Recent reviews by neonimpulse

Shadow Warrior 2 (SW2) is the sequel to the 2013 SW reboot made by Flying Wild Hog (FWH) where Lo-Wang returns to save the world from the demon apocalypse once again.

SW2 departs from both the original and 2013 games, as it is now an open world, FPS/RPG where Lo-Wang completes various story and side missions, sort of similar to Borderlands. The game has a significant amount of weapons (both melee and ranged) to use, as well as many enemies (demon, robotic and human) that can spawn in more powerful versions (superior and elite).

I have beaten the game on the 2nd highest difficulty (took me almost 16 hrs), but haven't played co-op since there is no way to communicate with teammates in a COOP game (no text chat), so trying to play with randoms right now sounds like a nightmare to me. I mostly used the chainsaw for melee combat, grenade launcher, sawn-off shotgun and that one shot reload gauss rifle for ranged, and didn't really use any of the powers except for healing and the rage one (forgot its name)

I can say that I really enjoyed this game until it started getting closer to the end, mainly because of some balancing issues. Anyway, I'll detail what I liked, found a bit meh, and disliked about the game.

What I liked:

• I had an absolute blast with how agile Lo-Wang is. Basically you can dash whenever you want without losing any stamina and, because the game has no fall damage and a double jump, you can move your way around the battlefield like an absolute madman. Seriously, this is the most fun movement I've seen in any game.
  
• The melee combat seems to have improved, as you can 'steer' the melee weapon around while it's in an enemy. For example, while swinging a chainsaw into an enemy, you can steer it to saw into the enemy for alot longer. Chainsaw Demonstration
  
• In contrast to Borderlands where you had to keep comparing weapons every two seconds because there is just way too many to choose from, the weapons in SW2 are more unique and didn't really feel like they got weaker as you got further into the game (except for the starting revolver).
  
• The music is pretty well done, definitely better than SW 2013. I particularly like the track that plays on the Shadow Hills map.
  
• Unlike SW 2013, I don't think this game relies solely on melee/katana combat, as most of the ranged weapons can kill enemies just as well, plus the target health bar system works well to see how well you are doing against a particular enemy.
  
• The healing isn't overpowered anymore, since it now drains your 'Chi', which regenerates very slowly at the base level.
  
• There is a penalty for dying so it's not like System Shock 1 where you could keep respawning over and over again without any penalty.
  
• Killing rabbits in this game may spawn a boss rabbit, which can kill you very quickly.
  
• Runs and looks great at ultra on a FX-8350 and GTX 1060 (except for some of the human modelling, oh dear)
  
• The UI looks pretty neat.
  
• You can see your feet.

Things I found were kinda 'meh':

• The upgrade system is really overwhelming. You pick up various runes as loot and because most of them seem to offer negative side effects (say, such as dual wielding will lower your damage), the inventory gets cluttered up really quickly, and becomes tedious to decide which one to sell, keep or use.
  
• The elemental system is fine, except for how the exact same enemy can be resistant to something it took more damage from earlier.
  
• Story was ok for me, but the ending was kinda stupid.
  
• The skill system is basically slowly incrementing your way to the top (such as +10% max hp, +10% ammo), which is kinda lame until you've fully upgraded a skill.

Things I disliked:

• The biggest problem I had with this game is when it throws many of the superior or elite versions of enemies at once. You are often having to use up alot of your ammo because it can take a long time to kill 1 or 2 of them, and since ammo is somewhat uncommon, you have to resort to a melee weapon, which against the powerful enemies, is more likely to get you killed. It gets worse whenever they resist normal damage, which includes melee combat. This causes the game to get more tedious later on.
  
• There is a chi-upgrade you can get which makes it regenerate quickly. Granted it takes a while to get it, but with it you'll always be able to heal without any limit, making it really hard to actually die. IMO this breaks the game.
  
