Shadow the Hedgehog is not necessarily the game youd expect Sega to make after the stunning success of games such as Sonic Heroes and Sonic Mega Collection. Although it looks and plays fairly similarly to the former, albeit with only the one character at a time, it features anti-hero Shadow who instead of offing bad guys with a simple jump on their head is packing what looks suspiciously like a high calibre Desert Eagle pistol.
The image of a Sonic the Hedgehog lookalike using such a realistic piece of hardware is an oddly disturbing one and rather sours initial moments with the game. Luckily though the rest of the game reveals itself to be a more traditionally wholesome title as Shadow runs, jumps and err… shoots his way through levels.
In a nod to games such as Prince of Persia, Shadow can also manipulate time to his advantage and unleash the explosive “Chaos Blast” move. He can also make use of a variety of different vehicles including motorcycles, jeeps and alien spacecraft and pick up and use handy objects like streetlamps as weapons.
The choice of whether to turn to evil during the course of the game seems a bit out of a place for a Sonic game, although its not clear exactly how evil the game actually allows you to get. Its not exactly GTA: Emerald City but its still rather odd to see such an iconic series take such an unwarranted trip to the Dark Side. — Harrison Dent
