Fury Unleashed Preview (PC)

A surprise for the action platformer market, Fury Unleashed takes the community by storm with the fast-paced combat and the unique story telling mode.

Fast-paced adrenaline-filled thrill rides are hard to come by these days, especially in the gaming industry. This is mostly because everyone pretty much tried their luck at anything possible just to see if it will stick, and while some games did indeed garner critical acclaim, some have been cast into the shadow of oblivion, never to be mentioned ever again. Fury Unleashed is a game that does indeed live up to its name. While not and extraordinarily complex game, the level and enemy design does make it a challenge for anyone.

The lore

You’re the hero of a comic book, and because of that, your story unfolds over several different arcs. These overarching stories don’t necessarily have anything to do with one another, as you will see for yourself. As I was currently testing out the game, only 3 comic book arcs were available, one set in the jungle, one in what seems to be an over-dramatic depiction of nazi Germany, and one space-themed one that looks so inspired by the Alien franchise it’s almost impossible not to laugh. Because of the different themes brought up by each story arc, the level design changes, while the mechanics stay the same. This change usually involves a complete visual overhaul as you shift between lush amazon-like forests, warzones and space ships.

The looks

A lot of people may argue that 3D games are the future and that 2D games have outlived their usefulness. But, in a game like Fury Unleashed which plays out as an action platformer, having 2D graphics is mandatory. The unique blend of cartoonish art and overly detailed gore make the game feel like  a blood test for anyone with a knack for carnage and mayhem.

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Your hero, your story

Everyone wants to be a superhero, but not everyone is born on another planet or bitten by a radioactive cricket. As such, the hero you control is far more human, and therefore far more relatable. You have your trusty gun, your grenades, your melee weapon, and the occasional power that may seem more or less as if belongs to the realm of Sci-Fi. You can customize the look of your hero, and even more customization options become available as your progress through the story. More so, you can even find new items during your mission which you can equip on the spot or exchange for currency.

These items vary from different weapons to armor components that give your various boosts and benefits. One thing worth noting is that you don’t have an inventory, so if you find items that can be equipped in a slot where you already have something else equipped, you will either have to destroy the old item to equip the new one, or destroy the new one altogether. The only exception to this rule seems to be anything equipe din the weapon slot, as you can easily switch between your guns on the fly.

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Sometimes you kill them, sometimes they get killed by you

Enemies are tough, and they get even tougher if you ramp up the game’s difficulty level. More so, it is very easy for you to die, in this game, as not timing your jumps or dashes between traps and obstacles could mean you die before even getting into a single firefight. However, if you aren’t a complete butter fingers and do manage to face off enemies, you’ll be amazed at just how engaging the combat system is. You can shoot them, hit them with your melee weapon, or even crash land on their head for an almost instant kill, Super Mario style. You may wonder : “Why the heck should I bother going into melee range or jumping on their head if I can just shoot them for a safe distance?!”

The answer is simple: you find NPCs during your missions that will offer you an upgrade to your weapons or a new one altogether (and they are well worth the trouble), in exchange for killing a certain amount of enemies in a certain way. So, if you do fancy that flame-enchanted barbarian axe, but the NPC tells you to go melee on 20 foes, then you better be ready to make them taste some cold steel.

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion