Xboxist

Shadow Complex Review

The hottest game on Xbox Live Arcade right now is undoubtedly Shadow Complex. This 2D action shooter is heavily inspired by Super Metroid and other similar games that offer a sprawling network of interconnected rooms to explore. As the game progresses over its short but action-packed campaign, players acquire better weapons, skills and equipment that allow them to access previously locked portions of the map. Along the way they will blast, shoot, and grapple with enemy stormtroopers and drones in a variety of forms. We thought Shadow Complex was pretty cool and offered great production values, but felt a bit short in the gameplay department for its $15 (1200 MS Points) price tag.

The story behind Shadow Complex is extremely hackneyed political science fiction fare, in which the player is drawn into a secret conspiracy by liberals to suit up in power armor and take over America. Who writes this stuff, anyway? Orson Scott Card, Mormon sci-fi writer and frequent contributor to video game projects, that's who. It doesn't really matter how you feel about Card's political views, because minimal cutscenes and occasional in-game dialog are the only expository moments in the game. Most players won't be in it for the plot, anyway, and the designers haven't allowed it to get in the way of blowing up socialist storm troopers.

The heart of Shadow Complex is its Metroid-like structure and collect-a-thon game mechanics, which will appeal more or less depending on the type of gamer that you are. If you constantly obsess over reaching 100% completion in games, unlocking all of the secret areas and beating them on every difficulty setting, then Shadow Complex is definitely for you, and you will extract tons of replay value from this game. If on the other hand you despise Easter egg hunts, backtracking, and collecting stuff, then Shadow Complex might disappoint. Keep in mind that at least 50% of the game's total length is in doing everything there is to do. For players that like the more straight-forward arcade approach, the 5-hour play time of the main campaign is a little on the short side.

For a game that is ostensibly open to explore, the campaign feels undeniably linear. In the default setting, your next objective is always traced out for you on a map. Even if you turn that setting off, you will invariably end up back on the same path after some frustrating sidetracking, because to go anywhere BUT the next objective requires an item you don't have yet. Doors and passageways in the game are conveniently color coded according to the weapon you need to open them: yellow for regular bullets, green for grenades, red for missiles, and so on. Before you take on the last boss, there is the opportunity to go back and explore all of the previously hidden areas if you really want to, something many people will appreciate.

Graphically, Shadow Complex is an impressive beast, using a modified version of the Unreal Engine to display full 3D graphics on a 2D plane. Your character Nathan Drake (or is it Jason Fleming? They are both voiced by the same person) can fire into the background at enemies and vehicles that might pop out at the player. This perspective shift is pretty nifty, although it can make aiming a teensy bit random when trying to pick off enemies in a firefight. Generally though, the graphics, sound, and voice acting are top notch for an XBLA game.

Many reviewers are calling Shadow Complex a veritable genre-changing game, heaping praise on the title for its original concept. We didn't find Shadow Complex to be particularly innovative, since the core gameplay is ripped from established games like Castlevania and Metroid, and we've played much more original 2D puzzle games like Braid and Another World. What Shadow Complex does have going for it are great production values and decent gameplay for an Xbox Live game. For your $15 you get voice acting, a bad Hollywood storyline, cool graphics and at least 5 hours of action-packed adventuring. Whether that sounds like a tempting offer is up to the individual gamer.