Shadow the Hedgehog (video game)

Shadow the Hedgehog
North American cover art
Developer(s)	Sega Studio USA
Publisher(s)	Sega
Designer(s)	Takashi Iizuka (director/lead design/script) Kazuyuki Hoshino (art director) Hiroshi Nishiyama (field art director)
Composer(s)	Jun Senoue (sound director), Yutaka Minobe, Tomoya Ohtani, Mariko Nanba
Platform(s)	GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
Genre(s)	Action-adventure, platform, third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Shadow the Hedgehog is a video game starring Shadow the Hedgehog, a character from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was first revealed in 2005 at the Walk of Game inauguration of Sonic the Hedgehog, another character from the series. It is the third game developed by Sega Studio USA, and was the last Sonic game developed in the United States after Sega Studio USA members were moved back into the Japan division in early 2008.

The game is a 3D platformer, following the trend of previous Sonic games. Each level has three possible missions—"Hero", "Dark", or "Neutral"—that may be completed by the player. Which missions are completed ultimately determine the direction of the game's plot progression, a feature referenced by the game's tagline, "Hero or villain? You decide". To defeat the enemies found in the game, Shadow can use various weapons as well as special attacks. The plot of the game involves Shadow, a creation of Doctor Eggman's grandfather Gerald Robotnik, attempting to learn about his past after suffering from amnesia, while completing missions that affect the storyline.

Shadow the Hedgehog was released for multiple platforms in the United States on November 15, 2005, in Europe on November 18, and in Japan on December 15. The game received mostly negative reviews from critics upon its release, with most complaints stemming from the use of Shadow's weapons. Some of the violence and profanity in the game was censored, but some remained, which was part of the reason for the game's E10+ rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board.

Gameplay

Shadow the Hedgehog is a platform game that has similar traits to previous 3D Sonic games, in which the player traverses a set of three-dimensional platforming levels. Features retained from past Sonic titles include high running speed, the collection of rings, and destroying enemies. Shadow collects rings as a form of health; when he is attacked by an enemy, his rings bounce in all directions; if he is attacked by an enemy while he has no rings, he will lose a life. Levels are completed by undertaking missions, each of which are labeled either "Hero", "Dark", or "Normal". The Hero missions involve the player completing tasks for his friends, including Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles and the Evil missions either for the Black Arms, the alien race led by Black Doom, or Doctor Eggman. The Normal missions are completed by simply reaching the Chaos Emerald inside a large golden ring located at the end of the level. Which missions are completed affects how the game progresses, what levels are played, and ultimately, which of the ten possible endings will be reached, although the enemies attack the player no matter which side they take. Each level features cutscenes and boss battles, and there are many different paths in which to complete the game.

A number of new gameplay features separate Shadow the Hedgehog from the previous entries in the Sonic the Hedgehog series which feature Sonic as the main playable character. Perhaps the greatest difference in the game are the weapons sported by Shadow, which he can use to combat enemies found in each level. In addition to wielding a variety of firearms, the player may also use parts of the scenery as weapons, such as traffic signs; alternatively, the player may opt not to use weapons. Another new feature in the game are vehicles such as motorcycles and alien aircraft that Shadow may drive, though as with the weapons, most of the vehicles are optional. Although Shadow can run faster than the game's vehicles, the vehicles have some capabilities that Shadow does not, such as hitting and running over enemies, or traversing a normally impassible acid-covered area. As in most Sonic games, the Chaos Emeralds play a major role in this game, aiding Shadow's memory, and allow three "Chaos Powers" to be performed after filling up the player's "Hero" and "Dark" gauges; "Chaos Control" allows Shadow to manipulate time and space; "Chaos Blast" creates an explosion that damages enemies; and "Chaos Spear" creates a large, spear-like mass of energy that damages enemies. It previously appeared in Sonic Adventure 2.

File:ShadowTheHedgehogMultiplayer.JPG

Two players exploring a stage in the multiplayer mode.

There is also a multiplayer mode for up to two players, in which six pallet swaps of Shadow can be played. It has the same basic mechanics as the single-player mode, but the screen is divided horizontally between players. Players fight in one of three specially-designed stages and can attack each other, steal each other's rings, and use weapons against each other until one is eliminated. The multiplayer mode was criticized by GameSpot's Greg Mueller for its poor combat execution and small number of stages.

Plot

50 years before the game begins, deep in a military research space station, Professor Gerald Robotnik started an experiment known as Project Shadow while trying to unlock the secrets of eternal life on the government's orders. The experiment culminated in the creation of Shadow the Hedgehog, "The Ultimate Life Form", who had the ability to harness the mysterious power of the Chaos Emeralds in new ways. In Sonic Adventure 2 (Shadow's first appearance), he was thought dead, but returned in Sonic Heroes with amnesia, a condition which lasts into Shadow the Hedgehog. At the beginning of the game, which takes place three months after the events of Sonic Heroes, Shadow still knows nothing of his past; his only three memories are of his attempt to escape the ARK with Maria, Maria's death, and his name. He wonders if he really is the original Shadow the Hedgehog, or an android. During the course of the game, Shadow makes it his goal to remember everything else. He can choose to take the side of the Black Arms, which wants the Chaos Emeralds for itself, or Doctor Eggman, who wants to build his own empire (both Dark); the GUN army, who want to keep the world safe from the Black Arms and Doctor Eggman (Hero); or take no side and choose to seek the Chaos Emeralds for himself (Neutral).

File:ShadowTheHedgehogDescent.jpg

Shadow descending onto a section of an outdoor level.

