Shadow the Hedgehog Review

The anguished screams of SEGA fans across the world could be heard united the moment Shadow the Hedgehog first made an appearance with an uzi in tow at the Walk of Game 2004 award ceremony. Being such a fan itâ??s been hard to look forward to this title, quite honestly itâ??s everything that Sonic the Hedgehog is not, however in the impartial eye and with the delights of Sonic Rush recently past itâ??s only fair to give Shadow a chanceâ?¦

However thatâ??s about it, because to be quite honest again I donâ??t know what SEGA or Sonic Team were thinking. Admittedly Sonic has struggled with the change to 3D, however Shadow the Hedgehog actually manages to dive below the depths of the Adventure series and represents an all-new low for the series.

As stated before itâ??s everything that Sonic isnâ??t; instead of luscious rolling green hills we have urban areas that desperately attempt to give Shadow a gritty, edgy style; speed is completely removed from the equation in place of added emphasis on combat, despite the fact the traditional Sonic control/camera setup simply canâ??t cope with it â?“ more to the point itâ??s got guns, what on earth are SEGA thinking, surely theyâ??re not that desperate of ways to make Sonic cool again???

Shadow the Hedgehog finds players taking control of the dark hero with a mysterious past; unsure of his past Shadow finds himself suffering from amnesia and unsure whether he was created to save the world or do the evil bidding of the dark side. The appearance of an alien army called the Black Arms descends upon the world carving a path of destruction; featuring the same black and crimson skin, Shadow is stunned when the leader recognises him and instructs Shadow to collect the seven Chaos emeralds, which could unlock the truth behind his mysterious past.

A large part of Shadow the Hedgehogâ??s problems stem from the fact that thereâ??s actually some good concepts that are unfortunately left unrealised thanks to the clunky fundamentals. Taking the moral issue of Shadow being unaware whether heâ??s good or evil, each stage features earthâ??s soldiers fighting against the legion of Black Arms aliens; in turn defeating opponents from either side will raise one of two gauges which grant Shadow two different special moves when fully replenished. Not only that, Shadow the Hedgehog takes the good/evil concept and expands upon it into a branching narrative which splits based upon the playerâ??s actions on each stage.

So despite the good intentions itâ??s sad to find the core fundamentals severely lacking. Camera and control have never been successfully accomplished in a 3D title however Shadow the Hedgehog takes the plunge even further by throwing combat into the mix. Much like the Sonic Adventure series itâ??s hard enough just trying to control Shadow and navigate the platform sections because of the non-existent camera and icy controls, however introducing ranged combat just adds another factor to contemplate. Iâ??ve never been a fan of the idea to put guns in a Sonic title, however the implementation is far worse then I could have possibly imagined. Firstly thereâ??s no auto-targeting option so accuracy is a completely hit-and-miss affair, worsened by the typically loose control problems that thwart the franchise. Secondly, combat breaks up the classic Sonic action into a ponderous stop/start affair that simply isnâ??t fun. Thirdly, who rally wants guns in a Sonic game in the first place???

Itâ??s not just guns however that make a strange appearance in Shadow the Hedgehog, in-keeping with Master Chief, Jack Carver and other likely all-action heroes, Shadow gets to jump onboard a variety of different vehicles within the game which only serves to further confuse exactly what this game is all about. Vehicles continue the same slippery control system as the main character, so youâ??ll find often find yourself plodding towards a chasm and actually having to wait an eternity for the brakes to sink in and start heading in reverse â?“ absolutely atrociousâ?¦

The camera/control issues combined with the sense of speed (at times) bring about the age-of problem of frustrating deaths that has plagued previous Sonic titles, however Shadow the Hedgehog again manages to take it one step further because of the good/evil dilemma. Dependant on your stance youâ??ll want to avoid defeating characters from a certain faction, however your allegiance is never noted and will still punish Shadow with a life gone whenever you stray too close to them. The end result is itâ??s far easier just to take everything out using the homing attack and become the reckless vigilante that Sonic Team seem happy to put around poor old Shadow. Playing Shadow the Hedgehog is in fact a long series of frustrations; explosions randomly kick off to intensify the action, however youâ??ll need the reactions of Bruce Lee on speed to respond to these in time; homing attacks will frequently fling Shadow to the depths of the nearest chasm and just trying to retain that classic Sonic experience and rush through the stage will have you banging against obstacles, sliding against the walls and generally being everything that old-school Sonic wasnâ??t.

The game certainly isnâ??t helped by its overly simple visual style, which actually comes across as inferior to the Adventure series which debuted on the Dreamcast. Combine the lack of detail - and to a certain extent style â?“ with the atrocious slowdown problems that occur too frequently and the end result is a Shadow that simply looks too old â?“ letâ??s just hope Naka-san and the team put Sonic and Co on vacation until hopefully making a revival on the next-gen systems.

As a long-term Sonic fan Shadow the Hedgehog fills me with absolute dread and disdain; itâ??s an abysmal game that manages to expand upon the issues of previous Sonic games, whilst completing negating the core ingredients of the Sonic series. Nobody should even contemplate showing any interest in this title let alone picking it up â?“ SEGA what have you done???