2D fans rejoice! This is the best 2D game since the Metroid Series of 2D.
Regardless, I'm going to share my thoughts on this little 2.5D, lets just call it 2D, game. It plays very much like a 2D Metroid game, if you played one of those and liked it, chances are you will like this. And as terms of comparison I will probably draw on the 2D Metroids a bit during this review.
The world starts off small, all you have is a flashlight on you as you go hiking. Before long you end up getting caught up in a rescue mission of the girl you are with. Insert guns, grenades, and explosions... Before long you are basically Samus with a power suit shooting missiles and meleeing enemies across the room.
So why bother playing this game when you already have all those 2D Metroid games? Well, they do expand on a few weapons. The hyper boots, called something else in this game, not only let you go fast, but now also let you run up walls and even along ceilings. This turns the speed puzzles of the game into a bit more than I've grow accustomed to.
You also have the ability to melee enemies you sneak up on or get in close proximity to. This is very rewarding IMO. Early on you are able to snap their neck or push them off a cliff, but later on in the game your power suit turns you into a serious punching machine.
You have a foam gun that lets you make ledges where you want. While I remember all the previews talking about how amazing this weapon was, I personally hated it. It slowed down the pace and the camera never let me really see what I wanted to aim at most of the time anyhow. It's main purpose in the game is to provide sequence breaks and improve your speed running times.
There are a few other weapons or power-ups you get that make Samus' power suit look like leather armor from the middle ages... but I'll leave that to the gamer to find and try out.
With all these amazing gizmos and guns how you control them is going to make a big difference in how much enjoyment you get out of them. Aiming is one mechanic greatly improved over its predecessors. Instead of most traditional 2D shooters where you aim the direction you are traveling with a toggle to allow free aiming, Shadow Complex includes the right stick analog for aiming. This works very well, but, I wish I could aim it and then it would stay aimed until I changed it again. It would have made maneuvers where I need to jump, aim, and shoot, much easier to do.
Also learning how to aim 'into' a 3D world where you are locked on a 2D plane takes a little bit of practice. When in close proximity in the 'walking plane' it is easy to just punch them. But when they are behind the traditional plane but yet close proximity left and right the aiming can be a bit touchy.
All in all the weapons, moves, and controls all feel very tight and work well. So the gameplay is solid or better than any 2D game to come before it.
The game also focuses on exploration. From finding every hidden item, finding sequence breaks to help you finish the game quicker, to even abandoning the girl and leaving (you even get an in-game achievement for finding it!) there is a lot to do.
The rewards you get for finding everything eventually gives you some pretty amazing powers, shielding, and unlimited ammo on grenades, missiles, and foam. As you gain them the world slowly opens up to you in the same fashion Metroid games do.
Weapons feel tight, your character will level up as you play and each level provides you with better stamina, aiming, or the like. It takes a long time to get missiles but when you do you can finally take on the whole world.
The leveling up also comes with one of the problems I have with the game. There is no way to start over without deleting your entire save for the game. Each new game you play keeps your ending level and stats. You don't get to keep the weapons, but everything else is carried over. This basically makes it so the longer you play, the more you get to know the world and also the easier it gets... The game should have a way to 'reset' your level.
There are some good sequence breaks in the game, and knowing a few of them can help you play this game in a quicker fashion. That is the ultimate good thing about this game, it plays as a bite sized 'speed run' game where every time you replay it you are going to improve your time.
They also included a 'proving grounds' mode into the game. This is basically a area that lets you focus on one or two different types of power-ups or maneuvers to get to the exit for the area. The mode is bland and designed for OCD types that like repeating the same thing over and over to shave off .5 seconds from their time. I found most of these trials 'fluffy' and annoying to play.
However, the last trial ("The Big One") was great in the sense it played like a mini-edition of the real game. I would have loved to see more of these levels in the training ground instead of the smaller one maneuver type levels.
The price point at $15 makes this game all the better. My first time through took me 9 hours, and that was including aimless wandering trying to get all the items on my first pass though. But getting all the achievements and also getting better speedruns will require a larger investment of time. But still it has a pretty good return for the cost and enjoyment factor.
If you have the ability to play this game, and liked the 2D feel of the Metroid games, you should pick this up. And here is hope more of these sorts of 2D games show up down the road.
Scoring: I give this game a 9.0 for fans of the 2D gaming scene.
Those wondering what the genre is all about would do good to try out this game. At $15 it's a great deal and entry point to 2D side scrolling shooters.
However, if you are not a fan of 2D gaming or shooters this is an instant pass, regardless of score. There isn't anything revolutionary different here that will make you think twice about the genre.