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Shadow Warrior 2 |OT| A ninja knows no fear

samred

Member
Ars Technica's review, which I'm posting here since I didn't see a review thread: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/10/shadow-warrior-2-holy-ing-§-is-this-90s-fps-throwback-fun

I was already delighted enough to see one crazy-surprising '90s shooter reboot this year, but now I'm lucky enough to have two of that type of game in 2016. Like May's incredible Doom campaign, Shadow Warrior 2 applies subtle, modern tweaks to a known formula, adds entirely new systems to good effect, and polishes the whole thing to a blinding shine.

I'd feel silly to pick a favorite here. Doom 2016 is so good. Shadow Warrior 2 does win out in at least one obvious way: by doubling down on its campaign content with an explosive, easy-to-replay co-op boost instead of expending energy on a superfluous versus mode. If you're more interested in the most raw, thrilling single-player shooter of the year, Doom wins out narrowly. If you like the sound of that sort of game but really want it in co-op, lean toward Shadow Warrior 2. And if you're a true badass, get 'em both.

This also earned our new "Ars Approved" sticker, which I would imagine maybe four of you would care about. I like how it looks:

ars-approved.png
 
D

Deleted member 325805

Unconfirmed Member
I didn't really like SW1 because it felt very janky (I played it this year) but I enjoyed the humour. I just watched ACG's review and SW2 looks really fun so I'll grab this once it drops in price. Those cutscenes are horrible though.
 

Agent_4Seven

Tears of Nintendo
I don't know if someone already posted this but... Guys, do not enable NVIDIA Multi-res shading, it'll make the game look worse:


The game is great so far but um...

How's that possible in 2016? Even Thief: Deadly Shadows had better character models in 2004))))))))))
 

madjoki

Member

NeoRaider

Member
I don't know if someone already posted this but... Guys, do not enable NVIDIA Multi-res shading, it'll make the game look worse:



The game is great so far but um...


How's that possible in 2016? Even Thief: Deadly Shadows had better character models in 2004))))))))))

Ugly.
 

kris.

Banned
i still need to finish the first one but reviews are solid and it looks pretty great so i might have to pick it up.
 

Karak

Member
I found the story in the last game to be super meh, so I doubt it's necessary. Maybe read a synopsis. (The game was still fun, so you might want to play it eventually regardless.)

I thought if he was asking it if was helpful not if it was good.
 

Tain

Member
The generally widespread praise of the 2013 game (I didn't like it) and the concepts of the loot system and map randomization leave me extremely cautious about this.

The OP downplays the procedural generation by saying that it's cool because it's a bunch of hand-crafted tiles, but all procedural generation is that to varying degrees.
 
The generally widespread praise of the 2013 game (I didn't like it) and the concepts of the loot system and map randomization leave me extremely cautious about this.

The OP downplays the procedural generation by saying that it's cool because it's a bunch of hand-crafted tiles, but all procedural generation is that to varying degrees.

yeah

but at least DDP unlocks soon
 

low-G

Member
The generally widespread praise of the 2013 game (I didn't like it) and the concepts of the loot system and map randomization leave me extremely cautious about this.

The OP downplays the procedural generation by saying that it's cool because it's a bunch of hand-crafted tiles, but all procedural generation is that to varying degrees.

I also could never get into SW 2013. The combat & movement 'feels' a lot better in this one as do the environments. I guess take it with a grain of salt, but to me SW 2013 felt as shitty as the ROTT remake from around the same time, whereas this SW feels better than Halo 5.

If it's all about level design for you, I don't know what to recommend. You won't find excellent level design in ANY of these titles.

Also, what's DDP?
 

Tain

Member
I also could never get into SW 2013. The combat & movement 'feels' a lot better in this one as do the environments. I guess take it with a grain of salt, but to me SW 2013 felt as shitty as the ROTT remake from around the same time, whereas this SW feels better than Halo 5.

If it's all about level design for you, I don't know what to recommend. You won't find excellent level design in ANY of these titles.

Also, what's DDP?

It's not necessarily all about level design, because I think a lot of great modern first person shooters stick to relatively simple arenas. The idea of a loot system and my distaste for prior FWH games have way more weight. The stages featuring a decent amount of randomization mostly suggests to me that the loot game structure is a pretty big part of the game, and I fuckin' abhor the loot game structure as seen in games like Diablo and Borderlands.

And we're talking about DoDonPachi Resurrection, an arcade 2D shooting game getting a PC port tonight, lol.
 

Akronis

Member
literally 5 minutes into the game and holy shit you need to be moving constantly. It's insane. This seems faster paced than Doom honestly.
 

morpix

Member
Both this and the previous Shadow Warrior is still not available digitally on the NZ (and I assume Australian) PS Store...
It's weird, no banned news and physical is available.
 

jg4xchamp

Member
Do any of the reviews talk about the major differences between the first game and the sequel? Because I found the first game to be an absolute piece of shit. All the footage of the game makes the game feel and gunplay look a lot better (which was part of my issue), but I want to know how the combat arenas are and if the game is still monotonous with its action.
 

scitek

Member
I'm at work and unable to check for myself, but is there a control scheme that moves jumping to a trigger or shoulder button like in Doom? I might have to play this with my Steam controller solely for the ability to map it there.
 

DJ_Lae

Member
Haven't played much of it yet but it runs great on my aging PC, the controls are nice and snappy and it looks decent too.

Character models aren't so hot close up and that first little cutscene with dialogue between the characters is kind of bad. I miss Hoji.
 
You know, I didn't finish the first one, but it's one of those games that I won't ever delete.

Remembering You've Got the Power means it's back on the goddamn list.
 

J3nga

Member
lol, anyone expected good story in this one? I think it meant to be trashy and take a backseat, just like in recent DOOM.
 

Karak

Member
lol, anyone expected good story in this one? I think it meant to be trashy and take a backseat, just like in recent DOOM.

Quite literally everyone who followed it originally as some of the stuff was actually discussed as the reason a 2nd was so embraced by the community. Even other devs have commented on it
 
Now I'm stuck in the hub with no objective, and the only quest marker on the map being from an NPC whose only dialog option is to leave him alone.

Edit: Oh, the hud for dialogue is just shitty. Figured it out.
 

Calabi

Member
NeTWtRz.jpg


Thats it on agressive, I cant notice it at 4K on conservative. Game plays great I'm playing with a controller on the hard difficulty without auto aim and it seems much more playable than the first one was. The cursor has a slight bob but its only up and down which isnt so bad.
 
the more i play, the more i've no idea why they're selling it so cheap. looks better, controls better and runs better than the first one.
 
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