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QJ.NET previews Shadowgrounds: Survivor

Posted Oct 12, 2007 at 6:08PM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: Featured Articles, Previews, Titles, Genre Tags: Ageia, Frozenbyte, Meridian4, PhysX, Raven Software

Let's face it: Shadowgrounds was one of few titles to draw in hardcore gamers back into top-down shooting action. It was arguably considered a smash hit in the PC gaming underground (the heart of it being Germany), and so when Frozenbyte announced the series' new sequel, Shadowgrounds: Survivor, it was expected to be nothing less than amazing.

Shadowgrounds was the only game to combine classic, alternative shooter action from the iconic Take No Prisoners from Raven Software, while sinking in the plot void that Sierra's Alien vs. Predator series was supposed to fill. The game's first story took gamers through an action-packed, alien-thriller ride across the human colonies of Ganymede in the shoes of Wesley Tyler, a former member of the IGTO security force.

Developed by Frozenbyte and initially published by Reef Entertainment, Shadowgrounds touted insanely breath-taking graphics for an independently-developed game. It was accompanied by an adrenaline pumping soundtrack from the Finnish tracker demoscene, which soon also characterized what the Shadowgrounds experience truly was.

And when Meridian4 finally picked up the game to distribute to other territories in Europe and to North America, it was received with mixed results. Shadowgrounds: Survivor would probably be Frozenbyte's attempt to correct that confusion and establish the game as a successful independently-developed franchise.

Late last year, Finnish developer Frozenbyte clued fans in on a new installment to the original game and promised that it would make landfall by 2007. It looks like the developers are making good on their word, because recent developments to the game were unveiled in the later half of 2007 and were reinforced with talk of gameplay improvements and additions.

And as if to underline the game's steady progress, Meridian4 gave QJ.NET the opportunity to preview Shadowgrounds: Survivors. We're not sure how nice we've been to deserve an early Christmas gift from Santa, but we were more than excited to unwrap our tasty present!

We've spent hours on end blasting the Ganymede menace back to the primordial pool they crawled out of, but we couldn't get enough of that even in four-player coop mode, and we wanted more. So much more.

Bigger, badder, better

So we scrambled for Meridian4's offer and loaded an early-coded, playable demo of Shadowgrounds: Survivor. Straight from Frozenbyte, the huge archive unfolded into a game build that oozed technological improvements all over.

We were instantly greeted with a lot of configuration options (like ol' Shadowgrounds), each one becoming a norm in the new generation of PC games today. Though many of the options gave way to speculation over the game's improved features (though some of the options were similar to the original game), we didn't know what configuration scheme to accept.

Shadowgrounds: Survivor - Our 'norm' settings - Image 1

We weren't familiar with the requirements of the new game, so we decided to wing it. Amidst the many oohs and ahhs as we browsed the plethora of options available, we were suddenly faced with a session of mix and match, trying to tie down the proper settings that our machine could handle in the messiest of firefights.
Opting for our norm (highest settings at 1280 x 960) at first, we excitedly launched the game, ready to sit through another set of levels against hissing, roaring, icky baddies.

To say the least, Shadowgrounds: Survivor did not fail to impress.

What was that!?

The early playable demo was pretty straightforward and made clear what Frozenbyte wanted us to gape at. It presented us with the franchise's new offerings, namely the new Survival game mode, several improvements to its graphics and physics capabilities, and even a couple of peeks at the game's storyline and gameplay additions.

Shadowgrounds: Survivor - Pretty, pretty lights and darkness - Image 1

Shadowgrounds: Survivor hiked its graphics up a notch, offering a more detailed environment and new effects to boot. These improvements were woven tightly with gameplay to set the mood of the game's plot, but it also inaugurated Survivor as a worthy successor of the franchise in the technical department.

Shadowgrounds was renowned for its use of lights and shadow (thus the clever title) and crisp, clean graphics.

Replace crisp and clean with heavily detailed, realistic textures, more generous diffusion of light and hues, and dynamic environment effects, and you've got Survivor. So it basically meant that people who kept reacting to creepy shadow shapes and movement in the original game will have more of a problem keeping still in Survivor. And no, we aren't kidding.

This time around, darkness seems to dominate most corridors, and even walls and the way lights and moody hues diffuse into objects, monsters, and the environment make many a room twice as creepy - thrice if a crate suddenly budged.

