Ion Maiden is a throwback to the old 90s Duke Nukem days of FPS'. Like Duke Nukem, it is being brought to us by 3D Realms and utilizes the old Build engine. With the use of the Build engine, we see hand crafted pixel art on 2D sprites that goes with beautifully crafted levels. For a dated engine, the retro feel is really nice. Voidpoint does a great job bringing a Duke Nukem clone up to par with modern games.
The story is as cheesy as the games it tries to replicate, you play as a member of the GDF (Global Defense Force) named Shelly Harrison, aka Bombshell. She is after a crazy cult leader and mad scientist named Dr. Jadus Heskel as he and his cyber-human cult tries to take over the world. Of course Bombshell gets her hands dirty and has some ludicrous and gib-happy weaponry to take everyone down.
Voidpoint also includes some more updated FPS modes such as a Horde mode, where you have limited time to kill all the enemies. Every kill grants the user more time, but the enemies can be hard to see and sometimes get stuck on geometry making every second count as you look for that last little guy. It is enjoyable, but hopefully some fixes come that will address these minor frustrations.
There are plenty of secret areas, doors that require keys to get in, and simple enjoyment of blowing enemies away. The game really is a lot of fun and, at the time of this review, is still under Early Access so we may find a lot of changes coming through. It sounds like the preview campaign is just that, a preview and we expect to see several updates over the coming months.
The level design is pretty well done, with only a few times in which I got lost, it can be frustrating trying to remember where that Yellow Door was or that "Haven't I been here?" issue. Thankfully, the game does have the old Build engine map, but sometimes it is just not helpful and would really say a lot if there were markers on the map that had a colored key that would remind us that that door is over there.
Review Note: The reviewer of this title purchased the title at their own expense. This does not affect the content of the review or its final grade.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
It has plenty of customized controls as well as controller support.
The game does very well at updating visual qualities of an older game engine. It feels retro with all the 2D pixel art, but up-to-date and modern with high res imagery. With some enemies, it can be really hard to see them in the darker sections due to them being dark or black.
The soundtrack is alright, and the explosions seemed to come right out of Duke Nukem. Shelly's quips and forced swearing seemed to get old after a while, ya Duke did it, but it seems that the devs wanted to be more edgy.
There is a lot to do from multiplayer, secret hunting in campaign, and the horde mode. You will find yourself going back to this game for a while, and has a place in my replay queue.
PROS / CONS
- Duke Nukem for the 10s.
- Fun combat and a myraid of weapons.
- Modes outside of campaign.
- Shelly's Voice Overs get old fast. Some swearing just seems to be "just because"
- Can be easy to feel lost, even with a map.
- Some enemies can be hard to see as they are too small.
