to give Angelo a warning. By the time he gets there, it's already morning and he's still bleeding!
* PaletteSwap: Just about every other playable character besides Shank in both games are basically reskins of Shank, since they reuse all of his weapons, moves and playstyle. Downplayed in the Survival Mode from ''Shank 2'', where they have different stats.

* PrecisionFStrike: Swearing is a lot less common in the second game than in the first. This allows Shank to emphasize that right before he executes Magnus, he is not happy.

* SimpleRescueMechanic: In ''Shank 2'', after dealing with all the enemies in a place, the player often has to rescue trapped hostages to continue to the next part of the level. All the player has to do to free a hostage from their restraints is hold a key while in front of them. The hostage then jumps out of the screen after a brief run.

* {{Gainaxing}}: The female enemies are all buxom. First place goes to the cold-hearted Cassandra.

* LikeBrotherAndSister: Shank and Corina were raised in the same orphanage, and thus have this relationship.

* OrganTheft: In ''Shank 2'', the Militia runs an organ theft business led by the Doctor, in the basement area of a disguised hotel.

* DropTheHammer: The last weapon you get in ''Shank 2'' is a Sledgehammer. It's quite slow, but packs quite the punch.

* DropTheHammer: The last weapon you get in the second game. Very slow, but packs quite the punch.

** Some of the unlockable skins make Shank look like as he was in the first game, Falcone, and even Cesar.