Shadow the Hedgehog

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
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.