Shadow Warrior

I clearly remember this great classic first person shooter based on wacky Asian folklore. You are Lo Wang, a badass who can make trouble in very nasty ways. I remember having so much fun creating insane levels with this, that it was crazy how much time I infested into making creative maps or difficult maps and then letting others try to beat them, haha!

Developed and designed by 3D Realms, it's clear that Duke Nukem is the direct inspiration for this, however, in my opinion, the arsenal, enemy design, secrets and overall asian culture are better in Shadow Warrior than in Duke Nukem 3D.

Both of them are classic old fashioned first person shooters from the 90's. Lo Wang has a badass and perverted personality alongside cheesy one liners based on asian stereotypes, and the trademark weapon of his is the katana, which is addictive to use slicing enemies up.

Parodying bad kung fu movies, Lo Wang slices and shurikens his way around Japan to battle with his old boss Zilla who murdered his master and plans to conquer the whole country using forces from the dark side.

These creatures include kamikazing merchants, wandering ghosts, berserk monkeys, snake demons, one legged female freaks and a regular demon soldier which has many offsprings including shadow versions and those who can only shoot missiles.

Medkits, body armor and fortune cookies will heal your mind and body for the upcoming crazy battles. The cookies usually have a silly philosophical sentence displayed as you eat them, while some secret areas in the game also feature nude anime chicks who will attack you if provoked.

Other weapons include rapid uzi's, a laser gun, a rocket launcher, a demon's head and a beating heart, of which the latter creates a helpful exact clone of yourself. All of them are helpful and more effective depending on the terrain and the enemies.

Shadow Warrior is still a very fun game to start up and can even be played co-operatively or against each other. However, the game has always been in the shadow before Duke Nukem 3D, another classic.

Rating: 8.5

Lo Wang is reincarnated, given a fresh look and a vibrant world, and features such as secrets, fortune cookies and nude anime chicks return in this old fashioned first person shooter! Created by a Polish developer, Shadow Warrior stands out in modern times.

This is because all first person shooters nowadays incorporate auto regenerating health, carry 2 guns at max, have a linear path to follow, an over the top Hollywood experience with tons of voice acting and take themselves too seriously.

Shadow Warrior is none of that. No, it proudly goes back to old fashioned gameplay, with large spawns of demon enemies coming after you, medkits, being able to carry 7 guns and offering many secret area's that are worthy to find, unlike Duke Nukem Forever and it's other heavy flaws.

Lo Wang himself has changed more into a cocky yet badass personality, with once again many cheesy one liners, referencing several popular quotes turned into Wang style. This time, he is accompanied by Hoji, a demon from the Shadow Realm, and together, they are on a quest to collect a legendary sword and defeat Enra, ruler of the shadow beings.

Enemy design is completely new, yet it resembles some older enemies vaguely, and nonetheless these new ones are well made, varied and challenging. Combating them with your arsenal is fun and can be creative, seeing as all the guns have secondary options.

Also, Lo Wang's katana is even more fun to slice around with this time, and it can learn new moves depending on where you spend your precious currency points onto. Aside from collecting money to upgrade weapons in various ways, you can also collect karma and special skills to enhance Lo Wang's characteristics, mind, body and more, but also learn those special katana techniques and other miscellaneous passive stuff.

The levels start out into beautiful asian landscapes, but then gradually change into Zilla's gritty buildings, before returning to the higher mountains where Zilla and Enra await you and Hoji. Speaking of the story, this is more involved and better than the original, but don't expect too much and just appreciate this wacky new reimagination.

The beating heart now lets you perform a heart attack on one enemy, while a flamethrower is thrown in to replace the rail gun. Those are the major differences between the arsenals, but once again does the katana stand out here, even more than 16 years ago.

Shadow Warrior will once again go into a cult status and be appreciated by those who crave for a modern look at old fashioned gameplay, combined with silly comedy, a silly story and delicious over the top combat.

Rating: 8.3