Stationed on the very cold (but
recently made habitable thanks to technology) moon of Jupiter, Ganymede, you
play the role of Wesley Tyler, a recently demoted soldier turned mechanic.
Tyler is a man with a chip on his soldier since he was blamed for an accident
that clearly was not his fault. Now he spends his time repairing the various
machinery scattered around the military installation. But what’s this? The
power has gone out and you are sent to turn the lights back on. Well quicker
then you can say plot device, Tyler and his cohorts are attacked by
something and the race/escape is on with Tyler a hiccup ahead of a fate
worse than death.
Shadowgrounds is a shooter-style
game, only played from a top-down view, similar to the original Gauntlet. As
Tyler, you are no stranger to weaponry and high-tension situations, but since
nothing could really prepare him for the situation at hand, expect a fair
amount of blood and violence. Of course, it doesn’t help that there is an
8,.000-person colony nearby and unless he wants to bear witness to a really
big buffet, Tyler will need to channel his inner hero and dole out some
punishment. Which is made easier by the weapons that are found throughout the
levels. It does take a bit of getting used to but the control scheme can be
adjusted to make things flow a bit nicer, but the first time you begin
shooting chances are you will need to access the control menu and tweak things
around a bit. So in that sense, the game does a good job allowing players to
move things around and adjust the sensitivity.
"Gonna need a mop after this."
What Shadowgrounds does offer a
lot of is creepy locales and a good depth of environment. Being that the game
takes place on a moon very, very far away, the sun doesn’t shine like it does
here on Earth. The game is dark and creepy with all sorts of shadows dancing
around and monsters waiting around the corner ready to pounce. And for all
those really cool locations, the game fails to deliver the scares. Which is
too darn bad because I thought that the developers were on to something with
the clever-looking creatures and unfolding storyline that plays out in a
semi-panicked way. Fortunately you are given a flashlight with recharge
function and that in turn help bend the graphics into something that they
aren’t with the constantly dancing shadows that are cast by said light. Well,
the programmers do a good job of pulling the wool over our eyes by
not creating cutting-edge graphics, but rather making them dark and sinister
and then allowing you to see slivers of them when using your flashlight.
Now I said that the game has a
good look to it with the creepy locations, but the graphics are hit and miss.
Where Shadowgrounds hits is the cool-looking levels, light sourcing and
monsters. Where it misses is the cutscenes which seem to be missing that
polished look that the rest of the game seems to have. The explosions are
great and the fire that sometimes flashes looks really good. I did notice some
slight hiccups when the action became really heavy which often happens in
games like these, but hey it is bearable. I would like to mention that as you
do play, NPCs will come into the story and fight alongside you as you burn,
blast and bomb your way through the game’s levels. The A.I. that the game has
isn’t on par with some other recent games, but it certainly has some life in
it. The monsters are more of the same, the only difference is that where a
NPC’s A.I. is more noticeable, you are less apt to see it when hordes of
creatures are coming after you.
"Sear both sides and cook at 450
degrees for 30 minutes."
The cutscenes may seem a bit
lacking in the visuals, but the voice acting is done both fair and well. I
like how the game unfolds with different characters, either barking orders at
you, or pleading with you to come save them or help out, but then somebody
won’t have the right tone in their voice that would match the situation at
hand. Regardless, the in-game sound effects have the appropriate electrical
sounds and the explosions are crisp and full. Weapons fire sounds good and the
various sounds that a futuristic space colony emit also more then cut the
mustard.
The game reminded me of the
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel game, that came out a couple of years ago, in
it’s scope and design. Both games feature an action-heavy storyline with a
top-down view that stresses the importance of killing as many creatures as
possible in order to save the day. Not that this should turn you off; I like
how the game feels, not quite an apocalyptic burnt-out future, but certainly
not the most favorable of environments for humans to live in either. There is
plenty of blood and gore, and I suspect that the developers were trying to
make a scary game; well, maybe it’s me and my high threshold to "scary" but I
was never creeped out like I would have liked. Others may be, but I wasn’t.
|
Review Scoring Details for Shadowgrounds |
Gameplay: 7.5
The controls can be tweaked,
lighting levels can be adjusted and you can reconfigure the keys to your
liking. I almost wish this title would have come out on one of the consoles,
since I can only imagine how this one would handle with a quality controller.
Graphics: 8.0
The creepy locations that the game
has really had me pumped up to get down and dirty. The lighting, the
explosions, the monsters, I liked them all. I think it’s fair to say that
while the graphics aren’t cutting edge, the fact that the game tricks you with
all those shadows and darker-looking places, it deceives you as much as
anything. But still…
Sound: 8.1
Fair voice acting, you can walk up
to various terminals and begin speaking with somebody from another part of the
base/colony. Good sound effects that boost the games sound.
Difficulty: Medium
Just the right amount of
challenge. Should you try and kill all them critters running at you, or should
you beat feet and try and out run them? Both ways may work, but only one will
leave you with some health while the other will leave you barely clinging to
life.
Concept: 6.5
Aliens and demonic creatures in
the far reaches of space. Hmmmm, sound familiar? Big guns that you can upgrade
that cause all sorts of environment damage? Anyone, anyone? NPC characters
that battle alongside of you, a disgraced former soldier? Not the most
original.
Overall: 7.5
For a bargain-priced game, this is one of the better ones. The
developers were clearly inspired by other games, but that’s Ok – they changed
things up by turning it into a top-down run-and gun-game with tons of action
and ammo. Take a gander at this one if you like your games bloody with some
doses of dread.
