It's good to see
that the arcade genre is still strong and popular within the broader
gaming community and Shadow Complex only proves this point even
more. Available via XBox Live, Epic Games have created a classic
arcade side scroller with a twist and have even broken the 2D
barriers as gamers battle it out in an almost Super Metroid experience
on the XBox 360.
|
MICRO REVIEW |
|
The Good |
A 2D/3D side scrolling
platformer that transcends the traditional genre. |
|
The Bad |
Interconnected environments can
be confusing and game is a little short |
|
The Ugly |
Some will compare this as a
Metroid clone |
|
Verdict |
Best arcade fun all year,
highly recommended! |
Set in the world of
Orson Scott Card's best selling novel, Empire, players embark a
truly cinematic experience that pushes the boundaries of traditional
arcade side scrollers. With a thoroughly enjoyable and at times
violent storyline, gamers must use any means possible to find their
abducted girlfriend.
As you step into the shoes of Jason Fleming
(voiced by Nolan North), you know that you are not just the average military
man but something more thanks to your father's background. Even
though you did not want to step into his shoes, you are forced to
pick up the gun.
The gameplay itself
is like Super Metroid meets Iron Man and
from the very first moments of playing the game, you immediately
know that you are in for a treat from the lush graphics to the
extremely playable gameplay. With that said, this game is so
reminiscent of those 80's arcade games like Elevator action and
considering the flux of first person shooters on the market at the
moment, this is a breath of fresh air.
Even though this game is a side scrolling arcade game, the developers
have managed to successfully transform the traditional boundaries of
this genre as gamers must also attack enemies in other areas such,
almost making the game a 360 side scrolling game. For instance, you
may need to attack enemies in the background and this is done
through the analog stick which is needed to aim. This aiming can be
a little tricky at first but on easier levels the auto-aiming
assists greatly. Other cool tactics is that you can even use boxes in the
game for cover and run at high speeds once you have attained a
certain Iron Man like armour.
Weapons are very
varied and diverse and you even have the ability of upgrading
weapons, once you have attained your power suit (Omega
Suit), nothing will get in your way. If you do get stuck, you can
use a torch that in essence, shows you what you may have missed or
which way you need to go.
Apart from that
navigating is done through the right analog stick which is also used
for swimming and there is a jump, crouch and action button. The
controls are pretty much perfect, although certain parts in the game
can be tricky such as running jumps or getting to difficult to reach
places via double jumps or climbing on walls.
The gaming
environments are really great for exploring and you even have a Metroid-like
is map because the gaming world is quite huge and you need to think
outside the traditional 2D sphere.
What made this game so addictively entertaining is that there's
always something happening in the game which gives you a good
incentive of finishing the game, whether it's for powerups, weapon upgrades
or new enemies, you just don't know what's around that corner.
Fighting the enemies
is a pure treat as you blast everything in your way, however with
the upgrades and suit, this experience becomes even more
entertaining. There are even some stealth aspects in the game (move
over Tom Clancy) that has you performing a few sneaky maneuvers on
unsuspecting victims.
The game contains the occasional boss fight to
liven things up which can be challenging, depending on your gaming
experience. If you're XBox is connected to Live, the game even pops
up a display comparing how well you are doing against one of your
friends. As you can see, quite a bit of thought has been put into
this game.
Graphically, the title is easily the most impressive games on XBox
Live at the moment with great level designs, a great colour palette
and even better looking characters. Add in a variety of special
effects and lighting and this is one professionally looking good
game that is oozing with eye candy. The outdoor areas looking
amazing from flowing waterfalls to extremely detailed forests.
Imagine if a game like this was in the arcade... wow!
Even the cinemas
have "effort" in them and of course assists in rewards for the
player. As with the graphics, the dialogue, sound effects and
musical score suit the story and gameplay perfectly and you really
can't complain in both these departments. Of course the reason why
the graphics look so good is because the game uses the Unreal
Engine.
Final Thoughts?
In conclusion, it's these small gems that makes gaming so fun and
even though the gaming environment is quite huge, you just want to
keep on exploring to see what you missed, whether it's an enemy or
power-up. This also assists with replay value and there are not many
arcade games out there that have you coming back for more, even
after you have finished it. Shadow Complex will take the average gamer around 5 - 7 hours to
successfully finish this game, however those explorers may take a
little longer. Finally a game that not only pays homage to the
original concept of arcade games but transcends it to a 21st century
level.
