in which Nick plays Games: Shadow Complex
I picked this up for 1200 XBL points (~$15) last weekend. Beat it in 10 hours or so, and largely cause I was goofing around and taking my time.
Things I Liked:
- It's HUGE. Ridiculously huge.
- Most of the upgrades arrive on the right timeline of boredom vs. too much new stuff.
- It's handy that there's a master record of how many items you have left to find, where they are on the map, etc.
- XP!
- It's very very similar to Super Metroid - much more so that Castlevania: SotN.
- Status Update: Single.
- I like that they show your progress on headshots/melee/screams vs. your XBL buddies.
Things I Didn't Like:
- The story was retarded. Sure, I know, but REALLY retarded.
- Wow, it's the guy from Farcry. Blatantly.
- The map/item list makes it a little TOO easy.
- The final item (the helmet) is so obscenely powerful it made the ending a little subpar. Hell, the final gun is almost as bad.
- Enemies are, in general, pretty cookie-cutter. The bosses weren't too hard either, and only one was unique.
- I'm a little annoyed that there are areas mapped as 'explorable' that ARE NOT. Especially the one IN THE REACTOR that even the helmet can't get to.
- Instant-kill areas suck. That's it.
- By the time I got triple-jump and the hook, I didn't need either.
- Infinite Foam >> Jumping/Hooking about.
- The game is weirdly glitchy - it crashed my box once, I've heard reports that certain doors register as locked/unlocked simultaneously, and the final cut scene in my game had the main character decked out in white hair with bright purple highlights. Yeah, odd.
Verdict:
If you like Super Metroid (or Castlevania: SotN), you will LOVE THIS GAME. Seriously. It's a lovesong for Metroid, plain and simple, and while it's GREAT as such it doesn't bring a lot more to the table other than a cute perspective trick.
Things I Liked:
- It's HUGE. Ridiculously huge.
- Most of the upgrades arrive on the right timeline of boredom vs. too much new stuff.
- It's handy that there's a master record of how many items you have left to find, where they are on the map, etc.
- XP!
- It's very very similar to Super Metroid - much more so that Castlevania: SotN.
- Status Update: Single.
- I like that they show your progress on headshots/melee/screams vs. your XBL buddies.
Things I Didn't Like:
- The story was retarded. Sure, I know, but REALLY retarded.
- Wow, it's the guy from Farcry. Blatantly.
- The map/item list makes it a little TOO easy.
- The final item (the helmet) is so obscenely powerful it made the ending a little subpar. Hell, the final gun is almost as bad.
- Enemies are, in general, pretty cookie-cutter. The bosses weren't too hard either, and only one was unique.
- I'm a little annoyed that there are areas mapped as 'explorable' that ARE NOT. Especially the one IN THE REACTOR that even the helmet can't get to.
- Instant-kill areas suck. That's it.
- By the time I got triple-jump and the hook, I didn't need either.
- Infinite Foam >> Jumping/Hooking about.
- The game is weirdly glitchy - it crashed my box once, I've heard reports that certain doors register as locked/unlocked simultaneously, and the final cut scene in my game had the main character decked out in white hair with bright purple highlights. Yeah, odd.
Verdict:
If you like Super Metroid (or Castlevania: SotN), you will LOVE THIS GAME. Seriously. It's a lovesong for Metroid, plain and simple, and while it's GREAT as such it doesn't bring a lot more to the table other than a cute perspective trick.