Shadow Complex is not only a great homage to the metroidvania games, it's good enough to live up to them
The story is set in the time and universe of writer Orson Scott Card's "Empire", though there isn't much reference to the book except for the prologue. This story follows Jason Fleming as he is exploring the mountains with his girlfriend, Claire. The two of them accidentally stumble across a secret underground base run by an organization called the "Progressive Restoration". With Claire captured, Jason sees no choice to not only save her, but find out what this organization is up to. As said, the story doesn't relate to the book very well. Hell if you hadn't read about that online, you probably wouldn't even know that. The rest of the story is ok but it's a little shallow. It's pushed aside for the real reason to pick up this game; action and exploration.
At the time, this game looked amazing visually and still does. It's not very often we see a game from the arcade that has the graphics of a full retail console game. The beginning alone will immerse in in its gorgeous environments and character designs.
As said in the intro, this game feels like a love child between Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, giving you what we call the metroidvania type of game. The game world is like a large maze, with many platforms and puzzles to overcome and solve and with many enemies standing in your way. The game is set in a sidescolling view and your actions include jumping, shooting, your secondary weapon (like grenades, rockets and foam), crouch, flashlight and aiming. All of these are needed to progress through the base, like using grenades to blast open certain walls or using foam to break security doors. Every now and then in between cut scenes, you are given a path you must follow to progress. Reaching this destination will activate a cut scene either advancing the plot or obtaining a new upgrade or item. Speaking of which, the game rewards exploration by placing numerous upgrades to your weapons and health throughout the whole game, figuring out how to get them can prove to be a little tricky however. The exploration feels rewarding because of these upgrades and the game itself is always a blast to play through as you try to discover as much as the map as you can.
The right thumb stick is used to aim your gun and the R trigger fires. The cool part is not only can you shoot what's ahead of you, but you can shoot at enemies in the background too. Unfortunately, you can't switch between guns as you are only given one weapon at a time; starting with a pistol and eventually getting assault rifles and even better guns as you advance. Along with getting a better gun, you also get a piece of equipment that will also help you like a jet pack that allows you to double (and eventually triple) jump and a mask that allows you to breath underwater. It's upgrades like that that will keep you playing as you will want to see what helpful item you will receive next. The controls take a little getting used to, ESPECIALLY the aiming, but once you get the hang of things, you'll see that the gameplay is top notch and shooting enemies is so satisfying.
Besides the campaign, the only other mode is "Proving Grounds" which consist of a number of different challenges. This is a good mode for you to get used to the many different upgrades you will receive throughout the game. Getting harder as they go, your objective is to reach the goal by overcoming the obstacles and/or enemies that obstruct your path by using the upgrade or weapon you are given. The Proving Grounds is a neat little distraction from the main game and the challenge will surely keep you going.
Shadow Complex focuses on what made metroidvania games so great back in the day; combat and exploration, and it does both extremely well giving you a satisfying experience. The story is a little weak but what it lacks in story, in makes up for in gameplay and its 8-10 hour campaign mode. All this combined with the outstanding visuals (from the Unreal engine no less) makes this an excellent take on a classic genre. All fans of Metroid or Castlevania will appreciate what Chair Entertainment has accomplished with Shadow Complex.