Fury Unleashed is a title that attempts to do many things.
For example, it incorporates rogue-like elements with a soft RPG upgrade system. It also pays homage to popular media such as Indiana Jones, Wolfenstein and Aliens while emulating the side scrolling, bullet blasting appeal of titles akin to Contra. Underscoring all of this is a narrative that centres around the creative fatigue that plagues many writers.
Each of these elements is thoroughly enjoyable in their own right. However, does the ‘rule of cool’ curse this game with a lack of cohesion that’s hard to ignore, or does the combination of all these disparate aspects only serve to better the title?
Deft Strokes
The story centres on you embodying a comic book character who is at risk of being discontinued at the hands of his exasperated creator. Therefore, the visual style is intended to emulate that of a comic book.
This includes titles and credits, not unlike those seen in the funny books, at the beginning of each chapter. Even the loading screen utilised to transition between chapters takes the form of comic book pages adorned with panels. These very same panels decorate the remainder of the UI.
Certain missions and screens even adopt a black and white pencil sketch art style. My only gripe with this decision is that the Comic Sans font much of the text is presented in, can be difficult to read in smaller point sizes.
Despite this, the high-fidelity sprites grant each location a unique feel due to their perfect use of colours, and allow Fury Unleashed to become a visually arresting title that transitions to various distinct locations, yet never deviates from its established style.
That’s So Meta
While we are still loosely concerning ourselves with the narrative aspects of Fury Unleased, let us fully flick through the pages of the game’s story.
The narrative of Fury Unleased revolves around a comic book writer who has gradually lost his passion for the Fury series he is best known for. This is not helped by the fact that sales have dwindled and critical reception of the most recent run – Fury Unleashed — has not heralded good news.
A concept such as this naturally garners a sense of intrigue that demands you play on to uncover more of the story.
However, the developers failed to captilise on this. While reading the text messages, emails and letters that the creator both receives and sends are excellent methods of conveying the backstory of the game, the events we read about are unsuccessful in affecting the game world in any significant way until players encounter the final stage.
For me, it would have been infinitely more dramatic to witness the game world gradually begin to fall apart, signalling that the end for the series that gave Fury life, may indeed be nigh. As it stands, though, the narrative of Fury Unleashed is more of an interesting bonus than a vital component.
CRASH! BOOM! BANG!
The audio design of Fury Unleashed is a true aural treat. Each weapon sounds just as it should. Every bullet has a tangible impact as it strikes the unfortunate soul that finds themselves in your sights.
Enemies crushed under the heel of your unforgiving boot explode in a squelch that would sound sickening to the ears of those who did not deliver the killing blow but, to you, it’s the sweet sound of victory.
Audiobooks
Underpinning all of this is a rock soundtrack, on par with mature cheddar. This perfectly fits the retro comic style of the game’s visuals – whether it’s a Nazi stronghold or an Aztec jungle.
Furthermore, it seems like the music dynamically shifted to match the ever-changing pace of the combat to avoid overwhelming players.
Guns. Lots of Guns.
At last, we arrive safely to the gameplay. Gameplay that is excellent, indeed, but by no means perfect.
Fury Unleashed is a combo-based, side scrolling shooter. To aim and fire, simply point the right stick in the direction you desire your bullets to travel.
Each chapter operates on a grid map. You can also fast travel between screens to ensure that your combo timer doesn’t reach zero. The higher your combo, the more likely you will acquire a temporary shield or items that aid you immensely on your journey.
Dodging enemy fire while performing an air dash to strike back with attacks of your own, all in the name of maintaining your combo, is terrfic fun. The earlier audio-visual aspects I touched on add a lot to the feel of the game. Being able to customise your Fury’s aesthetic, manage their loadout, and upgrade their abilities and attributes are also welcome features.
Players are awarded few points to purchase abilities with following each run. It felt like an eternity before I began to make any significant headway with my Fury’s development. The level design also varies in the most minimal of ways, ensuring that they are distinct only in a superficial sense.
This extends to the enemy design also. Though they adopt disparate appearances in each location, every new enemy feels more like a reincarnation of a previous enemy type, as opposed to a completely new foe with new threats to overcome.
The Final Issue
As previously mentioned, Fury Unleashed is a game that attempts to do many things. Fortunately, it is a game that does many of them well. Establishing a consistent style, bolstered by fast and frantic gun-play that grants players the power fantasy they have always desired.
That is, if you have the patience to replay repetitive levels many times to upgrade your Fury to a meaningful degree. Even if this is not the case, this title still provides brief moments of catharsis for those seeking to unleash their fury.
