"A Shadow of a Shadow"
Readers of a certain age are invited to cast their minds back to the playgrounds of the 1990s. Back when mascots were hugely popular and gaming was still a bit non-mainstream, we'd make up daft crossovers in which a family-friendly character was crudely transported into the universe of a violent series which we probably hadn't played due to parental intervention, or given various 'cool' attributes to 'improve' them. We thought it was a good idea, and now, perhaps, we don't, but shifts like that wouldn't be the basis for an actual game.
Would they?
Aesthetics – A Dark Shadow
Think of the themes from older Sonic the Hedgehog titles and you probably think of brightly-coloured enemies which resemble cartoon animals or eggs, and a mad genius with a big moustache turning things into comical robots. Now imagine those characters in a plot involving humourless alien terrorists where everything is resolved with weapons, people swear every few seconds and allegiances can change on every stage. While this might seem like a product of one of those playground discussions, it's the basic principle of Shadow the Hedgehog.
While the Adventure titles have shifted the focus away from the titular character to make him part of a larger plot,Shadow is centred exclusively on Shadow. The story picks up essentially where Sonic Heroes left off. Shadow's indulging in his usual hobby of reflecting on his enigmatic past and announcing his hatred of humans when a race of aliens, the Black Arms, launch an attack on the planet. An encounter with their leader – a floating, magic-using, three-eyed thing named Black Doom – prompts Shadow to set off on a quest to gather the seven Chaos Emeralds and unravel the mystery of his past. And, er, that's it. The rest of the story is pretty much up to you, as you explore six stages and ultimately end up fighting one of three bosses, depending on the route you took to get there. Each stage has two or three missions, and which you complete determines which stage you play next or which boss you'll ultimately encounter. Those who'd prefer a more traditional game can drop the Black Arms plot halfway through and play a straight quest for the Chaos Emeralds with regular villain Eggman as the main antagonist, while those looking for something more original can branch off and assist the humans or the aliens, or even Eggman. Allegiances can be switched whenever you choose; how you get to a stage has no influence on which missions you can complete.
For those who haven't got the idea by the time they've reached the title screen, Shadow goes out of its way to explain to players that it's dark with a capital 'DAR'. The title screen is mostly grey and red, while dreary, heavy rock plays and Shadow stands in a ravaged city, baring his previously-concealed fangs and menacingly pointing a gun at something. It might look like a parody, but it's not. Shadow is unashamedly aimed at players who are older than the main target demographic, and who are looking for something darker than the brightly-coloured, happy fare of previous games.
Yet, for all its attempts to look mature and brooding, Shadow looks like a game that was developed with one eye on the ratings boards. The result is a game that doesn't so much push the envelope as gently nudge it, not sure whether it wants to plunge into darker territory or play it safe and follow its predecessors. Aliens explode into masses of green goop, while humans keel over wounded but evidently alive. The non-alien deaths are cushioned by careful use of camera angles and strategically-timed fades to black. The egg-themed enemies from previous titles are still around, played off against the hideous aliens and walking tanks which only appeared in previous games as bosses. Shadow's dialogue within stages consists mostly of mild profanity, which is so frequent (almost every time you get hit, which is a lot) that it comes off as a half-baked parody. Perhaps just making another game aimed at the whole family would have been a better move.
Gameplay – Run And Gun... Just Not Together
The movement controls are familiar. It's essentially the Sonic Heroes system with a few additions made to accommodate the weapons, and it has the same flaws. Shadow tends to slide when he's moving quickly, and it's easy to run into an enemy you didn't have time to avoid. The homing attack seems less accurate, making it difficult to hit the thing you're aiming at when there are numerous targets around. Many stages include platforming sections which aren't suited to the slippery controls, and the camera often seems determined to get in your way. Perhaps the most intriguing element is the Chaos power system. Each enemy Shadow defeats slightly boosts one of two gauges at the top of the screen; taking out 'good guys' fills up the red meter, while eliminating baddies adds to the blue one. Once the blue gauge is full, Shadow can unleash his trademark Chaos Control ability to freeze opponents or rush through a stage, while the red one lets him expel an energy burst attack and use weapons with no ammo shortages. A few other decent changes have also been made. Shadow still gathers rings to protect him from enemy attack, but only drops ten when he's hit, compensating for the higher chance of actually getting hit by enemies. The checkpoints can be used as teleporters, and can return you to others you've activated (useful for missions where you have to hunt enemies or items).
