XLA Game Review: Shadow Complex
Luke Earhart
September 18, 2009
Filed under A & E
Ever been hiking? How about a hiking trip where you find that there is an underground, secret army that plans to incite a Restoration of America, in other words, almost complete destruction.
Seems like an impossible mission to stop them, but not for Jason Flemming, this average guy with just a flashlight, who acquires (steals) some high-end technology from the same people he has to stop. This tech is none other than a suit of shiny futuristic armor.
Shadow Complex is a very Metroid-like game in that you must get power-ups to advance. It also takes advantage of a 2.5D setting; things can go on in the background, but you are stuck to going on a linear left to right path. Is this a complex adventure that has a simplistic design, or will it be shadowed by other side-scrollers?
For an Xbox Live Arcade Game, it has a pretty expansive map. This game can last for a very long time if you’re a completionist like me. To find the hidden power-ups, the game adds a Question Mark on one of the blocks in the grid-like map. You can choose to skip these, but to me, it’s like a nagging little fly that won’t stop buzzing. Thankfully, the game is pretty rewarding when it comes to getting all the secret items, giving much needed upgrades to combat some of the harder super soldiers later on in the game.
The achievements in the game are also challenging, including some such as getting every item in the game, or the Jason Bailey achievement where you have to beat the game by only collecting 4% of the items…on insane mode. While this is obviously a bragging achievement for hardcore gamers, this game has much more to offer.
The most important part of a game is the gameplay, and Shadow Complex does not disappoint. The design of the game includes a somewhat linear path with locked doors, requiring upgrades to get through; but it works! This system allows the designers to give you a nice cinematic experience that keeps you guessing on what the next shiny upgrade you get will be.
The combat itself involves shooting with the guys you find throughout the game. There is this neat achievement system where the amount of headshots or melee kills you have is compared with people on your friends list who also play. This tiny bit of competitive play gives you a good reason to try to get up close and personal more than a few times. As the game gets harder, you feel the need to get some better weapons, and this is done beautifully with the loads of items you can acquire.
Upgrades are always fun to get, allowing you to try a new style of gameplay and more ways to traverse the gigantic map laid out in front of you. Some of the upgrades are the side-scoller basic such as a grenade that opens the green door, or a missile that can blow up those annoying red doors that plague you from the beginning of the game. Then there are more interesting things like a booster pack that gives you a double jump, or the scuba mask part of the Omega Armor. One of my personal favorites is the aptly named Foam Gun. Yes, this guns shoots are foam that goes solid for a certain amount of time. The best part is that you can stack this foam on top of each other or on the horizontal axis, effectively making a solid platform that you can use to get out of a sticky situation. These type of clever upgrades make you want to keep playing to see what you are going to get next.
In the end, Shadow Complex is well worth the $15 on the Xbox Live Arcade. It pulls off the combat, platforming, side-scroller, and collecting action so well that it should be deemed one of the best Arcade games available. Personally, I give this game two thumbs up and think that everyone should at least give the free trial a look. Shadow Complex is one of my new favorite 2.5D, or only favorite 2.5D game, and it will be yours too. Jason Flemming is one cool guy.
“or a missile that can blow up those annoying red doors that plague you from the beginning of the game. ”
PLAIGARISM! Red doors that open with missiles are a trademark of the Metroid franchise!
Also, the “jason bailey” achievement looks like it could be a reference to the “justin bailey” code in the original Metroid.
So I see the people saying it’s very similar to Super Metroid are correct.
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