A good looking 3rd person that has an old school substance. Short and sweet, but it's been done before.
A 3rd person perspective puts you (a mechanic) on an extended planet setup by the government to help Earth as it has become overpopulated. The story is nothing to wrtie home to ma' about but it's short and action-packed. You could stow up for a good day and finish this game without a problem; which makes the story feel more complete than coming back the next day. The problem with this is obviously the extended value of the game. The controls are easy and you can dive right in without having to look into any instructions. There is a simple weapons upgrade system and a few protagonists that you try to help out that keeps you interested. The stoy itself is of aliens taking over the compound you work on and you get stuck in the middle of it all. It's been done before... The enemies are interesting; however there do not seem to be very many variations (or kinds) of monsters. Just the sheer quantity keeps the pace up. The weapons upgrades can add some variety and you'll find yourself conserving ammo in the later stages.
Graphics:
Nothing to complain about here. The characters look good. Nothing ground-breaking but the overall aesthetics are there. Outside sceneries feel like you're outside and likewise for the indoor / cave levels. The ambience is very well set at each stage of the game. The visual effects of explosions and attacks are good, but once again, nothing special here.
Sound:
There is some voice-acting in this one and it's decent. You look at the characters and think "that's the voice that should be with that face." The music playing and the atmospheric noises throughout the levels are done very well. It really gives you the effect you're playing in the game and not just sitting down for a chore. It keeps you going and keeps you awake.
Value:
With very little replay value it's tough to put out the cash for this, luckily it's pretty cheap and dowloadable (no gas money or taxes needed!). Only varying difficulties will bring you back.
Tilt:
Shadowgrounds left me with the taste of a nostalgic old school game when i played through it. The substance of the game me this feeling and the graphics and sound made it feel like a refurbished old school 3rd person shooter.