Mmmm Shadow Complex I had fun times. Yeah this is kind of old news but it’s a good game damn it.

Developer: Chair Entertainment and Epic Games
Publisher: Microsoft Games Studio
Date of Release: August 19th, 2009
Platform: Xbox 360 (XBLA)
Genre: 3D Side scrolling platformer (metroidvania)
Players: 1 (with leaderboard scores)

The Graphics:
Excellent! There’s not much diversity with the goons you’ll encounter so that’s about that. They all make me think of cobra commander. The rooms are detailed. The effects are fantastic. There’s even times when the side view becomes a fully 3d environment and the perspective transition is seamless.

The Game:
There’s a lot of high production value going into this game. You can clearly see that Chair put a lot of love in here. The controls are very solid and it’s not very difficult to learn them. The game’s speed has a nice pace to it and you can move around rather quickly especially after certain upgrades. I was able to create some make shift  stairs to get me in places I shouldn’t be. It’s pretty sweet that I wasn’t completely locked out or stuck by doing this. The plot is kind of funny in a b movie way. You’re hiking over a top secret base with your girlfriend and she gets captured. You want to save her. You discover the base filled with left wing nut cases that want to get rid of the military. Yes, left wing nut cases. Socialist to the extreme! And socialism is a bad thing if you’re an American. Of course these guys are going to be shooting at you and such. They’re also going after the government.

The Arsenal:
Here’s what you have at your disposal…
The gun:
There are many versions of it but it’s what you will use mostly. And it’s quite precise!

The foam:
Once you unlock this you can build bridges to anywhere. In fact I’ve pretty much explored corners I don’t believe I was meant to get to yet by using this wonderful weapon. Of course, like all alternate weapons, you use it to destroy certain barriers too.

The grapple hook:
I didn’t use it much because I was slightly clumsy with it. I can’t say much for it other than it helped me get a stationary position on the ceiling to shoot things with!

The grenades:
After the normal gun, I pretty much spammed the crap out of this alternate weapon. In fact you get so many of these and very frequently you can probably use it on most every enemy by the end of the game.

The rocket:
This is the weapon I played least with. It just didn’t really seem to be all that much better than grenades. I also preferred lobbing grenades to shooting rockets.

The suit:
You can double jump, walk on water, breathe underwater and be invincible to weapons fire by walking. You simply have to find all these upgrades I was only missing the last one I mentioned.

The Sound:
The music and sound effects match very well with the game. The voice acting is as good as the dialog will let it be. It’s Nathan Drake from uncharted! I’d say that’s about it. Also, you’ll start loving the level up sound.

The Bottom Line:
This is a kick ass  game if this is your genre. I had a lot of fun playing it and I do not regret this purchase at all. Thanks Chair. If you feel morally guilty for supporting Card’s cause contribute to a charity that defends gay rights.

Pros:
- Fun MetroidVania style action
- The colour coding using the flash light helps you discover things a lot quicker
- Controls are solid for a side scroller built upon a 3D engine

Cons:
- You’re giving some amount of money to Orson Scott Card
- The end boss is somewhat disappointing!

The Save Factor:
The game sells at 1200 which is among the top tier of most Arcade titles out there. I’d say it’s got as much content as some retail releases so I think this is a respectable price for it. I wouldn’t mind it going at 1500 either! Now the big thing about this here title is that your money is giving some residuals to Card and this fellow spends his money on making sure that his values are held by the American government by lobbying for them with his riches. I’m sure you can find various resources on the Internet about this. In any case a lot of people over the Internet suggested donating some money to charities and such that would defend against these lobbyists. In any case, good game chair.

The Image Gallery:

Victor Review, XBLA, xbox 360