Shadow Complex

It doesn't really feel new, or deep. But Shadow Complex is fun in a way that modern games rarely pull off: despite some fairly complex technology, it's easy to understand, and delivers rapid-fire entertainment. Shadow Complex isn't the "next step" in Metroidvania-style games - it's just the existing, well-polished formula with a 2.5-D facelift, set in an alternate universe (ours, this time), with a dense, never-a-dull-moment layout.

The story, which is allegedly based on some Orson Scott Card political intrigue - I can't read so I wouldn't know - is pretty weak. Scant cutscenes help explain your objectives, and the voice acting, especially in in-game flavor scenes, is excellent; but the plot, a conspiracy to overthrow the American government, just seems out of place and unnecessary. The main character doesn't seem to care at all about it, and frankly neither do I.

Being Unreal-based, the game looks great ... most of the time. Some effects just don't look right, and cutscenes in general show just how much Chair had to trim down the engine, with jerky movement and some ugly slowdown. On the flip side, the way the flashlight brightens up dark vents and caves is really impressive. And the underwater scenes, well, those are fuckin' gorgeous.

The difficulty is something I take issue with, due to a few design quirks. Playing on Medium, or Normal or whatever it's called, I do pretty well most of the time - but getting shot hurts like a bitch, and save points don't fully refill your health! Instead, the save rooms have a bunch of health pickups, that disappear once you've used them. I've also noticed that the save rooms have an irritating tendency to be placed right next to dangerous areas.

The pacing seems off, just slightly. I got grenades and a climbing pack in the first few minutes of the game, but it was like two hours before I got another upgrade to my core abilities. This is probably a side-effect of how freakin' huge the map appears to be.

As for the faux-3D aiming - like the graphics, it works great most of the time. The times when it doesn't - as you try to aim at a dude right in front of you, but the semi-auto-aim is instead pointing you at a guy in the background hiding behind a box - are frustrating, and it happens often enough that you'll notice. But, not so often that it feels irrevocably broken. Like I said, most of the time it's fine.

Shadow Complex isn't revolutionary, but it is a very fine implementation of a classic formula. Also, it's $15, which seems ridiculous.

Progress: 31% map, 25% items, Level 9