But, this being Shadow and being dark, it's not just homing attacks and Chaos Control. Shadow can acquire weapons from crates and enemies, including numerous firearms of both human and alien technology, and short-range weapons. The weapons (which Sonic helpfully reminds us in the first stage that he doesn't like) are a significant part of the gameplay, which isn't a good thing. The problem with projectile weapons is that they're usually less accurate when being used at speed. Indeed, that's the main issue with their inclusion in Shadow the Hedgehog. Most enemies are designed with weapons, not homing attacks, in mind, and take a few hits to beat. To fight them safely, you have to slow yourself to a crawl and use an unreliable aiming system to target enemies. Shadow can also assume command of various vehicles, including the useful (flying machines to get you over hazardous liquid, and jumping mechs) and those which are there for show. The bike Shadow is often shown on barely gets a cameo. Some of these control well; others don't.
The gameplay graphics are reasonable and the FMVs are fantastic, but there are a few problems with the frame rate. The music is fairly varied, and generally complements the stages well. Voice acting is used quite heavily, and is informative if often a bit cheesy (deliberate jokes seem few and far between). The stages are pretty varied; most of them are the kinds you'd expect from a Sonic game (there's a jungle, a few cities, a space station and so forth), but surprisingly the same concept is rarely used twice. Unfortunately, the missions are too often 'hunting' missions, whereby you have to take out all enemies of a specific faction or interact with a certain number of items. Tracking down all the enemies is usually slow – going quickly means you run the risk of missing something – and there's no indication of where any you've missed are hiding, or how many you should have by each checkpoint. There are even stages which are free-roaming, making these hunting missions an exercise in learning the map as well as everything else.
Longevity and Replay Value – Over-Shadowed
The idea of being able to carve your own way through the story seems good in principle, but unless you follow one of the few routes that seems logical, the story comes off as an unconnected bunch of stages (which, ironically, worked for the first two Mega Drive Sonic games). Shadow can be exploring one of Eggman's castles one mission, organising an atrocity the next and protecting the leader of the free world the next. While this is probably supposed to reflect Shadow's capricious approach to loyalty, it does mean the plot doesn't give many answers until you unlock the last story (the ten conclusions to the main story all differ, and you have to unlock each of them to play the last story). The game keeps track of your path through the game and allows you watch the relevant cutscenes from each path you've completed, but by the time you've beaten the final stage, you probably won't be interested in going for others. Extra weapons can be unlocked by beating certain end-of-game bosses, but they don't add much to the game. The tacked-on competitive multiplayer mode isn't likely to provide much replay value, as all the characters are essentially Shadow with various weapons, and there are three similar stages. There is a mode which lets you replay any stage you've completed a mission from and go for a better rank, which might add some longevity to the better missions.
It doesn't entirely forget its roots, despite the darker theme. The game might be focused on Shadow, but he's not the only Sonic character present. Series mainstays like Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Eggman appear fairly regularly, as well as characters like Cream, Amy and Rouge, the latter presumably there to cater for the series's other target demographic. There are also plenty of nods to previous Sonic games in the stage titles, and some knowledge of the plots of the previous few games is necessary to grasp some of the plot points which are actually developed.
Final Words
Undoubtedly, there'll be Shadow fans who just like the idea of him having his own game, those who 'identify' with him (or fancy him), or who think breaking free from Sonic's cheerful personality is a good thing for the character. There'll be those who might be willing to overlook the game's flaws and get some enjoyment out of the thing. Even aSonic fan, though, might be a bit alienated by the shift in theme. Ultimately, it's an unsuccessful attempt to convert a series aimed at all ages into something it's not, with all the tools used to accomplish that – the weapons, the language, the overall brightness – only serving to make the game seem like a parody. Appropriately, the last line of the game is probably a good reflection of what most players will be thinking by the time they watch Shadow's final speech.
