ic-games Review - Shadow The Hedgehog - Reviews, Previews and Interviews for PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii

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Shadow The Hedgehog (Xbox/PS2)

Shadow The Hedgehog

Information
Reviewer: James Collins
Developer: Team Sonic
Publisher: SEGA
Reviewed: PS2, Xbox, GameCube
Genre: Platform
UK Release: 18th Nov 2005
Article Date: 01st Dec 2005
Difficulty: Medium
Retail Price: £29.99
Price Comparison:
0

Score Breakdown

Experience:
Game Play:
Graphics:
Sound:
Overall Score: 53%

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Pros

Hardcore Sonic fans will lap it up

Multiple paths

Cons

Backtracking

Confusing

Screenshots

9 of 11

It’s a misnomer that improving video game technology is always seen as a way forward, that when we increase the amount of polygons on screen, the game will always be better for it. Team Sonic have sometimes struggled in this area, although their original Sonic the Hedgehog series of games looks pretty basic compared with today’s blockbusters; no one has managed to produce a follow-up that actually improved upon that cherished gameplay of yesteryear for quite some time.

Few would deny that the transition from 2D to 3D has been Team Sonic’s Achilles’ heel. After the pretty poor Sonic 3D adaptation, Sega and Team Sonic have struggled to take the licence back to the dizzy heights of the early nineties – enter Shadow the Hedgehog then; a dark and sinister interpretation of the Sonic gameworld.

The game starts up ominously, with a beautiful CGI sequence showing the alter ego ‘Shadow the Hedgehog’ lazing around minding his own business. Things soon take a turn for the worse of course, and demons start falling out of the night sky and begin attacking Megalopolis with extreme prejudice. Shadow has had his differences with humans in the past, so at first doesn’t intervene. His curiosity picks up when the demons make themselves known as ‘The Black Doom’ and personally asks Shadow for his help to locate seven chaos emeralds. Shadow then pops off to see what all the fuss is about and is soon greeted by Sonic asking for assistance to stop the menace.

In other words you have a choice. And it’s a choice you are actively asked to make, or at least superficially. You see Shadow begins neither good or bad, it’s actually up to the player to decide which side of the fence they are going to sit on. The idea on paper is fantastic, it’s just a shame that the idea was so poorly implemented. The problems initially lie in the fact that no matter what side you fight on, be it good or bad, the good guys always see you as the enemy. If you decide to help Sonic, you have to avoid the friendly soldiers who are actively targeting you. If you imagine the fact that you have to skilfully weave in and out of friendly fire before you even come to the enemy, you’ll soon understand that this franchise has decisively taken a turn for the worse.

If you have been following the news on Shadow the Hedgehog you’ll already know that Shadow can also wield weapons, in a way that would make the tamer Sonic weep. Although Shadow is a far more destructive character you can totally ignore the weapons and play the game more traditionally, but during our experience we found battles far more forgiving when armed to the teeth.

There is quite a lot of replayability bolted onto Shadow the Hedgehog if you take into consideration the good, bad and neutral levels. For example in the very first level where Sonic initially asks you for help; you are given the objective of totally destroying all the enemies on the map. If you succeed the next mission will be based upon the ‘good path’. However to counteract that, during that first mission, you’ll also be visited by the boss of ‘The Black Doom’ telling you exactly what you must do to take the alternate path, so if you complete his requirements the story will turn decisively more sinister. It’s also possible to ignore everybody and just try and grab the emeralds for yourself, either way you’ll ultimately move on to the next level. This method does enhance the replay value as it’s possible to enjoy 11 different endings depending on how you play the game but sadly the gameplay mechanics do their best to quench that desire on far too many occasions.

Graphically the game looks spectacular at times, especially when the speed picks up as Shadow navigates the trademark loops. Some of the levels are massive and really do offer an insight as to where Team Sonic are heading. It’s a shame that more time and attention wasn’t lavished onto some areas of the gameplay, but alas, this seems to becoming an all too familiar trait with developers nowadays.

It wouldn’t be fair to say that Shadow the Hedgehog is devoid of any Sonic magic as it simply isn’t the case. You can still, when the game allows, run around at breakneck speeds collecting coins and stomping into opponents, it’s just a shame you have to travel three quarters of the map to get to these places. Ultimately Shadow the Hedgehog just doesn’t ‘feel right’. The magic of the 2D versions have all but been lost in a search for technical accomplishment and it suffers terribly for it. The original series was a success because of its speed and simplistic nature, Shadow the Hedgehog has few of these virtues and should only really be picked up by fans desperate to continue the journey.

DETAILED GAME INFORMATION

Version Reviewed: Xbox/PS2
Other Versions: Gamecube
Muliplayer: N/A
Price: £29.99

Shadow Screenshots (11MB) - DOWNLOAD HERE

PEGI Rating

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