| Shadow the Hedgehog | |
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| Developer(s) | Sega |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| LP'ed? | No |
| Series | Sonic the Hedgehog |
| Released | 2005 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Ratings from other reviews | 4.9 out of 10 (IGN)
8 out of 10 (Nintendo Power) 5 out of 10 (Eurogamer) |
| Platform(s) | GameCube, PS2, Xbox |
| Input methods | Controller |
Shadow the Hedgehog is a video game developed by Sega and released in 2005. Sega noticed that many fans felt underwhelmed by Sonic Heroes, and decided to take a darker edge on the franchise with Shadow the Hedgehog.
Info[]
The game was released alongside Sonic Rush. It's premise was dubbed as a possible April Fools, but it eventually was released in 2005. The dark nature of this game received large negativity, and the dark edge was toned down in later installments and removed in more recent Sonic games.
Gameplay[]
Shadow's abilities in Shadow the Hedgehog are similar to those from Sonic Adventure 2. He can jump and jump dash/homing attack, as well as spin dash, light dash, and slide to attack while running, and can perform a punch-punch-kick combo. He also has the ability to use weapons (including guns, swords, rocket launchers, etc.) and drive vehicles that he finds or commandeers. Shadow also keeps his ability to wall run from Sonic Heroes. He is able to use Chaos Spear, but only when you unlock the last story and turn into Super Shadow.
Weapons[]
Shadow can use a variety of weapons found throughout each stage. Ranging from pistols and machine guns to close combat weapons, Gatling guns, bazookas, and even laser rifles. Weapons are commonly found in boxes and dropped from enemies. When a weapon is first picked up, Shadow receives some initial of ammunition for that weapon; more ammunition can be gathered by picking up more copies of the weapon. Only one weapon can be held at a time, and when Shadow runs out of ammunition for his weapon, he will toss it aside and it disappears. Even melee weapons such as swords have ammunition points, which may represent their durability.
Six special weapons can be unlocked in Story mode. The first five are each unlocked by completing either the Hero or Dark mission of one of the five Stages (and their ammo can be increased by completing both the Hero and Dark missions.) The last special weapon, the "Shadow Rifle" is unlocked upon completion of the Last Story.
These special weapons are contained within black boxes with Shadow's head on it. When one of these boxes is opened, it drops all unlocked special weapons.
Chaos Powers[]
Shadow can use two different Chaos Powers, based on how the player makes him act towards enemies/allies. Destroying Black Arms, healing wounded or dead GUN troops and civilians, and putting out fires gives Hero points and fills up Shadow's Hero gauge. Destroying GUN troops, environmental objects and healing Black Arms gives Dark points and fills up Shadow's Dark gauge. Also, there are circular shapes that are hidden in some levels. These instantly fill your Dark or Hero gauge, red for Dark and blue for Hero. The only obvious one is in Prison Island, were Charmy speaks of it directly and the red contrasts with the green and gray color of the stage.
When Shadow's Hero gauge is full, Shadow becomes invincible, gets unlimited ammunition, and can activate "Chaos Control" which fast forwards through the stage (or slows down time in boss battles) until the Hero gauge is empty. This form is known as Hero Shadow. When Shadow's Dark gauge is full, Shadow gets the exact same benefits as with the Hero Gauge, but uses Chaos Blast, which creates a huge blast of chaos energy, destroying everything nearby. Chaos Blast can be used up to four times before the Dark gauge is drained. This other form is sometimes known as Dark Shadow.
There is also a third Chaos Power that only be used in the Last Story, called Chaos Spear.
Interestingly, while both sides are often seen exchanging shots with one-another, they will rarely ever hit each other. This is because the developers wanted all the enemy deaths to be a result of the player's actions. The player cannot simply wait out a fire fight until enemies are weakened, but must instead do the work themselves.
SomecallmeJohnny[]
A newcomer to his set of reviews, this is his first time giving a review of the game. He gave it a large negative set, and dubbed it "His least favourite Sonic game" and went as far as to claim that he will never pick it up ever again. This may not be his least favourite since he has stated in other videos that Sonic Labyrinth and Sonic Genesis are the worst Sonic games. Then, in 2014, Johnny revised his least favorite 3D Sonic game, stating now, Sonic and the Secret Rings has proven itself worse than both SONIC THE HEDGEHOG and Shadow the Hedgehog, though his overall opinions on this game has yet to change. This brings it's overall rating to a rough 4/10, or maybe lower.
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