Game #1339: Shadow Warrior 3

 Everything is better with ninjas.

 It seems Shadow Warrior was a very successful reboot since it managed to spawn two sequels... one which sadly saw a very limited physical release which is why I skipped right into Shadow Warrior 3. It's another first person shooter, what else did you expect?

 You'd think that a game series would continually keep getting larger and larger... but Shadow Warrior 3 feels smaller in scope than the first one, and it's not just a matter of streamlining, there simply is less game here. Lo Wang's trusty Katana returns, and slicing and dicing enemies in first person still feels great, but... he gets much less weapons. A pistol, dual Uzis, a Shotgun, a Rocket Launcher, a Railgun and a shuriken-gun make up your arsenal. Truth be told, there's a new Finisher mechanic, by filling a gauge as you slay enemies, and defeat an enemy with a finisher will temporarily grant you a bonus weapon, be it a massive sword or hammer or a fireworks-gun, Lo Wang's chi powers were reduced to a simple force-push, and there are way less upgrades you can unlock, and unlike the first game, they don't change how the weapons look, bummer.

 There's one new mechanic, a grappling hook, which is used in context-sensitive areas to platform around, as well as to propel yourself towards enemies. Combat arenas are filled with elemental barrels, to incinerate, electrocute or freeze your enemies as well as other hazards. Most of the time you go from arena to arena, and smaller enemies will spawn endlessly until every 'big' enemy is slain which is a bit cheap.

 There are no bonus game modes beside New Game+/Chapter Select or the Hero Mode(Rogue mode?) and a Survival mode, so there's not much here, and the game is about half as long as the original... which isn't so bad considering the first game felt a bit bloated at times.

 While the game definitely feels lacking in comparison to the original I just can't deny how fun it was. Lo Wang is very fast and nimble, so zipping around an arena while massacring my enemies never got old. A few things could've been done better, the game could've used a few more elements.... but Shadow Warrior 3 ain't a bad time.

7.0