Shank

*Played on Normal*

This guy is obviously the toughest of all the bosses. He packs bigger knives (shanks), a sword, and a pair of pistols. It took me around a dozen tries to figure out when to attack and then another hand full to finally defeat him. This will be my first guide so here it goes.

There are 3 separate cut scenes: one before either of you attack, the second after a third of Cesar's power is gone, the third cut scene is when a third is left remaining. After each cut scene, there are 2 health bottles.

After the first cut scene: The hint the game tells you (after getting killed by Cesar once) is to wait for an opening, and then counterattack for good damage. When you first step toe to toe with Cesar, you'll notice he has one move that is unblockable, but avoidable, this is when Cesar's entire body flashes and then attacks, so don't try to block, just avoid it because if he connects it takes away a good portion of your health. You should attack when Cesar does a swift sword move toward Shank, when he does, dodge directly at Cesar (now you're behind him in either direction), AS SOON as you're done dodging immediately attack him, I find the best way is the X,Y combo with the chainsaw, and just repeat 2-4 times because Cesar can bust through any of your combos.

Like I said earlier, the only way to obtain maximal damage against Cesar is to counterattack. This counterattack window is substantially lower than regular enemies, so when you're attacking him after your dodge be prepared to hit the Left Trigger (LT) at any time when you're attacking.

Note: Another, more obvious, window to attack Cesar is after he connects a few shots on Shank, when he does he usually turns his back, which is a good time to attack from either side. Dual pistols only do so much damage at a time. For example, lets say you do damage with them when Shank and Cesar are at either end of the screen, if you continue to shoot Cesar, you can get up to a 9 hit combo, but I've noticed that no damage is taken away. And if you like using guns, then dual pistols are the fastest to use, put away, and then begin blocking as Cesar has pistols as well and shoots them quickly. The shotgun is usually blocked and takes longer to shoot and put away, giving Cesar a bigger window to connect with an attack. The uzi shoots a bit faster but is still noticeably longer to put away than the dual pistols.

After the second cut scene: Cesar pulls out a new move that is similar to the one you attack on, I dodged and connected a few times but is not worth the risk of getting sliced, I recommend waiting for Cesar's usual forward sword thrust. Cesar will attack more often, so be prepared to dodge a bit more than after the first cut scene.

After the third cut scene: Cesar is, frankly, chasing you back and forth across the screen. Cesar is now running after you most of the time and has a new aerial move which you should be on the look-out to dodge. This final portion of the battle takes to most patience, just wait for your window to attack and then counterattack. When you've pulled off one or two of them, Cesar's health is low enough to use your pistols to defeat him or your normal X, Y combo.

Hope this helps.