I can still remember the very first platformer / side-scroller I ever played: 'Montezuma's Revenge'.

It was a simple affair: run through rooms, jump over flaming lava, climb up or down ladders, dodge arrows and rolling skulls, get to keys to open doors in other places — but my brother and I played that game to absolute pieces.

It was probably the first game we ever owned that had proper gameplay in it and, because of that, I will always have a soft spot for it.

Recently we've been treated to a bit of a 2D platformer resurgence, thanks in large part to the brilliant 'Braid', which borrowed heavily from games like 'Montezuma's Revenge' and the irrepressible 'Mario', but managed to endear itself with brilliant puzzles, bittersweet atmosphere, and dazzling art direction.

'Braid' also proved that Xbox Live Arcade games didn't need to be bejewelled affairs only, but that proper games can also be published through this service — and at surprisingly affordable prices too.

It's no wonder then that others would follow suit — and I guess we can expect some nauseatingly bad games trying to cash in on 'Braid's success. But then exploding beams of light like 'Shadow Complex' walks into the room.

For 1200 Microsoft Points (about R142) you can download 'Shadow Complex' in an 800 MB package. Yes, it's a sizeable download, but it's such a sweet reward that awaits you.

Like 'Braid', 'Shadow Complex's' brilliance lies in its masterful blend of simplicity and rich environments. The gameplay is not necessarily the most elaborate or challenging imaginable — quite often it gets rather repetitive actually — but combined with the beautifully rendered world in which it is set, it becomes exceptionally immersive.

Built on the Unreal Engine 3, 'Shadow Complex' looks as brilliant as you could expect a side-scroller that fits into an 800MB download to be. It saves on system requirements by blurring certain parts of a scene and bringing other parts into focus, at the same time building a deeply mesmerising atmosphere.

Although the gameplay tends to error on the "run from side to side and shoot anything that moves" side of things (read: borderline repetitive), developer Chair and publisher Epic Games (they of 'Gears of War' splendour) instils enough surprises and nooks and crannies to explore to keep you interested throughout.

And explore you will — you can follow the laid out path towards fulfilling the main campaign criteria, but there are a myriad of ways in which you can wander off the path and discover all sorts of things. And wander off you should, because power ups are hidden throughout.

There is so much more that can be said — I could go on about the ease of controls, the way in which the main protagonist looks remarkably like Nathan Drake (one of my favourite characters in gaming; so not a bad thing then), and the sheer size of the complex you navigate through — but it's literally just a game that you should experience yourself.

So just get it already.

9.0/10

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