Ion Maiden (now called Ion Fury after 3D Realms was forced by Iron Maiden to change the name) is a downloadable game released for Windows PCs. It is a first-person shooter created in retro style. The studio behind the game is Voidpoint, while the publisher – the famous 3D Realms (ex Apogee Software) renowned for such titles as Terminal Velocity, Rise of the Triad and Duke Nukem. It is worth mentioning that Voidpoint employs people who introduced numerous modifications to the popular Duke Nukem 3D game and who were the creators of the EDuke32 project.
How to Download Ion Fury (formerly Ion Maiden)
To download Ion Maiden, click on the Download button at the end of the review. Ion Maiden can be downloaded in a digital version from GOG.com or Steam.
The Game Review
Ion Maiden (not to be confused with heavy-metal legend Iron Maiden) is a prequel of isometric shooter Bombshell which was released in 2016 by Interceptor Entertainment. In Ion Maiden, the setting is the future, while the players are tasked with controlling the mysterious mercenary Shelly Harrison, whose alias is Bombshell (the eponymous character of the previous game). Shelly, unsurprisingly, is supposed to fight a large army of aliens who want to conquer the Earth.
Ion Maiden is released on a PC with Windows (and can be run also on SteamOS with Linux) builds upon the established game mechanics of such classic titles as Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior or Blood. The player sees the in-game world word is therefore observed – as you can guess – from the first person view with the eyes of the heroine. The game focuses on fighting the alien extraterrestrials. Obviously, as a player, you have at your disposal an extensive arsenal of weapons, and each of them has a so-called alternative shooting mode, which can be activated with the right mouse button. The game maps are huge and have man branching paths. It is also worth knowing that a large part of the environment is interactive, and the game has been packed with numerous and quite interesting secrets.
The game is only available in single player mode. It should be also noted that this shooter is offered to people over the age of eighteen. There is no shortage of blood and drastic scenes. And you should be on guard as there could be an alien just around the corner wanting you dead.
As has already been mentioned the game takes inspiration from a handful of the old PC FPS games. Ion Maiden was built on a modernized version of the engine which Duke Nukem 3D run on, and thus the title draws many level design ideas from the immortal classic. The game is all about dynamic combat, and you can be sure that the levels will not let you be bored. This is a science fiction game. So if you’re a fan, check it out.
Well now that Iron Maiden actually made 3D Realms to change the name of the game from Ion Maiden to Ion Fury, let us see what our reviewer has to say
Ion Fury Review
Ion Fury is a game that feels like it should have been released in 1997. This is a love letter to games like Duke Nukem 3D and all those other 90s shooters we have such fond memories of. It is pretty amazing at how good a throwback this game is, but does it cut it when next to more modern shooters?
The story that is in the game feels like it could have been in a Duke Nukem game. You play as a female badass called, Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison and she is waging war and trying to stop a tyrant called, Dr. Jadus Heskel and his cybernetic cult. It is cheesy, over the top and a ton of fun.
They even got the voice actor from the original Duke Nukem to play the bad guy in this which is cool. The presentation of the game is something that I just love. It has big chunky sprites and the whole thing has a very 90s look to it. You would think that it would look dated… and it does, but in the best possible way, something can look dated if that makes sense.
It is not just in the visuals that make Ion Fury feel like a game from the 90s. The gameplay is brutally difficult mainly because it is lacking the things, we take for granted in an FPS these days. There is no regen of health, no infinite ammo and no map pointer telling you exactly where to go! If you did not experience first-person shooters in the 90s then I have a feeling you may find this frustrating. I for one found it awesome and a ton of fun as well as a solid challenge.
The actual gunplay is a lot of fun. There is a nice number of weapons which are cool as they have a second function. Even something like a pistol can use a devastating second attack. The fact that there is not ammo just all over the place does mean you have to get used to switching weapons and just using whatever you can.
You go from area to area killing enemies, unlocking doors and fighting bosses. It is quite simple stuff, but simple in a fun way. My only real criticism of the gameplay is that sometimes it can feel unfairly hard. This is usually against a boss, not because the boss is unfairly hard, but because they always have minions helping them out who seem to have super accuracy.
I was very surprised at just how long the campaign in Ion Fury was. It took me around 20 hours and a ton of deaths to beat the game. I had a great time playing through it and while there is some backtracking, the game does its best to have alternate routes and secret hidden stuff as you go to keep it all interesting.
This may sound crazy to some, but this is one of my favorite shooters of the year! I am super impressed with what they managed to do here and it really does feel like a game that was made back in the 90s, but kept hidden until now. If all you have played is modern shooters the difficulty may seem a little jarring, but stick with it because this game is awesome!
