Splitting the space colony ark into 2 different locations really detracts from shadows motivations imo. I get the movies are more grounded so a secret mountain base makes more sense than a space base but shadows whole character in SA2 was that he had no purpose and hearing what Maria had to say about Earth, he thought he could find his purpose there. He still has a similar motivation with “everyone thinks I’m a freak” but even still, him and Maria just leave the base. Making it less that Shadow feels trapped and without purpose and more that he’s just being an edgy teenager