Review: Shadow Complex

With 2.5D being the one of the fashionable “things” in gaming at the moment (along with procedurally generated content and online co-op play), it was only a matter of time until someone decided to do a Metroid style game in the second-and-a-half dimension. That “someone” was Epic Games, and the game was Shadow Complex.

For anyone who has never played a side-scroller Metroid game, the gameplay is relatively simple; run around a large map collecting upgrades and furthering the story, normally by defeating large bosses. The upgrades to your weapons will often provide you access to new areas previously rendered inaccessible. This formula is used in Shadow Complex, and works perfectly. Starting off with nothing but a flashlight, you slowly work your way up through weapons and armour until you become some kind of unstoppable cyborg ninja, capable of disintegrating people with a punch. Seriously.