Xbox Live Arcade Review: Shadow Complex

Far be it from me to ever issue a blanked statement, but in this case I will. Shadow Complex is the best Xbox Live Arcade Game ever made. There I said it. Attack me if you must. Sure, I gamed for hours on Catan, and I am a huge fan of several last generation re-releases, but when it comes to original whole-hearted goodness at a fraction of the cost – Shadow Complex has all contenders beat. Hopefully, by the time you got to this point, you would have gone on XBLA and bought the game. If not, I’ll let you in on the best XBLA game this humble gamer has ever scene.

“Shadow Complex” is based on Orson Scott Card’s best-selling action-thriller “Empire.” Yes, this is a licensed property game receiving the highest of accolades from our team. The game premise is simple: you and your girlfriend have gone on spelunking outing and stumble onto an anti-government conspiracy. Your girlfriend is kidnapped, and presto you, Jason, are transformed into the unlikely hero. Armed with a flashlight and climbing gear, you embark on a quest to save the girl and, invariably, the world.

If you’re a fan of the original Metroid series on NES and SNES (who isn’t?) you will immediately notice that this game has a very Samus like feel to it. Your flashlight is both used to illuminate dark corridors and reveal secret passages. An orange passage suggests a light object that can simply be blasted through with your gun, while a green object will require a grenade to open up. You will also encounter red, blue and purple passages, which will require other upgrades to get through. Most passageways won’t be accessible immediately, and you will have to backtrack to get to them. But, unlike some of the more rigorous dungeon-crawling RPGs, you won’t mind backtracking in “Shadow Complex” because there are enough nuances in this game to make it worth it. For instance, one area of the complex will require you to open up a series of water pipes to reach the top level. Later on, you will get a scuba mask, and be able to go diving in the areas of the map now buried in water. You’ll see both objects and enemies floating around as if they’ve been there for ages.

The gameplay is designed as a 2D side-scroller, but the game is actually delivered in a 3D world. So even though you can only move left-to-right, you will have to face off against enemies in both the background and foreground. There integration of background and foreground play is superbly done. As guards come out of corroders in the background, you can aim your gun in their general direction to take them down. There are times when objects can obscure your line of sight, muddling the auto-aim, but for the most part you will be able to get over it. Gamers also get some 3D gaming inter-mixed in the gameplay during different Turret firefight scenes. These shooting gallery style segments are great fun as you cause enemies to scream, fly up in the air like rag dolls and writhe in agony.

“Shadow Complex” is all about points, achievements and bragging rights. The game integrates with your XBL friends list so that you can compare scores quickly. Also, the game is designed with several items to collect and achievements to unlock. For example, making enemies scream while falling, punting a tiny robot about to explode, and, my favorite, the old-fashioned melee are all great fun. By the way, the melee attacks are awesome. You trigger your melee by getting in close to your opponent and hitting the B button. Then you execute a martial arts takedown of your opponent. Sure, this guy randomly decided to become a Bruce Lee overnight, but this is the video game world and it’s perfectly permissible. Speaking of Bruce Lee, there is one upgrade that allows you to do a super dash, while breaking through blue-colored barriers and eventually running straight up the side of a wall to walk on the ceiling. Life doesn’t get better.

The graphics in “Shadow Complex” are splendidly delivered. The ground textures of both the grass and rock surfaces are detailed. And, the physics and lighting of the water is done better than most games with a full $59.99 price tag. I can’t emphasize how excellently water is used in this game. Some of the boss fights are great, but there is one fight where you will have to drown a large attacking robot. Again, I’ve seen this method used in games with more than twice the price tag, but “Shadow Complex” just does it better and at a fraction of the cost. There are a few cut scenes interspersed throughout the game. The animations are great, but they do little to really elaborate on the story. Honestly, I totally forgot I even had a girlfriend in the game who was waiting for me to save her. Oops.

“Shadow Complex” is by far the best XBLA game of the year. And, it’s probably one of the top 10 games for Xbox period in 2009. For only 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) you can own “Shadow Complex,” one of the few games worthy of beating and rebeating and rebeating - several times over. This may be a single player game, but you will find yourself getting competitive against your buddies who claim they can be it in an hour. Yes, there is an achievement for gamers bold enough to find all the little short cuts and breeze through the game.