Category: 1st person shooter Players: One - Multi Developer: 3D Realms Minimum Requirements: 486DX4100, 8Mb RAM, 2X CD Reccomended: P166, 16Mb RAM Ah little grasshopper, wise man say those who mess with Wang will soon go blind, but those who treat Wang with care will have many many children. Of course I’m talking about Lo Wang, the protagonist in 3D Realms’ latest shooter Shadow Warrior. The story, for what it’s worth, begins with Lo Wang searching for his Ninja master. Eventually Wang catches up with him, impaled on a big stick by Zilla’s evil minions, and swears death upon those that would interfere with the way of Wang! It’s an old story but 3D Realms have used it to good effect, especially in the way in which the levels all flow thematically from one to the next. The other thing that 3D Realms have done well is use the strengths of this now aging engine to produce a game that is still up there on the top shelf. Some may say that 3D Realms are brave to release another title based on the trusty old Duke Nukem engine with so many high tech first person shooters on the way (Quake 2, Unreal, Half-Life etc.) But those who downloaded the four level demo all those months ago will know that this is not true! Shadow Warrior would have to be a contender for ‘the funniest game ever’ title and that in itself makes it worth a look. The other element of the Duke engine which fans of that game love so much is the interactivity with the game environment and Shadow Warrior certainly doesn’t disappoint in that regard either. Just wait ‘till you start deathmatching in the tank levels! Aha! Yes tanks, and forklifts, turrets and machine gun nests are peppered throughout the game and when you see one you know that there’s going to be a lot of fun goin’ down. Somewhere nearby there’ll be a switch or a door or a pick up that triggers the sudden appearance of twenty or so monsters. Hightail it back to your tank/turret and go ballistic...’Who wantsa some Wang?’ As for the ‘normal’ weapons in the game 3D have done a good job in terms of balance and enjoyability and there are certainly more useable multiplayer weapons in Shadow Warrior than there was in Duke or Blood. The beating heart weapon that creates a shadow Wang ally and the rocket launcher with heat seeker card being my particular favourites. There’s also a UZI that can be doubled up, Ninja stars, sticky bombs, a fire breathing severed head, grenade launcher, rail gun and an awesome gatling shotgun with two modes of operation: single four barrelled shot or automatic! The other important element of Shadow Warrior is its’ sense of humour! I know, so many games have tried to be funny but for my money this really is the funniest game ever. What other first person shooter allows you to breed rabbits in the comfort of your own home or cracks every conceivable Wang joke in a genuinely funny way? The quality of the voice acting is a large part why these old lines are so funny, Wang is a crack up. Whoever did the voice over is a treasure that 3D Realms should hang on to at all costs. The other way a company can make a good game from an old engine is to design great levels and Shadow Warrior has ‘em. It’s been a long time since the first demo was released and 3D Realms obviously spent that time working on the levels. You’ll trek through lofty mountain passes, subterranean sewers, floating fortresses and steamy bathhouses searching for your masters assassins. And, while the puzzles are challenging they are not impossible to the point where your enjoyment of the game will be interrupted for very long. On the negative side I though I finished the game too early. While the levels were good, the fact that there are only 18 new ones in the retail version might aggravate players who mostly or always play single player. The fun stops too soon! Other than that though I think this is the best Duke engined game to date (and probably the last) and fans of that title will lap it up. Screenshots here Hyperactivity: 8/10 George Soropos CODE============================================================= Hyper@ctive 2.0 Reviews
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Shadow Warrior

PC CDROM

Category: 1st person shooter
Players: One - Multi
Developer: 3D Realms
Minimum Requirements: 486DX4100, 8Mb RAM, 2X CD
Reccomended: P166, 16Mb RAM

Ah little grasshopper, wise man say those who mess with Wang will soon go blind, but those who treat Wang with care will have many many children. Of course I’m talking about Lo Wang, the protagonist in 3D Realms’ latest shooter Shadow Warrior.

The story, for what it’s worth, begins with Lo Wang searching for his Ninja master. Eventually Wang catches up with him, impaled on a big stick by Zilla’s evil minions, and swears death upon those that would interfere with the way of Wang! It’s an old story but 3D Realms have used it to good effect, especially in the way in which the levels all flow thematically from one to the next. The other thing that 3D Realms have done well is use the strengths of this now aging engine to produce a game that is still up there on the top shelf.

Some may say that 3D Realms are brave to release another title based on the trusty old Duke Nukem engine with so many high tech first person shooters on the way (Quake 2, Unreal, Half-Life etc.) But those who downloaded the four level demo all those months ago will know that this is not true! Shadow Warrior would have to be a contender for ‘the funniest game ever’ title and that in itself makes it worth a look. The other element of the Duke engine which fans of that game love so much is the interactivity with the game environment and Shadow Warrior certainly doesn’t disappoint in that regard either. Just wait ‘till you start deathmatching in the tank levels!

Aha! Yes tanks, and forklifts, turrets and machine gun nests are peppered throughout the game and when you see one you know that there’s going to be a lot of fun goin’ down. Somewhere nearby there’ll be a switch or a door or a pick up that triggers the sudden appearance of twenty or so monsters. Hightail it back to your tank/turret and go ballistic...’Who wantsa some Wang?’ As for the ‘normal’ weapons in the game 3D have done a good job in terms of balance and enjoyability and there are certainly more useable multiplayer weapons in Shadow Warrior than there was in Duke or Blood. The beating heart weapon that creates a shadow Wang ally and the rocket launcher with heat seeker card being my particular favourites. There’s also a UZI that can be doubled up, Ninja stars, sticky bombs, a fire breathing severed head, grenade launcher, rail gun and an awesome gatling shotgun with two modes of operation: single four barrelled shot or automatic!

The other important element of Shadow Warrior is its’ sense of humour! I know, so many games have tried to be funny but for my money this really is the funniest game ever. What other first person shooter allows you to breed rabbits in the comfort of your own home or cracks every conceivable Wang joke in a genuinely funny way? The quality of the voice acting is a large part why these old lines are so funny, Wang is a crack up. Whoever did the voice over is a treasure that 3D Realms should hang on to at all costs.

The other way a company can make a good game from an old engine is to design great levels and Shadow Warrior has ‘em. It’s been a long time since the first demo was released and 3D Realms obviously spent that time working on the levels. You’ll trek through lofty mountain passes, subterranean sewers, floating fortresses and steamy bathhouses searching for your masters assassins. And, while the puzzles are challenging they are not impossible to the point where your enjoyment of the game will be interrupted for very long.

On the negative side I though I finished the game too early. While the levels were good, the fact that there are only 18 new ones in the retail version might aggravate players who mostly or always play single player. The fun stops too soon! Other than that though I think this is the best Duke engined game to date (and probably the last) and fans of that title will lap it up.

Screenshots here

Hyperactivity: 8/10

George Soropos