Shadow Man

"A great challenge for adventurers"

When I first got this game, I had no clue what Shadow Man was about, and I was very dissapointed with my first couple hours through the game, it seemed so linear and boring. But this game seems to get better and better as you get farther into it. So the first few levels might give you a bad first impression. This game gets 10 times harder when you are near the end. If you like adventure, and you like action, you'll love this game.

Gameplay: 10/10

The game seems tremendously boring the first few hours you play it, but as you progress, the game dwells deeper into Deadside, giving you more and more choices. You will often find yourself choosing between 3 different paths and not having the slightest clue which way to go. Even true explorers will have trouble with this game. There are ''Soul Gates'' that require a number of dark souls to open, this urges you to go around and find all whatever you can in every level. The enemies are not very tough, they only add to the difficulty of finding your way around. The gameplay for this game can keep you playing for hours on end. Even the codes are hard to get. You have to unlock them by standing in a specific place in this massive world. Finding them without a guide is almost impossible (I wonder how marshmallow did it).

Story: 9/10

The game is about a voodoo sorceress and a man with the power to travel between Liveside; the land of the living, and Deadside; the land of the dead. His name is Mike Leroi aka Shadow Man. A dark force in Deadside plans to take the dark souls and take over liveside. Shadow Man must capture the dark souls and defeat this evil. The story isnt much to be interested about at first, but it gets better. On the first level of Deadside you will find a book that outlines the entire story of Shadow Man. And it will likely make absolutely no sense to you. But as you progress through the game, all of the things that you read in this book will start to unfold. By the end, you will know all about the Dark souls, the Gads, the soul gates, and all the other elements of the game.

Graphics: 9/10

Although graphics don't mean that much to me, the graphics for this game perfectly set the eerie mood. I've never seen so much blood in any N64 game. The Expansion Pak doesnt really make much of a difference, though. The characters are kind of flat, but very detailed. Some places look so real you'd think they were photographs. I love it when Shadow Man gets consumed by flames, its so bloody. You may not like the graphics for game if you have a weak stomach, otherwise, its great.

Play Control: 8/10

There are a variety of different control styles to suite anyone. All of them are relatively hard to get used to, but the control handles just fine once your used to it. The inventory selection is what screwed me up the most, I always pushed the wrong button to get in or out of the inventory screen, but I have no trouble with it now. Just give it time and the controls will be easy as cake.

Sound: 10/10

One word: Perfect. That pretty much sums up the sound for this game. The clear voices, the growling zombies, the eerie music, and even the usual stuff like shooting your gun and jumping sound great. You'll definetly want to turn your volume up for this game. The voices perfectly suit each character. The sound doesnt get annoying, even after playing non-stop for 3 hours.

Length: 10/10

This game will have even the most experienced adventurers playing for hours. It took me 6 months to beat this game and capture all the dark souls. And playing the game a second time will be a whole new experience, since I will know the entire plot and exactly what is going on. The challenge stays hard even on your second run through the game. Shadow Man is definetly not a rental game, in order to enjoy this game at all, you will have to own it.

Overall Score: 10/10

There is really nothing wrong with this game, its almost perfect. Any improvements I would make would be very minor. But overall its one of the best adventure games for the N64. As I said above, dont bother renting this game, its either buy or not buy. You will love this game up until the time you beat it, after that it might collect dust.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/25/01, Updated 10/25/01