The greatest pre-Quake first person shooter game ever. Fom the same people who gave us Duke Nukem 3D, this game features a way better blend of weapons and a tongue-in-cheek cheesy kung fu movie sense of humor. Includes my favorite quote, "I kill you!" One could probably easily find it on the bargain racks to this day.

Computer game released in 1997, created by 3D Realms, and distributed by GT Interactive. Shadow Warrior used the same engine as 3D Realms' Duke Nukem 3D (called the Build engine) and the same style of humour (lewd, macho-spoofing, politically incorrect type stuff). As did Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior contains brief, animated nudity (breasts). In this first-person shooter, the player is Lo Wang (yes, it's a pun wink wink, nudge nudge), a master ninja assassin with two decades worth of experience in the field. Wang previously worked for Zilla Enterprises, a massive Japanese conglomerate. When Wang discovered that the head of the company, Master Zilla, was summoning demonic creatures for use in conquering Japan, he quit. Zilla then sent some demons to take out Wang, which is where the game begins.

Shadow Warrior improved upon the Build engine most noticeably by adding the ability for the player to drive vehicles and man turrets, bringing whole new levels of destruction to the player's foes as now not only can they be blasted apart but run over too. Vehicles that could be controlled included forklifts, tanks, and boats. Lo Wang occasionally shouts some one-liners when grabbing some new weaponry or finishing off an enemy in a particularly eye-pleasing manner such as "Who wants some Wang?" and "Bonsai!" (yeah, it's just a tree but it sounds cool and that's the point). The game has twenty two levels, divided into a short, four-level shareware episode and another, longer episode only playable with the retail version of the game. Levels twenty one and twenty two are secret levels accessible via levels ten and thirteen only.

Level names:

    SHAREWARE EPISODE
  1. Seppuku Station
  2. Zilla Construction
  3. Master Leep's Temple
  4. Dark Woods of the Serpent

    RETAIL-ONLY EPISODE
  5. Rising Son
  6. Killing Fields
  7. Hara-Kiri Harbor
  8. Zilla's Villa
  9. Monastery
  10. Raider of the Lost Wang
  11. Sumo Sky Palace
  12. Bath House
  13. Unfriendly Skies
  14. Crude Oil
  15. Coolie Mines
  16. Subpen 7
  17. The Great Escape
  18. Floating Fortress
  19. Water Torture
  20. Stone Rain
  21. Shanghai Shipwreck
  22. Auto Maul

Weaponry:

  1. katana/fists of fury
    Both occupy weapon slot one (pressing "1" again switches between the two). Both are good at short range against weaker enemies, usually killing them in one or two blows.
  2. shuriken
    Small, razor-sharp throwing stars thrown three at a time.
  3. riot gun
    This weapon's normal mode of fire is similar to a shotgun. Press "3" again and it switches to a mode that fires four shots in rapid succession with one pull of the trigger.
  4. uzi
    Everyone's favourite submachine gun. If the player comes across a second uzi, he/she may wield them both at the same time.
  5. rocket launcher
    In Shadow Warrior, the ubiquitous (with regard to first-person shooters) rocket launcher is a bit different. In its base mode, it just fires a single rocket per shot. In its second mode, which requires a heat seeker card, the next five rockets launched track their targets. In its third mode, which requires a nuke, the rocket launcher briefly counts down and then launches a small, nuclear device. The mode can be changed by pressing "5."
  6. grenade launcher
    Launches a 40mm grenade that will bounce a couple times before exploding. Ideal for bouncing off walls to shoot around corners or tossing through an open window.
  7. sticky mines
    Small, spiked mines that stick to whatever they are placed/thrown on (including enemies or Lo Wang himself). Once they are stuck in position, they act as proximity mines, exploding when someone comes too near.
  8. rail gun
    The rail gun can fire through several opponants at near light speed. It hurts.
  9. guardian head
    The severed head of one of Lo Wang's enemies, the guardian head has three different modes of attack, which can be switched through by pressing "9." The first shoots balls of flame. The second creates a protective circle of fireballs around the player. The third is a more flame thrower-like version of the first attack mode.
  10. ripper heart
    A heart removed from its body, the ripper heart, when squeezed, will summon forth a clone of Lo Wang that runs around helping the player kill his/her enemies for a short time. Squeezing the heart again while the clone is still alive causes the clone to die.

