Introduction

Shadowrun? That SNES game with the PC remakes? Any good?
No, no, no. This is Shadowgrounds, a PC top-down shooter developed by Frozenbyte, released in 2005. We play Wesley ~~Crusher~~ Tyler, a disgraced space mechanic tasked with fixing everything broken on Ganymede (Jupiter’s largest moon) in the year 2096. This includes the tiny problem of an alien invasion that needs to be fixed with copious amounts of gunfire.

It plays like every other top-down shooter, with 10 weapons, 3 upgrades per weapon including an alt-fire for every weapon, roughly 10 kinds of enemies and a few bosses. The game got middling reviews, but it has fast, fun and challenging gameplay, its voice acting is decent though cheesy, and while the story isn’t good, it is enjoyable. The music is way better than you’d expect, composed by Ari Pulkkinen and featuring some guitar riffs by the Finnish guitarist Amen.

Anything else?
All weapon and upgrade descriptions as we get them. We’ll also find a bunch of computer notes, mostly complaining about broken shit and signs of alien trouble. Finally, if I find something that can do with some creative input, that might also be in the books.

Where can I get this?
GOG and Steam. In fact, until March 14th Steam has a sale of everything Frozenbyte, including Shadowgrounds for €0.74 or whatever your local equivalent is. But if you have bought Trine at some point you might already own this game because it came bundled together on Steam as well as in a Humble Indie Bundle. It’s one of those ‘why the hell do I own this’-games that you easily forget about.

Introduction, From the Manual posted:

Mankind’s longest dream – to reach out to the stars – started to become reality in the 2050s, when technology research reached a point where a planet could be terraformed into a suitable home for man. Nine unmanned spaceships were launched with the purpose of starting a chainreaction of life on Ganymede, the third moon of the Jupiter system.

The Ganymede project was declared a success after three decades of hard research work. Manned spaceships were sent to Ganymede – which was still cold, battered and dark, but also a new beginning, a new home for hundreds of men and women. The human colony grew over the years, and now in the year 2096, over 8000 people live on Ganymede.

Step into the shoes of Wesley Tyler. He’s an ordinary man – if that’s what you call a senior mechanic at the IGTO’s Repair Base on Ganymede. He once was a security expert on Ganymede. But then things went wrong, accidents happened, and Wesley Tyler asked the wrong questions. He got the blame - and a dropship ticket to the outskirts of the Ganymede colony.

Now he works day in, day out at the IGTO Repair Base. Life is dark, cold and frustrating. But all that is about to change when the electricity system starts malfunctioning once again and Tyler is sent to check out what’s wrong…

Episodes