Shadow Man

"Easily one of the best adventures for the N64."

Shadow Man is one of those games that you play in the dark. It’s a nonstop onslaught of fear-inducing, adrenaline-pumping Cajun voodoo thrown at your brain. You play a (relatively) dead man with superhuman capabilities, an impressive array of weapons, and a realistic Bayou accent. This game doesn’t conform to the other ones on the 64, as it’s very dark and gloomy. It’s non-linear, a big sprawling adventure that every serious gamer loves. I wouldn’t go so far to say it’s an adult game, but it definitely wasn’t made for children. I think more advertising and such should have been done for this game, because it was truly an eye-opener and makes you think about death and the afterlife.

Control: Many gamers didn’t like the controls to Shadow Man. I personally don’t know what they’re complaining about. The controls are easily adaptable and I like them better than most adventure games. There’s never any confusion about which button does what, and after 15 minutes of playing you’ll be controlling Shadow Man as though he was an extension of you. It’s downright crazy, I tell you.

Graphics: Severely likable. There’s nothing wrong with Shadow Man’s graphics. The backgrounds all blend nicely with one another, and the monsters are believable and fluid. You don’t even need an expansion pak for the full effect

Audio: Shadow Man’s music and sound are some of the scariest things to be listening to at 1:30 am in your pitch-black living room. Even if you play this game outside on a hot summer day, it’s pretty freaky. Dead-looking gruesome things moaning and little ankle-biters hissing ''Shadow Man'' is frightening. The voice acting is phenomenal, especially compared to other horror games like Resident Evil…The music is brooding and ominous, and oftentimes it’s mixed in with the background sounds of the location you’re at to make it extra unreal.

Gameplay: Playing Shadow Man is like stepping into the dark recesses of a dead man’s soul. You never know what’s coming next, from the lava pits of the Temples to the hospital-gone-bad Asylum. The plot runs smoothly and never gets in the way of the game. There are also many puzzle-like aspects and so many elusive items that it will take a long, long time for you to find everything.

Character Development: Shadow Man is not a roleplaying game, but his relationships with his allies and his ongoing struggle to come to terms with his dead self is the makings of an epic story. This is definitely one of the more in-depth, mature storylines I’ve seen on the 64, or any console really. While more details could have been added, it was a very enjoyable story from start to finish.

Replayability: Just like most adventure games and RPGs, Shadow Man gives the player a feeling of relief and satisfaction when they’ve beaten the game. Playing it again makes it lose some of the polish it had the first time around. It’s kind of like watching a movie more than once, it gets a little boring. Replayability really isn’t an issue though, it’s not one of those quick-kill type games you can pick up and throw around like Team Fortress Classic or Quake. Shadow Man is a more serious game for more serious gamers.

This game received the score it did because I was impressed with the innovative idea and plot element. The graphics, storyline, and especially the sound were very refreshing and a break from the more shallow games being released at around that time. It was really a surprise to see a game like this released on the 64 because of its themes. I hope that in the future, Nintendo realizes that games like this only add to its market and consumer satisfaction.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/28/00, Updated 11/28/00