Shadow Man

"And you thought that the N64 only made games for babies."

Shadow Man is an unforgetable game for the N64. Never in the history of the N64 have I played a game so involving and scary like this game. Well , there is Zelda (Adneture) and Resident Evil (Horror). But this game stands out for itself.

Graphics : 10/10 ''How many more horrors will I find in this
horrible place...'' - Shadow Man

The graphics for Shadow Man show you just what the N64 is capable of doing. From the smallest detail to the vast worlds , the programmers have really done a great job of providing us with these nightmarish worlds and graphics. If your N64 is equipped with an expansion pak , you'll get an even better of an ''eye candy''. There is some slow down when playing the game in high rez mode though. But nothing to harm the game play.
The animation for the characters is extremely smooth. There is only a slight problems when the characters are talking - The characters don't exactly move their mouths the right way when they're talking. They're still moving their mouths after they've finished talking. But nothing serious at all.

Sound : 10/10 '' I am the lizard king.... '' - The Lizard King

This game has some of the best music I've ever heard in a N64 game. The themes are quite errie and scary. Every area in the game has it's own unique music. Yes , not exactly every area has it's music , but , it still has some amzing back ground sounds. The voices may not be of the best quality , but you can clearly hear what the characters are saying. Every enemy has their own unique sounds too - The scream of the pig monsters , the barks from the dogs , and the sound of their blood splatering. The sound just rocks in this game.

Control : 10/10

I don't know why so many people have complained about the controls in this game. I mean , it is so easy to control Shadow Man and shoot thigs here and there. The game uses Zelda : Ocarina Of Time's aiming style. The only problem is when tryng to aim at something infront of you - you can get attacked from behind. It isn't at all hard to move Shadow Man. You can , at times , get stuck in certain places and can get very annoying , especially when you are being attacked. But over all , the control set up is very good and the programmers did a very good job at it.

Game Play : 10/10 ''I am the lord of Dead Side''- Shadow Man

You play as Michael Leroi , a taxi driver who found a load of money in the back of his cab left behind by gangsters.
The gansters find out and they kill Michael's family in a drive-by , including his younger brother , Luke.
Michael gets paralised and this voodoo lady , named Netty , turns him into Shadow Man.
Shadow Man then must go to Deadside and look for his brother Luke , who is in danger , and save him.
Deadside is the world of the dead. Liveside is the world of the living (our world). Shadow Man must teleport from Live Side to Dead Side continously to find items and use them at certain places. One of Shadow Man's main goals is to collect 120 dark souls scattered throughout Dead Side and Live Side. You have a voodoo meter- The highest you can have it is at level ten. As you collect many dark souls , you'll notice your voodoo meter getting higher and higher. There are also these coffin gates in Dead Side in which you must open to enter other places and to cross these very long bridges to go to another area of Deadside.
But to open the coffin gates , you must have the amount of voodoo power that the coffin gate has highlighted on it's numbers. Shadow Man must also collect GADS , which allow Shadow Man to touch fire , walk on fire , and swim on acid , all without getting hurt.
The more special things you collect , the further you can accomplish in the game. There are so many areas in this game to explore and many items to collect. YOu won't finish this game in 1 day , I garentee it.

Weapons : 6/10 ''You can poke somebodie's eye out with
that!!'' - Jaunty

Well , Shadow Man may not have alat of weapons , but the few weapons he has are very kewl. The weapon you'll mostly be using is Shadow Man's Dessert Eagle handgun. The handgun has to modes - One that lets you shoot out normal bullets and another thar lets you shoot out blue voodoo spirits or something. There are 2 shotguns in the game in which you can use both at the same time. There are 2 machine guns that you'll find in a prison. There are these to kewl weapons that spin around shooting bullets that are called violators.
There are alat of voodoo weapons that shoo out fire and explode and stuff. There is even a sheild.
All the weapons are kool but you won't find alat of them in the game that you'll use alat.

Levels : 10/10 ''The horror...the horror...I embrace it.''
- Shadow Man

The game has alat of interesting levels. Each and evryone with its own twist of horror. You'll have a lot of fun exploring these vast worlds. In almost every corner there is an enemy waiting for you. From a river in Louisiana to sacred temples , a prison , sour , and to a dark place called Assylum.

Replay Value : 8/10

You'll have a fun time playing this game over and over again at different times. It will take you a while to find some of the hidden cheats in the game as well.......

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/12/01, Updated 09/12/01