Far from complex

It was only supposed to be a relaxing hike through the countryside. She said she'd explored that cave before, as a child; how could either of you know what lay in store? But now she's gone - captured; taken away; brought deep within the walls of their base. You never wanted to get involved, but now it's too late, and you've got some serious choices to make: Choose to live; Choose to fight; Choose some really corny lines of dialogue; Choose to enter the Shadow Complex.

The first thing I noticed when starting starting Shadow Complex, the new title by Epic Games and Chair Entertainment, is the production values. This title looks nothing like any XBLA game that's come before, and you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a full-priced retail product. This is because Epic are best known for their Unreal 3 game engine; the framework behind many titles, such as Gears of War, Mass Effect, and Bioshock. While Shadow Complex may not quite look as good as those titles, it's still highly impressive for a $15 game.

After getting over the visuals, the next thing that became apparent was the style of game: It's Medroidvania through and through. What I mean by that is, it's a side-scrolling platformer/shooter that starts you off in a small section of a giant level and tasks you with exploring and uncovering the entire map. As you collect new weapons and abilities, otherwise-inaccessible sections can be reached, and hidden secrets are all over the place.

You play as Jason, an average man who becomes unwilling-involved in the underground terrorist plot after your girlfriend is captured. Thankfully, you're not too shabby with a gun, and there are plenty of explosive weapons laying around (terrorists should really learn to clean up their bases!), so it's not long before you're laying waste to entire squadrons of bad guys. This is where Shadow Complex differentiates itself from titles of old, as it puts that third dimension into use. What I mean is, even though you can only move across the levels from left to right, everything is in full 3D, much like recent XBLA game, 'Splosion Man. However, unlike 'Splosion Man, bad guys will come at you from all directions, and you must fire "into the background" in order to hit them. While this is accomplished with a simple point of the right analog stick, it's still a neat mechanic that I haven't seen before.

Aside from the shooting, the main thing you spend your time doing is exploring. The thing is, it's a much more guided kind of exploration than titles off old. First of all, you've got your flashlight, which will make destructible objects glow. Since the color of the glow tells you what you need to get past the object (grenades, guns, missiles etc...), you're never stuck wondering how to proceed. The next tool you have is your map, which will inform you whenever there's a hidden object nearby, taking away a little of the frustration these games can lead to. The map also shows the path you need to take to get to the next story element, so you never have to worry about getting lost. These things combined lead to a much easier adventure than Metroidvania fans may be used to.

This isn't the only element that's easy, though. In reality, the whole game is a bit of a cake-walk, with bad guys that don't notice you until you've put a bullet in their head, and bosses that can all be overwhelmed with nothing more than a constant stream of explosives. The fact that they give you so many of these explosives doesn't help either. I mean, there are hidden weapon packs all over the place, all of which increase the amount you can hold, so it's not long before you're carrying enough pyrotechnics to shoot a Michael Bay film. I suppose you don't have to collect all these upgrades, but as I said before, they're not exactly difficult to find.

But despite it's simplicity, Shadow Complex really is a lot of fun. The platforming and combat mechanics are solid, and it's never too long before you have a new weapon or gadget at your disposal. Granted, most of the enemies can be taken down with just the use of a gun, but at least you have options. It also has some unique elements in, such as the Xbox Live integration. Even though there's no muliplayer mode, the game keeps tracks of many of the things you do (such as headshots, and melee attacks), and compares your scores to those of your friends. This adds a little bit of competitiveness to the game, as you always want to do just a little better, in order to overtake the next person on your friend list.

So overall, I would definitely recommend Shadow Complex. Sure, we may have seen this exact formula in many games over the years, but this one does a few things different, and only costs $15! It may not be too long or difficult, but I enjoyed it enough that I want to go back and find all the hidden items, unlocking a few more achievements in the process. Epic and Chair have really gone above and beyond with this title, and if it's any indication of where the XBLA is headed, I think we're all going to be very happy.