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Earth is under attack from the Black Arms, a race of creatures intent on bringing death and destruction wherever they travel – and it looks like Shadow is the only one who can stop them. That is, if he wants to! The aliens seem to have some information he needs…
The situation is this – Shadow cannot remember his past. He is tormented by images, primarily that of a girl (Maria Robotnik) being shot by a GUN soldier. Only through making a series of alliances will the truth finally be revealed. And this is where you come in.
In each of the 30-odd large levels, Shadow must decide on his allegiance – Hero, Dark or Neutral. Each allegiance brings with it a unique mission and depending on which mission you successfully complete, Shadow will take a different path to the next area. This addition lends the game variety and replay value (there are ten different endings and 326 paths to follow!). Unfortunately some of the tasks set to you are very dull (the biggest culprits being those that ask you to defeat every enemy of a certain race – especially irritating when you’ve one more tiny alien to find). However, these levels are more than passable and the game more than compensates for them.
In a first for the Sonic series, Shadow can pick up and use weapons. These are primarily firearms, though a few swords and environmental features are also usable (destroying Egg Pawns with a flaming torch is one of life’s little pleasures). The guns work well, with an unobtrusive auto-aim feature giving the bullets a nudge in the right direction. The weaponry complements rather than replaces the homing attack, with a direct strike disarming the enemy and the bullet finishing it off. The weapons are well implemented and easy to use, in fact, much of the time, you’ll barely even notice them.
The levels are interesting to play, although lacking in trademark Sonic brightness – even the quintessential casino stage is uncharacteristically dingy. A few of the themes are repeated throughout the game (Digital Circuit and Mad Matrix have a similar look and feel) creating a two-act structure not unlike Sonic Heroes. Some of the levels shun the regular narrow structure of traditional Sonic levels and present the player with a large area to explore – sadly, these are the least exciting levels. In stages such as “The Doom”, confusion sets in all too easily as most of the rooms look exactly the same. Many stages now contain a number of alternate routes, again adding incentive to play again.
Boss battles are fun and frequent, if a little easy. The latest of Eggman’s machines is a spider-like monstrosity and dispatching it requires one of the most fun and original methods you’ll have seen this year. Shadow fights a range of enemies this time, most of which you’ll recognise from Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes.
The music is unobtrusive but unspectacular, with only a few standout tracks (the main theme, Crush 40’s I Am is outstanding, as is the chirpy tune accompanying Digital Circuit). The CG movies are the best you’ll have seen in a platformer – the opening movie will blow you away. It’s a shame that there aren’t more of them present.
Shadow the Hedgehog is, by far, the best 3D Sonic game I have ever played, beating out the lacklustre Heroes and edging out the patchy Adventure games. A must-buy for Sonic fans.
FINAL
COUNTDOWN! |
| RAVES |
 |
| GRAPHICS |
78 |
| SOUND |
80 |
| PLAYABILITY |
92 |
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| Great variety. |
| GRAVES |
 |
| Some repetitive missions. |
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