


Thanks to the horrible dialogue and the racist stereotyping, I found it impossible to connect with him as a player. There are only so many "oh, you said duty I thought you said doodie" jokes I can take before it gets tired. These jokes are bad and happen too frequently. In Shadow Warrior 2, Wang can’t go five seconds without cracking wise, much to the annoyance of everyone around him (and me). In the last game, there was a balance between his immature sense of humor and moments when he had to be serious. That said, and I didn’t think this was possible, Wang makes too many stupid jokes. Wang is against fascism and rags on the people that hire him, cognizant that he’s doing dirty work for dirty people in the name of cash. When one of the characters admits to raping a woman, Wang calls him a piece of shit. Upon realizing that the combat wasn’t going to evolve in any meaningful way, I hoped for relief in Shadow Warrior 2’s story. However, aside from the occasional boss battle that might require a different strategy, each approach is the same: point and shoot. It’s one of the few ways to get enjoyment out of the game. Upgrades are one of the few ways levels are spiced up, since the user can play around with different builds to find the most effective weapons and try out different combinations in co-op mode, where up to four players can play through the missions. Slain enemies also drop upgrades, which may be equipped to enhance weapons’ damage or give them elemental effects.
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Wang earns skill points, which acquire new abilities and upgrade them. This is the main marker of progression, though players also gain access to bigger, less realistic, more powerful weapons. Enemies rarely change, except that sometimes there are more of them and sometimes they’re bigger than normal. With the help of Kamiko, a mysterious ally who lives inside Wang’s head for most of the game, the player can easily teleport from one location to another.Īfter I experienced each setting, the game became repetitive. Eschewing the last game’s linear progression, Shadow Warrior 2 relies on a quest system, with a home village serving as a hub to stock up on items, talk with people, and pick up new missions. Getting past the aesthetics, there are other mechanical problems. This includes robots called D.O.L.L.S., walking sex objects that moan when Wang cuts them up. The women are almost all dressed in skintight outfits highlighting outrageous curves. Bodies move awkwardly, with hips that sometimes move in a way that makes it look like people are thrusting at the air. It hit me the moment I saw the first human faces, which are misshapen and lifeless. Everything about the design choices in Shadow Warrior 2 feels stuck in the past and the designers didn’t have the chance to update. This might have been okay in 1997, but in 2016, Shadow Warrior 2 needed to be a lot more than what it is: a repetitive, outdated, unfunny game.īut the rest of the campaign’s 12 or so hours don’t live up to the fun of those first few minutes. Shadow Warrior 2 doesn't improve on the chaotic combat or systems of the last game - it doesn't feel like any kind of progression. But it possesses little of what made the first one so fun. I mention all of this because these are the qualities Shadow Warrior 2 tries to replicate. Shadow Warrior 2 loses what made the first one so fun Despite his abilities, he was just a dude who liked stupid jokes. Compared to the jerks that were controlling the world he was almost saintly, and the player felt bad for him. He was a capable fighter and hitman who just happened to cross paths with the supernatural. Despite the annoying, immature jokes, Wang was likeable, and sympathetic in his journey. This wasn't viewed as a problem in 1997 - and maybe even again in 2013, when Flying Wild Hog rebooted the series. He gets away with punchlines like "don't mess with the Wang." He's a walking Asian stereotype. Lo Wang, the primary penis joke and hero from the original 1997 Shadow Warrior and this modern reboot, is the epitome of this 1990s-era badass wannabe. It harkens back to the days when games were ultraviolent and the protagonists were quippy and quick with the poop gags. Shadow Warrior 2 is a relic from another time.