• Some of the gunplay is really poor, great example being the revolvers. They have almost no recoil and don't sound or feel powerful at all. Some weapons, like the sawn off shotgun are very fun to use, while others, such as a plasma grenade launcher I found, just don't pack any punch.

Overall, I found it enjoyable (more so than SW 2013) and definitely worth the $40 price tag. I do recommend this but be warned, because the game can get boring/frustrating if you don't have the patience to deal with alot of the bullet spongey enemies as once, or if you aren't into FPS/RPG's

Painkiller Hell & Damnation (which i'll call Painkiller HD) is the HD remake of the classic Painkiller game from 2004. The classic game was well-known for its great arcadey arena fps action combined with completely over-the-top weapons along with a massive besitairy to complement it. It was is a game that I found really fun, despite its' simplicity.

Now onto the HD remake, I've finished the entire game, but do not have all the tarot cards

The core gameplay is pretty much the same as the original; bunnyhop around arena after arena destroying everything that moves with ludicrous over-the-top weapons, except in the glory of Unreal Engine 3.

There are a couple of things I'd like to point out that were good:

- Compared to the original, the graphics are a great upgrade and make the levels look a whole lot better.
- New soul-leecher weapon thing is pretty slick, definitely a good addition
- Gameplay is still solid and fun, especially with the bunnyhopping mechanic
- Two-Cards are avaliable to get per level, so it's easier to get some of the Tarot cards
- 2 player splitscreen co-op is available, although you need a gamepad for the other player
- Music is the same as the original, although some new tracks have been added
- The hitboxes of the enemies have been fixed, so that the 3rd fire mode of the painkiller actually works.
- Performance is great. Runs ultra easily on an FX-8350 and a R9-270X

Some issues:
- The story can get stuffed, it's worse than the original's one (and that was dreadful).
- Subjective nitpick, but some of the enemies/spawns have changed or no longer exist.
- The order that the levels are played in have been changed a bit.

However, the most glaring issue with this game is its' content, because it doesn't have all of the orignal levels in the standard version of the game. I wouldn't really call it a remake if a lot of the original stuff is missing. However, the devs/publisher decided to exploit this by making the remaining levels DLC, which is just a silly way to ruin an otherwise decent enough game.

So yes the game is enjoyable in every aspect that the orignal was, but it is significantly shorter because of the cut content, and thus the players that have played the original to death (including myself) will definitely feel ripped off that the devs would sell the cut content as DLC. If you want to experience some of the original game in UE3 glory, relish in that Painkiller feeling once again or perhaps play split-screen co-op, then give this game a shot (preferably on sale), but don't bother getting the rest of the DLC cut levels, because its just a massive rip off and destroys an otherwise competent remake.

Hard Reset Redux is the graphical and gameplay upgrade to Hard Reset for the PC and consoles. The 2011 game was notorious for being really difficult because of the limited movement and hard hitting enemies that are bullet sponges on the higher difficulties. I loved the old game because of its' fast paced action as well as its unforgiving gameplay, despite its' faults.

I played the Redux on Insane and have just started the Exile levels at this time of writing.

Overall it is a decent update gameplay wise, but there seems to be a number of things that I feel are pointless or don't really integrate well. I'll start with the changes I noticed that were good:

• The enemies are no longer bullet sponges (except for the grenadier) which definitely makes the game less tedious
  
• The dash and sprinting mechanic from the Shadow Warrior reboot makes it much easier to dodge dangerous melee attacks. You also seem to have infinite sprint.
  
• The damage of the little saw bots has been toned down so you don't die in one hit, which could happen very easily in the original
  
• Some of the enemy spawns have been changed which I think adds to the variety compared to the original
  
• The new human enemies I found were a pretty cool addition
  
• There is now music in Survival Mode
  
• Game runs flawlessly on an FX-8350 and R9-270X on Ultra

The Redux is also moderately easier than before; the game seems to tolerate alot more mistakes and I have only died twice so far.

