Shadow Man: 2econd Coming

"Shadow Man should hide in the shadow"

When I see a game rated mature, I'm expecting mature fun. Game as Fear Effect, Silent Hill, Metal Gear or Resident Evil fully exploit their ratings, and there's reason for it to be mature. Shadow Man 2econd Coming is a lame attempt to be an adult game. And I'm not talking kiddish violence or effect like in Conker's Bad Fur Day, because then it's for humor. I'm talking about a game with a poor plot, uninteresting character, and it's not even ''action-adventure'' like some people say, it's a dull platformer, a gothic Tomb Raider that doesn't even manage to equalize it.

Graphics: 3/10

The graphics and effect are one of the biggest handicap of the game. First of all, it is true that the character can use a large variety of weapons, but they all have the same effect. If you launch a grenade into a monster or smack him up with a crowbar until it blows (yeah, I'm sure that when I kill somebody with a crowbar and then strike him again while he fall will make him blow up), it's all the same effect. It would have been great if when you hit something with a crowbar, it fall dizzy and then you decapitate him with an axe, but you can't.

The fire effect are totally unrealistic, and the enemies all look the same. The background is not so bad, but feel like the Nintendo 64. The cut-scenes are hysterically bad, no effect, nothing, they're the same from the game. LAME I tell you LAME!

The gothic-voodoo theme isn't even scary. Ok, yeah, there's blood... So? They could have work this part too.

Sound and music: 6/10

There is some good tracks, like around the bar ''Wild at Heart'' (Is it based on the David Lynch movie?). Jazzy creepy instrumental add some creepy effect on the game, but that's it. The sound effects are boring, nothing unseen, but work well.

Control: 5/10

Well, the controls are not so bad, but one thing gets on my nerve: you can't use both hands at the same time. What's great with having two weapons is to use them both to kill the enemy. Like in Devil May Cry or Evil Dead, it would have been nice to impale your enemies in the air and cap'em until they die or smack them in the air with a sword and juggle 'em with your pistol.

Story: 3/10

Boring. They try to make Mike a anti-hero, but he is not. A anti-hero need anti-hero gear, anti-hero attitude and anti-hero one-liners. He's got none of them, except when it's the night, our fantastically uni-dimensional hero looks a little evil, but that's it. They could have made a very adult gothic story, but end up caught between seriousness and comedy, and it doesn't work.

Gameplay: 2/10

I hate looking for stuff. I hate it even more when it doesn't have a purpose. In Shadow Man, the 3/4 of the game you search, walk around etc... It would have been easier if there was a hint system like in Earthbound where you can buy hint or in Metal Gear with the Codec. Well there's nothing here to help but a lousy map. YEAH, FUN FUN AND JOY.

Rent or Buy: Well, one thing I can't be against, is the fact that it's a pretty long game, more than 25 hours that is. I'm not here to judge your taste, so you should rent it and if you like it, buy it. But rent it first, I assure you could regret it.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 03/09/02, Updated 03/09/02