As for 3d sonic games, they haven’t pushed the Sonic theme to the fullest. Be it Fishing missions, Treasure Hunts, or the lack of multi-paths, people have always had something to complain about with Sonic Adventure 1 & 2. Shadow tries to rectify this to a degree, but doesn’t completely succeed. While we are graced with another 3D Sonic game that doesn’t involve fishing for “Froggy”, the presence of find every something or other is evident on nearly every stage. While these missions are optional and not necessary for playing, they are needed to get all 10 endings and are thus required for the final cop-out boss fight. If you beat Sonic Adventure 1 or 2, then you know what I’m talking about. As for the 10 endings, they are somewhat entertaining but have nothing to do with the real ending and real story.
Gameplay: Aside from some camera issues and homing-jump errors, the game play is pretty good. The use of guns and vehicles is interesting and allows more of a choice in stage strategy, while the general on foot running still allows some sense of speed. Not always as fast as in Sonic Adventure 2, but still enough for some massive jetting. Surprisingly, the guns fit well in the game, though the alien weapons look like tumors. Now if only they would put more bosses in this game.
Graphics and Sound: Oddly enough, the voices seem pretty well done. The lip-synching is mostly exact with the voices as well. The cut scenes were the best I’ve seen for a Sonic game so far, too bad all of the story elements and endings are so jumbled that one can only trust the “Last Story” ending. The sound effects were typical for a Sonic Adventure game and the music was in the tradition of Sonic Adventure 2. So if you like Soft Hair Metal, go buy the soundtrack.
In the end, Shadow the Hedgehog is an okay game. Not a great game or an innovative one, but one worth at least renting. If you are a Sonic fan, you might as well buy this one and complete all 300+ story paths. You’ll still get the same 10 fake endings, but its something to do until the next sonic game comes out for the consoles.
Pros: Choose your own mission per stage is interesting for the story path, Great cut scenes, no fishing, room full of Chao to attack, lots of action and speed.
Cons: Treasure hunting missions, bogus endings that only confuse the player, Alien weapons look too much like cancer, camera sometimes cumbersome, homing attack needs adjusted further, too few bosses that are often reused again and again.
