A look at Raiders of the Broken Planet's Wardog Fury campaign

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When Raiders of the Broken Planet launched back in September, comprised of the free Eternal Soldier campaign and paid Alien Myths add-on, it also came with the promise that independent developer MercurySteam would continue to expand upon that base experience. Refreshingly, at least in the current gaming climate, the Spanish studio have been true to their word. A bevy of free updates and the new Wardog Fury campaign have taken this unique shooter-come-brawler-come-stealth-‘em-up from strength to strength.

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by Sam Sant

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@SlamShotSam

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Playable without purchase of Alien Myths before it, Wardog Fury costs $/€/£9.99 and tasks you with recruiting a new Raider, Loaht, along with an ancient weapon. With the formidable pair at hand you’ll set about eliminating the crazed leader of the Umbra Wardogs, General Marmalade, travelling across four relatively brief, but very replayable, missions in the Broken Planet’s vibrant desert wastelands.

Whether lugging bombs towards hulking tanks in order to blow them to smithereens, dismantling an airborne convoy of living blimps by blowing out their bowels, or navigating a maze of extending bridges to reach a marathon boss battle with the grotesquely malformed General himself, each objective-based mission is frantic fun due to the game’s maintained level of threat.

Amusing cutscenes - made so by a combination of their writing, voice over and choreography - punctuate missions and further establish the crass and ugly cast as a loveable band of misfits. Facing a human opposition this time around also helps in making the conflict at hand more engaging, ultimately leaving us eager to return and see what might come next.

Each objective-based mission is frantic fun.

Newcomer Loaht is a stubborn warthog of a man and steals the show in terms of both his character and gameplay. Wielding a devastating grenade launcher (once you’ve grasped its arced trajectory, at least), a suite of professional wrestling moves, and, most intriguingly, the ability to transform into a powerful beast for a very limited time, fans of mid to close-range play will likely find themselves a new go-to.

Loaht is exclusive to Wardog Fury owners, who can enjoy playing him in the latter three missions of the campaign, or in any mission after beating Wardog Fury in whole. The mystical Iune was recently added to the game and is available for all to purchase, regardless of what paid expansions they own, while CQC specialist Doldren and the mysterious H.I.V.E. are due the same fate soon. Considering it’d take hours to earn enough Gold for Iune (the cost of unlocking characters is our biggest gripe with Raiders, whether measured in time or monetary investment) we’ll have to let the trailer do the talking on this one.

Whilst a bit stingy when it comes to handing out currency at the moment (again, Raiders is very susceptible to change), the supply of free game updates has been anything but. UI tweaks make for a more streamlined experience all around, whilst Xbox One X enhancements give the game a significant performance and visuals boost for owners of Microsoft’s new console.

HDR and increased resolution make Raiders noticeably sharper, bringing the game’s lumpy-faced character to the fore, while faster load times and an improved frame rate round out what’s a much better experience on the whole. Being an Xbox Play Anywhere title, we’d previously opt to play on a Razer Blade laptop over the Xbox One S, but now the tables are turned, with Xbox One X taking precedence.

Finding a co-op match to experience Wardog Fury at its fullest can be a challenge at certain times of day, which is unfortunate, but going solo is still good fun. Raiders’ second premium campaign offers up more of the unique and enjoyable action gameplay that makes the game so intriguing, regardless of how you engage with it, posing fans a tempting call back to arms. Not only that, but multiple enhancements, a great new character in Loaht, and a more engaging narrative should be enough to draw newcomers into the fold.

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Keep an eye out for our upcoming co-op let's play to see Raiders of the Broken Planet’s Wardog Fury campaign in action.