The game begins in the city of Westopolis, where the Black Arms are invading; and its leader, Black Doom, speaks to Shadow of an old agreement for Shadow to bring him the Chaos Emeralds. Stunned that Black Doom knew him by name, Shadow realizes that he must find the Chaos Emeralds to learn the truth about his past. The game progresses through several more levels, each of which involves Shadow completing missions and learning more about his past. The missions completed determine which of the ten possible endings will be reached. The endings always start when Shadow collects all the Chaos Emeralds. Possible endings range from Shadow planning to destroy the Black Arms to planning to destroy the planet.

Development

Shadow the Hedgehog was first revealed at the inauguration of Sonic the Hedgehog into the Walk of Game in early March 2005, before being formally announced by Sega on March 23. Game director Takashi Iizuka stated that it was the team's desire to have Shadow feature in his own game since his introduction in Sonic Adventure 2, and that it would allow them to solve some of the mysteries that they had built up since the character's debut. The main motivation behind giving Shadow his own title was the desire to produce a more mature game in the Sonic series. Shadow, whose character design was inspired by films such as Underworld, Constantine, and the Terminator series; was the ideal character to use for such a game. This departure from the main series also offered the team the chance to include elements that would feel out-of-place in a Sonic game, such as vehicles and weapons.

Censorship

Due to the more violent nature of the game, especially compared to previous titles in the Sonic series, the ESRB rating was, for a time, in question. 1UP.com's preview of the game originally listed the game's rating as T; however, the official site listed it as E10+, which was ultimately the rating for the game on its release. Some of the content present in the earlier previews of the game was censored; for example, the Black Arms troopers originally shed red blood when attacked, but it was later changed to green to decrease its realism. Upon another requirement, the Hero characters were required to give a negative reaction when Shadow attacks the human GUN soldiers to discourage violence against humans. However, most of the original profanity remained in the game, including lines for multiple characters containing the word "damn", several of which are said by Shadow.

Music

Lost and Found: Shadow the Hedgehog Vocal Trax was a soundtrack album released in February 2006. Some of the songs are taken directly from the game, while some are remixes of the game's master tracks. The track "Broken" by Sins of a Divine Mother was removed due to licensing reasons. Instead, A2 recorded the song "Chosen One" in its place.

Track listing

1. "I Am (All of Me)" by Crush 40 (Trailer, main theme, and final boss theme)
2. "Almost Dead" by Powerman 5000 (Dark and Pure Dark ending theme)
3. "Waking Up" by Julien-K (Neutral ending theme)
4. "E.G.G.M.A.N. Doc Robeatnix Mix" by REMIX Factory featuring Paul Shortino (Doctor Eggman's theme)
5. "Chosen One" by A2 (Hero ending theme)
6. "All Hail Shadow" by Magna-Fi (Pure Hero ending theme)
7. "Never Turn Back" by Crush 40 (Final ending theme)

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	GC: 53% (27 reviews) PS2: 49% (33 reviews) X: 52% (25 reviews)
Metacritic	GC: 51% (22 reviews) PS2: 45% (28 reviews) X: 49% (24 reviews)

Review scores

Publication	Score
1Up.com	PS2: D- GC, X: C+
AllGame
Eurogamer	X: 5/10
Famitsu	31/40
Game Informer	4/10
GameSpot	GC, X: 4.8/10 PS2: 4.7/10
GameSpy
GameTrailers	8.3/10
IGN	GC, X: 4.9/10 PS2: 4.7/10
M! Games	GC: 44/100 PS2: 40/100 X: 48/100
Official Xbox Magazine (UK)	X: 7.0/10
X-Play	X:

The game received mostly negative reviews from video game critics. It has a Metacritic aggregate score of 45, 49, and 51 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Gamecube versions, respectively; although, apart from the controls, the game is the same on each system. Similarly, aggregate site Game Rankings lists the title at 49%, 52% and 53%, respectively. Allgame gave the game 2 stars out of 5, noting that the game "should feel familiar [to] fans of latter-day Sonic games." G4's X-Play gave the game 1 star out of 5, saying that "this Shadow leaves us completely in the dark". In Game Informer's review of the game, staff writer Matt Helgeson said that "not only is this new 'adult' interpretation of Sonic painfully dumb, it’s also ill-advised and almost feels like a betrayal to longtime fans" and that Shadow exhibited "little to no personality and talks in a ridiculous Clint Eastwood rasp." In 1UP.com's review of the PlayStation 2 version, staff writer Greg Sewart said that the game consisted of "a couple of good ideas, a couple of bad ideas, but executed so poorly that the game feels almost unfinished", giving the game a D-. He also complained that all the enemies in the game attack the player, no matter which side the player takes.

One area of complaint was Shadow's weapons and vehicles. Grege Mueller of GameSpot noted that the guns were nearly useless because of a lack of an aiming function, although praising the differentiation between levels and the game's soundtrack. Matt Casamassina of IGN also criticized the usage of the guns, writing that the process was overly cumbersome and complex and that killing an enemy was a "game of chance". 1UP.com's Greg Sewart also complained that "the guns lack a lock-on feature".

Positive reviews of the game came from GameTrailers, which gave the game an 8.3 out of 10, praising its replay value and sense of speed; and Official Xbox Magazine, which gave the game a 7.0 out of 10, claiming that the game "isn't half as 'urban' or quite as 'gangsta' as it first seems" and that "if you're young and thought Heroes was fun in its own little way [...] this is more of the same thing only with loads more stuff to do — and guns." Famitsu gave it 31 out of 40 on all systems but, being a simple scores archive, did not give a review.

The game sold over one million copies worldwide, and was released as a part of the budget lines Greatest Hits for the PlayStation 2 and Player's Choice for the GameCube.

External links

• Shadow the Hedgehog official site (in Japanese)
• GameSpot on Shadow the Hedgehog (GameCube)
• IGN on Shadow the Hedgehog (Xbox)
• The ODP category for Shadow the Hedgehog