Video game review thread (metal, pop, goth, title, solo)

[boo boo]

At Ethans request.

Shadow the Hedgehog

Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega
Platform: PS2 / Xbox / Gamecube
Year: 2005



Rating: 5

DEATH TO ALL WHO OPPOSE ME!!!!!!!

This was Segas attempt to yet again re-invent the Sonic series. Unfortunately not for the better. I think Shadow is a badass character, but clearly he deserves something better than this for a solo debut. This game with its use of guns, motorcycles, cursing and a gothic visual style was Sonic Teams feeble attempt to appeal to an older, more "xtreme" audience. Its easy to say they didn't quite succeed.

Where to start with this game. The story I guess.

Shadow picks off where Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes left off in telling the mysterious backstory of one Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehogs rival (well, his other rival, after Knuckles and Metal Sonic) as well as his more sinister, emoier and more "gangsta" doppleganger.

First a little history. Shadow is the creation of Gerald Robotnik, Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotniks grandpa. Shadow was created for the purpose of helping mankind (why Gerald chose a fucking Hedgehog of all things is anyones guess) but after the shameless murder of his grandaughter Maria (whom Shadow also had a close relationship with) at the hands of GUN (Guardian Units of Nation), a goverment millitary organization, Gerald redesigned Shadow as a merciless killing machine.

The story begins with the world yet again being under attack, this time at the hands of a badass alien race known as Black Arms, led by Black Doom, who talks suspiciously like Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget. Shadow (suffering from amnesia after his climatic battle with Sonic against the Biolizard in SA2) sensing there is some kind of connection between himself and these guys is looking for answers about his origins and his purpose, thus begins his journey for the 7 chaos emeralds that will grant him unlimited power, while letting out a can of whoopass on anyone who gets in his way.

The main gameplay is lifted from previous 3D Sonic games, and indeed, Shadow has most of the same abillities Sonic does, including his tradmark spin dash and homing attack.

But there are a few new gimmicks unique to this title, which are some of the biggest flaws (among many many flaws) in this game. For one Shadow can use weapons (something Sonic would never get caught doing, can't say I blame him), mainly guns and other projectle weapons that he takes from defeated enemies, these weapons however are for the most part completely useless, if you think this game incorporates FPS elements you're wrong, its simply a platformer with guns. But what works for Mega Man and Metroid dosen't work on a 3D platformer, for one the guns have no aiming function, meaning that shooting at enemies have a random outcome and most of the time you're just shooting in random directions. Even though the homing attack dosen't damage enemies as much as some guns do, its simply more convenient just to use the homing attack unless you absolutely have to use a gun.

There are also a handful of vehicles implemented into the game, everything from cars to motorcycles to mecha robots. This is kinda dumb if you ask me, considering that Shadow is suposed to be equal in speed to Sonic, does he really need vehicles? The vehicles in this game are slow and clunky, and simply slow down the gameplay for a series thats supposed to be all about neckbreaking speed.

Another, more important element is the multiple route system, there are 23 levels in all, but only 6 levels can be played on any given run, leaving you with many different possible routes to take. What level you go to next depends on what mission you choose, every level but the 6 "final" levels have 3 missions. There are the Hero missions which have you doing missions for Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Amy and the other good guys, sometimes even Eggman is a hero character. The Dark missions have you doing chores for Black Doom and sometimes Eggman. Then theres the default mission, in which Shadow cuts through the bullshit and heads straight for the goal, where a chaos emerald awaits him.

Another element is the gage system. There are two gages at the top of the screen, the Hero gage which is blue and the Dark gage which is red. There are also three kinds of enemies, the Black Arms aliens which by killing them fills up your Hero gage, GUN robots and Gun soldiers which fill up your Dark gage (blowing up trees, cars and other stuff can also fill it up) and Eggmans robots which are neutral and can go either way depending on the circumstance of the missions. Depending on the gage you fill all the way up, Shadow will gain an abillity. If you fill up the Hero gage you can peform Chaos Control, which gives Shadow the ability to tansport. Filling up the Dark gage gives Shadow the Chaos Blast abillity, which as the title implies creates a large blast taking out all enemies onscreen.

The route system is a great concept, unfortunately some of the missions are tedious and usually require you to do things like kill all of a certain enemy, usually you're required to only focus on one kind of enemy and spare the others, though this dosen't mean they will spare you, unfortunately. Another tedious mission type is the fetch quest, in which you have to search for and collect or destroy certain items. Some of these missions can also be fustrating in their difficulty.

In addition to all of these "new" problems for the Sonic series, the "old" ones are still unresolved. Since the core gameplay is remisent of previous games like Sonic Heroes, many of the things that went wrong with those games are present here. When it comes to things that suck about the 3D Sonic games, the first thing that obviously comes to mind is the spectacularly godawful camera system, in fact the camera is even worse than it was in SA2 and Heroes. The camera can easly get stuck and akward camera angles make accidently plunging to your death (and believe me, that will be all too common) an almost inevitable event.

