Three and Out – ‘Ion Fury’

The secret to time travel has finally been revealed in the name of Ion Fury. Developed on the same Build engine as Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, and the original Shadow Warriors, 3D Realms and Voidpoint have managed to blast us away with this classic first-person shooter that feels straight from the 1990s. Serving as a prequel to the 2016 video game known as Bombshell, Ion Fury tells the story of Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison as she embarks on her quest to stop the transhumanist mastermind, Dr. Jadus Heskel, and his army of cybernetic humans from destroying Neo Washington D.C. Ion Fury is a return to a time when games were a bit more difficult, levels felt huge, and mysteries were around every corner. When the first level opened up and the music began, I was left awestruck by an explosion of nostalgia. It was as if I was meeting an old friend after a long time.

Ion Fury is old school gaming at it’s finest with the sprinklings of modern gaming mixed in. A surge of adrenaline filled me as I raced down corridors blasting away at cyber enemies while Shelly delivered classic one-liners like, “Domo Arigato Mr.Roboto” and “Clean up on aisle your ass!” Almost everything I encountered felt familiar yet refreshingly new. Enemies still proved to be a challenge but I was shocked to find out that I could actually headshot them – a feature that didn’t really exist back in the day. Accompanying Shelly is an arsenal of weapons that will aid her in splattering the guts of all cyber humans that cross her path. These weapons are absolutely satisfying in every gunfight. Whether tossing bowling ball bombs or eliminating enemies with her signature tri-barreled revolver, Loverboy, in a manner similar to Red Dead Redemption, I never once had a moment where I wasn’t grinning and on the edge of my seat. The fun doesn’t stop with the campaign though. (At the time of this review, multiplayer has not been added to the game.) If multiplayer is anything like the game I’ve experienced so far in the campaign, I expect to spend countless hours blasting away with friends old and new.  

The nostalgia kicks into overdrive with level design that is evocative of the 1990s first person shooter era. In our crusade to stop the evil Dr. Jadus Heskel, we venture across classic low-poly levels filled to the brim with surprisingly detailed 2D sprite models. The style of level design back in the day was vastly different. Ion Fury recaptures that sense of exploration by offering a multitude of paths for you to choose from. One of the best features to help with this is destructible scenery that opens up the map and allows you to become the interior designer you’ve always wanted to be. Blasting down the right walls may even reveal another staple for this era: secrets. Secrets are a long time tradition for these games. Hidden throughout the levels of Ion Fury are secret rooms that beg to be discovered. Just like a siren song, I found myself lured back into the game in an attempt to find all the irresistible secrets. The game even taunts you with a reminder of how many secrets are still remaining when you are close to finishing a level. However, they’re not there simply to provide extra resources, but instead provide the player with an incentive to come back and spend more time in the world. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be spending a lot of time in Neo Washington D.C.

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