Review: Shadow Complex

When we first caught wind Epic Games, the studio behind Gears of War, was creating an Xbox Live Arcade title, we went wild! Initially we thought for sure it would be along the same lines as Gears of War. To our surprise, the company announced at E3 it was working on a side scrolling action/adventure title. We were pumped! Now after months of waiting, Epic has unleashed Shadow Complex on Xbox Live. Did Epic deliver? You betcha baby!

The Story

You are Jason Flemming, just an average Joe out for a hike with your girlfriend in the mountains. She decides to take you to a cave she used to explore as a child. Since she knows the terrain she goes in first. Within moments the fun begins. Almost immediately you lose sight of your gal pal, only to find her backpack laying on a rock. Where did she go? As you make your way deeper into the cave you stumble upon an entrance into a strange compound. What is it? Where happened to your girlfriend go? It’s up to you to find the answers.

Never follow your girlfriend into a mountain cave.

The Gameplay

The objective in Shadow Complex is to make your way through a vast underground complex, solving puzzles as you go. It won’t be easy. Like any high security complex (and we’ve been in plenty!), there are locked doors, traps and of course plenty of secrets to uncover.

As you progress you will obtain more weapons, open new areas and unravel the story. And what story isn’t complete without boss battles. Yes, there are plenty of boss battles to be had. Although the bosses are a nice addition, the battles themselves are by no means epic. Enemies don’t take up an entire screen a la Contra and most are too easy to defeat. The average boss can be destroyed within a minute or two on normal difficulty level.

Shadow Complex has a very distinct flavor that experienced gamers will pick up almost immediately. There is no doubt Super Metroid will come to mind. In fact this game has a very distinct Metroid Feel. Certain colored doors need certain weapons to open. Red doors need to be blasted open with missiles, green doors require grenades. Metroid fans will feel right at home. There’s even a hint of Bionic Commando (don’t worry, the original) thrown in for added flavor.

The Controls

Shadow Complex has a very basic control scheme. The trigger buttons are used to fire primary and secondary weapons. The d-pad is used rotate through your secondary weapons such as grenades and missiles. The left analog stick controls your character while the right analog stick activates your laser sight.

A feature we dug was the auto aim. Enemies not only come at you from the front and back, they also charge you from the background. Since this is a side scroller, aiming into the background would be a challenge, luckily your character will automatically aim into the background when an enemy appears. It works for the most part. A few times I found myself trying to kill a single enemy in the distant only to find myself unable to hit them, but for the most the auto aim feature works and works well.

The Graphics

For a side scroller, Shadow Complex looks very nice. The colors are crisp and clean with high detail backgrounds. We could only wish Contra looked this beautiful back in the day.

My only gripe with the graphics are the cutscenes. While they are decent they looked a little choppy, and the lip sync seemed to be slightly off. Graphically I think more work could have been put into the cinematics. It’s not that they’re bad, just don’t have the wow factor you would expect from Epic Games.

It looks manacig but the WSA2 Tarantula is a pushover.

The Bottom Line

When all is said and done I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed Shadow Complex from beginning to end. Sure it’s not a long game, most will be able to breeze through it in a weekend, but it’s enjoyable while it lasts. The game borrows elements from some of our favorite classics. Contra, Bionic Commando, Metroid, it’s all here. Some may scold the developer for “stealing” elements but hey, why not! Those games were great for a reason. Why not take the best parts.

If there was one low point it would be the boss battles. The characters themselves (often mechs) are nothing to write home about, and they are way too easy to defeat. But when you have such a solid game it’s easy to overlook this aspect. Epic, you have outdone yourselves. Now bring us a sequel, and give us something to get excited over!

The Good

good graphics
great controls
shares elements from some of our favorite games

The Bad

auto aim not always reliable
easy boss battles