Shadow the hedgehog gets his own game... but is it any good?
Graphics: Many people have different opinions on the graphics, the original graphics engine was re-done for this game, since there is falling objects etc. The main Sonic characters, Shadow, Sonic, Tails etc. all look nicely done, all smooth and detailed but the enemies seem to lack the fluidness of the other characters. The environments look very, very nice from a distance but sometimes close up… well not so nice, not bad just not as nice.
Sound: Well first of I must say to all if you don’t know, the entire original cast of Voice actors got scrapped. I believe I believe it was something about Yuji Naka wanting there to be more of a link from the Sonic games and the Sonic X TV series. Yes the new cast is the cast from Sonic X and they’re not all that bad really. For starters Sonic, Shadow and Eggman sound even better (well they do to me anyway)
While others characters don’t seem to. Many of the Sound effects in the game are the same, Rings, Spring boards etc. Some of the gun sounds are O.K too but a few sound under powered. On the other hand the music in the game is really very good featuring a great song “I am” from Crush 40 and some other great songs in the game too, even the level music is nice to hear in the background.
Gameplay: So, this game is supposed to have taken a more mature twist? By adding guns, now many people heard this and Sonic fans were in riot (I read forums) and it doesn’t seem to work too badly, but it isn’t perfect. The game is fast, no question it is but unfortunately you will have to slow down in order to take out some enemies or hit a certain switch thankfully you can run and shoot, but your chances of taking an enemy out are reduced. Even when standing still, hitting an enemy with your Guns seems to be rather difficult. With no Lock-on feature it’s very frustrating. We still have the Homing Attack from other past 3D Sonic games, but it’s doesn’t always work, for instance you could attack an enemy twice with your Homing attack and then you could just fly of somewhere else. Luckily the game keeps a solid framerate, except on the PS2 version which has a lot of problems shame really. During the game you can take one of three missions, a Dark, neutral or a Hero mission. Lets say on the Dark mission you would have to take out a certain amount of enemies, while on the hero you would have to hit a switch, neutral missions mainly are to get a Chaos Emerald. Though even if you helping the good guys, they will still attack you as if you were an enemy, making you want to only do neutral and not care about the rest, but this makes the game very short.
Lifespan: The game can be completed in about one hour to complete one story unless your very good, were it will take much less. But there are 10 endings to get so there is at least 6 hours worth… still not a lot though there is even a multiplayer but that doesn’t work too well and isn’t worth many plays.
Overall: Shadow the Hedgehog is a fun game, but the lack of effort Sonic Team dish out shows far too well, this could have been a great game but sadly this is not the case. I suggest you rent it or wait till the price drops, this is not worth the asking price.
Graphics: Good in places but falls short in a lot too.
Audio: Some great voice acting, some not so great voice acting, but some brilliant music
Gameplay: Could have been so much better, you can only just tolerate it with more polish it could have been great fun.
Lifespan: If you’re bothered this will last a fair bit. If you’re tired and bored after just one play through or one story completion then that’s a waste of time and money on your part.
Shadow is a Fan game only if you like Sonic but don’t care about getting this game or not, rent it, or wait till the price drops.
The music is probably the best part about the game. Note I am a Sonic fan.