Who here else is playing it? I like it a lot up to now. If only they did this with other series like Metroid and Castlevania. I really hope the Japanese are paying attention. There is money to be made!
The who what now?
Shadow Complex is a Metroid-esque “giant map with lots of hidden stuff to find” game with the “I need a certain weapon to open this door” element to it. It’s fun because it’s 3D - there are enemies in the background. Overall I’ve found the theme to be more enjoyable than Metroid as well, even though the story is pretty much shit. This game is pretty awesome, and is only $15.
edit: Sin! Damn right, this is way, way more fun than Metroid or Castlevania.
What platform?
XBL
Shadow Complex is a metroid like platformer/shooter set in current times, with a strong MGS4 look. It was released on Xbox Live and a build for PC is supposed to come sooner or later.
As I don’t have a 360, I’ll be looking closely at that PC build. I really want to check this game out.
Unfortunately my PC will in no way be able to play this (it was having major problems with the Monkey Island remake) and I have no XBox360. Too bad. 8-(
Seeing is believing. I’ll wait for the pc build.
I dunno, Metroid always bored me because I’d go the wrong way then get stuck. This doesn’t seem to happen in Shadow Complex (or at least the number of weapons needed to get through doors is smaller, so the backtracking or longwinded detours aren’t neccessary), which is a big thing for me.
My only complaint about SC right now is the lack of music. Something that set CV and Metroid apart were their catchy tunes and its just unfortunate there aren’t any in SC. I am slowly going through it and am liking it quite a bit. I like that the combat is varied from room to room and more complex than the shooting mechanics of Metroid.
I mostly agree with you, but something funny about that comment is that the original composer of Metroid tried really hard to make the soundtrack atmospheric and not-so catchy like most VG Music:
Although, if you ask me, it was only moderately successful. I would have loved to see what he could have done if he had written the score for Super Metroid; he did do a very good job of creating a more atmospheric sound with Earthbound, so it would be cool to see his take on Metroid with more advanced resources than a NES synthesizer.
Don’t get me wrong, not all of Metroids’ tunes were catchy, but several of them are, especially its main theme. Its a question of identity, which I think is what SC lacks. Of course, SC is meant to be “heavily inspired” by Metroid, but I think it also think it packages itself differently. Now that Epic/Chair have set a baseline for this, to turn it into a series means that they need to attach themselves to specific recurring themes, a very important one being music.
Speaking of ambient, the little music the is in this game actually is pretty good and would be solid if it would just loop, but it doesn’t. I just got my underwater breathing apparatus and a good song played in the background, however briefly, but then it disappeared. I don’t get it.
I agree. The placement of cover and the weapon options, as well as the enemy placement make for fun firefights and multiple approaces. My favorite is to use the foam on something then stick a grenade in it.
And I always found Metroid II’s music (not by the same guy) used ambient very effectively. You’d twist your way into passages further and further away from the original route and the sound would become sparser and sparser, making the sound effects more prominent. Then a metroid would fly at you and it’d be fight or flight… with the unnerving sound accompanying your wounded character to the closer save point.
Ah, Sorc, searching is part of the fun for me, when available. Metroid’s battle system could be more involved, so I’m still curious about that, though there’s a fine line between a Metroid and a shooter.
I get what you’re saying about searching, and in that department it seemed there was a lot more to search for in Metroid. Shadow Complex’s items are kind of easy to find, I’ve found.
Sorry to double post but I beat the game today, and the final boss is pretty cool, but I had completely maxed out the armor and gotten 100% of the items… I was pretty invincible. I’d like to do that on a harder difficulty - I bet it’s way cooler.
Had me and lost me in one sentence.
What don’t you like about the look and feel of that kind of environment, and characters? Because that’s all it involves - a theme, not a story arc or even comprable gameplay. It’s Metroid with a splash of “oooh, if I turn off my flashlight, he won’t see me and I can sneak up and smack him instead of just shoot him like everything else” gameplay mechanic. It’s little more than that, and fighting the occasional bipedal machine of war.
Sorc: I love the environment. I agree the items are a bit easier to find. The big question is though, how can you make it harder to find? The only way I can think of without making it retarded (like Metroid 1 on the NES) is to turn off the “?” system on the map.
Hades: what don’t you understand? I described the gameplay mechanic and what the game looks like. To top it off, the main character looks like the guy from Uncharted and is voiced by the same person. I like the setting they created a lot.