Now when you get outside, that's where the visual candy kicks into full gear. Environment and weather effects toy with visual perception: the minor snowfall, blizzard wind dust, lava heat plumes, and explosive shockwaves juggled pretty pixels around enemies, objects, and our character quite convincingly.

Physics is spelled with an X

Shadowgrounds: Survivor - Physics settings reveal PhysX support - Image 1

When Frozenbyte said they've upgraded the game's physics, they weren't kidding. Tucked neatly in the configurations menu was an option to turn physics detail up or down, and it was tagged with alternatives to use AGEIA's PhysX card to provide the necessary muscle.

AGEIA is well-known for its hardware physics solutions, and it appears that for Shadowgrounds: Survivor, PhysX will be the choice "bling" to have. Now we know only the most hardcore of gamers will put effort in slapping a US$ 200 card to their rig for hardware-accelerated physics, so Frozenbyte made a compromise.

Instead of requiring the PhysX add-on card (it's only recommended at the second highest physics setting), Shadowgrounds: Survivor will allow multi-core computers to use one core for physics rendering. It does so by offering a software driver solution. For the added investment in a dual-core processor, gamers will experience less-fluffed physics simulation, making in-game objects have a more realistic fall rates, trajectories, movements, and impacts given their perceived volumes and launch velocities. Plus. You get to blow stuff up real nicely.

Additionally, enemies won't just collapse like rag dolls. Arms, parts of their head, legs, and bits of alien flesh just spew out everywhere, and those makeshift projectiles actually rattle things in the environment when a body part impacts solidly on a crate, for instance. Alien carcasses topple over, get knocked back, or are sent flying through the air with more realism, too.

Players can expect a lot of movable objects this time around, so the idea of adjustable barriers opens up new possibilities in tactical gameplay. Like the player, aliens just can't hop over scattered objects, so it's a nice feature to use in hindering enemy movement. Luckily, your grenades do hop over objects.

But more importantly, using PhysX refines how other particle-dependent graphics are rendered in a PhysX-supported game. Smoke, heat plumes and the like appear more fluid and natural with maximum PhysX acceleration. Such effects also play with graphical elements such as light, so you'd probably notice how heated gases distort your flashlight's beams and the ambient lighting, for instance.

So unsurprisingly, the game toys with physics more naturally with the PhysX accelerator card installed (yes, we've tested it), and the game doesn't grind down as much in crowded combat with the card than without the card. Quad-cores seemed to handle the heavy processing load even without a PhysX card, or at least that's what currently stands with the preview package we were provided with.

The oneness that is the weapon and the wielder

While Shadowgrounds gave players the option of improving their weapons, Survivor gave us the added option of improving the wielder of the weapons. Like upgrade parts, points earned to improve your chosen character's abilities depended on how many corresponding parts you picked up.

And we say chosen, because Shadowgrounds: Survivor gives players a chance to select among three defined characters before a mission, each one with their own arsenal and abilities. Without further ado, we introduce the Sniper gal, the Napalm guy, and the Marine dude.

Sure, each one can roll, dash, and gun down their share of critters. But then only one can feed bosses with electromagnetically accelerated slugs; another can feed those same slugs 600 times faster every minute; and yet another would rather pop a round that was tipped with an explosive warhead - respectively.

The character upgrade system works just how you'd view Reflexive Entertainment's Crimsonlands' Perk system. It grants a slew of options that adds tactical advantages to your alien encounters or improves how much damage your character can take and patch up.

The Alamo revisited

This time around, Shadowgrounds: Survivor takes off with more than just another campaign mode. Survivor introduces the new Survival mode, where the player must stay alive for as long as possible against growing, endless waves of aliens spewing out from points in a Survival map.

Shadowgrounds: Survivor - Try to stay alive long enough - Image 1

If you've tried your hand once or twice in the independent gaming scene before Shadowgrounds, you might have come across Crimsonland or at least a demo of it. If so, Shadowgrounds: Survivor's Survival mode would immediately remind you of Crimsonland's most cherished gameplay mode, though Survivor has its own share of uniqueness wrapped in.

