Once in a long while, a new game will come along that stops you dead in your tracks and forces you to take notice. A game that makes you want to smile, eat Skittles and watch mystical midget Unicorns dance to the beat of ‘Rappers Delight’. OK, maybe that’s overkill, but I am indeed smiling right now. Not just because of that visual of midget Unicorns getting funky in my head, but because of a little game called Shadow Complex. What’s making me smile the most about it, you ask? It is the level of quality Shadow Complex provides, and especially the price to download and own this Xbox Live Arcade gem. Xbox Live Arcade was created for games like Shadow Complex, and I hope this game starts a trend of high quality games, for a ridiculously low price. Microsoft could have easily charged more, and people still would have been happy with their purchase.
It took me a while to finally download this game. I don’t know what it was. Maybe I didn’t know enough about the game itself due to lack of marketing, or the fact that Epic Games was behind the production. Yes, I am still bitter about Gears of War 2 being a crappy game. Beautiful to look at, but lacking in the ‘fun’ department. Hate all you want, Gears is not a fun game to me. So seeing Epic’s name behind this title was a turn off. But Chair Entertainment, makers of Undertow, seemed to be behind most of the development. So I shoved my stubbornness aside, bought the game, and I am so glad I became more open-minded.
In Shadow Complex, the main character, Jason Flemming (modeled after Nathan Drake from Uncharted?), and his girlfriend set out to explore some caves in the Pacific Northwest. His girlfriend enters the wrong cave at the wrong time and gets captured by some sketchy militia-style soldiers. These soldiers, part of the ‘Progressive Restoration’ movement who just killed the Vice President, are equipped with some advanced technology, which Jason will acquire throughout the game. This unfortunate misstep sets off a chain of events that has Jason trying to save his girlfriend, and stop these home-grown terrorists from starting a massive civil war in the United States. The game is based off of the Orson Scott Card novel, Empire, which pits the Left Wing and Right Wing against each other in a second civil war. (On a side note, the film rights to Empire, have been acquired by Warner Bros. Should be interesting!)
The game itself is pretty much a 2D side scroller with 3D elements, inspired by the game ‘Super Metroid’. What I found most enjoyable about this game is the progression throughout the levels after finding new parts to add on to your high tech ‘powered exoskeleton’. Jason becomes more badass the more items you find. Strap on a jet pack to get some boost out of your jumps. Strap on your scuba mask to breathe under water for an unlimited amount of time. Strap on some armor to help stop bullet damage. And the best part, strap on some jet pack jump boots and speed run through your enemies, run upside down or even run on top of water like Jesus. The animation and visual effects shown when your speed run kicks in is fun to watch and the visuals in general are top notch. Probably the best you’ll find on an Xbox Live Arcade title to date.
The weapons Jason will acquire consists of a automatic machine gun, grenade launcher, missile launcher and a foam launcher. Pretty much the norm for most games. Though the foam launcher lets you shoot foam that will freeze your enemies for a few seconds so you can take them out. It also has other uses in the game, like sabotaging equipment and security doors so you can get past them. Another addition to the wonderful toys at your disposal is a hook, similar to the hook in ‘Lost Planet’, which comes in handy when you need to attach yourself to a wall to take cover, or dispose of unsuspecting enemies. In all, these weapons and the benefits of your powered exoskeleton combine to make Shadow Complex a truly enjoyable experience. I found myself enjoying the game more and more as the game progressed.
My one small gripe about this game, and there really isn’t anything else I can think of other than this, is when you leave a section and come back at a later time. The same enemies you dispatched just a few minutes ago can magically come back to life and you have to kill them all over again. Minor glitch, but it could be annoying for some. Like me.
If you’re on the fence about this game, or if you are just one of a dozen or so people left to play this game, seriously, what are you waiting for? Shadow Complex is Most Definitely Worthy to download on Xbox Live Arcade. Trust me, it’s worth the hard drive space. It’s $15, and it gave me about 6 1/2 hours of gameplay in the campaign. Not to mention the Proving Grounds ‘challenge’ mode which pits you against the clock, racing through obstacles to get to the other side in time. Which I am finding more than challenging as I have yet to conquer this one. It’s the best bang for your buck and with Epic’s reputation on DLC, you’ll probably see some decent extra content coming your way in the not too distant future. Hopefully by the end of the year.
Played Shadow Complex already? Share with me what you liked and dis-liked about this game in the comments!
The Gamer Report 