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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!

Parents think carefully

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 15
Date: September 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

My 9-year-old received this game as a gift. Thinking it was as harmless as the other Sonic game we own, I didn't look closely at the packaging, so I didn't see the E10+ rating on the back. It was only as my 9, 7, and 5-year-olds were playing for the first time that I became alarmed. Every 30 seconds or so, I was hearing swearing. Read the other reviews. This game is not for children, not even older children, if you are as opposed to the use of swear words as I am. The E10+ rating is misleading. This should be rated T. I won't allow my children to play this game because they act out what they play and imitate dialogue. I don't want my 5-year-old saying "D---" and it's a sad world when I have to police and screen everything that comes into my home. I definitely don't want my children being as disrespectful as the other children reviewing this game are. From now on I research every game that my children want to get.

Inappropriate for children of any age.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: January 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I was skeptical when my 8-year-old daughter came running downstairs and told me that the characters on my 11-year-old sons "E" rated video game were cursing, but I went upstairs to check it out anyway. Sure enough, one of the characters was using the word "Damn." Even worse, he had to shoot and kill people to get through another challenge. Do the makers of this game, (Kaizen Media Group), really think that this sort of game is okay with responsible parents? Well, it's not. There are so many interesting and funny words in the English dictionary, I can't believe that this is the only thing that Kaizen Media Group could come up with!

I'm tired of going to movies and buying video games rated for children that are full of violence and cursing. It adds nothing to the game/movie. Adults can choose freely in regards to what games/movies they purchase, but as parents we are responsible for what our children play/view. I really feel that we need to speak out about these issues. If I could return this game I would. It is definitely headed for the trashcan and I will not be buying another one from this company. I suggest that you don't either.

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.

Reiner and Me are Right

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 11
Date: February 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Before I write my review, I want to share with you all a review written about this game by Reiner of GameInformer magazine to prove to you that I am not the only one that thinks that this game sucks:

"Wait... this game is mislabeled. This isn't Shadow the Hedgehog. It's that miserable Broken the Hedgehog! With the scent of a dirty diaper permeating from his speedy wake, this killer of classic gaming franchises does what he does best. He sucks. Not since Bubsy have I seen a mascot-based action game corner the market in unresponsive controls, disastrous level designs, inconsistent framerates, traumatizing character designs, and (my personal favorite) just being flat out broken. At the very least, this game has its place in the history of gaming for that. Shame on you, Sega."

Now for my review: If you have any sense of self-worth or decency, don't buy this game. If you do, it's just a waste of your money. You ask, "Why isn't this review longer?" Frankly, because Reiner already said what needed to be said. Listen.

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.

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.

A look at the facts for worried parents out there

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: February 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I would just like to point out and possibly reiterate a few things first off.

Dear "Amy",
*Quote*If I would have known all of this I would have never spent the money for my seven year old to have this game."

It concerns me that you, as a parent, would even buy this for your seven year old. ESRB rates games for a reason, and this one, if you take the time to look, is rated E10+. Maybe that's confusing, so allow me to explain. That means ESRB finds this game is generally (please note that word, it's important) suitable for anyone over the age of 10. In fact, ESRB explains the rating as, and I quote, "Content that may be suitable for ages 10 and older." Now maybe I missed something, but if I recall my math classes 7 is less than ten, not greater...

Secondly, to "Great Parent". I believe Jim "Therum" said it best in the following quote: "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."

Symbolism shows us that the color black is generally associated with darkness, shadows, and evil (Why do you think so many people judge the deemed "goth" crowd because of their clothes before that get to know them?). 'Black' does not apply exclusively to the African American community, and every time black is used it's not a potshot at African Americans. People take this racist thing WAY too overboard these days. I'm all for African Americans being treated fair and not being discriminated against and all that good stuff, but there's a point when enough is enough, and this is one of those points. I mean geesh, the next thing you know people will be screaming over the drow in DnD games and the like being racist because they're a black (and I mean black black if you don't know what a drow is) skinned outcast race of elves *rolls eyes*.

That said, I can agree that Shadow would be better suited with a rating of T instead of E10+, and if I were a parent I would probably take care about letting my child play the game too early, however if the game appals you so much, there's a very simple solution. Don't let your child play it. ESRB rates games for just that reason, so cautious and worried parents have a guideline for what is suitable for their children and can avoid unsuitable games. On that note, however, it's not ESRB's job to figure out what's right for YOUR child. They can only rate the game *drumroll* GENERALLY (there's that word again!)

As the concerned parent you are, you should be paying attention to what YOUR child is like. ESRB's raters don't live with your kid from day to day, so they can't say whether your kid is really suited for a game. That's *gasp* one of the jobs of a parent! To know your kid and know how things affect them!

So basically what this boils down to is this...you can be appalled all you like, but at the end of the day it's your parenting that's really going to be put to the question.

----------

Of other note, after renting Shadow the Hedgehog I have to say I'm not as impressed with it as I thought I would be. The guns don't appeal to me, the cameras are -terrible- and do most definitely cost you a LOT of lives, the game is (in my opinion at least) far too short, and the storyline is rather tepid so far. Honestly, there was SO much Sega could have done with this game, but it seems like they just threw together some wild idea and ran with it instead of really thinking it out. Don't get me wrong, the concept of being able to choose what path you'll take is awesome, but the way it was presented in this game was flawed.

I will say, I do love the opening theme and eventually hope to find the CD for the game (*side rant* No there is -NOWHERE- in the lyrics where it says "I am evil". There's some "I am"s and the word "evil" in the song as it's talking about Shadow trying to find his path, but never does it say "I am evil"...some parent has a vivid imagination I think), but overall I wasn't impressed with the game enough to want to buy it or even rent it again. It falls FAR short of the much better thought out Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, which allows for extracirricular gameplay after you finish the storyline (LOVE the chao!) in my opinion.

That said, come on Sega...can't you match SA2:B with a cool and reasonable Shadow-based storyline? I think that's all Sonic fans are asking for here.

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.

ESRB rated this one wrong

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game should be rated T. There is no reason for Shadow (and others) to say "damn" every 30 seconds in the game. Every time you get hit or die, it cusses. I know we are all getting desensitised to this, but the game should not be rated E10. The violence is pretend and I don't have a problem. Most E10 are due to violence with some obscure language that is hard to hear. With Shadow, "damn" is being said every 30 seconds. That's ridiculous. Never before has a Sonic game not been good for everyone. I missed the E10, thought it was only an E. Let my 5 year old play it. I grew up playing Sonic and so has my son. Very unhappy with Sega for this one. No reason for the language and no way to turn it off!

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