Shadow Warrior 2

Shadow Warrior 2 is a fast and wild shooter that continues in much the same vein as the first reboot game (which I never got around to reviewing here). The game is irreverent and revels in its 90s roots but does its best to avoid the politically incorrect Asian stereotypes of the original game. There is a really visceral quality to the combat, especially when focusing on swordplay and melee attacks. You are constantly surrounded and relying on spastic special attacks and super powers to thin the onslaught.

The story is nothing special, but the one-liners and goofy tone keep it interesting enough to not skip the cut scenes. There are tons of monster types and tons of weapons. In a lot of ways it feels like Borderlands as you constantly upgrade and modify weapons with random enhancements. Apparently there is also a good co-op mode which I have not tried. The levels are huge, but there aren’t too many of them and about halfway through the game you realize that you are constantly revisiting the same levels over and over again. In the end that doesn’t really matter since the game isn’t really about exploration. The levels only serve as temporary settings in which to obliterate foes in to clouds of gore.