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Sonic the Hedgehog Advances to the Next Level

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: December 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Even with recent advancements in video game technology, very few games offer a mix of everything gaming has to offer. First person shooters, and racing games come by the dozen, as do games about soldiers, crooks, or mystical anime-like worlds. Shadow the Hedgehog, the newest addition to the classic Sonic series, combines the best aspects of these popular gaming concepts, enhancing the over-all Sonic experience.

Simply, Shadow is an inverted version of Sonic the Hedgehog. Those unfamiliar with Sonic Adventure 2, might assume this to be cheap characterization on the Sonic Team's part, but it is actually just the opposite. Visually, yes, Sonic and Shadow are extremely alike. Shadow's colors are just flipped from Sonic's and his look is more menacing. The actual background of Shadow's character however, is more complex then any other character's in the series. In fact, Shadow's past and personality are the bases of the game. This is a huge step up for the Sonic Team. Sonic Adventure 2, which also centers Shadow's motives, is the only other Sonic game that has ever truly regarded any kind of thought out story line. Sonic Heroes, Sonic Adventure, and pretty much all of the Sega Genesis Sonic games, gave you a very clear mission; Defeat the Evil Doctor Robotnik using some Chaos Emeralds, and thus, save the world.

The Story line in Shadow the Hedgehog is: who is Shadow? Is he good, evil, misunderstood, indifferent? Does he want to help human beings, or does he want to kill them all? It is the player's job to decide. And the great thing is, you can change your mind right in the middle of game play.

Here's how the system works, the order of stages depends on the mission you choose with in each level. For example, level one, Westopolis, throws Shadow into a situation where aliens are attacking the city. You have three options: You can either, help Sonic and the G.U.N. army defeat these aliens; You can assist the aliens in killing off all the soldiers; Or... you can blow everyone off and snatch one of seven chaos emeralds, hidden near the end of the level. There are over twenty levels, all of which are huge 3-D environments, with lots of directions and little crevices to choose from. It is actually a combination of the path-set levels in Sonic Adventure 2, and the exploration based levels in Sonic Adventure.

Its easy to choose which path to take, as the game's other characters are always meeting up with you as you play, and trying to sway you to follow their directions. You can also reference each mission by pausing the game. This takes you to a menu of your options. Often I would be very close to finishing a mission, and at the very last minute, decide to just blow everything up. This is possible because for good deeds, a meter on the top of the screen fills up in blue, eventually giving you a special move called, Chaos Control, allowing you to wiz through the level in double the speed.. If you choose to be wicked though, another meter fills up in red, giving you the power of Chaos Blast, which is the equivalent to a mini-nuclear bomb. Each move is very nicely animated and easy to control.

The weapons are also a nice addition to the game. There are special weapons, which can be found in Shadow-colored boxes. Each box has four weapons to choose from. I recommend the vacuum chicken, which sucks up all your enemies, but the chao doll shooter is nice too...

Regular weapons, which you steal from your enemies, include missiles, bazookas, machine guns, plasma lasers, hand guns... basically all the good stuff. This might seem violent for a Sonic game, but aliens just turn into green blobs when you shoot them. Soldiers and army fighting machines? ...Okay, I know, shooting soldiers is a bit dark, but again, its not like blood flies every where. Soldiers just yelp and beg for mercy after you shoot them. There are no violent graphics or real solider deaths, so its hard to feel too guilty once you get into blasting them all. That, and its fun to watch their machinery explode.

Getting back to the "darkness" of the game... Some very minimal, almost silly swearing has been added to the dialogue. Trust me, it is not offensive. Its actually kind of goofy. Also, the voice actors have all been re-casted, so, aside from the harmless cussing, lines are delivered a lot better then those of previous Sonic games. Though, be warned of the cheesy "mwhahaha" crap every now and then.

Other problems that have been addressed: The angle issue that the Sonic Team is notorious for, is actually a lot better. There are a few levels where I had some problems with it, but very rarely did they cost me one of my Shadow lives. The animation, especially in the major cut scenes, is really nice, great actually. It is very clear, textured, well lit, and nicely directed, though some of the human characters move a bit awkwardly. Still, in Sonic Adventure 2, the animation of a human character, Maria, was practically deformed. She looks a lot better in this game, I promise.

Lastly, the soundtrack to Shadow the Hedgehog features digitally mixed, guitar-heavy, electronica-like themes. The tracks with vocals, which are played during the introduction of the game, and as the credits are rolling, range from Marilyn Manson rip-offs, to even a semi-eighties/The Cure techno track. The best theme is one called The Chosen one. Its very pop-rock, but actually has a really somber chord progression. It almost stands alone from the game, just as Suteki Da Ne does in Final Fantasy X.

