XBLA - Shadow Complex - 1200pts

[quote name='KingBroly']Maybe a bit spoilerish, probably not though, but might be helpful for those going for 13%:
You can end the game early by getting in the Jeep
.[/QUOTE]

Brilliant!
 
i have about 60% of the map unlocked now and the only con so far is it becomes a maze. i have to work my way to certain areas of the map right now to continue and i keep getting lost or going into dead ends. but the best moment of this game so far for me was
getting the "walkin on water" achievement. that felt so satisfying just plowing through everyone in hyper speed
 
I hope the sales of this make people realize that 2d gaming done with the right engine is the way to go for certain franchises. I'm looking at you Team Ninja/New Castlevania/Neo Conta/Metroid Prime
 
I hope the sales of this make people realize that 2d gaming done with the right engine is the way to go for certain franchises. I'm looking at you Team Ninja/New Castlevania/Neo Conta/Metroid Prime Series.

Don't get me wrong I liked the first Prime, but it says someting when this game does Metroid better on a 360 then games on a Nintendo system :lol:
 
I played the demo last night and loved it. I'll be picking up the full game sometime next week since I don't have time to play between now and then.

Did anyone else get a little disoriented and try to constantly move into hallways and doors that were in the background? I kept forgetting I was limited to the 2D plane.
 
Fun game and definitely one of the best on xbla. My only real issue with the game so far is that they made it to be a very realistic game, but when I play it, it feels very unrealistic. I almost wish they played up his background a bit more (if he was a star special ops guy, before getting tired of the killing or something), it would help the whole suspension of disbelief.

Maybe they should have designed the levels so that fall damage would actually kill you at first, so you had to be wary of cliffs. Later on when you got a power suit or something, then it wouldn't affect you.
 
I'm not too far into it but awesome game so far. It may be associated to the Empire novel by Card, but as a game it is way better than that piece of crap. I'm only worried it might make people interested in reading that book.
 
Well after playing through most of it with the glitch in the trial version I'm not sure whether I'll buy it now or not. It was fun, but seems really short.
How far along in the story is the "get back to Claire" objective after fighting the second guy in a full power suit? I also explored almost every nook and cranny available up to that point.

Also is it just me or is wall jumping broken? I was able to scale sheer walls by wall jumping back onto the same wall repeatably.
 
[quote name='whiptcracker']I'm not too far into it but awesome game so far. It may be associated to the Empire novel by Card, but as a game it is way better than that piece of crap. I'm only worried it might make people interested in reading that book.[/QUOTE]

So you've read it then? Or you just hate it for some other reason?
 
[quote name='thrustbucket']So you've read it then? Or you just hate it for some other reason?[/QUOTE]

Yep, read it two years ago. I like many of Orson Scott Card's books, but Empire sucked. A guy known for writing great sci-fi suddenly writes a B-level airport thriller with a cheesy absurd plot and bland characters.

Shadow Complex rocks though. If that half assed book could inspire a great game than at least something positive came out of the whole thing.
 
Grr ... I played the demo to completion, then I unlocked the full game. But now I can't get back my saves when I was playing the demo. I have to start all over again. Anybody else experience this?
 
I'm not sure if it actually had saves or not cause I played the demo in one sitting. I just know that when I died, I respawned back in the last "save room".
 
Dear Lord... I am in serious need of XLBA points. I bought The Maw a few weeks ago, so of course I had to download 'Splosion Man when it came out. Now I am hopelessly addicted to the Trials HD demo. Tried this one last night, and I am going to have to add this to the list as well!

I can't say it's a bad thing though... I'm glad to see such quality (and FUN) titles being released on the Arcade.
 
Played the demo gotta say...not for me. I enjoyed Super Metroid and the GBA Metroid games, but this really just didn't work for me.

Don't read if you fap to this game and will not stand for any criticism of the game please.

From the opening intro, the game looked unpolished (probably because of UE3). Lot of pop-in, some weird texturing if you ask me and I got instantly turned off from it when I saw Secret agents shooting at terrorists...in front of their SUV...with no cover. This wasn't a deal breaker for me, but it was kind of laughable. Later on in the demo, when you see Claire getting straight PUNCHED in the face, not slaps, but haymakers, that was laughable too. IDK what I was expecting, but I didn't expect that...lets say...level of comedy in Shadow Complex.

