This is truly the Beauty and the Beast of video gaming.
Graphics: 10
Sounds: 8
Value: 5
Tilt: 6
The reality is that I'm an avid Atari lover. Ranging from the ole woody series to the XL and eventually ST (and STE), I felt that the technology powered the Atari was far superior to any other home computers during that time. The only downside was the price as the Atari computers are considerably more expensive than its closest competitors, the Commodore and its big brother, the Amiga. Well naturally this resulted in systems wars between the two yet normally I would win many debates when it comes to technical ability between the two.
As expected my friends will give up and never again was I introduced to any Commodore/Amiga games. Also considering that the greater part of video gaming was platforms I was stuck between a rock and a hard place as Amiga and platform games ruled the planet. Then one day my ideas were shattered completely. I waltzed in to see a marvelous piece of game play that even The Sith Lord himself would be proud of and almost certainly would sell his Death Star for this game – a platform game may I add and this game was called Shadow of the Beast; a brutal game in every aspect yet so strikingly beautiful. How can this be so? Read on fellow reader.
I'm not sure of the premise of the game therefore I will speculate to what I have remembered. All I know it's something about a man named Aarbron and seeking revenge. Sorry guys that's all I know. However when playing this game, you will seek revenge on the publisher Psygnosis as this is going to be one difficult game to defeat and that's a guarantee.
Psygnosis already had a reputation of producing ground breaking games in the past. Barbarian and Obliterator were the other two that showed the graphical power of the Amiga. However what was lacking was the controls as they were trying to be completely mouse driven but failed to a certain extend. However in Shadow of the Beast the controls improved significantly which basically was bringing back to its old roots; that is joystick controls. It's a matter of moving up for jump, down for crouch and so forth. Press the fire button will make the beast throw a punch or whilst jumping a flying kick.
However what made this game extremely complex was you'll be getting slaughtered from all directions; up, down, left and right therefore timing is an absolute paramount to succeed with no save options. You have only one beast throughout the entire game however he starts of having 12 health points. When you get hit it deducts one yet all is not lost as there are life givers which are few and far between which gives the beast plus one, four or up to maximum health. Also when the beast turns from right to left and vice versa, he's a little too casual about it so this can cause further frustrations when being attacked from behind.
As mentioned before, Psygnosis was famed for its graphics. Never before have I seen such beauty in my entire gaming career than witnessing Shadow of the Beast. This game even rivaled the graphical power of those coin-op games as it seems that the developers really pushed the Amiga to its limits. There was many things that attracted me to this game that I never seen before during that time. Firstly the level designs are just simply macabre. Plenty of unusual beings and landscapes that really make you feel you are in another world. Some examples are giant hands emerge from the ground, floating eyeballs, mutated skeletons, wraiths and simply just freaks; stuff from your worst nightmare comes to life. However the most impressing aspect is the parallax scrolling. Usually there are three layers however Shadow of the Beast boasts a whopping twelve! Man that's totally beastly!
The general sounds are quite average and really doesn't stand out. There are the odd punching sounds and the creaks of doors opening however the soundtrack to this game is where it's at. The composer David Whittaker had some considerable experience in programming and thankfully turned into composing soundtracks to video games. If you actually hear the haunting music of Shadow of the Beast, you will agree with me that no other video game can rival the skill that David brought in Shadow of the Beast; the only game that can truly challenge it would be Unreal – 9 years later.
Make no mistake, this game is brutal from the word go until the end therefore you will have a difficult time completing it. Shadow of the Beast has no skill levels and no quick save. You have only your hands and the joystick to navigate the poor beast to salvation. That said if you managed to complete the game, it should easily take less than an hour. However I can guarantee you will not complete this first round as this game will test your patience. Strangely enough that once you evenually complete the game, finish it the second time round is considerably easier.
Shadow of the Beast is a clear example where all my thoughts and ideas just booted out of the window. I never liked side-scrolling games, never was a fan of Amiga and solemnly swear I would never touch either with a ten foot pole. Well as the old saying goes 'never say never' this game proved me wrong in all accounts. What lacks in story telling has a minimal effect comparing to the sounds and beauty of this game; though this game will punish you from the very start to the finish. You can say it's the 'Beauty and the Beast' of video gaming.