Happy December, everyone! In this month of year-end retrospectives and Oscar-bait films, we here at GGTL are beginning our annual Christmas content series.

In the past, we've had countdowns, poems and various other sundries celebrating the Yuletide, and this year, every Sunday until Christmas, I'll be offering my reflections on some of my past holidays in gaming. Christmas is a special, memorable time of year for all, and I hope you enjoy my memories of winter gaming gone by.

Part I – A Very Downloadable Christmas (2009)

Sometimes the best gifts come in small packages, or even no packages at all. During this Christmas, I was staying at my parents' house for the holiday break, thankful for the reprieve from what was a very gruelling senior year of college. My old bedroom had long been given to my younger brother, but I was able to set up shop in the back room, where my parents did office work. It was cozy enough, and though the sofa-bed I was using wasn't ideal, the area was mine, and that was all that mattered.

In the room was a small, 18-inch television that my step-dad used for watching his Second World War documentaries (like a typical History major), and with a little fiddling, I was able to hook up my Xbox 360 using an HDMI cable I found on Amazon for $3.50. Since it was the Christmas break, I had a good two weeks of free time to spend with myself, and in no time at all, I had set up my own little area: Xbox 360 and television, plus my computer and monitor set up on a chest I used as a foot rest. It was my own little corner, and I loved it so.

Christmas was quiet that year; we forwent the usual trips to visit relatives, and instead stayed at home. I didn't receive any new games for Christmas, but I took advantage of several Xbox Live holiday sales whilst barricaded in the office: specifically, Chair Entertainment's Shadow Complex and Stainless Games' Magic The Gathering: Duel of the Planeswalkers. I had just finished the first Assassin's Creed game before Christmas and, whilst I loved it, I was ready for something a little less grand in terms of scale. How ready I was, though, I wouldn't know until I fired up my two downloadable gems.


I had heard nothing but praise for Shadow Complex all summer, and I was excited to discover whether the game would live up to the hype. Fortunately, the game surpassed my expectations, utilising everything I loved about the Metroidvania formula (exploration-friendly environments, backtracking, item-collection, etc.), whilst excising all of the elements that I didn't (lack of direction, uneventful moment-to-moment gameplay, unintuitive exploration, etc.). Shadow Complex's two-dimensional environments were both simple and deep, letting me either explore as I wished, or follow the map screen to the objective. I never try to deliberately complete games like Shadow Complex to one-hundred percent - the over-exploration involved in finding that one last item tends to kill the experience for me - but that was just what happened during the course of my playthrough. So hungry was I for Chair's supremely satisfying platforming that I even completed all of the tutorials and challenge rooms after I had finished the main storyline.

After I finished Shadow Complex, I shifted my focus to Magic The Gathering: Duel of the Planeswalkers, another game I picked up on sale. As an avid Yu-Gi-Oh! player who dabbled with Magic during my sophomore year of high school, I loved the chance-elements and strategy of collectable card games, but lacked the financial capacity and encouraging community to ever play regularly. For the price of two-and-a-half booster packs, Duel of the Planeswalkers scratched my card-craving itch, giving me the opportunity to play against computerised opponents with fourteen different decks. Some reviewers cried foul concerning the game, due to its inability to create decks from scratch, but I appreciated the simplicity of pre-made decks and enjoyed simply diving in and playing.


Whilst I was playing my two downloadable goodies, I was using my computer to revisit two of my favourite animé series: the pulpy space opera, Outlaw Star, and the sci-fi neo-western, Trigun. Additionally, I was chewing through Stuart Hill's fantasy novel The Cry of the Icemark; hardly a challenging book, but the story was engaging, and the prose was to my liking. My winter break was heavy in escapism, but I can't say that I didn't need it; I had just completed my second of three nineteen-credit semesters, and a nice, long wallow in escapism was just what my over-tired brain was craving.

When told as a laundry list of what I accomplished, my 2009 Christmas season sounds pretty uneventful, but - truth be told - I wouldn't trade it for anything. My opportunities to do absolutely nothing are rare and far between, and to be able to relax and enjoy a trifecta of my favourite hobbies - gaming, animé-based nostalgia and imaginative, if under-taxing, fantasy books - was nothing short of memorable. More often than not, I need a holiday away from my holiday. That year, however, I got exactly what I needed: indulgence and rest, and I attribute no small part of my break's success to two of the best downloadable games I've ever played.

Labels: 2011, Andrew Testerman, Chair Entertainment, Christmas, Christmas Season 2011, Magic: The Gathering - Duel of the Planeswalkers, Shadow Complex, Stainless Games

Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Ring any bells? Chances are that these classics rank high on many of your favourite games lists. From its announcement, the developers of Shadow Complex admitted to taking a heavy influence from these titles while working on the Xbox Live Arcade release. Some people may have been skeptical whether or not the studio behind Gears of War could create a game in the vain of Super Metroid and Castlevania: SotN, but after playing Shadow Complex they will realise that it is not only worthy of being compared to these games, but that it should be talked about with the same reverence as these classic titles.

After a Metroid-style power-up stealing, Shadow Complex starts you off as Jason Flemming. Jason is just a normal guy on a normal date in the woods with his normal girlfriend - that is until they decide to explore a nearby cave and Jason's girlfriend gets captured by a technologically advanced army called "The Restoration". Jason goes after his girlfriend and soon finds himself in the middle of a huge complex (a shadow complex, if you will), navigating his way around to find a way to get him and his love to safety. Although based on the universe of Orson Scott Card's novel, Empire, and written by comic book writer Peter David, the story in Shadow Complex soon takes a backseat to the action and exploration aspects of the game.