Besides those small things (and they really are small, I'm just explaining why they bothered me) the game just felt weird to me. I personally dislike it whenever developers call their playable Hero character an "every man" because they're clearly not...Jason is fucking beating the shit out of heavily armored guards, he instantly knows how to use a pistol and throw grenades with extreme precision. That's not really a fault on the game because it's how the game is played I understand that, its more of a personal bias. I know it's based on the "Empire" series so if that fiction explains Jason as an every man, then I'm sorry. But just personally, I don't like playing as an "every man" because you never are just an "every man"

For instance, I also disliked it when Naughty Dog first introduced Nathan Drake as an "every man" in Uncharted...then I saw the gameplay and went IDK what kind of people they consider an "every man" but some ninja who can run, duck, hide and shoot and kill hundreds of pirates is not an every man.

Don't tell me the character I'm playing in your video game is an every man, when you give me the ability to kill enemies like I've been trained as some kind of super soldier. Either make a game where the gameplay mimics an actual "every man" where he doesn't know WTF he's doing or don't call your character an every man. I know in a certain cutscene, there's a short flashback where Jason is talking to his Dad and how he doesn't wanna follow in his steps and kill people, so maybe he IS trained but because of the Demo, I didn't get to that so if I'm all wrong, just say so.

In terms of the gameplay, I thought the aiming with the right analog was a bit awkward. It felt like I was controlling a twin-stick shooter that disguised itself as a 2D shooter, but ideally the game only wants you to use the one right stick at a time because you would want to be hidden in cover so you don't touch the left stick...maybe it takes some time, but it felt awkward.

Finally, the thing that most bothered me was how the screen didn't lock during the Tarantula "boss" fight. When the thing rushed me to the left, forcing me to hide in the room where you get grenades, it all just felt weird. I was afraid to come back out because I could no longer see it on the screen and if I did go out, how would I know it wasn't going to just come back rushing again? I think I've just been trained that in most Metroidvania style games, "mini boss" or "boss" fights are going to have the screen lock and you won't be able to move left or right after a certain point and you have to play within the limits that the game has given you. So when the thing moved in and out of my field of view, it forced me to chase it and possibly get hurt by it because I couldn't see it's pattern and what it was doing just felt wrong to me.

Still, I think I'm going to give the demo another try and maybe it'll grow on me.
 
I'm right on the fence with this game. I love this genre, especially the Castlevania games but I can't decide whether this is for me. I think it looks great and some of the game play is great but at times it feels clunky, especially when shooting. I got real far into the demo before stopping and I'm going to give a full run of the demo before deciding. With all the games that have come out on XBLA the last few weeks, dropping money on this is a bit harder.
 
With all the games coming out in the last few weeks, I can understand why this one was saved for last, otherwise I'd have bought this one and ignored the others.
 
[quote name='A Happy Panda']Played the demo gotta say...not for me. I enjoyed Super Metroid and the GBA Metroid games, but this really just didn't work for me.

Don't read if you fap to this game and will not stand for any criticism of the game please.[/QUOTE]

Just a response to the 'Every Man' criticism, in the same scene you mention
Claire being punched has a small flashback to Jason discussing his training but that he doesn't want to become a soldier since he doesn't want to kill people, not that he doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps. While vague, it does mention previous training. Jason is not a character in the book Empire. The story might seem even more absurd to you though if the game explained the fact that the soldiers you're killing are essentially militant liberals.

Took me a moment to adjust to the aiming, but it feels fine once you make the adjustment.

There are certainly mini-boss fights in some of the metroid games without the screen locking on, but yeah, I was waiting by the door confused for a moment as well so I can understand that.

I'd still recommend trying the demo again, it only gets better from there.
 
[quote name='Filbert']Well after playing through most of it with the glitch in the trial version I'm not sure whether I'll buy it now or not. It was fun, but seems really short.
How far along in the story is the "get back to Claire" objective after fighting the second guy in a full power suit? I also explored almost every nook and cranny available up to that point.
...[/QUOTE]

As long as someone can assure me that I wasn't on the doorstep of the final boss, or that the PC version is a long way out, this game is as good as purchased.
 
