The game started off in a sea-base called Poseidon, straight after the cliffhanger of 'TARDIS'. The Doctor and Amy are running away from the alien shark in a short cutscene which ended in them being seperated from the TARDIS. You then have to run through the corridors with th shark continuously attacking. You have to copy the code to get through the doors and escape into a safer zone. You finally run into Poseidon 8, where you meet Martin and Jones. Martin has been trapped because of a quarantine and Jones wouldn't let him through. Jones, by the way, is a computer. After a short conversation with Jones, you are allowed passage to the lift leading down to the main base.
The Doctor, Amy and Martin exit the lift to meet Dana and Oswold, other survivors. They get to talking when suddenly the lights are reduced to emergency lighting. Oswold, Dana and Martin are all scared. The lights completely cut out. When they turn back on, Martin is dead and the emergency lighting is turned back on. Dana explains that there was a big flash which most likely caused the alien shark, an illness and the Vashta Nerada to be on the sea-base. The Doctor and Amy travel to to the Generator to turn the lights on again. A few tricky puzzles and timed running and you will arrive at the Generator. Once inside, Vashta Nerada divers attack you. You must find a way to get both divers into an alcove of light to defeat them. Onc that is completed you find a chip covered in radiation on one of the divers. You turn the lights back on (with a bit more tricky running from Amy) and that section is complete.
After the Generator room, you head off to talk to Jones again. He does not recognise the radiation on the chip so you head back to the main base. Oswold is trying to get everybody into the life pods even though the Doctor warns him that it will be full of Vashta Nerada. As the Doctor, you must find a cure to the illness by travelling through the base to find Brine Oil, Sea Sprouts and Sticky Mushrooms. Once this is done, the Doctor makes a yellow liquid to stop the illness. Dana drinks it and she feels better. The Doctor then finds the source of the great flash - the alien shark, the illness and the Vashta Nerada - is on board a shipwreck close by. The doctor uses the TARDIS to get to the shipwreck to discover what is really going on. The two time-travellers explore the ship until a point where the Doctor has to hold a gas pipe in place so Amy can get past. She then runs into more divers infected with the Vashta Nerada. She must find a way to get rid of them and to get the Doctor through. Once completed, the game leads onto its final stages.
The Doctor and Amy arrive in a room full of machinery. The two work their way up until the Doctor holds a pipe for Amy again. There are lots of hazards as you make your way up so you have to time your runs pretty well. Once Amy gets to the top, the Doctor has a go. Unfortunately, a Vashta Nerada diver finds him and chases him up. Once you get to the top, a cutscene begins. It shows the Doctor and Amy turning off the machinery, taking the Vashta Nerada, the shark and the illness away. To be honest, this cutscene is quite anti-climatic. The Doctor and Amy are about to get attcked by the shark but they turn it off instantly. They then say goodbye to Dana and Oswold as they continue on their adventures.
The plot line is very detailed. It involves a lot of adventure and puzzles. I think they could have used the Vahsta Nerada more though. In 'Silence of the Library' you could have two shadows but not in the game. I really enjoyed when the lights turned off and Martin was killed but I wanted to see more of the Vashta Nerada's nature, being ruthless and hunting them down one by one. It was very fun and the sneak around bits were very tricky. It would have been slightly better if there had been more in a bigger space. In 'Silence of the Library' when the Doctor and Donna are in the corridor and the lights start turning off was a really good idea. I wanted them to do that in 'Shadows of the Vashta Nerada' as well. The controls were a bit funny at some points and sometimes went too far or too close but maybe that's just me. Now to move onto the good bits.
The plot, as I said, was very detailed and creative. I enjoyed how the Vashta Nerada struck almost instantly, pulling you directly into the adventure. As I said, I would have liked to see more lights turning off but it was still a good experience. I thought it was very clever when you had to run with the lights as Amy to avoid the shadows as they flickered. The Generator room scene was very exciting. I remember getting frustrated at it over and over again as I lost constantly. I soon figured out how to do it and carried on with the adventure. This was one of the best scenes of the game in my opinion. The underwater scenes were very enjoyable. I thought that when Amy is stuck in the room with the two divers and she must get the Doctor through and defeat the divers was another great scene. When the Doctor is being chased up the stairs by the Vashta Nerada is another great scene. I loved the game and it was very enjoyable. I thought it could have been longer though, maybe the lights could have been sabvoutaged by the Vashta Nerada sothey could not turn it on.
Overall, 'Shadows of the Vashta Nerada' is an incredible finale. The gameplay is enjoyable and is a fun experience. It definitely reaches the bar that 'City of the Daleks' and 'Blood of the Cybermen' set and almost certainly raised it. Phil Ford, the writer, has created a masterpiece of an Adventure Game. I would give the game five stars in total. The Adventure Games will continue next year.
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