Shadow the Hedgehog (video game)

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Hedgehog Shadows is a video game platform developed by Sega Studios USA, a former division of the United States Sega's Sonic Team, and published by Sega. A spin-off to the Sonic the Hedgehog series, the game features Shadow the Hedgehog as the main character, and was revealed during the March 2005 Walk of Game event. It was released for GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox game consoles. in November 2005.

Following contemporary Sonic game trends like Sonic Adventure and Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog is a 3D platform game; However, it also features a third-party shooter element. Most levels have three mission possibilities - "Hero," "Dark," or "Normal" - that the player can choose to complete, while some have only two out of three. The mission finishes determining the plot of the game and then the playable level, a feature referenced by the game's tagline. The plot centers on the Shadow effort, the creation of Doctor Eggman's grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik, to learn about his past while suffering from amnesia. To defeat the enemy, Shadow can use various weapons and special attacks.

Shadow Hedgehog received generally unfavorable reviews from critics. This game was criticized for dark controls, plots, and themes, especially the addition of weapons and other weapons to traditional Sonic games. However, some reviewers praised the value of his replay. The game was commercially successful, selling over 2 million copies until March 2007.

Video Shadow the Hedgehog (video game)

Gameplay

Shadow Hedgehog is a platform game that combines elements of action-adventure gameplay. Like the previous games in Sonic series, basic gameplay involves running fast, collecting rings, and destroying enemies. Shadows collect rings as a form of health; when he was attacked by the enemy, his ten rings bounced from him in all directions. If he is hit by an enemy when he has no ring, he loses his life. Each level is accomplished by mission, and each mission is labeled "Hero," "Dark," or "Normal." The "Heroes" mission involves completing assignments for the Sonic heroic characters of Sonic , or Doctor Eggman on one occasion, and the "Dark" mission involves completing a task for Black Arms or Doctor Eggman. The "Normal" mission involves achieving Chaos Emerald or a goal at the end of the level. All enemies attack the Shadow regardless of the chosen mission. The chosen mission type affects the plot, the level played, and the end received from ten possibilities. Each level features cutscenes that advance the story, and some levels also feature boss battles.

The new gameplay feature differentiates Shadow the Hedgehog from previous Sonic games. For example, Shadow can use weapons to fight enemies, adding elements of the third-person shooter gameplay. Parts of scenery, such as traffic signs, can also be used as weapons. Another new feature is the ability to drive vehicles, such as motorcycles and alien planes. Although the Shadow can run faster than gaming vehicles, the latter has unique abilities, such as destroying enemies and crossing acid-covered areas.

As in most Sonic game series , Chaos Emeralds plays a major role; they help Shadow remember its past and enable him to perform Chaos Control and Chaos Blast. Chaos Control allows the Shadow to move faster in levels and slow down time in boss battles, and Chaos Blast creates explosions that destroy or severely damage all the enemies around. Shadow can perform Chaos Control after players fill Hero Gauge by defeating Black Arms soldiers, and he can perform Chaos Blast after filling the Dark Gauge by defeating G.U.N. army.

The game includes a two player mode that maintains a single-player mechanism but is arranged in one of three specially designed stages and uses a vertical split screen to separate the views of each player. Each player selects one of the available characters - Shadows, two metallic versions of it, and a palette-swapping variant of each. The fighters attack each other and steal each other's rings until all but one is removed. In addition, in single-player mode, the second player can control the Shadow sidekick character in several stages.

Maps Shadow the Hedgehog (video game)

Story

Character

The Hedgehog Shadow, the game's titular protagonist, was created 50 years before the event by Professor Gerald Robotnik in an orbital military space colony known as the ARK. Robotnik seeks to unlock the secrets of everlasting life on the orders of the government and creates the "Ultimate Form of Life". For that, Robotnik designed the Shadow to harness the power of Chaos Zamrud. At the end of Sonic Adventure 2 , his first appearance in his game, Shadow is considered dead, but he is back in Sonic Heroes with amnesia which goes on to the show Imagine Hedgehog .

The Guardian Units of Nations (G.U.N.) is a government military Earth, Federated States, and directed by G.U.N. Commander. When completing the "Hero" mission, Shadow usually helps G.U.N. and heroic characters from the Sonic series, including Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Rouge, Omega, Vector, Charmy, and Espio. Their goal is to protect the Earth from Doctor Eggman and Black Arms, the forces of various alien related species that attack the Earth from Black Comet. Black Doom, leader of the Black Arms, sent an extension of him called "Doom's Eye" to watch the Shadow and help him complete the mission. When completing the "Dark" mission, Shadow helps either the Black Doom or Doctor Eggman, who each wants the Emerald Chaos for himself. In a "Hero" mission from the Sky Forces, Shadow helps Doctor Eggman in his fight against the Black Arms.

Plot

At the beginning of the game, the Shadow suffers from amnesia. In addition to the Sonic Heroes event that occurred three months earlier, the Shadow only remembers two things: his name and his attempt to escape from the ARK space colony with his grandson, Mary, who was killed by G.U.N. army. After walking through a room full of android that looked like him during the Sonic Heroes event, Shadow wondered if he was also an android. The game begins with Shadow reminiscent outside the town of Westopolis when the Black Arms alien race falls from the sky and invades the city. Ali Black Arms, Doom's Eye, approached the Shadow, and Black Arms's leader Black Doom said Shadow of a law agreement Shadow made: to bring Black Doom the Chaos Emeralds. Stunned that the Black Doom knew his name, Shadow searched for Chaos Emeralds to learn about his past.

