More Shadowgrounds, split across three campaigns with variations in gameplay between the three: there's a marine, a sniper, and a flamethrower-wielding engineer. Has the same strengths and shortcomings as the base game, so if you've played that, you will know wether or not you want to play this one. I enjoyed it, but there are much better top-down shooters out there.

Sequel to the Shadowgrounds it does not add much, rather it takes and divides: you have these Three Characters, which are pretty unique, and each one uses one third of the weapons from the original. However, with additional unique traits and upgradable skills. As you play, you play all the characters asymmetrically (so you play the soldier, then an engineer, than a soldier, than a sniper, and so on, not in any particular sequence, but to propagate the story). The story is kind of the same - Kill Aliens! :) About 5 hours play in this one, fun while it lasts; rather fast.

Shadowgrounds: Survivor is a top-down shooter set in a darkened environment. A game from 2007, its graphics have aged poorly, but not nearly so poorly as its predecessor; still, close-ups on faces look quite terrible. On the whole, it is a great improvement over its predecessor, with superior pacing and voice acting, and it feels less like a low-budget title. Still, it gets repetitive at the end, and unlike the first game, it lacks boss fights. As such, I would generally recommend Alien Swarm, which is free on Steam, over paying for this game. Story A base on Ganymede has been attacked by a horde of aliens. Three survivors work together to save the world: A soldier, who is the last member of his platoon and is trying to work his way back to the colony. An old Russian janitor, who seems to enjoy setting things on fire. A sniper, who keeps a count of every kill she gets. They are assisted by a scientist, saved early on in the soldier’s sections, who helps them set up the defense of the colony. The game’s story is very bare-bones and exists to serve the gameplay, and in that role, it is adequate; the voice acting is fine and not phoned-in, unlike the first game, and on the whole it serves its purpose, though why the aliens are there is never clarified – though on the other hand, maybe it doesn’t matter. Gameplay The game is a top-down shooter. Each character has three weapons plus grenades, and each character has a special power that only they can activate. As you kill aliens, you find upgrades for your weapons, which makes them more powerful and gives them alternate fire mechanisms, and gain experience, which allows you to directly upgrade your characters’ abilities and stats. On the whole, the gameplay is reasonably engaging, and by switching between different characters with different weapon sets, the game keeps its gameplay somewhat fresh. Unfortunately, by about halfway through the game you have encountered every type of alien present in the game, and as a result the second half of the game is mostly greater and greater numbers of aliens, with the odd “defend the area” or “ride around in a mech shooting things” or “sit in a turret shooting things” thrown in. As a result, the game does wear a bit thin by the end, though the game on the whole isn’t terribly long. There is a secret hidden in each level, a S lying around on the ground, which adds a minor exploration aspect to the game, but on the whole, I didn’t really feel driven to find the things. Still, it was nice that there weren’t an excessive number of collectables. Graphics The game was made in 2007, and while it looks okay when you are looking from the third-person, well-above-the-character perspective, whenever the characters speak their faces are shown on-screen and look absolutely terrible. On the whole, the graphics are serviceable, but it has not aged well and nothing looks really spectacular. Final Summary The game is a competent third-person shooter, and you could do worse. However, Alien Swarm is still probably a better game, and it is free on Steam.