By Liyo Kikon
RUNNING, slashing and gunning enemies! This is exactly the kind of game which keeps you entertained and when the developers know what they are doing and bring all the best elements of First Person Shooter to a single title, you know that you are in for a treat. Shadow Warrior 2 is a fast paced action role playing game where five years has passed since our hero Lo Wang shattered the alliance between his former boss and the ancient gods of the shadow realm but after five years, the world has been corrupted by darkness and strange demons have risen, living side by side with the humans. Armed with his lethal blades, guns and a sharp tongue, ready to dish out puns at every turn, Lo Wang must fight his way through to bring the demons to their knees.
Before you jump into buying this game, you have to know that this is strictly for adults only since there are a lot of blood, violence and mixed with adult humour which keeps you laughing every few seconds! The gameplay is awesome, simple and fast! Since it is a non linear game, you can take up any quests from the NPCs (Non-player Characters) in the game and just go with it. The main quest is said to last around 15 hours on average, but the side missions are really fun and I would definitely recommend you to complete as many side quests as you can since they are usually the ones which will give your arsenal a boost and level up your hero faster. Speaking of the arsenal, my weapon of choice are the blades! I love the way you can attack enemies with it and since there are combo moves available which can be accessed through just a few keystrokes, you can really slice up the bad guys in a lot of different ways with just the blades and as your character level increases, you will unlock more combos. But sometimes you have to use the guns depending on the kind of enemies you face, for instance, if an enemy turns out to be a suicide bomber, then melee isn’t the right choice and you got to take them out from a distance and this is where your trusted bullets will work best. After you play the game for a while, you will easily recognise the kind of enemy and be able to quickly determine what the best weapon will be to take them out. The best bit about the weapons is the custom upgrade system, there are unlimited ways in which you can upgrade and customise your weapons. As you go on quests, you will come across chests and dropped items which can sometimes turn out to be collectables which will either be karma, amulets or armour and you can use these items to upgrade your weapons in any way you want, depending on your play style. And trust me, you will surely find your weapon of choice since there are 70 different weapons to choose from and all of them can be customised as per your liking.
The enemy AI ( Artificial Intelligence ) is quite impressive, and you have to figure out your own tactics and weapon combination to take them down, it isn’t as difficult as it sounds and once you get the hang of it, you can easily take down enemies without any hesitation. For movements, you can sprint, dash or double jump and these movements are so fluid and immersive that it will make you believe you are a ninja ( at least in imagination land ). And once you get all these down, you can try out the multiplayer Co-op mode where you and three other friends can join in together to go on quests, fighting side by side. With most first person shooters, the maps are fixed and once you go to a location a few times, you can easily remember the layout. But in this game, the maps are procedurally generated and this means that the areas constantly change over time, so there will be new twists and turns to a once familiar terrain and routine missions. I love this feature as it keeps you on your toes all the time.
These days, there are so many games to choose from and almost all of them seem to be great ones. Sadly, Shadow Warrior 2 can seem to be just another title in the shelf but like most great games, the developer team at “Flying Wild Hog” brings the best of first person action role playing game to this title and it would be a great loss if you don’t give this game a shot. Besides, the sharp wits and comments which Lo Wang makes will surely keep you grinning.
