Ion Fury: Aftershock

-If you liked Ion Fury then you will enjoy this expansion. The additions are nice(weapons, powerups, etc), the environment is cool and engaging, and the story is right up there with the original. -But there lies the issue, the faults of the original are still present in this expansion, though much has been improved since the original 2019 release, many of the annoying issues still remain. -Unlike the other build engine games, Ion Fury has HUGE maps with many areas to explore and enemies to hide. Now this sounds like a plus but the issues start to become apparent with a few things. 1. The game is a tad bit too dark and enemies can EASILY hide and are camouflaged to their surroundings. Now of course an enemy would want to be able to hide to fight you better but the enemies need to have better visual cues or stand out more to be less cheap. 2. The enemy can engage you very far away with good accuracy and you have no means of long range combat outside of the new Guided Rocket Launcher, it becomes a real issue when your best means of fighting is to get up close and personal. This would be alleviated with some sort of zoomed scoped weapon maybe changing the stupid energy crossbow to a scoped energy rifle. 3. The weapon roaster is okay for the most part but it really lacks in many areas. I know it is trying to be closer to other Build Engine games but some weapons become redundant and less original or worthwhile. The game could really use a sniper weapon, a BFG of sorts, etc 4. I feel the game would be better with an upgrade system where as simple as Shelly finds upgrades to her gear and you have them permanently as passive upgrades, like a zoom, double jump, longer breath, can walk on lava longer, etc.

Ion Fury as a whole remains my favorite of the boomer shooter revivals. It's no gimmick, it truly is "what if old engine, but without the limitation of 166mhz processors". Everything's a little bit bigger, yet the levels retain their level of detail. It's like exploring a diorama. It's one of the few shooters where I enjoy hunting for secrets. But like Ion Fury, it's flawed. Most of it is easily overlooked when you're blasting. But not the ending. I had no idea I was about to face the final boss. Suddenly it was all over, and I'm rewarded with a limp ending cutscene (just like the first to be honest). Followed by the worst celebration outro I've seen.

A nice mix of gameplay. Puzzles weren't frustrating, shooting was fun, and new weapons and enemies fit nicely into the existing game. Good stuff.

Everything you liked in Ion Fury is back in a more powerful, varied and colourful way. Fewer endless corridors and many more outdoor levels, including a driving section almost reminiscent of Half Life 2. If I really wanted to nitpick, I would say that the final boss is a bit underwhelming. I'd have appreciated something more elaborate there, but still, I can't really complain. Can't wait to see what else this team puts out in the future. Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long!

I enjoyed this expansion a lot! It improves on several aspects of the original, but it still has its flaws. What was improved: * New experiences. The original lacked anything "new" to differentiate itself from other shooters of this type. But the addition of the vehicle in this one really feels fresh and adds a lot of fun gameplay. * Better and more diverse level design. The mall level alone has a ton of detail and is one of the best mall levels I've seen. There are several environments, including city, rural areas, volcanos, etc. * The final boss. This one actually has a unique final boss enemy - the design is pretty cool. What still needs improvement: * The story. Ion Fury had no story and I saw this as a major drawback. When I started I had high hopes - there is actually some very interesting plot and character development at the start of this. Unfortunately, this stops partway through, when it gets back to the generic "Heskel yells at Shelly" stuff. And just like the last one, you still have no idea why you are fighting! "Heskel is evil" is basically all the player is told. * Enemy design . There still aren't really any interesting enemies besides the centipede. Most "new" enemies in the expansion are just small variations of ones that already exist. * The ending - despite a good design, the fight with the final boss is a major letdown. Doesn't feel like a proper ending. * While shorter than the original, the game still doesn't deliver enough "new" elements to justify its length. There is one major new element (the vehicle, which isn't always available), the rest feels like stuff we've seen before in many other games. An inventive new weapon, more complex puzzles, or *something* would have helped a lot. * Still too many fairly generic bases, especially towards the end. * Music and sound are still just "okay" for the most part. Maybe 1-2 good new music tracks, the rest is pretty bland.