Shadow the Hedgehog

The Good
What I liked was the imaginative level design, the special effects that I have never seen in a sonic game. I also liked the music, and the fact that it was made by most of the same members from sonic adventure 2.

The Bad
What I didn't like was the dumbed down textures, and the 2 Player mode which didn't allow you to race.

The Bottom Line
A sonic game with enchanced combat (guns) and a darker atmosphere.

The Good
The game brings a darker tone to a normally cheesy, boring series. Sonic has never satisfied me until I tried out this game. The addition of guns makes the game a lot more fun, because it adds more combat style to the game than just jumping on enemies' heads (even though you can do that, also). The storyline is also great, and Shadow's voice acting impressed me. The game has perfect replay value; you can play through all the possible stories (over 300), unlock Expert Mode by getting an A rank on every mission, unlock all 10 endings to unlock the final story and beat the main game, and it even has a 2-player battle mode! You can drive vehicles and man turrets, and even though it isn't completely useful, it is so much fun to do so. The controls are good, but maybe this is only because I'm not a Sonic fan and haven't played many previous ones. Plus, Shadow is one of my favorite video game characters.

The Bad
The graphics could have used a bit of work. The intro and some of the cut-scenes looked great, but most of the game looked only about as good as the Dreamcast. The voice acting for everybody BUT Shadow (except Espio) was terrible, especially Tails and Charmy, and that bugged me so much. The game also gets really frustrating at times. I also didn't really like how you couldn't aim some of the weapons. The multiplayer mode doesn't have much to do, although it is still kind of fun, which was a little disappointing. It also is annoying how the characters give you hints all the time for the most obvious things.

The Bottom Line
If you are a huge Sonic fan, rent it first. You may not be used to the somewhat shaky controls and gun-play. However, if you are looking for a somewhat darker platform game or like shoot-'em-up games, then don't look any further. It is a great game with lots of replay value. Some flaws, but those can be overcome.

The Good
Well, one of the first few noticeable touches to this game is the fact that Shadow is the main character of the game. The only time that i know when Sonic wasn't the main character in one of his games was in Sonic Battle.

Apart from that, there isn't that much to give this game credit for except the decent soundtrack to balance for the stress the game gives you.

The Bad
One of the main points where this game falls apart is the fact that SEGA thought it was wise to "mature" things up a little. This game has got no replay value, terrible controls and the repetitive use of the word, "Damn". This is supposed to be a SONIC game; "damn" has no right to be in a game series that has always been released for ALL AGES!

Another flaw with the game is the graphics. The cinematics look absolutely stunning, but as soon as you reach the actual game; it looks absolutely terrible. It's just like being raised into heaven for two minutes and then being thrown into hell for the next couple of hours! I know that in my previous reviews; graphics aren't a big concern for me but I know for a fact that SEGA could've done a lot better than this!

Another big addition to the game is the feature of guns... WHY are guns in a Sonic game. It makes no sense to me! And most of these guns are flawed: firstly, it takes a lot of time to aim most of the guns correctly in order to defeat an enemy, while some guns can easily lock onto targets such as the rocket-launcher. Secondly, some of the guns look too ridiculously big and heavy for Shadow to carry´. Also, Shadow can ride vehicles such as cars and motorcycles in the game. They control TERRIBLY and they only act as an attempt to try to boost this game's "quality".

The last rough edge of this game is the voice acting. Nearly every single character in this game has a bad voice actor. It was when I realised that SEGA even decided to bring back the 4Kids voice actors when Sonic X was on TV (lucky us cough).

Well, that is basically all of the bad stuff I could find from this game. If SEGA had chosen to keep this under development for a few more couple of months, the "game" may have even been good. Sadly, it wasn't

The Bottom Line
This was a sad disappointment to me. Everyone around the block told me that it was going to be amazing. When i saw the first opening cinematic of the game, i thought i was in for a treat. But through it all, this game proved to be nothing more than a failure.