Items:

  • armor
    Red armor adds 100% armor. Grey armor adds 50% armor. Neither will go beyond 200% armor total.
  • fortune cookie
    Gives a 50% increase in health, up to 200%. Also displays a cheesy, sexual innuendo like "Baseball wrong. Man with four balls cannot walk." or "Man who buy drown cat pay for wet pussy."
  • small medkit
    Plus 20% health, up to 100%.
  • head seeker card
    See above description of rocket launcher mode two.
  • the nuke
    See above description of rocket launcher mode three.</li>
  • keys/keycards
    Found in various places about the levels. Are required to open certain doors to progress through the levels.
  • gas bomb
    Temporarily emits choking gas around where it is deployed. Will damage both enemies and the player.
  • smoke bomb
    Makes Lo Wang partially invisible to his foes for a few seconds.
  • flash bomb
    Blinds nearby enemies for a few seconds. Good if the player can take them out quickly or needs to escape ASAP.
  • caltrops
    Small spikes that are placed on the floor, causing some damage and a cry of pain to any who step upon them.
  • night vision goggles
    Illuminates moving creatures in dark areas.
  • large medkit
    Portable health pack that can restore Lo Wang to 100% health, regardless of how far below that mark he is.
  • tool kit
    Repairs damaged vehicles and broken machinery. Helpful if the tank the player was driving around gets hit by a rocket.

Enemies:

  • Ninjas: Come in a variety of appearances (brown, red, green, orange, grey, and shadow) with varying armaments depending on their attire. The order they were just listed in is from least dangerous to most dangerous. Probably the most common enemy.
  • Coolie: A zombie that walks around with a box of explosives. When one is close enough to Lo Wang, it will detonate its explosives in an attempt to kill him, killing itself in the process.
  • Coolie Ghost: Some coolies rise in a ghostly form after death, which lob bloody goo at Lo Wang and phase in and out of visibility. They can be harmed while invisible, if the player can manage to attack the right spot.
  • Ripper: A large reptilian-looking creature that resembles an ape in shape. Rippers leap around and can cling to walls. If one gets close enough, it will try to rip out Lo Wang's heart.
  • Baby Ripper: A small, faster, green goo-spitting version of the ripper.
  • Guardian: Big, green humanoid beast with a sword that can shoot fireballs. A guardian's severed head can be used as a weapon (see above).
  • Female Ninja: Armed with a crossbow and sticky mines, the female ninja is much harder to kill than her more common, male counterpart.
  • Koi: Seemingly innocuous fish until it gets up close and displays its razor-sharp teeth.
  • Hornet: Actually an overgrown version of a real hornet, alone one of these isn't much trouble but in swarms they can be quite a pain.
  • Bunny: It's not actually an enemy but it is a creature other than Lo Wang. There's a secret in one level featuring something like the bunny from Monty Python and the Holy Grail but most of the bunnies in the game just mate and produce smaller versions of themselves.
  • Serpent God:
    Four-armed, snake-like creature that can shoot energy from his eyes and spawn a circle of exploding heads. One of the boss creatures of the game.
  • Sumo:
    Giant, mutated sumo wrestler. Also a boss creature, this guy attacks by stomping the ground so hard it shakes Lo Wang violently, spawns exploding heads, and leaves behind a poisonous gas after death.
  • Zilla:
    The final boss. Zilla is in a gigantic robot suit with plenty of firepower for use against Lo Wang. To top that off, the player must fight him on an unstable, teetering platform.

Shadow Warrior can support up to eight players in multiplayer over a network or two over a dial-up modem connection. Multiplayer modes are cooperative, deathmatch (called a "WangBang"), and a deathmatch mode where certain items don't respawn. To run the game, the requirements are:

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