Ion Fury

Do you like a shooter that has famous actors or musicians doing the voices as you are gently guided down a hallway of a level to see the next cut scene filled with exposition? Maybe have some quest markers to help find the next part of the level? Maybe have regenerating health to make it streamlined to help you out? Well, don't get this. This has huge levels with multiple paths loaded with secrets. Brutal combat and zero hand holding. If you want a great shooter that is challenging and fun, this is for you.

The level design feels good, cyberpunk design is well implemented, the weapons are well designed but the AI and its behavior break my fun. There are too many enemies that stick to the edge of a door, behind a box or when turning a corner waiting for you to pass to shoot yourself instead of going for you. Yes, in difficult mode there are more enemies that are aggressive but there are still too many who do this. The bosses are nothing original, in fact the second is practically the same as the second boss of Doom 1. Honestly, if you feel nostalgic and want a retro 90s shooter, Dusk or Amid Evil are far better options. Or wait for Wrath and Prodeus to be published. In any case, although I haven't been convinced, it doesn't mean that you may not like it.

The game tries to be Duke Nukem 3D and in some aspects it certainly succeeds but there’s a lot left to be desired. The selection of weapons is disappointing. Game offers alternative fire but it mostly does nothing interesting. Shotgun feels underpowered, there is no long distance explosive weapon (there is granada launcher but it has limited range), submachine gun is sometimes useful (especially against flying enemies) but its ammo runs out fast, bowling bombs are useful against crawling enemies but nothing else in particular. Majority of the time I ended up just running with the revolver whose alternative fire, when it works, guarantees a kill in two shots. There’s lack of any of the ‘fun’ DN3D weapons such as Shrinker, Expander, remote detonated pipe bombs, laser tripbomb etc. For a game that tried to be the next DN3D this was rather disappointing. While this doesn’t make the game bad, it definitely takes away from the ‘DN3D sequel’ feeling. Level design is fine. As was typical in shooters in the 90s the same location is often traversed multiple times but the maps open up so there’s usually no need for backtracking. One annoyance are platforming parts when trying to find secrets. Player needs to jump between one-pixel wide cables and manoeuvre small ledges at the risk of instant death. This just doesn’t work with the engine and control scheme the game offers. (Cheat code for flying is IMLIFTED by the way; cheats are accessed through options menu). Lastly, AI is dumb. Enemies get stuck on walls constantly. They also fail to notice the player who stands in front of them. While Ion Fury tries to be ‘Duke Nukem 3D sequel’ it feels much more like a third party game developed on licensed engine after Duke’s success. If it was released in the late 90s it would be 4.5 stars at least but nowadays it doesn’t have that much to offer and fails to capture nostalgia and feels like generic shooter from the era.

beautiful artistic stylized graphics, super cool music, great cyberpunk setting, classic game engine (build engine), classic doom/quake like gameplay, fast movement, congratulations to the developers for creating an old school modern classic! will be buying your expansion the second it is released!

This game is incredible - it is like an apparition from another time. Gunplay is great, guns sound and feel great, with more weapons your tactical possibilities grow, hitboxes allow headshots on sprite enemies, all the sprites are beautifully detailed, voxel models are beautiful.. but there is more! Main protagonist is great, as good as Duke Nukem or Caleb - cracking one-liners (and good ones), she feels to be at home right in the action. Difficulty is set great - i think it is on par with Blood or Shadow Warrior. I did not play on easy, but I guess it is just you wandering among isolated enemise. On medium, you are allowed to make mistakes, but not many. On hard, you should really pay attention and avoid being hit by grenades and laser bow projectiles at all costs. And on insane the real fun starts, but you should never stop running, use weapons properly and save often :) If you know something about build engine, you will be amazed by the level of detail and clever design of maps. But more than that, you will feel that this is a living world - the lab is not just a lab, you will see exactly the purpose of the lab, etc. Details like posters, supported by healthy dose of easter eggs makes this 5* game. And the levels are consistently great, I even think they are getting even better towards the end of the game. No rushed development here! For me the weakest thing is the music: it is fitting and actually good, but I switched to metal and rock anyway :) When the greatest weakness is good music, you know this game is a gem :) I dont think that I should be mentioning bugs as I believe these will be fixed soon (if not already), but: After one boss fight, game slowed to 15fps until I left the map(?), did not see this bug again ever. And after update, my older saves were gone and I had to restart from save point, but I guess this will not be an issue for someone playing after the update:) I recommend this game to all who enjoyed Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, Shadow Warrior,.