3D Realms announces Phantom Fury, the next shooter in the Ion Fury saga

pcinvasion.com:

During its Realms Deep presentation today, 3D Realms has announced Phantom Fury — a new game and chapter in the Ion Fury legacy. If you’re wondering if it’s a prequel or a sequel, the answer is yes. Phantom Fury takes place after the events of Ion Fury, but before Bombshell — a game that didn’t quite hit the mark like its prequel. Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison does indeed return to blast more baddies. And this time, she has her upgradable bionic arm to help tear through more retro-inspired levels.

I got to check out Phantom Fury in a hands-off preview weeks ahead of today’s show. As mentioned, its story is snuggled between Ion Fury and Bombshell, taking place years after the former. It’s Shelly’s first mission with her bionic arm, which she dubs Amiga in Bombshell. It takes an important role here in Phantom Fury, and thankfully doesn’t look like an obnoxious piece of construction equipment. At least, not yet.

Sitting between two games set in Shelly’s past and future, it’s fitting that the aesthetic matches up. Graphically, Phantom Fury looks like a marriage between the ’90s and early 2000s eras of first-person shooters. It uses polygons for its world and characters, but close up you can clearly see the pixels that make up the myriad textures. The game is not built using the Build Engine, which powered its predecessor. Phantom Fury is instead being created with Unreal Engine 4.

The game will feature many new and diverse worlds, ranging from deserts. Shelly starts off in the desert region of Albuquerque, but makes her way to other places like Chicago. As seen in a new trailer, at least one level has an underwater section, and others will contain driving or flying segments.

Levels, as I was told, come in two flavors. There