Over-all, Shadow the Hedgehog is a major advancement in Sonic games, that features very polished animation, and a detailed story-line, which the player has control over. It is "dark" but not offensive or truly violent, and includes well-produced music and voice acting.

Shadow The Hedgehog a mistake?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 8
Date: December 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I am an Twelve year fan of Sonic the Hedgehog, and over the countless year I have observed many side characterd and new ones. shadow of the most memorable is as cool and badass as Sonic. I loved playing him in Sonic Adventure 2 and Heroes. but when the game was advertised I was full of anticipation until I played it. I played threw the regular path within an hour, and I've almost beaten the Light and dark paths. And I must admit it fails to live up to the hype. During my play threw I found the gameplay to be made of the worst elements of the Sonic games saga. Falling of the level becomes really familar after minutes of play. And the enemies couldn't be challenging if they wanted to. You find yourself dieing more from falls then attacks from enemies. And the camera angles are horrible, they are the key factor to dieing and failing your missions. In the end Shadow fails to live up to what I exspected, I find it to be a GTA/Horrible sonic game. But because it''s part of Sonic's universe I give it a 4 overall and a three for fun. best part of Shadow ("Death to all the apose me").

Bad Language

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 22
Date: December 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I didn't play the game but my son did. He's a mature 9 year old so I thought that the rating (E 10+) would be fine. Well during the first few minutes of him playing the game all you hear is 'd**n it'. I just don't believe that any game with an E rating should have cussing in it all the time or anything like that........period. As you can see in the first review on this page, a twelve year old is cussing in his review. Not cool! Shadow cusses every time he loses coins, falls and dies. Pretty annoying to hear it all the time. I think this game should be rated 'T'. So for those of you parents that want to keep your child safe from this kind of language, DO NOT GET THIS GAME!

Typical Sonic Side Show

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 26, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Shadow the Hedgehog is barely different from the Sonic games created over a decade ago. Same types of environments, same general goals. Shadow is a darker character that proves it by swearing a few times. Other than that, if you played Sonic...you know, zipping all over the place picking up rings, you've played this game. The areas have obviously changed appearance but that is about it. The camera angles are completely annoying and lead to your death repeatedly. Falling off a cliff is also a constant hazard and leaves this game frustrating and basically just irritating. Rent this one first.

Better than its made out by some ...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: December 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I remember when I ordered Shadow the Hedgehog and decided to read some of the major reviews for it, from the large gaming sites. The first one that I found was trying to portray the game out to be terrible, I didn't believe it though. I then moved on to another site to find the same thing, review after review from the top sites all saying it was pretty bad. I firstly though of cancelling it, then though, they might not be right. I was right in thinking that.

The game isn't like a normal Sonic game, obvious because; it isn't Sonic. I have seen countless reviews complaining about the game having guns and it not suiting a Sonic game, but the fact is it isn't one and that's all there is to it. I go as far as to say the guns are a nice touch.

The game graphically is pretty similar to Sonic Heroes as far as level detail is concerned, although the characters seem to have been updated. The game still suffers from occasional game play issues such as the homing attack having a mind of its own, but that's just a small setback. The game has a fair selection of guns to choose from, ranging from pistols to rocket launchers. Aiming is pretty simple and easy to work. It's basically face the enemy and shoot, that's it and the game has slight auto-lock to make it even easier. The enemy AI was something I felt let the game down, most enemies just stand around and some don't even attack. The biggest killer in the game ended up being falls from cliffs and ledges, infact the only trouble killing the monsters caused was the time consumption. This ultimately effecting your rank at the end all for stopping to kill the enemies to complete the good or dark missions. But apart from that the game play seems to be quite solid, the camera is occasionally awkward but most of the time It's good when you need it. The music for the game is good as always, as are the sound effects. The voice acting is alright, its one thing that could have been better. The size of the game was great, spanning over 20 reasonably sized levels each with their own twists and turns to keep you happy and then you have the two player battle mode (which I haven't yet seen). And to make it even better the game has level select and allows you to re-watch cut scenes and listen to all of the games music from the main menu.

Overall I found the game to be quite good, like every game it has some problems but I found it made up for them. Totally worth it.

RACIST

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 8
Date: December 31, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I am appauled that this game is in the market. The bad language and the "kill the Black Creatures" sound bites every 5 seconds is really disturbing. At first I thought I was crazy but I requested other parents to try the game and all of them came to the same conclusion that the game is racist and sends a horrible message. People who vouch for this game must agree with the messages. This christmas gift went straight to trash and the other Sonic games followed.

