Shadow the Hedgehog

The Good
What I loved most about the game was it gave my personal favorite character his own game. Shadow the Hedgehog has all of the speed, excitement and twisty roads you would expect to find in a normal Sonic game. The use of guns I thought wouldn't work to begin with, but as the story and the main character is so dark, it somehow worked.

Another thing I liked about the game is the various routes you can choose to complete the game, which gives it an RPG feel. The main thing that really give the mood is the music of the game. The main theme works so much I put it on my iPod (sad, eh?).

The Bad
It took me about 2 months to realise that you had to defeat the 10 different bosses at the end of the game to get the last story. I also think that each different story is, although challenging, far too short, i.e. only five levels per story.

The Bottom Line
This, I feel, is a must have for hardcore Sonic fans (like me). However some aspects of the game, like the use of firearms, may not be suitable for the younger fans.

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.

The Good
The music! Sonic Team games ALWAYS have cool soundtracks and are run-to-the-beat. The levels are split into three outcomes (sometimes two) Hero, Normal and Dark - depending on who you help (eg: Sonic - Hero, Yourself - Normal, Black Doom - Dark) which is different from other Sonic games that had come before it.

Shadow the Hedgehog is different to Sonic based games because Sonic knows what he's doing basically. Playing as Shadow, you don't know what the outcome is actually going to be. Although other Sonic fans didn't like it, because of various things such as Shadow's use of guns etc. I personally think that giving Shadow a gun and not keeping it homing attack and spin dash is separating Shadow from Sonic completely and letting people judge the game as a whole just "not another Sonic game".

The storyline and plot is to basically help Shadow find out who he is. Through Various stages helping either Sonic or one of his friends, Black Doom or Shadow himself. Gameplay is sometimes hard, but just running isn't going to get you very far in this game (contrary from most people who don't like Sonic games). If you miss something you need, you have to go back for it or you can only complete the 'Normal' missions. Super Shadow is also unlockable, which gives fans a chance to play as just Super Shadow rather than both Super Shadow and Super Sonic.

The Bad
You have to complete it ten times over to fight the final boss.

The Bottom Line
A must for most Sonic/Shadow Fans. It's a good game that takes patience to complete.

The Good
The action stages are very different to the the other Sonic video games. I find it, very fair that the player can be either good or evil, as with video games these days you don't really get that chance. Shadow's enemies can be in fact, the Sonic Team gang, if the player gives Shadow his own path.

The Bad
As always, the English voice cast was rubbish, but that's besides the point.

I do believe that Sega has made this video game to close to a movie about James Bond, with the guns the player can use. Black Doom reminds me of a Star Wars character, he seems to be saying in his own to Shadow, ''I am your father''.

The one thing I found very strange, that this game seems to take after Sonic the Hedgehog for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. I still think Shadow has lost his memory in that video game, as he does not remember Professor Gerald or Maria, for that matter.

The Bottom Line
I would say the game has a close storyline to Sonic Adventure 2, as it has a much more darker atmosphere.

The video game is only for 12 years and over, maybe an 11 year old, could play this. Some levels are a bit hard, but the boss levels appear to be easy.

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
Many people say this game was the beginning of the end for Sonic. Do I agree? Well......no. While it isn't perfect by any means, it is a heck of a lot better than critics say. And I mean a LOT better.

The gameplay feels like Sonic Heroes but you can only play Shadow and you have one partner who you can only control with a 2nd controller. But in ways, it is different. For instance, the guns and vehicles (which I didn't have any problems with). I really don't see why everyone complains about these. I also don't see why everyone wants Sonic to be exactly the same as he was on the Genesis. Same is boring. Sega tried something different, and I think it worked.

The graphics were good (especially the CGI cinematics), but not great. I noticed that the models were too shiny (this isn't as big of a problem on GameCube as it is on the PS2 for some reason), and the lip-sync in gameplay cutscenes is pretty crap, but overall, the graphics were good. (On a side note, the frame rate is MUCH better on GameCube than the PS2.)

The music was very good. It was catchy and fit the area's feel. It could make the game very epic at times.

Now for the big one... the voice acting. I didn't find it terrible like others did. In fact, I think they actually did better than on Sonic X!!! In fact, the only intolerable actress was Charmy's. Shivers

The Bad
There are problems like people say. For instance, the story mode is frustrating because you have to go through every stage to get to a boss. It will take you a LONG time to complete the over 300 endings!!! I know, it's madness hint, hint! The bosses themselves are annoying.

Also, the cussing, while I didn't mind it, was unnecessary. But people DID freak out a little too much about it (IMO). I mean, the worst word is Damn. That's it. They say hell, but come on.

The AI is really stupid. No matter who's side your on, you will get attacked by everyone. The only way to stop this is to use the Health Cannon. It only works permanently on humans, though.

The 2-p is also really lame and generic. I guess you could have fun, but since a 2nd controller on the GameCube version can control the partner in 1-p mode, it's kind of useless.

The Bottom Line
Overall, this game is FAR too criticised, when in fact it is a decent game. If you aren't a hardcore old, childish Sonic fan and can take some "extremeness", go right on ahead. But only for Gamecube!!!!! I repeat, ONLY FOR GAMECUBE!!!!!!!!

The Good
The fact that this game focuses on a character other than Sonic.

The Bad
I've to say, this game takes everything away from a true Sonic game! It's all about shooting and killing, and finding Shadow's past. What I don't really understand is this. After you choose Shadow's past, none of the endings of the game are said what Shadow thinks about in Sonic Next-Gen.

Also, the two player mode doesn't allow players to have a race.

The Bottom Line
Shadow the Hedgehog is an okay game if you don't want to keep playing as Sonic or his friends.

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.