For Survivor, the player is placed in a map chock-full of natural barriers and not necessarily open spaces. Maps with corridors and tight gangways limit aliens' access routes toward the player. This allows tactically apt gamers to position themselves in advantageous spots and force enemies to move through known choke points to create favorable "kill zones" for the player.

But then we've found out the hard way that limiting access points also limits a player's number of exit points, which in turn is favorable to the aliens and their infinite relatives. As the clock ticks on and and the waves grow more numerous, you'll find that you're eventually forced to barricade yourself within a defensible section of the map.

It was this moment that brought images of the Alamo to our imagination, and though Santa Ana wasn't a huge beast with plasma cannons for arms, the feeling of unavoidable death settled in real quick. Thankfully, you've got your arsenal on hand to at least delay your impending doom, though how long you last will depend greatly on your weapon types, skills, available ammunition, aim, and available medikits.

Shadowgrounds: Survivor - The Shrieking Tunnels map - Image 1

Just so you know, one map respawned ammunition and health, while one only had a set number of them littered around the level. We're not sure if Survival will come with options to play with before starting a session, but it would be great if it did. With that said, even after death we've still got something to rejoice about. Egos start flowing when scores skyrocket, and you'd find it oh-so-blissful that no one has come close to beating your six-digit score or 18 minute record.

Now details on whether Survival mode will be playable by more than one player were sketchy at best. It's likely to happen given the first game's multiplayer implementation, but the early demo didn't include any form of multiplayer feature. Let's just hope one does arrive - hopefully with network support at the very least.

Goliath online

Shadowgrounds: Survivor - The Mech in for alien-mowing pleasure - Image 1

Oh wait...wrong game. But Shadowgrounds: Survivor's Mech mode lets players pilot one of these well-armored, dual minigun assault platforms across an entire level while filling alien internal organs with a generous amount of lead. If you enjoyed taking one of these down at the first game, then this new feature will add nicely to your Shadowgrounds entertainment.

Now we don't know if it was a preview quirk or if this is the Mech's inherent abilities, but piloting one of these things will make you virtually unstoppable. A herd of critters couldn't hope to tear this behemoth's armor fast enough to pose as a threat.

We waded past an incoming onslaught of Ganymede's besiegers, laughing at how feeble their pounces were against our smooth, tough skin. We could have sworn somebody muttered "Bite me" somewhere in-between the chase.

We managed to reach the end of the level without firing a single shot and with less than a tenth of the Mech's health points missing. Of course, we had a flock of enraged extra-terrestrials at our heels, so we just took a deep breath and charged at the alien onslaught with satisfying, ego-raising results.

It ain't over til it's over

Our hands on was performed on early-coded game content rendered into a playable package, so like many things unfinished, there were many quirks that arose. For one, artificial intelligence bit the dust in one of the provided levels, though we could be mistaken and the AI was purposely removed in preparation for our noobness.

Shadowgrounds: Survivor - The Sentry Gun - Image 1

Now somewhere in the new game feature list was the opportunity to toy with a Sentry Turret, though we didn't get the chance to operate one, since the same level that had a slew of them didn't allow us to play. Fudgesickles. We reckon it could play out more like the player manning a stationary weapon hard-point to keep the enemy at bay, but we'll have to wait for the Shadowgrounds: Survivor to ship to verify that.

Sounds were also incomplete, for the Sniper - obviously a woman - grunted a lot like Doom's nameless marine. Now we're not one to question virtual gender, but it was funny to look lithe at the upgrade screen and sound macho when poked by a crawling spider. But for certain levels, the actual ambience and the sound were degrees closer to absolute immersion.

Shadowgrounds Original Soundtrack by Ari Pulkkinen - Image 1

However, we longed for a rhythmic tune or two, because one of Shadowgrounds' most memorable features was also absent in the demo. We can't quite tell what renowned tracker Ari Pulkkinen has in store for fans of the original game's soundtrack.

The demoscene buff was announced to be on-board for Shadowgrounds: Survivor's musical score, so you can expect another pumping soundtrack to nod your head to as you toss another empty pulse rifle clip aside.

And wait we will, because Shadowgrounds: Survivor intends to ship in the last months of 2007, and it's likely to cause another stir in the gaming underground. So the question that now stands is: will Shadowgrounds: Survivor make or break its predecessor? Frozenbyte is piecing the game together for the finishing touches as of this moment, so if it all works out at the final build, you can bet it will.

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