Re-releases, long overdue sequels, old school genres and even consoles being revived — it’s a routine theme anymore in the industry, giving new generations of players opportunities to play old genres and games while giving older players a chance to dive head first into nostalgia. 3D Realms was one of those premiere developers in the late 90s when Duke Nukem 3D came out some twenty-three years ago, and other successful games were built on the BUILD engine that 3D Realms developed (Blood being my favorite).
In the last week, 3D Realms and Voidpoint teamed up and have an all new release on a revamped and modernized BUILD engine. Ion Fury, previous named Ion Maiden, puts players in the boots of a law enforcement agent, soldier really, struggling to repel a massive invasion of bad guys in a futuristic Washington, DC. Working for the GDF, Shelly is a brave fighter who utilizes an array of powerful weapons to fight off hordes of enemies, mutated and otherwise. A plethora of weapons with alt-fire abilities are at your disposal, including an electric-charged nightstick, revolver, massive shotgun, Bowling Bombs, dual Uzis (reminiscent of Lo Wang from Shadow Warrior), and more. Like any good old school shooter, the player has a lot of options in how to dispatch the droves of enemies, and finding the best combination for the right situation is, well, as fun as it’s always been in this type of action-first, frenzied FPS experience.
As someone that used to dabble in BUILD engine level and episode creation, it’s impressive to see how far the engine was pushed and how relevant it still feels. While it looks pretty old, it still has a lot appeal thanks to good artwork and smart level design. Modern features like widescreen support and the ability to tweak your FOV are including, and any decent system will be able to run the game with silky smooth framerates. Clipping issues have been mostly if not entirely addressed with some patching, too. The level design does a fine job of taking the player to highs and lows, large outdoor areas and confined hallways, too. Some areas have that classic ‘wrap-around’ design where towards the end of an area a shortcut/wormhole to the start of the area is revealed or created. And yes, there are still plenty of ventilation systems to crawl through, many of which lead to secret areas and there are many secret areas to be found. A keen eye is required to find many of the secret locations, just like the old school games — cracks on walls like in Duke Nukem 3D often reveal the way, or design that allows you to peer through a window or something to see a stash of goods, which clues you into realizing there is some hidden way to get those items. I liked how a ‘warning’ pops up on screen as you get ready to leave an area that tells you how many secrets you have missed — more often than not, I missed more secrets than I found.
As long as you know what your’e getting into with Ion Fury, there’s not a whole bad that I can say about it. There is some repetition and a little bit of button-hunting and I didn’t care for some of the raw simplicity of some of the bosses, but all in all, I had a great time. So I think it’s fair to say that with Ion Fury, you really get what you probably came for — an old school FPS experience with a few modern refinements that make it a standout game. That goes for both for genre newcomers as well as veterans looking for a blast of nostalgia. Plus, with the budget price of $25, it makes it a very affordable.
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