Shiny, Offbeat Breath of Fresh Air

Shadowgrounds is quite well produced. The sound and graphics make a nice atmosphere (nice, as in "I wouldn't want to live there"). However, it isn't nearly as scary as it wants to be. Not an issue really, as it is just as much fun without it. It's different from some other top-down shooters in that the action is a bit more sporadic. You cannot save during a level, but I found them to by nice-sized chunks, so it never became a problem. If you die, you get 5 respawns. I've never had to use more then three in a level.

The only negative I had with it was it's story, or bloody mess thereof. It took me half to game to realize that it's only a carrier for the linear progression of levels, and should be ignored. Even so, I still skip every cut scene and try not to listen when the characters start talking. I hate the badly stereotyped characters with bad voice acting almost with passion. The music tries to play it up to be some emotional tearfest at times, which doesn't help anything.

That said, I did play through it twice within two weeks of getting it, it loved it so much. I can't say if it was a short game or not, as I played it so much, it might just have been me. I'd love to give co-op a shot. The level editor is also tantalizing. I'd love to make a arena-like level and see how long I can last. There is also a fan-made mod that adds a whole new campaign in the works, so that should add to your shadowgrounding goodness.

In short, ignore the plot, embrace everything else. If you love action and are tired of yet-another-FPS, try this. It's worth your money.