There are a couple of items I cannot figure out how to get. One I have no idea where it is, or how to get to it, and the other
I keep trying to jump into this pipe above the room where I'm in, but it keeps knocking me back down like it's a ceiling even though nothing's there

I think I'm about to face the final boss, but...
I want all 12 Passkeys so I can get what looks to be like a helmet at the very bottom of the map
 
:lol: I had a soldier that I was climbing up a ladder to kill get stuck to my guy's shoulders and have the advantage in taking me out since I was trying to shake him off.

Enemy awareness is wildly random, as I mentioned before about a group of enemies that were completely oblivious of grenades exploding a few feet from them, but I've also alerted enemies over nothing. I'm talking about hiding under a machine so enemies in the background shouldn't logically be able to see me and I'm out of view from the other guys that are pretty high up, so I see most of them just shooting straight down into the ground like they hope to shoot a path through the large machines they're standing on to get to me.
 
Complaining about Nathan Drake in Uncharted not being an "every man" is kinda pointless. What do you want, a game where the player fires a gun with extreme inaccuracy, flies back from the recoil from shotguns, and dies frequently due to the inability to properly conceal themselves behind cover? Come on.
 
No. I just prefer that game devs not call their characters an every man. You can call him relatable, personable or whatever to make him seem more normal, but don't call him an every man when you as the player are going to be able to manipulate him to kill anything and everything in sight.

The idea of an "every man" is a big idea that came mostly from literature, which is where that archetype should stay. Books are much more suited to relay the feelings, emotions and actions of an every man (see Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby) who actually is an every man versus videogames that ask players to control the every man to kill every and perform extraordinary feats.
 
Just beat the game.
Alright, got to admit, feel like total badass going through all the enemies that were once a bit of a pain in the ass. Though it felt a bit abrupt still in how it ended especially when we find out who was pulling the strings (and of course leaves it wide open for an ending).
Though the end theme feels a bit off to me after going through it. Eitherway very happy with the purchase.
 
[quote name='A Happy Panda']No. I just prefer that game devs not call their characters an every man. You can call him relatable, personable or whatever to make him seem more normal, but don't call him an every man when you as the player are going to be able to manipulate him to kill anything and everything in sight.

The idea of an "every man" is a big idea that came mostly from literature, which is where that archetype should stay. Books are much more suited to relay the feelings, emotions and actions of an every man (see Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby) who actually is an every man versus videogames that ask players to control the every man to kill every and perform extraordinary feats.[/QUOTE]

Congratulations, you've officially over-educated yourself to the point of being unable to enjoy a whole lot of entertainment in life.
 
[quote name='thrustbucket']Congratulations, you've officially over-educated yourself to the point of being unable to enjoy a whole lot of entertainment in life.[/QUOTE]

Not really.

It pretty much only bothers me in video games.

That was a good try to try to make me feel bad about my own personal opinion though.
 
Yeah, come on guys, this discussion is getting a little too intelligent. Let's all just stick to "Game good!" or "Game bad!" from now on.
 
Love the game, but the bosses are ridiculously easy.. I've never even come close to dying on any boss and I'm nearing the end, just need a few more items.

I'm playing on Hardcore as well, so unless they ramp up extremely in Insane, it's a bit disappointing that the bosses are this easy.

Especially the
Saw, in the room before the Hookshot... he never even hit me once, since he kept going above me in his circle while I shot him with rockets. The powered armor is a joke too, like the ones you fight to get back Claire.. just spam grenades, rinse, repeat. I didn't even bother avoiding the projectiles and they never even came close to killing me.
.
 
Game is so great I would have easily paid $20 or more for it. Wish more and more XBLA games were this good. I think the only games to top this so far for me are Castle Crashers and possibly Braid.
 
[quote name='moonknight25']I hope the sales of this make people realize that 2d gaming done with the right engine is the way to go for certain franchises. I'm looking at you Team Ninja/New Castlevania/Neo Conta/Metroid Prime Series.[/QUOTE]

Contra 4, Metroid: Fusion and Zero Mission, and about a half dozen Castlevania games all say hi. The only franchise that's completely forsaken 2D is Ninja Gaiden.

