I don't tend to buy a lot from XBLA, I usually find the games a bit lite on content and not really worth checking out. So when something like Shadow Complex comes along I was actually really surprised at the quality and content of it. After seeing EPIC were attached to it, and trying the demo more than cemented the fact that this is a solid solid game, especially for an XBLA title.
Shadow Complex is a little different to most games of it's genre, it's a mix of 2D side-scrolling shooter and 3D action levels. So you are limited by overall moment in the level but depending where you move or jump to, you an shoot in a 3D arc. It's confusing, and so is the aiming until you play it for a few minutes to get the general feel then its pretty natural. The other difference in this game is that you have an experience system that levels up as you progress, you also quite new guns, armor, and abilities. There are also some basic puzzle elements to the levels and certain weapons are needed to pass certain areas.
Overall the game for some reason reminded me of the original Metal Gear Solid, minus all the stealth. It might have been all the vent crawling I did, or the exploration which is encouraged to find ammo upgrades for the various special weapons you have.
On of the great aspects though is the action, the combat isn't overly hard and you won't find yourself dying often and even doing so you spawn not too far. This makes fighting soldiers in special suits, mechs and some of the games huge bosses great fun, because they aren't impossible and require you to just think a little about what abilities you need to uses. The only thing is at times you can feel a little lost in the compound and it's many rooms, and might have to back track to get to a few things, but the games make thankfully can guide you where you need to be, so it's not a huge problem.
