28
Aug
Shadow Complex
Microsoft has been trying to relieve some of the summer games drought by releasing a slew of XLBA games. ‘Splosion Man, a game I talked about before was one of them. Well their last game release and definitely the biggest is called Shadow Complex. Developed by Chair, this game is basically a modern reboot of the classic Metroid and Castlevania side scrolling type game. What makes the game even more special is that it’s fully rendered in 3D but you’re restricted to only 2D movement. This breathes a new life into the genre making things seem less crowded and much grander.
I never really got into Metroid or Castlevania when I was younger. Mainly due to the fact that I was pretty much too young and just bought box art that looked cool and stuck with Mario. Did give them a try when they came to the GBA and had a lot of fun with them. But really I think the culmination of the genre has hit with Shadow Complex. Well at least for me. I always felt daunted with item collecting and finding secret passages in Metroid. But in Shadow Complex everything felt.. right. Yeah horrible way to put it but it just did. Nothing felt too easy or too hard. It was all just so much fun. I haven’t experience this much joy in a game since well maybe Yoshi’s Island (greatest game of all time). And that was well over 10 years ago for me. I’ve just been wanting to play it so bad but sadly I just haven’t had the time. Plus I gotta play Arkham Asylum and Layton still.
So yeah Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade was pretty awesome this year. ‘Splosion Man was a blast (pun semi-intended), almost got Marvel vs Capcom 2 and Turtles in Time but wanted to save my money, and they saved the best for last, Shadow Complex. Definitely worth the $15 they charge. Hell I’d pay regular game price for it. It’s just that good.