[quote name='moonknight25']Don't get me wrong I liked the first Prime, but it says someting when this game does Metroid better on a 360 then games on a Nintendo system :lol:[/QUOTE]

Eh. That might be layering it on a bit thick -- I liked Shadow Complex just fine, but among other things, the game is lacking any sort of real atmosphere, which is Metroid's forte. It's impressive, but people aren't going to be copying its design twenty years down the road.
 
I was talking about the newly announced games mainly. I went maybe a little overboard with the diss of Metroid Prime, but I get mad when I ask Iga's translator the last few years, why doesn't he do a new 2d castlevania on xbox-live arcade instead of gba/ds. He responds by saying 2d games don't sell/do well on next-gen systems. If a little developer, Chair, with help from Epic can do a great game and make good profits, the other peeps should at least try. They might be surprised at the results!
 
[quote name='A Happy Panda']No. I just prefer that game devs not call their characters an every man. You can call him relatable, personable or whatever to make him seem more normal, but don't call him an every man when you as the player are going to be able to manipulate him to kill anything and everything in sight.

The idea of an "every man" is a big idea that came mostly from literature, which is where that archetype should stay. Books are much more suited to relay the feelings, emotions and actions of an every man (see Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby) who actually is an every man versus videogames that ask players to control the every man to kill every and perform extraordinary feats.[/QUOTE]

Hey, I agree with that assessment, I'm just saying that I thought they made it pretty clear with that flashback that he's more than an average joe off of the street. If that's the only character development in the game then that would be disappointing.

Honestly I thought it was way cornier that in the flashback his dad says "You'll feel differently when you have a cause worth fighting for" and then the main character in the present says "I guess I've found that cause" (or something like that). His great cause worth killing a bunch of people for over something he doesn't quite understand is some chick from a bar he met the day before? THAT is his great cause?

Believe me though. in the case of the Empire series, less story is better. It's the gameplay that's I love, but I also love this style of game. Shadow Complex just feels like a progression of the Metroid/Castlevania style.
 
[quote name='moonknight25']I was talking about the newly announced games mainly. I went maybe a little overboard with the diss of Metroid Prime, but I get mad when I ask Iga's translator the last few years, why doesn't he do a new 2d castlevania on xbox-live arcade instead of gba/ds. He responds by saying 2d games don't sell/do well on next-gen systems. If a little developer, Chair, with help from Epic can do a great game and make good profits, the other peeps should at least try. They might be surprised at the results![/QUOTE]

Fair enough. I wonder, too, if when devs say things like "2D doesn't sell on next gen systems," they're being polite: what they really mean is "Console manufacturers don't *like* 2D games on their next gen systems." Sony's reluctance is notorious, and I wouldn't be surprised if MS has a similar unofficial policy outside of LIVE Arcade games.

I'm not too worried, though: 2009 has already seen Shadow Complex and a 2D Wario game, and A Boy and His Blob, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Demon Sword Muramasa aren't too far away -- even Other M looks like it's "2.5D." People *do* tend to ignore 2D games, but 2D is probably doing better than it has in years.
 
[quote name='trq']Contra 4, Metroid: Fusion and Zero Mission, and about a half dozen Castlevania games all say hi. The only franchise that's completely forsaken 2D is Ninja Gaiden.

Eh. That might be layering it on a bit thick -- I liked Shadow Complex just fine, but among other things, the game is lacking any sort of real atmosphere, which is Metroid's forte. It's impressive, but people aren't going to be copying its design twenty years down the road.[/QUOTE]

I think in regards to Castlevania, he means 1-4 and Rondo of Blood style.
 
[quote name='whiptcracker']Hey, I agree with that assessment, I'm just saying that I thought they made it pretty clear with that flashback that he's more than an average joe off of the street. If that's the only character development in the game then that would be disappointing.

Honestly I thought it was way cornier that in the flashback his dad says "You'll feel differently when you have a cause worth fighting for" and then the main character in the present says "I guess I've found that cause" (or something like that). His great cause worth killing a bunch of people for over something he doesn't quite understand is some chick from a bar he met the day before? THAT is his great cause?

