Hey folks, do you remember Ion Fury? You know, that bombastic continuation of the Build Engine style of game popularised by Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior and Blood? Did you know that Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison has a franchise, now bolstered with the new Ion Fury: Aftershock DLC? Well, you do now.
In the tradition of old school expansion packs, like we used to get in big boxes for the PC back in the day, Ion Fury: Aftershock is another bombastic blast from the past with Shelly at the helm.
Is it worth it, this explosive continuation of a prolonged trip down memory lane, or should we be looking to newer avenues? Let’s find out.
Spoiler warning: the following section will be discussing the end of Ion Fury. But don’t worry, it’s not like it’s a massive twist or anything.
An Evil Technicality
Set after the events of Ion Fury, but before Bombshell (the first game in the series, that apparently we don’t talk about), Aftershock is… well, more of the same.
After defeating the evil Dr. Heskel and his cybernetic, transhuman army, we should be content with saving the world. But wouldn’t you know it, that rascally doctor escapes punishment and is on the warpath once more.
Now holding a personal grudge against Harrison and wanting to bring Neo D.C (and presumably the world) to his heel… you get the rest.
Yes, Ion Fury: Aftershock is as standard a 90’s sequel as one would expect. No fuss, no multiple layers of deception, twists and retcons: just straight up continuation of same villainous motives and, by extension, the same core gameplay.
Run, Gun, Have Fun
As with the plot summary, this is pretty much going to be a glossing over of how to play Ion Fury: Aftershock. Without hyperbole, it literally plays like Ion Fury, which plays like Duke Nukem, which I covered in my original Ion Fury review.
Maybe it’s because I’m rusty from the original, but it certainly feels a lot more frenetic this time around. Like it’s going for the more modern DOOM approach of constant running and gunning.
I even had it on the lowest difficulty, more for getting it done than “proving myself”, and even then there were times when it’d get a bit overwhelming. Not obscenely, but enough to keep me moving.
Hello Roto
The newest addition, one that feels very token in a DLC, is the rotocopter. A cross between a quadrocopter drone and a hoverbike, this tacked on vehicle breaks up the run and gun gameplay.
Well, it does and it doesn’t. When players first acquire it, they’ll be shooting and strafing as if they were normal Shelly. But there are race moments, flat out point to point sections that require some quick reflexes.
And let me tell you now, they are not as fun as they sound. Some of the sections are simple enough, but they soon evolve into narrow walkways and pitfalls that cause instant death. Honestly, I was utilising the autosave quick load more than the boost function.
Homage Frayed
As was mentioned in the original, gameplay itself isn’t the only thing ripping off the Duke’s schtick. There’s enough pop culture references and nods, one-liners and everything in between to keep an iMDb comment section happy.
The thing is… why does it have to be so dense? Not in literal terms, even though the boomstick line is lifted verbatim from Army of Darkness.
I mean why does it have to be so thick and constant? One of the major criticisms of Duke Nukem Forever’s reference were that they were so blatant, which seems to be the attitude here.
Alright, the The Room one above is definitely amongst the more niche but the rest is just overkill. Maybe it’s in keeping with the theme of Ion Fury but after a fashion, it wears thin.
But then… this is aping that era, isn’t it? Your Shadow Warrior’s and whatnot, they all did this back then so I suppose it’s thematic. It’s just down to personal preference, but I prefer mine a bit more subtle.
More Bomb For Your Buck
Other than that, I don’t really think there’s much more to go into about Ion Fury: Aftershock. It’s a decent wedge of a continuation, with some new gameplay additions to spice things up a little. It’s not trying to reinvent anything, but it doesn’t need to.
In both a good and bad sense, it does feel very dated. The former because it mimics the old school expansion pack feel, but the latter down to its overuse of blatant references and overuse of puns/quips. I had fun with it, but much like the main game it’ll soon be replaced and Shelly retired.
It’s fun if you’re hankering for more of that Build Engine vintage gaming, but don’t expect anything more from a franchise desperately hanging on to Duke Nukem’s coattails.
Ion Fury: Aftershock is available now on PlayStation 4 (review platform), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and compatible with their successive consoles, and PC via Steam.
Developer: Voidpoint
Publisher: 3D Realms