Phantom Fury

Half-Life 2 + Duke Nukem + Quake 2 = Phantom Fury

This game is not Ion Fury levels of good, it although isn't as horrible as some critics say. It's a good 6.5 to 7 out of 10 experience vs Ion Fury's 9-10. I had fun with my time playing it, definitely recommend it on discount. It's wild to see SiN, Ion Fury, and Tempest Rising all in the same universe/world too.

Really would like to recommend this game, but its obvious that there were a lot of issues when it was released. It feels like they wanted to throw a bunch of guns into the game, but some of them feel undercooked and feel like niche weapons that do not have much use. Also I wish games would let you organize what weapon you want to be drawn first when multiple ones are bound to the same key. It causes you to just mainly use the first weapons you can pull out in the middle of battle. I like the look of the game and they did try to be creative with weapons, but there are some that are just not fun to use. There are some dramatic frame drops in some levels and at the end of the game it froze twice in different sections. Nothing too bad, but it seems this is something that people run into. Also the voice acting and the story seems very half baked. I do not mind intentional B movie plots in games, but the VA was pretty bad and the story was bad enough that I wish it was not in the game. If you enjoy games like this (similar to Half Life gameplay-wise) you will probably have some fun, but I would recommend getting it at around $5.

I think this game was really fun. I don’t really understand why it got such lukewarm reviews. It’s not like the first game, which is really good too and more of a tribute to Duke Nukem and similar games. The second one is more like later 3D shooters, they’re just good in different ways.

[b]Rating: [/b] ★★★ - Okay [b]Time Played:[/b] 10 hours [b]Difficulty:[/b] Hard [b]Gameplay:[/b] - Sits in the space between SiN and Half-Life. Road trip structure, physics interaction, varied environments but doesn't fully commit to what made either of those work, leaving combat, puzzles and exploration feeling more functional than satisfying. - Mission areas are distinct enough to hold interest (factory, highway, facility) though pacing can drag in certain areas. - Level design can get almost mazelike with no map and no objective markers; some of it is intentional, some of it isn't, and the line between exploration and directionlessness blurs too often. - Vehicle sections (helicopter, underwater sub) feel like placeholder content that made it into the final game. Brief, but noticeably unpolished compared to the on-foot shooting. [b]Story\Dialogue:[/b] - Shelly wakes from a coma with a bionic arm and must secure a dangerous artifact; the premise borrows from early-2000s action movies and games. - The road trip framing gives the game enough structural variety to justify its location shifts, but the narrative thread holding it together is thin. - Dialogue has occasional dry charm that fits the era it's emulating; it doesn't elevate anything but it doesn't actively hurt the experience either. - Supporting characters exist to advance you to the next area; don't expect any interesting dialogue or story arches. [b]Graphics\Music:[/b] - Built on Unreal Engine 4 rather than Ion Fury's Build engine; it looks considerably more modern and loses some of the tight, handcrafted feel of its predecessor. - Environment art puts genuine effort into making each location visually distinct. One of the more consistent wins from the game. - The hard rock/industrial soundtrack is well-matched to the combat pacing. [b]Before you Buy:[/b] - Not a bad game but not an amazing one either. Buy if you want a light version of Half Life. - No map, no waypoints. Use a walkthrough without guilt when you're stuck, because some progression triggers are just obscure, not clever. - On Hard, the Loverboy's soft autoaim is your most reliable tool; learn the situations where other weapons are inefficient and fall back to it early. - The opening hours are the game at its best; expect a plateau rather than a build toward a satisfying climax.

No.

"Phantom Fury" is a linear retro shooter blending elements of both modern and classic FPS. While it has its minor gameplay problems like no quicksaves, only sparse checkpoints, inconsistent sound design and relatively bland music, it still manages to be an enjoyable, challenging and nostalgia evoking game. The maps are nice (late game!), the puzzles aren't too tedious and the gunplay works well. Both the "Bile Launcher" and "Loverboy" with its auto-aim/homing projectiles add an interesting touch. An absolutely reasonable buy on discount. Score: 7.5/10