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Showing posts from March, 2021

Vintage to Retro: An FPS Q & A series - James Towne, Tech-Com 2029, part 1

This interview for "Vintage to Retro" is with James Towne, the project lead for Tech-com 2029 , a Terminator FPS fangame. James and I discuss  Tech-com 's: development, audio visuals, and characters. Part two of the interview will explore these factors in relation to vintage/retro FPS games. You can also follow the game's ongoing development  on its official Facebook page . "From Vintage to Retro," interviews FPS players and developers. In terms of vintage FPS, the series covers includes single-player "Doom clones" and Build titles; to multiplayer frag-fests like Doom deathmatch, Quake arenas, and Unreal Tournament(s); to "pure," arcade-style shooters, "looter shooters" and FPS-RPG hybrids. In terms of retro FPS, it examines Dusk, Ion Fury and Prodeus, as well as  Nightdive Studios ' latter-day revival of classic FPS. Click here to access the entire series . Development Nick:  Apart from watching Cameron's Terminator mo

"Neutral" Politics: Feminism, the Gothic, and Zombie Police States in Ion Fury

Ion Fury is a 2019 FPS developed in Build by Voidpoint and published by 3D Realms. This article critiques the "neutral" politics behind the game, mainly its dubious Read Me and how this relates to the gameplay itself. To hear my thoughts on the excellent gameplay and level design, read my comprehensive review .  The critique is divided into three main portions: Zombie Police States Feminism The Gothic Zombie Police States Despite having some of the best FPS fundamentals around,  Ion Fury  isn't perfect. Its story isn't just simple; it's problematic. Most of my criticisms for  Ion Fury  can be found in this section. The Problem Ion Fury 's biggest problem is the in-game Read Me. The gameplay itself isn't racist or sexist; the Read Me is (re: femme fatale, baddest bitch, cracked-out cyborg punks). Luckily it isn't beaten over our heads throughout the game; it's tucked away inside the main menu. At first glance, I didn't give the Read Me much thou

'80s Popcorn Love: An Ion Fury Review

This is my review for  Ion Fury (2019). It focuses on the game's best components: gameplay and level design. The game's negatives mostly revolve around its "neutral" politics, which are largely relegated to the dubious in-game Read Me. Because the Read Me feels so disjointed from the main game, I have chosen to analyze it in a separate critique that views Ion Fury through a feminist-Gothic lens.  You can read that here . Introduction Ion Fury  is a Build engine game developed by Voidpoint and produced by 3DRealms, the makers of the original  Duke Nukem 3D . Like  Duke Nukem ,  Ion Fury  is 2.5D, with a 3D environment, 2D, sprites (re: enemies and items), and  some 3D objects made of something called voxels . Cool. The game's heroine, Shelly "Bombshell" Harrison, must use a unique combination of strategy (re: exploration, platforming and resource management) and battle tactics to survive  Ion Fury 's maze-like levels. In their review , IGN wrote, &quo