Shadow Warrior 2 takes the crazy fast paced action from the first game and for the most part improves upon it while also building the RPG aspect of it more as well.
The real meat of the game play hasn’t changed from the first Shadow Warrior. It’s a FPS that mixes gun play with a variety of melee weapons. However in this game the weapon arsenal has been upgraded far more than the previous one.
Every gun category has different guns you’ll unlock during missions or find dropped throughout your play through. From pistols, SMGs, LMGs, shotguns, rocket launchers, assault rifles, and more will be at your hands to use as you please. This variety even extends to the melee weapons including katanas, chainsaws, duel swords, claws, axes, and even a katana chainsaw hybrid.
Now with the heavy RPG elements here, comparing weapons and all that is painfully hard. There is no way to compare weapons especially after you have inserted gems into it. You’d have to remove all gems then compare base stats. This becomes tiresome later in the game when you have a wide selection to choose from and the stats are a matter of life or death.
The gems themselves are a whole issue on their own. Now they do try for the Diablo style loot RPG where enemies are constantly dropping gems. Like most RPG games that deploy this though 90% of what is dropped will be useless and just be something for you to either sell or have to scroll through.
Thankfully though with this the combat is still just so much fun. Switching between melee and guns is a breeze and being able to zip and dash around the battle field taking on hordes of enemies never felt smoother. Upgrading powers too adds a whole different element into the combat as well which can lead to great moments when timed right.
Unlike the first game, Shadow Warrior 2 does have a central game hub you go to after missions which also provides side missions, bounty hunts, and a survival type mode. The bounty missions are plentiful and provide the best chance to upgrade and gain XP but become tiresome. You’ll see the locations are all from missions and usually just resort to collecting an item or killing large quantities of enemies.
Enemies themselves also are something to watch. Going through you’ll have to be aware and learn about enemies tactics and what powers they have. Certain enemies as well may be resistant to fire or ice and you may have to use a gun or weapon or doesn’t have a that certain gem equipped.
Overall even with its repetitive nature Shadow Warrior 2 is still a blast to play. You can do it alone or in a group for co-op but no matter what it still is satisfying to blow through hordes of enemies like its nothing.
Score : 7.5/10