Believe me though. in the case of the Empire series, less story is better. It's the gameplay that's I love, but I also love this style of game. Shadow Complex just feels like a progression of the Metroid/Castlevania style.[/QUOTE]

My post was actually in response to Scorch. But yeah, from what I could gather in the demo, story is not really a strong suit of the game, which isn't my biggest beef with the game, that lies with the control and presentation.
 
[quote name='trq']Fair enough. I wonder, too, if when devs say things like "2D doesn't sell on next gen systems," they're being polite: what they really mean is "Console manufacturers don't *like* 2D games on their next gen systems." Sony's reluctance is notorious, and I wouldn't be surprised if MS has a similar unofficial policy outside of LIVE Arcade games.

I'm not too worried, though: 2009 has already seen Shadow Complex and a 2D Wario game, and A Boy and His Blob, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Demon Sword Muramasa aren't too far away -- even Other M looks like it's "2.5D." People *do* tend to ignore 2D games, but 2D is probably doing better than it has in years.[/QUOTE]

Don't forget 'Splosion Man, Trials HD, even the re-release of MvsC2 on XBLA. 2D is having a great year on modern consoles.
 
[quote name='A Happy Panda']My post was actually in response to Scorch. But yeah, from what I could gather in the demo, story is not really a strong suit of the game, which isn't my biggest beef with the game, that lies with the control and presentation.[/QUOTE]

Eh, I like those parts, but then I like this style of game.
 
Lol, yeah, I like the style of this game as well. The idea of 3d shooting on a 2d plane was a pretty cool idea on Cliffy B's part, or whatever name he goes by now a days. I actually like the story, personally, though.
 
Just finished the game.

I got lost as fuck pre-missile launcher. That tacked on an additional hour or so on my time as I was just back-tracking and running in circles.

Time: 5:24:06
Kills: 1071
Items: 63%

Overall, I felt that the "boss" battles were pretty lackluster and simple. I either spammed grenades or missiles

I'll definitely try to get another run through with more item completion.
 
I just finished my first play through. Pretty much just followed the map.

Time: 4:47:12
Kills: 700
Items: 39%
Total Points: 2597100

For the first time through, I just wanted to enjoy the game, and finish the storyline. This game definitely warrants a second (probably 3rd) play through, in which I will explore more.

For those that are still wondering if it's worth it...YES! It is! I played pretty much straight through with only an hour break for dinner. I couldn't put the controller down. Crazy fun, old school-style game. Well worth the 1200 points.
 
Time: 7:04:06
Kills: No idea
Items 100% (100% of the Map, too in case you were wondering, and no, not every square because that seems to be impossible)
Points: 8,146,700

Um...yeah. Hey, about that ending
It sucked and was pretty generic
.

So, how can I describe Shadow Complex? A very good game in its' own right, but an above average Metroidvania game (And no, I don't include Metroid games in that category; why? because they're better than that).
 
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Alright, this is driving me f'n insane, but where's the item where you first get the grenades and where you walk out and basically fight the first boss? Basically it's right up in the narrow part you crawl through.
 
[quote name='bardockkun']Alright, this is driving me f'n insane, but where's the item where you first get the grenades and where you walk out and basically fight the first boss? Basically it's right up in the narrow part you crawl through.[/QUOTE]

Shoot a grenade to the left of that room.
 
I got through all the Proving Grounds. They're not really THAT tough, although a couple are a bit irritating. Now all I have to do is get to level 50 and do a Minimalist run. That shouldn't be too hard.
 
Really want to get this game but I have told myself I will wait until I get my $10 credit from Amazon for Halo ODST.
 
IMO Shadow Complex is a steal for the price point. I probably would've easily had paid double or more to play it. I would then probably be more willing to be more vocal about a few technical issue were that the case, but regardless, I would still look at is as holding it's value.

With all the talk in the recent months about concerns of increasing costs for downloadable games, does anyone else see this as a potential concern? I forsee SC becoming the go to title for "Look what $15 should offer.", when in reality, I think it's kind of underpriced for what it's doing. I just worry it'll make people even more jaded towards other offerings.
 
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