Shadow Warrior 2 Takes Me Back
1992 - Wolfenstein 3D, first 'almost' 3D game environment.
1993 - DOOM takes PC gamers by storm!
1996 - Quake takes multiplayer seriously as a main game mode in the 3D First Person Shooter (FPS) game.
1997 - The original Shadow Warrior comes out.
I remember them all. Played them all. See I have been gaming since the, get this, IBM PC jr came along. For all the silly name, it wasn't a bad machine for the time. Back then all games were things like King's Quest, Need For Speed, and such. Later, as hardware permitted, flying games came along like ACES of Europe, ACES of the Pacific. All that time I was wishing hard for what later became known as the FPS game. So, when Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM, and Duke Nukem 3D came along I was ecstatic.
In the Shadow Warrior reboots of Shadow Warrior and Shadow Warrior 2 you find that late 90's style of FPS play. No strategy, not even much in the way of tactics like a modern military FPS. No, just hack, slash, and shoot your way through endless hordes of baddies and beasties. I guess for me, SW2 is a way-back-machine and that is why I like it so much. Plus all the corny Wang jokes and other nonsense add fun. In an age when 'political correctness' threatens all forms of freedom of expression, SW2 is delightfully not PC - politically correct that is. Also it is one of the few games available for the PC, personal computer, that wasn't written for a console, then ported over. It was written for the PC then ported the consoles. The way they all ought to be!
This video begins the 'Seepage' mission where Wang is searching for the source of the black goo flowing like streams all over. The challenges start right off making the start of the mission a very busy time. This video carries you through the main fights, but skips most of the scrounging and travel to keep the action running high. You can see that Wang is following the mission indicator, a golden vertical arrow head shape, as he moves from one fight to another.
When I first played SW and SW2 I did not pay much attention to the character's ability to parry blows. This time I decided to try it. It has become one of my main tools since it is fun to time the parry to the opponent's blows. The parry also stuns the baddie for a second or so. This stun lets you get in a strike or two without taking damage yourself. Earlier I had discovered a very useful token called the 'Healing Star'. What it does is allow you to use your chi to heal yourself using the Healing Wave. But, unlike normal, it does not consume chi! Probably the most useful token I have ever found in the game. I assume as long as you have some chi it will work but I do not know that for sure. So far, it is working beautifully.
So get ready for some old school slash and bang action!
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