Ion Fury Review (PS4)

good
key review info
  • Game: Ion Fury
  • Platform: Playstation 4
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Ion Fury key art

If you remember games like Duke Nukem, Blood, or Redneck Rampage, it means that you had tremendous fun in the golden age of FPS. But it also means that you are no longer a spring chicken, and most probably you have less fun with today’s military-themed shooters. No worries Ion Maiden is here to give you a fix of nostalgia, which does not offer any speck of realism, only hours and hours of cheap humor and tremendous fun. 

Being a young adult in the mid-'90s allowed us to experience in their full glory the action games which spiced up their atmosphere by adding raw, politically incorrect humor to their gory gameplay. Duke Nukem was one of the most famous pioneers, which challenged the thrones of Doom and Quake, by not taking itself seriously. Just as Bruce Willis dared to be funny in Die Hard, changing the hero image created by movies like Rambo or Predator. To the regret of many, this period was not made to last and soon we were the victims of a carpet-bombing by military shooters. It was refreshing for a while, but major publishers seem to have been stuck with the past, current, and future wars of humanity, often forgetting the fun part.

Probably moved by the same discontent the developers from Voidpoint teamed up 3D Realms, dusted off the DN3D engine, and put together a game which can be seen as an homage to the ‘90s shooters. The result is Ion Fury, a shooter that you will either love with never-ending nostalgia or you will think of it as a joke out of time for 2020.

Ion Fury
Ion Fury
Ion Fury
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In either case, it is worth giving the game a shot and trying on the uniform of Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison, a lone ranger from the distant future. Those who played Bombshell released in 2016 will recognize the protagonist and already know what to expect: a story which is more of an excuse to go kick some cyborg ass and chew bubble gum. Even the ending of the game pays tribute to the original Duke Nukem involving the severed head of the main villain, an unconventional toilet boil and a newspaper to help the time pass faster.

The most important part of the game is the gameplay which follows the original recipe from 1996: in each level, you have to kill everything that moves, find some key cards to unlock doors to find even more cannon fodder and optionally stumble upon some secrets, which usually are tools that help you be more efficient on your bloody rampage. All this mayhem takes place in Neo D.C., a sci-fi city with a bit of a cyberpunk taste, which the designers used to the max. The level design is well thought out and varied: you will come across some mandatory strip clubs and other indoor locations, like abandoned factories, but the action will take you outside as well across gutters, alleys, and various rooftops.

After surviving all the seven episodes you are confronted by a grandiose boss fight, an endeavor which takes from 8 to 15 hours depending on how thorough you are. Ion Fury also implements some more modern ideas like the levels being split into smaller areas and several smaller boss fights to give you a continuous feeling of accomplishment. These enemies as well as the different locations have a unique identity, as a result, Ion Fury does not feel repetitive or stale.

The fresh feeling is also the result of an impressive ever-expanding arsenal. Next to the basic Colt like a gun, miss Bombshell will get her fingers among other weapons on the usual shotgun, a dual light machine gun spitting fiery rounds, exploding bowling balls, a crossbow spitting laser darts and the Loverboy, a triple barrel killing wonder. Each weapon has also an alternative fire mode, which takes the brutality to another level. You will need all these lethal tools to have a chance against the enemies which sometimes can overpower you even on normal difficulty. If you are a fan of challenges you will love the more advanced difficulty levels, where the experience will border frustration and push you really hard.

Ion Fury
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This variety comes with a price though, since at the base of the game is an engine which only Pepperidge Farm remembers. Those who look for graphical wonders will be turned away by the visuals served up by the Build Engine. The visual style of the game is far from ugly, but it is stuck in an era when we did not mind being able to count each pixel separately.

The real price though is the frame rates: it is hard to accept that an engine that has the age to drink legally in the US, cannot run smoothly on a current-gen console. When the engine has to load larger objects, the game starts to stutter and makes it almost impossible to play. It is a shame since except these hiccups Ion Fury can hold a minimum of 60 fps, making the gameplay really smooth. And you need this pace since the old school gameplay means that no health or armor is regenerating automatically

The atmosphere of the game is relying heavily also on its audio part. Being an old school FPS many jokes are served as sarcastic remarks which pay tribute to the great forefathers while trying to establish a personal identity to Bombshell. Unfortunately, most of these lines are cheesy at best and clumsy at worst. But it is part of the charm of Ion Fury, just as is the soundtrack which mixes modern rhythms with genre classic tunes supporting brilliantly the action.

Ion Fury
Ion Fury
Ion Fury
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The Good

  • Great level design
  • Varied arsenal and foes
  • Classic well-oiled gameplay

The Bad

  • Lack of QA
  • Unacceptable frame rate drops
  • Clumsy controls, especially when it comes to changing weapons

Conclusion

Ion Fury is an anachronic production: it offers all the fun from ’96 in 2020. It is like mounting a unicorn made up of pure nostalgia and riding it until its knees give up. Some may consider a bit steep the price tag, but Ion Fury is packed full of content and fun, and due to the different difficulty levels it possesses some replay value.

On the other hand, the technical issues drag down the final score, because with a more thorough QA process they could have been avoided. It is painful to see very smooth gameplay running at 60 fps, tumble and fall. It also raises some questions about the proper testing of the game, which could have eliminated other bugs.

If you are a Duke Nukem fan (or any other classic shooter which does not bother with iron sights) Ion Fury is a must-try experience. It will take you back in time, make you feel young and happy again. But, if you prefer modern shooters like Call of Duty skip this game because most likely you will not appreciate its corks.

story 6
gameplay 8
concept 8
graphics 6
audio 8
multiplayer 0
final rating 7
Editor's review
good
 
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Ion Fury screenshots (34 Images)

Ion Fury key art
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