Would they?
Aesthetics – A Dark Shadow
Think of the themes from older Sonic the Hedgehog titles and you probably think of brightly-coloured enemies which resemble cartoon animals or eggs, and a mad genius with a big moustache turning things into comical robots. Now imagine those characters in a plot involving humourless alien terrorists where everything is resolved with weapons, people swear every few seconds and allegiances can change on every stage. While this might seem like a product of one of those playground discussions, it's the basic principle of Shadow the Hedgehog.
While the Adventure titles have shifted the focus away from the titular character to make him part of a larger plot,Shadow is centred exclusively on Shadow. The story picks up essentially where Sonic Heroes left off. Shadow's indulging in his usual hobby of reflecting on his enigmatic past and announcing his hatred of humans when a race of aliens, the Black Arms, launch an attack on the planet. An encounter with their leader – a floating, magic-using, three-eyed thing named Black Doom – prompts Shadow to set off on a quest to gather the seven Chaos Emeralds and unravel the mystery of his past. And, er, that's it. The rest of the story is pretty much up to you, as you explore six stages and ultimately end up fighting one of three bosses, depending on the route you took to get there. Each stage has two or three missions, and which you complete determines which stage you play next or which boss you'll ultimately encounter. Those who'd prefer a more traditional game can drop the Black Arms plot halfway through and play a straight quest for the Chaos Emeralds with regular villain Eggman as the main antagonist, while those looking for something more original can branch off and assist the humans or the aliens, or even Eggman. Allegiances can be switched whenever you choose; how you get to a stage has no influence on which missions you can complete.
For those who haven't got the idea by the time they've reached the title screen, Shadow goes out of its way to explain to players that it's dark with a capital 'DAR'. The title screen is mostly grey and red, while dreary, heavy rock plays and Shadow stands in a ravaged city, baring his previously-concealed fangs and menacingly pointing a gun at something. It might look like a parody, but it's not. Shadow is unashamedly aimed at players who are older than the main target demographic, and who are looking for something darker than the brightly-coloured, happy fare of previous games.
Yet, for all its attempts to look mature and brooding, Shadow looks like a game that was developed with one eye on the ratings boards. The result is a game that doesn't so much push the envelope as gently nudge it, not sure whether it wants to plunge into darker territory or play it safe and follow its predecessors. Aliens explode into masses of green goop, while humans keel over wounded but evidently alive. The non-alien deaths are cushioned by careful use of camera angles and strategically-timed fades to black. The egg-themed enemies from previous titles are still around, played off against the hideous aliens and walking tanks which only appeared in previous games as bosses. Shadow's dialogue within stages consists mostly of mild profanity, which is so frequent (almost every time you get hit, which is a lot) that it comes off as a half-baked parody. Perhaps just making another game aimed at the whole family would have been a better move.
Gameplay – Run And Gun... Just Not Together
The movement controls are familiar. It's essentially the Sonic Heroes system with a few additions made to accommodate the weapons, and it has the same flaws. Shadow tends to slide when he's moving quickly, and it's easy to run into an enemy you didn't have time to avoid. The homing attack seems less accurate, making it difficult to hit the thing you're aiming at when there are numerous targets around. Many stages include platforming sections which aren't suited to the slippery controls, and the camera often seems determined to get in your way. Perhaps the most intriguing element is the Chaos power system. Each enemy Shadow defeats slightly boosts one of two gauges at the top of the screen; taking out 'good guys' fills up the red meter, while eliminating baddies adds to the blue one. Once the blue gauge is full, Shadow can unleash his trademark Chaos Control ability to freeze opponents or rush through a stage, while the red one lets him expel an energy burst attack and use weapons with no ammo shortages. A few other decent changes have also been made. Shadow still gathers rings to protect him from enemy attack, but only drops ten when he's hit, compensating for the higher chance of actually getting hit by enemies. The checkpoints can be used as teleporters, and can return you to others you've activated (useful for missions where you have to hunt enemies or items).
