I can still remember playing the original Shadow Warrior game and just being in awe of the crazy action, insane enemies and a main character in Lo Wang that rivalled the great Duke Nukem himself with his tongue in cheek humour and cocky confidence in the face of danger and humping demon rabbits…yup that was actually a thing. It has been a lengthy wait for the console release of the sequel following its PC release last year but despite some niggles; the wait was indeed worth it. It was time to once again, get me some Wang!
Shadow Warrior 2 is at its core an over the top blend of extravagant shooting and melee combat, spiced up with some crazy magical powers as Lo Wang returns to once again take on the dangers of the demon world whilst keeping the shenanigans of the local Yakuza in check. With an opening that instantly immerses the player back into the World of Wang. I did have to take a moment just to appreciate how beautiful the visuals are with lighting and map design just creating a beautiful world for Wang to run around in, complimented by amazing audio effects for movement and weapon use and of course some amazing puns and lines of dialogue from Wang. It just feels like just how an arcade popcorn style of game should feel like from the very moment you hit that start button.
The running theme of Shadow Warrior 2 has to be the sheer OTT delivery in just about everything it does from the variety in enemy character design to some of the best looking weapons I have seen in a shooter to date. Each time you collect some of the more epic weapons such as the Tron themed dual laser swords to the legendary heavy weapons from defeating top tier enemies, all with outstanding names. The downside is that this game has terrible hit detection at times for certain weapons, which even if at point blank range can completely miss their shot making what is a very cool looking gun, completely useless. By the end of my first playthrough I had collected a whole bunch of great weapons but after trying them, simply kept to my standard set up till the end.
The story is very popcorn film in that it is forgettable story that simply drives you forward, sending you on repetitive missions which only really requires Wang to kill every enemy to complete the objective. I completed the game on Normal in just 6rs 45mins, so it is not long at all even with side missions offered that feel like padding more than a part of the story itself. Completing the side missions will help level up Lo Wang’s abilities and give new weapons and the game itself will warn you if a main campaign mission is possibly too difficult to take on at your current level if too low, but then on any difficulty that is not set to “Who Wants Wang” (Hard Difficulty) or “No Pain no Gain” (Insane Difficulty) the game will not really offer too much of a challenge. It does have a New Game + which can be activated after completing the main story, allowing you to start a new game on any difficulty you choose but keeping all the skills and weapons from your fist time through. This is rather awesome and a great way to tackle the more difficult modes and level all your powers and weapons to their maximum.
Of course that is all well and good until you hit the issue that hit me whilst preparing to write this review. I completed the game on Normal, with a whole array of fantastical weapons and powers ready to take the game on Insane difficulty for a real challenge, so started New Game + and completed the prologue and safely exited the game to the main menu once at the opening safe hub area in the game. Upon resuming that game however, I discovered that I had lost a whole bunch of mission progess and weapons with the game putting me in a mission about halfway through the main story, losing weapons, skill level and upgrades I had collected in the later stages of the game without any warning or reason. The game had simply dropped me back almost halfway through my first playthrough with no way of loading a later checkpoint. Annoying is an understatement at this point, and is an issue that after checking social media, appears to be sadly all too common right now.
What urks me the most about Shadow Warrior 2 right now is that considering what a long wait it has been to get this finally on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, that it has released in a less than stable and polished state. In addition to the above issues of poor weapon hit detections and losing half my game progress overnight, there were times when the frame rate would drop hugely during big combat sequences with animations from fighting multiple enemies dragging frame rate down to silly levels. I also suffered times when enemies who can grab Lo Wang from range to pull him close to them all Scorpion from Mortal Kombat style, would result in me either falling through the map completely or somehow being put inside of a wall but with enemies still be able to detect and hit me. The only way to cure this was to exit to the main menu and then resume the game. This is just not acceptable in a game that has taken months to reach consoles after the PC launch.
I really loved this game; it has fast paces action that appeals to my fondness for both gunplay and melee combat. The story whilst short and forgettable, still offers plenty of things to do and to kill, with side missions constantly offered to give more content to clear. The visuals and audio effects are stunning at times and Lo Wang is a character that quickly got into my heart in the first game and even more so now. But the issues this game has launched with make it a real chore at times to smile through and forgive, and having lost half my progress was really the final straw in otherwise a fun experience.
Hopefully some patching can resolve the issues because Shadow of Warrior 2 is the type of arcade action game that is a great way to game outside of the big blockbuster titles that we are constantly being hit with. Start the game, destroy every enemy that lands in your way with any delightful weapon of destructive power in your arsenal with a few laughs thrown in along the way, should be a great way to spend a few hours. It is a shame that the problems this console version of the game has right now stop it from being a must have in your collection buy, and instead more of a “wait and see if they can patch it and by then it will be in the sales” final product.
The adventures of Lo Wang deserve your attention but also deserving of a game far more polished than this console port has been released as.