Shadow Complex is the first game that I feel truly earns the title of 2.5-D. The game only allows the player to move on a 2-D plane, and yet enemies appear, not only in front and behind you, but also in the foreground and background. This is an innovative addition to the game, but it usually makes for some frustrating points when aiming at enemies on different planes, and when trying to determine whether you are able to land on a certain platform or whether it is in the background.

When starting Shadow Complex, you will be armed with nothing by a t-shirt and a torch, but it doesn't take long for Jason to be able to hold his own against the games enemies. Promptly finding a pistol and grenades, you are able to take out green-coloured doors, but as the amount of other coloured doors in the base show, this is just the beginning. From missiles to a grappling hook, the power-ups in Shadow Complex are extremely satisfying and you will find yourself constantly itching to get your hands on the next one. A personal favorite of mine probably the most original power-up in the game; the foam gun. It's exactly what it sounds like too, a gun that shoots quick-hardening foam to be used however the player sees fit. There were a few too many power-ups that feel like they were taken straight out of Metroid, but Epic Games did a good job of making these items feel fresh.

The giant military base, of which the game is named after, is an absolute joy to explore. Although you're limited to only the large base and the wooded area surrounding it, there is enough varation to make the backtracking feel not only bearable, but fun. With the game constantly giving you new items, you will usually find something new every time you are required to go to a certain area. Looking at the map screen may be a little daunting to some players, but Shadow Complex gives the player an option of having a blue line on the map screen giving a specific path to the next object. Sticking to the path is not always the best strategy though, as off the trail is where you will find most of the hidden weapon upgrades (more missiles, health, etc.).

The controls are especially good. Jumping, grappling, and climbing the architecture is a breeze. The game falls short when aiming, however. Controlled by the right analogue stick, the overly sensitive aiming can be a problem in parts of the game where accuracy is required. This causes most of the encounters in the game to be most easily solved by wiggling the stick in the general direction of the enemy until enough bullets make contact. A little more auto-aim help could have easily avoided this problem. The aiming can be a huge frustration, as it is usually the reason for unnecessary deaths and soaking up more damage than you should have.

The graphics in Shadow Complex are gorgeous, especially considering that it is a downloadable game. Using the Unreal Engine 3 - the same engine used in such graphically impressive games as Gears of War 2 - the graphics impress. Up close, the character models are not especially pretty, but from the game's intended 2-D perspective, the environments and characters are all quite impressive. However, I also found many instances where parts of my character would clip though a wall, which could be off-putting and often pulled me out of the experience.

Although it is a single-player only game, Shadow Complex does have a mode called "Training Grounds". This mode challenges players to complete specific tasks using a limited amount of resources. The player is rated based on the time of completion and is ranked on an online leaderboard. These challenges are fun, and are a good incentive to keep players coming back.

Shadow Complex is awesome. Its minor flaws in the aiming and graphical glitches are no match for the games strong points. Exploring the world and finding new power-ups is a great way to spend an hour or two, and players will quickly find themselves losing track of time while playing. Shadow Complex can easily be called one of the best downloadable games to date, and could be considered one of the years best games, downloadable or disc-based. If you're a fan of the games that Shadow Complex draws its influence from, or if you've always wanted to check out Super Metroid or Castlevania, it is an easy recommendation. For only 1200 Microsoft Points, Shadow Complex is tremendous value, and is a game that no Xbox 360 owner should be without.

9/10

Tyson

Labels: 360, Epic Games, Shadow Complex, Tyson, Tyson Breen

Ever since it was announced at this years E3, Shadow Complex had been high on my list of anticipated games. The promise of a current-gen, Metroid/Castlevania style game by Epic Games, the studio behind Gears of War, had me squirming with excitement. Today, the game launched on the Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 Microsoft Points and I wasted no time downloading it and hoping in to the campaign.

Shadow Complex starts you off, not as the main character, but as a fully upgraded government soldier. After teasing you for a few minutes with the overwhelming power, in true Metroid fashion, you are stripped of all the power-ups and begin playing as the games hero, Jason. Out in the woods with his girlfriend, the couple decide to explore a nearby cave. Upon entering the cave - which turns out to be a large, technologically advanced complex (hence the game's title) - Jason's girlfriend is taken hostage by the occupants of the base. Jason does what any good boyfriend would do and infiltrates the base armed with nothing but a flashlight.

The controls are spot on in Shadow Complex, I found myself easily maneuvering the games areas. The only points so far where the controls have been an issue is when pin-point shooting is required, as the aiming sensitivity seems a little touchy. The game helps slightly with this problem by giving all of your firearms unlimited ammo, making missed shots less of a hindrance.

Like the games that its inspired from, a main component of Shadow Complex is finding secrets. I've been in every corner of the complex, searching for hidden power-ups, and from what I've found so far, it seems as though the designers have done a great job of evenly pacing the amount of unlockables for the player to find. From extra grenades, to health extensions, anyone who enjoys exploring in games should have a blast with Shadow Complex.

Graphically, Shadow Complex is fairly good. While not overly impressive in comparison to some disc-based games, Shadow Complex rises to the top of the pack when looking at other downloadable games. Using Epic's own Unreal Engine 3 technology, the visuals in Shadow Complex will surely not disappoint.

I've only played a few hours of Shadow Complex, but it has already given me the impression that it is a quality product. Even while writing this post I am itching to get my hands on the game again and continue to explore the large world that Epic has created. Expect a full review of Shadow Complex on GGTL in the near future.

Tyson

Labels: Epic, First impressions, Shadow Complex, Tyson, Tyson Breen