I often miss certain information in reviews. Therefore I post it here for people like me, who need it quick and easy.
Playtime: ~20 hrs. - Levels: 17; big and beautiful; linear - Backtracking between levels: no - Secrets: yes - Achievements: yes - Unlockables: few - Collectables: no - Replayability: 3-4 times - Sense of wonder: some
FWH have ticked all the boxes: good humor, lots of gore, old school level design, secrets to find, visceral gameplay - it's all here. My only gripe is that the game could be optimized better and some low res textures here and there. I look forward to anything else from these developers.
As stated, this is a pretty and pleasant reboot. Of course the franchise had to grow up, but unlike his retarded brother Duke Nukem, Shadow Warrior matured well with all the grace you would expect of a child with such a 3D Realms pedigree. There is throwbacks to the original, almost too many if you ask me, but it can stand well on its own even if you know nothing of the original. The main character is entirely different, the plot (as little there ever was) is, too, and you'll find a plethora of new mechanics and features. The action is always fast paced, all powers and weapons have their use and right to be, you can carry ALL of them, not just two, and the scenery is breathtaking at times, even if the engine isn't too powerful. Sadly you won't do much exploring, but secrets areabundant still, and I didn't care too much about the upgrades system that all games nowdays must have. All in all, it's a very good game that will certainly please FPS fans young and old.
Flying wild hog did Hard Reset, which was fantastic. Now they brought back Lo Wang and it is even better. It is a shooter that has everything I love about FPS.
Must buy. Good Job FWH!!!
I was a huge fan of the original Shadow Warrior, I remember paying a kid $50 at my school to buy it for me, since there is no way my parents would have done so. I played it over and over again, loving every minute...
...but this isn't that game. The Lo Wang of this game is annoying, not funny, and kindof weak in comparison. The humor sucks, they discarded what made the original game so entertaining and enjoyable. Yes, it was racist and sexist, but that's not what I'm talking about. They could have made this game funny, without those aspects, but they failed. I'm ok with change, but only if it means improvement or at least staying the same. In this case, it was neither.
The gameplay is pretty fun for the first half of the game, then you realize you are fighting the same fights over and over again and it gets dull. The katana is enjoyable to use and is probably one of the best aspects of the game, with the sword combat being some of the best in any game I've played. The guns are OK as well, but nothing groundbreaking here. If the game didn't have the katana, then this would easily be a flop.
I have to be honest, I'm not a fan of Hard Reset. I found the game repetitive and dull, I barely got 2 hours out of it before I realized I was propping my eyelids open. If you were like me, you'll probably get more time out of this game, but find it suffers from the same faults. If you liked Hard Reset, then maybe this game would be more tolerable.
If you have not played the original Shadow Warrior, I'd say this game is a three star game, mainly because it gets old after the first half of the game and the dull humor. The katana and swordplay is by far what saves this game. If you played the original, then go in with the expectation this is SW in name only.
I'll reiterate that I'm not a grumpy old fart that doesn't like change. I'm ok with positive changes and I was stoked to see this coming out, but they fell short of expectations, whether this was SW or another title.