Shadow Madness

"Excellent dialogue and great plot are overshadowed by lousy graphics and easy gameplay"

Introduction
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I have read many awful reviews of this game all over the web, and I still cannot understand why so many hate this game with a passion. Shadow Madness has to be one of the most tragic victims of the graphics obsession that pseudo gamers have. I will admit that graphics do matter, because its a video game and not an audio album. But what I hate to see is when people see a game with bad graphics, they automatically assume that since the game has bad graphics, then everything else about it must be as equally abysmal. I hope by reading this review you will see what this vastly underrated game has to offer.

Graphics: 5/10
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To be perfectly honest, the graphics in Shadow Madness, compared to other games which were out at the time are simply below par. The FMV sequences are there are not anything special, but I do not think your eyes will bleed watching them. The battle animations are pretty standard, nothing spectacular, but they do the job. The Pre rendered backgrounds are actually quite good(which saved this game from getting below a 5)but the models that occupy them are rather blocky and heavily resemble the models in Final Fantasy 7. All in all the graphics are nothing great, but you wont be blinded by them.

Plot: 9.5/10
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The plot is the most impressive part of shadow madness. The character design i found was a refreshing step away from the anime-like character design you see in most games of this type. You play the role of stinger, a young man who wishes to become a sailor. After a strange force destroys your hometown, and leaves most survivors inflicted with a disease that makes them insane, you are forced to journey around the world to find the answer to the mystery behind this plague of destruction. This game was written by Americans, and you can tell. The characters are all very original and act more like real people would in the given situation. I think this is a great reprieve from the the same old cliche' characters you see in Japanese RPGs.Such as final fantasy. Although some elements of the story are somewhat standard the sharp, witty dialogue helps breathe more life into the story making it a very enjoyable cinematic experience.

Game Play : 4.0/10
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This game's battle system is based on where you are in the field rather than simply launching attacks back and forth. Before you can fight you must first get close or ''engage'' the enemy, In which you will advance to the target and perform a normal type attack. In addition to normal attacks there are guarded,aggressive, and special attacks. Guarded attacks are weak but increase defense etc. Also different in this game is the menu system. in battle there are four menus The main menu,Attack menu,item menu, and the magic menu if the character can use magic. these menus are accessed by using the shoulder buttons(the L and R buttons), although this system can seem confusing at first, after awhile you will see how it can make gameplay more convenient. These great concepts are marred by the fact that the game is very easy to beat. There are different difficulty settings, but even on the highest setting the game has only a moderate challenge.

Fun Factor: 8.5/10
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How much you enjoy this game depends on what your preferences are in RPGs, if you enjoy deep strategic battles, then this game probably isn't for you, but if you are like me and look for an entertaining cinematic experience look no further than shadow madness.

Conclusion
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Shadow Madness is a good game that has received a lot of bad press. Do yourself a favor and check it out if you can.

The Run Down
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Graphics:5.0
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Plot/Characters:9.5
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Gameplay:4.0
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Fun Factor:8.5
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Overall:6.8

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 12/10/03