Shadowgrounds Survivor - PC

If you're looking for PC game with a great storyline, this ISN'T the game for you. This is only fun for the gameplay and that's it. The graphics are decent for next gen.PhysX card users unite! This game supports PhysX, Ageia as well as Geforce accelerated! Neat option in configuration, where you can choose the level of PhysX acceleration.

The Good: Easy enough for casual players, playing as different characters is fun, weapon upgrades make a differenceThe Bad: Bland environments, stupid story, bad level layout, boring aliens, slow paced, character upgrades are all the same, doesn't look very goodShadowgrounds was a pretty doesn't shooter a few years ago, but Survivor doesn't really do much new, and is pretty boring. As a top down shooter you play as a marine who is trying to escape a ruined base that is overrun by aliens. The weapons are pretty generic with shotguns, assault rifles, flamethrowers, grenades etc. You can pick up health packs, ammo, and OK you know this formula already.Unlike other better shooters like Alien Shooter the game doesn't even offer intense moments. There are a few straggling aliens coming after you and maybe a few hard ones, and that's it. You can easily kill these guys and it doesn't feel very satisfying at all. You can shoot barrels, toss grenades, or just run around holding the fire button and you'll beat these guys. Ammo is plentiful so you never feel like you're "surviving" and it's pretty hard to die.There is an upgrade system that you use by finding "parts" and when you level up you can use points for different upgrades like sonar, health boosts etc., and each character you play has the same upgrades? That's pretty lame. While each character has a different load out there's just nothing exciting about it at all. The game is fun however since it's good for more casual players who don't like the intensity of other top down shooters, but even the aliens are generic looking. Instead of creepy deformed things you just get typical bug like aliens.The game doesn't look or sound too good either, and the music almost seems non existent while the game looks pretty bland. The level design is also pretty bad since I wandered around areas and didn't know where to go like shooting a glass panel to open a walkway. There is no hint, the panel doesn't even light up or flash. So this is bad level design, and the whole freaking game just feels boring! The game is a little fun if you're bored or just want a decent top down shooter.

At $5 I guess it's good for a couple of hours of mindless gaming, it beats watching paint dry. At least it's short; 4 to 6 hours for the average gamer.As in the first shadowground, this seems like a throwback in gaming. A top down 3rd person shooter with horrible voice acting. Felt like I was playing an arcade game circa 1985. Most cut scenes were incredibly boring and long. Example: you press 'e' to open a door, a long scene folows were your character walks slowly in an effeminate sort of way towards said door and opens it. That's it, nothing is revealed, nothing happens, the cut scene ends and your wondering if you accidently hit the 'skip' key. Guess somebody's brother was in charge of cut scenes. The controls seem to be even more clunky than the first Shadowgrounds. In certain areas, when going around corners, the character would turn toward the corner rather than following the curser. At first I thought my mouse skills were off but after playing a couple of 'survivor' rounds it became apparent that it was a flaw in the game. A frustrating flaw when trying to shoot your way out of the undending horde of aliens this game supplies. Also the character would occaionally stop moving or get stuck for no apparent reason. Not being able to save during a mission is another shortcoming, leave the game or die and you have to start over.Like the first Shadowground, if this game had been released 12 - 15 years ago it would rate 7/10. As it stands, about on par with solitair

Following in the footsteps of the original 'Shadowgrounds' (a 3rd person shooter with RPG type upgrades), Frozenbyte has come up with this sequel...Some points of interest; some good...1.)Good spooky atmosphere with excellent effects done with ambient lighting (especially from your flashlight), deep shadows and weather. The audio is also quite good.2.)In this game you take turns being one of three fighters, each with their own skills and unique weapons; you choose one of the three to use for the finale.3.)Each weapon has 3 major up-grades available (by using your hard earned XPs or finding hidden items within the maps); there are also a couple of minor player up-grades as well.4.)There is a Mech that you can operate in a couple scenarios, and a turret gun in another.5.)You have five lives for each segment; The first four deaths result in regeneration at the spot where you died. With the 5th death, however, you restart the level (not the entire game).6.)There is another game mode that becomes unlocked with progress; it's called 'Survival' (and aptly named) . In this mode you have one life, and you try for the highest score (kill count + time) in whatever amount of time you last. This is a short, brutal game (I've gone longer that 4 minutes once), but kind of fun; in fact, probably more challenging than the actual game itself. Again, as with the finale, you can choose any of the three 'heroes' for this mission.7.)A finale that is do-able (I found the ending in the original game was almost impossible, except on easy)And, the not so good...1.)The game is quite short; I finished it is less than 2 days of intermittent play. Maybe 5+ hours in total.2.)Overall the game play, weapons and aliens were very similar to the original 'Shadowgrounds'. Really very little new here.3.)On visiting the 'Frozenbyte' website, it appears the game must be purchased (at least at this point in time) through 'Steam' (that's where I got my copy). I've had absolutely no problem with this or another other 'Steam' product I've purchased, but I realize some potential buyers maybe put off with this. I felt I needed to at least mention this for the sake of completeness.Conclusion:If you enjoyed the original, you will probably like this game. It is, in my opinion, not as good as the original*, BUT, it is not bad. Also, it's fairly short in actual playing time. 3 Stars.*after finishing this game, I went back and replayed some of the original game (to compare the two). It seemed to me this game, although there were some tough areas, was much easier than the original. It just didn't have the same persistent sense of urgency and tension that made you want to play on and on, like the first had.