Controls are also a problem, for one, Shadow dosen't quite run as much as he "skates". Its as if every level is one of those "caution wet floor" areas near a Wal-Mart bathroom. This can be pretty painful when traveling through narrow areas or hopping around on small platforms where accidently falling to your doom is inconveniently convenient.

Then there are other problems like slow down and pop up. Which are common in 3D platformers.

The graphics are not bad, but somewhat of a let down. The intro (complete with crappy but catchy Metal song) and the opening cutscene have very impressive graphics, everything from Shadow and pals facial expressions to their fur detail, this leads you into thinking the game itself will feature such graphics, not the case. The graphics in game and even the following cutscenes are cheap looking by comparison, the scenes with the president (probably the most ineptly designed NPC in history) is hillariously hidious, even by Nintendo 64 standards. In other words its as if Sega spent a hell of a lot of time and effort for the games amazing intro yet the game itself seems rushed and incomplete. This kinda inconsistancy is inexcusable.

The music is sub-par too, with a few exceptions. The voice work is nothing to write home about either. For the record this is the first Sonic game to have the 4kids/Sonic X voices. Most Sonic fans complain about this, but I actually prefer Knuckles, Tails, Rouge and Eggman's voices to their earlier ones. Many of the other character voices however can be pretty grating, especially Amy's and Vector's (Vector sounds like a constipated Pee Wee Herman). Shadow's Clint Eastwood wannabe voice can also get pretty grating. As for Sonic? Well, since I grew up watching the old Sonic cartoons I simply feel uncomfortable when anyone other than Jaleel White voices the little blue guy.

The writing and main story is alright, nothing original, but nothing horrible save some laughable dialog and the unnecessary and excessive use of the word "damn".

There are some good things about this game however, but I wish I could say there were enough to make up for everything wrong with this game. The level design throughout is pretty diverse, sometimes its good, the Tron inspired cyberspace levels are pretty damn cool. And sometimes its bad, that one Space Colony Arc level where everything is plunging down into a bottomless pit in space had me screaming out of fustration, which had less to do with the gameplay being challenging and more to do with it just being plain broken.

Also, this game has surprisingly high replay value, since there are many different routes to take. There are 10 final boss fights, most of which are surprisingly good. And there are 10 multiple endings, which can end with either Shadow turning into a good guy and saving the world, or into a bad guy and destroying it.

Aside from the main game, theres also a multi-player, but the less said about that the better.

Like I said though, I'm being awfully kind in this review because I actually think this game is just "OK". I don't think this game is as bad as critics say it is. But even so this is still yet another huge disapointment in the once great, now hit or miss Sonic series.

[Sparky]

Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess



it's still amazing how a series nearly 20 years old now still holds up, and still brings more new idea's to the industry then most games, while still using the same formula.

This one still isn't able to beat Ocarina(or my favorite majora's mask) but it's still the best damn adventure game (metroid being a close 2nd) out right now. This one has the same formula as all the others, go into dungeons, get a new weapon,use that weapon to beat boss. But this time around they'res a lot more story and cinematic approach then seen before. Making for a more "lord of the rings" experience which pwns.

And you can turn into a wolf which can bite ****.

go buy the game.

and theres this guy

[CAPTAIN CAVEMAN]

Twilight Princess is sick. It was kinda reassuring and kinda irritating that they made sure that the Water Temple was still *** as **** though.

[Sparky]

it wouldnt be a zelda game without the "**** YOU GODDAMIT water temples, it was still a breeze compared to the ocarina one though.

[Alexander the Grape]

I think I still had to use a gamefaq for parts of the TP water temple

and your favorite is majora's mask? what the ****?

[Sparky]

Originally Posted by Alexander the Grape

I think I still had to use a gamefaq for parts of the TP water temple

and your favorite is majora's mask? what the ****?

yes, it was the best zelda period. The mask concept was amazing, so many different game play options. The world was huge and the graphics still hold up fine today. Just the art direction and how creepy of a game it was, nintendo took a risk with that game and i thought it was for the best.

and anyone complaining about the time restraint shutup

you have to really, really, really suck to run out of time, or not be able to play a song...

[The Dave]

MM was a pain in the ass, I hated the whole time concept. I liked Four Swords for the cube the most, it was lots of fun being able to play through the game with your friends while competing against them.

[The Dave]

You don't have to suck to run out of time, I ran out of time so much and I'm a Zelda vet. But I must admit, going into Goron form was the ****.

[Sparky]

Originally Posted by The Dave

You don't have to suck to run out of time, I ran out of time so much and I'm a Zelda vet. But I must admit, going into Goron form was the ****.

zelda vet my ass, you like 4 swords the most :-/

you can slow down time, or go back in time-how the **** do you run out?

[The Dave]

Originally Posted by matious

zelda vet my ass, you like 4 swords the most :-/

you can slow down time, or go back in time-how the **** do you run out?

I've played and beaten them all with the exception of Twilight Princess, 4 Swords was the most fun imo. Do you honestly mean to tell me that you never ran out of time? You don't always have the ability to slot it down or go back.