Given that the original Shadow Warrior game was basically Duke Nukem starring Fu Manchu and was a bunch of sophomoric and over-the-top Asian stereotype jokes, I wasn't expecting much from 2013 Shadow Warrior. It was on sale and I thought it would be a cheap diversion.
Instead, it was excellent gameplay, a terrific story, and an appealing main character. The story was like a fairy tale, complete with good hand drawn illustrations. It was poignant and well acted.
The FPS gameplay was solid and it reminded me of Serious Sam because of how the game tended to throw enormous streams of enemies at you. All the weapons were satisfying and had their niche. The game also featured an upgradeable main character. The super gory style of the FPS combat combined with the large volume of enemies was sort of a comical contrast with the tragic fairytale storyline, but was enjoyable nonetheless.
The development of the character of Lo Wang certainly appealed to me. Lo Wang is portrayed as an Asian character but is not hilariously stereotypical like the original Lo Wang was. He seems closer to a realistic or believable character. What I mean is, he actually seems more California Asian American than anything else, so that's getting closer to a believable character. Considering he's an overpowered FPS character, I guess you could say he seems more like a superhero than a comedy routine now.
Actually, I think that Lo Wang sort of resembles how I saw my dad when I was a kid.
These days when a FPS game goes on discount and I play it, I am never disappointed. Even though many games get bad reviews and there are all kinds of critics, I really think they have come a long way since the late 90s. If people would let go of specific expectations and just enjoy them for what they are, I think everyone would have a lot more fun.