These are things I think are negative or pointless changes:

• The "Cyber Katana", although a cool enough weapon, I found was pointless because melee in a game like this is somewhat dangerous plus trying to switch between all 3 weapons is somewhat annoying
  
• The updated graphics are barely noticable, even on ultra
  
• The weapons are alot more clunkier to use; it takes a little longer to switch between the various modes and sometimes they are not responsive (like the smartgun lock-on)
  
• Some of the weapon animations are missing or are just less fluid. Compare the new grenade launcher with the original and you'll see what I mean.
  
• Some of the grunts from Shadow Warrior's Lo Wang have been added (such as when dashing or using the katana) which is really misplaced
  
• Very minor nitpick, but the gui's used to unlock doors and whatnot, is no longer interative like in Doom 3, which the original game used
  
• Another minor nitpick, but in survivial mode, there is no longer any damage or enemy health modifiers.

I have also encoutered a bug where the game would alt-tab and say it crashed, but it actually didn't and was able to continue like normal. This didn't happen in the old game but it did in Shadow Warrior. There have been mentions of becoming frozen at the upgrade machines but I haven't experienced that.


All in all, I'm sorry to say but this Redux hasn't really done anything groundbreaking. There have been some good changes but I feel they do not warrant a whole new remake of the original. If you liked or hated the original and loved Shadow Warrior then try it out and form your own opinion on it. If you haven't played the original, you'll probably find this alright, but I recommend you grab the original first. However, if you are a Hard Reset purist or just hate the idea of remakes like this, then don't pick it up (except if you can get the discount)

As for me, I think I'll stick with the original.

*Note this is for the SP campaign (completed on Ultra-Violence) as I won't be playing MP.

DOOM 4 is a unbelievably WICKED game that not only stands up to the Doom legacy, but also proves itself as a very fun FPS and looks amazing while doing it.

The gameplay definetely has that old-school vibe to it, as instead of sitting in cover waiting for regenerating health, you are moving around really quickly, strafe-jumping and bunny-hopping to try to avoid getting horribly murdered by demons. Just after halfway through the campaign you can expect to be fighting many of the highly tough demons at once (though not as extreme as the Serious Sam games) that will require that you be very skillfull and effecient in the way you approach combat. The glory kill (melee) system, although lamented by many, isn't really a problem as it doesn't really break the flow of gameplay. Powerups make a great return to Doom by making certain battles easier, such as being able to decapitate demons with your fists

The redesign of the demons is just AMAZING. Many of them look and sound creepy as hell (especially the lost souls) and can definitely kill you very quickly if you are not paying attention, especially those pinky demons. The boss fights are not that easy but aren't extremely hard either, its just as simple as shooting at it until it dies and trying not to get killed, like the rest of the gameplay in DOOM 4.

Nobody should care about the story (*its a doom game for crying out loud) as it just disrupts the flow whenever there is a story segment with lots of talking.

The weapons look awesome and feel very satifying to use, except for the starting pistol. There is also a system where you can purchase and upgrade alt-fire modes on certain weapons, such as a triple shotgun burst, or a micro-missile launcher attached to a Machine Gun, which makes the weapons even more fun to use. The Chainsaw is of limited use at times but my god, it is so much fun to use as each evisceration spawns all this ammo and health everywhere. The BFG just destroys everything as it usually does, need I say more?

The level design returns to the exploration based maze like labryinth of sorts where you are constantly navigating a non-linear path. The game also places an emphasis on finding secrets so you can get the bigger weapons earlier, or getting such goodies like suit upgrades for doomguy or increases to health capacity. The HUD also includes a compass so you can't really get lost.

The only qualms I really had with this game was a lack of quicksave function (annoying when finding dangerous secrets) and the music was a bit.. ehh... for my taste.

Despite my rig just barely scraping past the minium requirements, performance was good enough for me to enjoy this beast of a game from start to finish.

All in all I highly recommend this game to pretty much any FPS nut as it is a wonderful return to form for the Doom franchise after what happened with Doom 3.