Shadow the Hedgehog is a good game, and not Racist......

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: January 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Before I begin my actual review, let me just say this: "Great Parent" is wrong. THE ALIENS ARE BLACK SKINNED! THE NAME OF THE ALIENS IS "THE BLACK ARMS." THE FACT THAT YOU DO NOT REALISE THIS MAKES YOU A HORIBLE PARENT WHO LACKS BASIC COMMON SENSE. Also, the aliens having black skin is IMPORTANT TO THE STORY and to SHADOW'S LIFE.

J. Prater is also not a good parent. The "10+" on the rating should have tipped him off. Look on the back of the damn box! One of the reasons it's RATED E10+ Is because of the language. I'll admit that Shadow does swear excesivly, but he should have read the box if he had a problem with swearing. Also, he didn't play the game at all, and thus his review shouldn't even be up.

I'd like to warn all parents, and all gamers: Ignore these reviews. The game is not racist at all, and it's not meant for those under 10 years of age. However, if you're a parent, and you dislike swearing and/or firearms, the game is not for your child.

Moving onto the actual review, the game is not as good as other Sonic games, but it's still fun. The guns play an interesting spin, however, the mechanics aren't the best. The camera has some errors, too.

The story is fairly good, and the multiple paths spice the game up a lot.

The game is fun, it just doesn't feel like a Soinc game. Still, if you're a Sonic fan, get the game. If not, give it a rental at the least.

Shadow the hedgehog

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 8
Date: January 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I am a pretty easy going parent. I was absolutely appalled at the swearing in this game. This game is not appropriate for children. I also listened to the words of the soundtrack of this game and they are horrible. Here is the site to the words.
http://www.espiokaos.com/lyrics/sth_lyrics.html
It says "I am evil" several times and it's difficult to get it out of your head. I just don't think swearing and songs like this should be polluting our children's minds. I do love the sonic games and those seem to have decent lyrics to the sound track. If I would have known all of this I would have never spent the money for my seven year old to have this game. Take the time to look over the lyrics. If you don't mind your child hearing curse words every five seconds. I guess this is the game for you.

In answer to A. Bedlan "Amy"'s review

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: January 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

*Sigh* I am getting tired of hearing and reading reviews (mainly from parents who have either watched 5 minutes of gameplay, or overheard the word "Damn" once or twice) that say this game is racist/bad for children/over use of swearing.

1. Yes Shadow does over use the word "damn", therefore, maybe it would be wise to CHECK THE BACK OF THE BOX AND LOOK FOR THE REASONS IT'S RATED E-10+!!!!!! Maybe this game should have been T. BUT THAT IS NOT SEGA NOR SONIC TEAMS FAULT, IT IS ESRB's FAULT!!!!!

2. Maybe it you're son is 7, you shouldn't give him a game rated for over 10's.

3. This isn't a Sonic game, so don't expect Sonic standards of "goody, goody, gumdrops!" all the time. Sure you can make Shadow go good, but he is someone who doesn't play by the rules of saving the world all the time.

4.ABLSOLUTLY NONE OF THE LYRICS SAY "I AM EVIL"!!! Never. As a fan of this game and of this series, I say that you either need to read the lyrics at your own link, or get an ear doctor. I figured out most of the lyrics before I read them, and none of them are evil, though even I will admit that the song "Almost Dead" is just too much, and I don't agree with that.

6. So, stop bashing (aka saying the game is bad) this game if you know only fragments of information.

Once again, I've lost faith in humanity.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: January 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is not rascist. The Black Arms are black because *spoilers alert* Shadow has part of Black Doom in him, so Shadow the creatures need some resemblence. *end spoilers*

The game is rated 10+. If your child is younger than that, don't buy them the game. If your child is 10 or older and you think the word "Damn" is a problem, you shouldn't be a parent, and I feel sorry for your child. Also, I went through the lyrics, and I did not see "I Am Evil" anywhere. You need to open your eyes a little bit. Your child will see worse things on the news, so stop complaining.

In other words, this game is alright. Don't buy this game expecting a normal Sonic game. The gun was an intresting touch to the game, and I personally love it. When you get hit you don't lose all your rings, which is awesome. The music in this game is awesome, except Almost Dead. You can ask any hardcore Sonic fan and they will tell you it's a garbage song. Powerman 5000 isn't garbage, though. Not much else to say. There are a few nifty guns you can unlock, but overall it's an easy, but replayable game.

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