The foam gun looks like it comes straight out of Metroid
The term “Metroidvania” has been around for decades, referring to the Metroid (or Castlevania) non-linear side scrollers that were all the rage in the last millenium. Chair Entertainment has brought Metroidvania games into the new century with Shadow Complex, a download only XBLA title that can be had for $15. The short of it is, this game is a great deal, and a no brainer if you are a fan of the aforementioned.
The weakest part of the game is the story, which is told every once in awhile through Unreal Engine cut scenes. They look great, but they are few and far between, and the story is kind of generic, something about some evil faction trying to take over America (there is some sort of civil war going on). It’s decent enough to move the game along, but where Shadow Complex really shines is in the gameplay.
The easiest way to describe the game is to call it an homage to Metroid. You are navigating through a complicated maze of a base, in two dimensions, and new areas of the base open up to you as you power up and get more equipment. The only difference is there is a pseudo third dimension: you aim using your right analog stick and can fire at enemies in the background that way. The aiming is kind of finicky at first, but as you get better and level up, your aiming gets smoother. You gain experience by killing enemies and discovering new areas, and every level increase results in an upgrade.
There are tons of collectibles hidden throughout the game world, which is what I am having the most fun finding. If there is a collectible in a particular area of a map grid, a question mark appears in the grid and it’s up to you to find it. As the game progresses, you really need to start using your new weapons, sometimes in conjunction with one another. There are some small puzzles that are really fun to solve. Of course, you can skip all this and just plow through the game with the guidance turned on (a blue line that tells you where to go) if you wish.
But that would really be missing out on the charm of this game. With a ton of collectibles to find, a challenge mode, multiple difficulty settings, an achievement for beating the game with a MINIMUM of upgrades, speed runs, etc., there are hours of enjoyment to be had in this game. It’s an old school product in a new school package – try it out and you’ll know what I mean.
