Summary [9.5 out of 10]

Set in the world of Empire by Orson Scott Card, Shadow Complex is a 2D side-scrolling adventure game in the vein of Metroid. You play Jason, a fish out of water who finds himself embroiled in high tech action and espionage when a hiking trip turns into a rescue mission which turns into a save the world mission. The game play is tight, the graphics are excellent and the cut-scenes and voice work are exceptional. Oh and did I mention it is an XBox Live  Arcade title? It is amazing that so many retail games get so much wrong when a download only title gets just about everything right.

Introduction

I think the general perception with downloadable titles on services like Live, the Playstation Store or the Wii store is that they are good for nostalgia or a quick diversion from real games but they aren’t much in and of themselves. At least that is how I have always felt. Initially, the idea of forking over $15 for a game that looks like a quicky downloadable title made my stomach churn but seeing the videos made me change my mind. Shadow Complex is a revelation and if this is what the future has in store for downloadable games then sign me up.

The Great

• Fun: I am not sure when the last time was that I had so much fun with a game. From beginning to end this game grabbed me and didn’t let go. There is always something going on, the puzzles are just challenging enough but don’t bog down the game play, and the action is frantic. Even when I found myself dying in certain areas I kept coming back for more. I never felt particularly frustrated and the learning curve is pretty much perfect.

• Graphics: Built with the Unreal Engine 3, Shadow Complex is gorgeous. The backgrounds and levels look great and the character models and animation are pretty much spot on. That the graphics are this going on a download title is just amazing. Clearly a lot of care went into this game.
• Level Design: This sort of game is made or broken in large part by the level design. If you have bad design then the best ideas, graphics, controls and gameplay are rendered moot. When the emphasis is on exploring the place has to be interesting. Shadow Complex offers up intricate levels which never get repetitive or boring. Going from one room to another is often a puzzle unto itself and adds a ton of spice and variety into well rounded gameplay.
• Item collection/upgrades: The variety of upgradable items, weapons and armor is impressive and everything you collect is worth something. You aren’t looking to items because that is just what you do but because they genuinely help out. The usefulness of the upgrades and the cleverness of their hiding places makes for a very satisfying experience. You don’t do anything just because and you don’t spend time looking for things that weren’t worth your time.

• Replay: The game took me just under 8 hours to finish with 78% of items found. That is a pretty decent length for a game like this. That it is compelling to play through again to try to get everything and find every secret is remarkable. You add in the Proving Ground and Challenge modes and you have a game that keeps giving over and over. When you have full retail games giving you a 12 minute experience this one is packed with value.

The Good

• Jason: Your character is pretty bad ass. He starts out a regular dude trying to get some play in the forest and turns into an action hero that would make John McClane blush. He invokes Nathan Drake from Uncharted, not just because he looks an awful lot like him but also because Nolan North does the voice for both characters. His backstory has his dad teaching him tactical military things when he was younger in hopes he would follow in his father’s footsteps so it isn’t ridiculous that a random dude becomes the savior of the world…or at least of San Francisco.
• Controls: The controls here are super intuitive and easy to use. There is a bit of learning curve but the game eases you into things enough that this isn’t a problem. Anytime you have a hard time doing something in this game it is a skill based issue and not a broken control issue…except for some of the shooting, which will get its own bullet point later. Once you spend a little time with each of the upgrades and new abilities you will be pulling off impressive feats that will make you feel like a badass.
• Story: Based on established cannon and adapted here by Peter David, you don’t get a super involved story but what you get is very good. I wouldn’t have expected much story at all from a game like this so the fact that it has a compelling one is really cool.
• Difficulty: There are several difficulty settings to choose from but the normal, default difficulty is pretty much perfect. It offers up a challenge but not such that you get frustrated and walk away. The only reason I ever stopped playing this game was when I had to never because I wanted to. If I didn’t have a job and a girlfriend I would still be playing right now.

• Variety: You have a lot of ways to deal with enemies from shooting, to CQC, to running away. Solving exits and figuring out how to get through a room or to a hidden object seldom has just one way to do it. Getting creative not only helps improve your play but also makes everything more fun and keeps the game feeling fresh.

The Bad

• 3D shooting on a 2D plane: I get what they were going for here but it doesn’t really work out. Basically what you have here is enemies coming at you from various points in the background. You can auto-target these guys or sometimes aim for them by pressing up but in those moments when you have a lot of foes at once it is really difficult to take out the dick sniping at you from behind a box in the background. A nice idea but it just doesn’t deliver.

• Boss Fights: The boss fights leave a lot to be desired. They are just too easy. The final battle was a cake walk and generally none of the bosses gave me any real problem. You have a great opportunity here to have some really epic boss fights but they fall short. Everything else in the game puts this on par with Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of Night and so too should the boss fights. Those classics had truly memorable and challenging bosses. It is a shame that Shadow Complex can’t say the same thing.

Conclusion [9.5 out of 10]

Shadow Complex is fun, fresh and beats the holy loving crap out of a lot of full retail titles. For $15 you owe to yourself to download this if you have Xbox Live. Seriously unless you hate games like Metroid and Castlevania, and by extension fun, then you will love this game. It is just that good.