But, this being Shadow and being dark, it's not just homing attacks and Chaos Control. Shadow can acquire weapons from crates and enemies, including numerous firearms of both human and alien technology, and short-range weapons. The weapons (which Sonic helpfully reminds us in the first stage that he doesn't like) are a significant part of the gameplay, which isn't a good thing. The problem with projectile weapons is that they're usually less accurate when being used at speed. Indeed, that's the main issue with their inclusion in Shadow the Hedgehog. Most enemies are designed with weapons, not homing attacks, in mind, and take a few hits to beat. To fight them safely, you have to slow yourself to a crawl and use an unreliable aiming system to target enemies. Shadow can also assume command of various vehicles, including the useful (flying machines to get you over hazardous liquid, and jumping mechs) and those which are there for show. The bike Shadow is often shown on barely gets a cameo. Some of these control well; others don't.
The gameplay graphics are reasonable and the FMVs are fantastic, but there are a few problems with the frame rate. The music is fairly varied, and generally complements the stages well. Voice acting is used quite heavily, and is informative if often a bit cheesy (deliberate jokes seem few and far between). The stages are pretty varied; most of them are the kinds you'd expect from a Sonic game (there's a jungle, a few cities, a space station and so forth), but surprisingly the same concept is rarely used twice. Unfortunately, the missions are too often 'hunting' missions, whereby you have to take out all enemies of a specific faction or interact with a certain number of items. Tracking down all the enemies is usually slow – going quickly means you run the risk of missing something – and there's no indication of where any you've missed are hiding, or how many you should have by each checkpoint. There are even stages which are free-roaming, making these hunting missions an exercise in learning the map as well as everything else.
Longevity and Replay Value – Over-Shadowed
The idea of being able to carve your own way through the story seems good in principle, but unless you follow one of the few routes that seems logical, the story comes off as an unconnected bunch of stages (which, ironically, worked for the first two Mega Drive Sonic games). Shadow can be exploring one of Eggman's castles one mission, organising an atrocity the next and protecting the leader of the free world the next. While this is probably supposed to reflect Shadow's capricious approach to loyalty, it does mean the plot doesn't give many answers until you unlock the last story (the ten conclusions to the main story all differ, and you have to unlock each of them to play the last story). The game keeps track of your path through the game and allows you watch the relevant cutscenes from each path you've completed, but by the time you've beaten the final stage, you probably won't be interested in going for others. Extra weapons can be unlocked by beating certain end-of-game bosses, but they don't add much to the game. The tacked-on competitive multiplayer mode isn't likely to provide much replay value, as all the characters are essentially Shadow with various weapons, and there are three similar stages. There is a mode which lets you replay any stage you've completed a mission from and go for a better rank, which might add some longevity to the better missions.
It doesn't entirely forget its roots, despite the darker theme. The game might be focused on Shadow, but he's not the only Sonic character present. Series mainstays like Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Eggman appear fairly regularly, as well as characters like Cream, Amy and Rouge, the latter presumably there to cater for the series's other target demographic. There are also plenty of nods to previous Sonic games in the stage titles, and some knowledge of the plots of the previous few games is necessary to grasp some of the plot points which are actually developed.
Final Words
Undoubtedly, there'll be Shadow fans who just like the idea of him having his own game, those who 'identify' with him (or fancy him), or who think breaking free from Sonic's cheerful personality is a good thing for the character. There'll be those who might be willing to overlook the game's flaws and get some enjoyment out of the thing. Even aSonic fan, though, might be a bit alienated by the shift in theme. Ultimately, it's an unsuccessful attempt to convert a series aimed at all ages into something it's not, with all the tools used to accomplish that – the weapons, the language, the overall brightness – only serving to make the game seem like a parody. Appropriately, the last line of the game is probably a good reflection of what most players will be thinking by the time they watch Shadow's final speech.
