Grargar: Shadowgrounds Shadowgrounds is a top-down shooter in the vein of Alien Shooter (yes, Alien Shooter is isometric, I know), only less gory, more grey and, overall, less satisfying, as killing aliens here is just not as much fun as it is on Alien Shooter. Yes, it does have a good variety of weapons and upgrades, but it just doesn't deliver a very satisfying oomph. There is an emphasis on shooting smaller numbers of tougher enemies, but I'm not convinced this is the best approach in this kind of game. Exploring the game's mostly empty (and grey) corridors at a slow speed can make the game feel very dull, a feeling that is exacerbated by the lengthy levels, which at times really overstay their welcome. I would have preferred 20 shorter stages as opposed to 10 long ones. What's even worse, is that you can't save during the stage. This wasn't such a big problem on Alien Shooter, when the largest levels was abut 10-15 minutes, but here, the levels can reach over half an hour in duration.
Another annoyance with the game are the completely unnecessary cutscenes; they were so boring and uninteresting that I seriously questioned their reason of inclusion. Sure, they can be skipped, but I really have to wonder if the game's overall quality could be improved by not wasting time and money on them and instead focusing on the most important areas of the game (like the shooting).
Here's hoping that the game's sequel might be better, but I won't be holding my breath.
Full List.
Had this game in my library for awhile and played it just long enough to A. realize it was quite boring and B get the trading cards. Your assessment is about what mine would be. Kudos to you for seeing it through to the end though:).