The game takes place through the Westopolis level and five levels more than the different paths Shadow can take. When the mission is over, Shadow learns more about his past and regains his memory. He can choose to help Doctor Eggman or Black Arms, to help G.U.N. and heroic character of the series, or to help both and keep Chaos Emerald for himself. The mission finishes determining which of the ten final possibilities will be seen after the Shadow collects all the Emerald Chaos and defeats one of the game's last bosses. The end events may range from planning to defeating the Black Arms to planning to destroy the planet.

Completing all the final ten unlocks the actual game end in which the Black Doom uses Chaos Control, reinforced by the power of all seven Chaos Emeralds, to bring the Black Comet to the Earth's surface. Black Doom explains that the Black Guns intend to use humans as a source of energy, and the Black Comets begin to release nerve gas into Earth's atmosphere which causes total paralysis in those who inhale it. Shadow faces the Black Doom after the "Last Way" level, where he finds out that Professor Gerald Robotnik invents the ARK Eclipse Cannon weapon to destroy Black Comet. During their confrontation, Black Doom reveals that the Shadow was created using Black Doom blood, and he tried to use mind control on the Shadow, but failed. Black Doom then turned into a giant called Devil Doom; in response, the Shadow uses Chaos Zamrud to transform into Super Shadow and confront the Devil Doom. During the battle, Doctor Eggman confirmed to Shadows that he was original and not android. Shadow defeats the Devil Doom and uses Disorder Control to teleport the Black Comet back into Earth orbit, where it eliminates it using Eclipse Cannon. His friends are very happy, just like the guys at G.U.N. headquarter. The shadows are then displayed in the ARK control room holding the photos of Mary and Gerald. She threw the picture away and left the room, deciding to forget the past behind her and continue.

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Development

Shadow Hedgehog was developed by Sega Studios USA, the now-defunct Sega Sonic Team, and is published by Sega. Sega first reveals the game and its tagline ("Hero or villain? You decide.") On March 8, 2005, the inauguration of Sonic the Hedgehog into the Walk of Game. Sega officially announced game development for the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox game consoles on March 23, 2005. That same year, Sega released games in North America on November 15, in Europe on November 18, and in Japan on December 15th.

Sonic Team Takashi Iizuka, who has been working on the series Sonic the Hedgehog since 1993, targets a younger audience with previous Sonic games and wants to attract older viewers with Imagine the Hedgehog . The game development team wants to create a game featuring Shadow to complete the mystery plot that starts with the character recognition in Sonic Adventure 2 . The team feels that the Shadow design - inspired by films like Underworld , Constantine , and the series Terminator - will make the story darker and allow for elements, such as vehicles and weapons, if not considered inappropriate for Sonic games . Sonic Team Yuji Naka stated in an interview with GameSpy that he wanted to use Shadow as the game's main character because of his popularity among fans and became the best fit for the game of "gun action". The game features several CG-animated cutscene produced by Blur Studio. The game also contains obscene stuff, including examples of fuckin and hell spoken by Shadows and other characters such as Espio, G.U.N. Commander, Knuckles, and Sonic. Profanity and use of weapons, both first for the Sonic series, resulted in a pre-release controversy. ESRB commissioned this E10 ranking game for "fantasy violence" and "light language".

Music Shadow the Hedgehog was composed by Jun Senoue, Yutaka Minobe, Tomoya Ohtani, and Mariko Nanba. Lost and Found: The Hedgehog Shadow Vocal Trax is a video game soundtrack album released on CD on February 22, 2006. The album contains seven vocal tracks from the game, one of which is a remix rather than original. Another soundtrack, Shadow the Hedgehog: Original Soundtrax , was also released on February 22, 2006. It contains vocal and instrumental songs from the game. This game was the first in the series Sonic to use the 4Kids cast of Sonic X after the death of Dr. voice actor. Eggman before, Deem Bristow. The player continued to be used until the end of 2010 when all cast members except Mike Pollock were replaced prior to the release of Sonic Free Riders.

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Reception

Shadow Hedgehog received generally unfavorable reviews from critics, many of which are very critical of game mechanics and the difference from other Sonic games . However, it was voted the best game of 2005 in the Official Jetix Magazine Reader Awards and was named "The Best Platform" in 2005 by readers of Nintendo Power (received more votes than the choice of staff , Sonic Rush ). Hedgehog shadow was also a commercial success: Sega reported 1.59 million units sold from its release through March 2006 and 470,000 units sold in the US from March 2006 to March 2007, for a total sales of at least 2.06 million. The game was later released as part of three budget lines: Greatest Hits and Platinum Range for PlayStation 2 (representing sales of at least 400,000 in North America and Europe, respectively) and Player's Choice for GameCube (250,000 in North America).

Many critics make fun of the maturity of games for Sonic games, especially the addition of weapons and other weapons. Game Informer staff writer Matt Helgeson said, "not only is the new adult 'adult' interpretation of Sonic so stupid, it is also wrong and almost feels like betrayal to old fans." Eurogamer staff writer Tom Bramwell feels that "the selling value of other games - the darker side - does not mean much to us." G4's X-Play and GameSpy staff writer Patrick Klepek also thinks so. By contrast, Nintendo Power staff writer Steve Thomason rated the game 8.0 out of 10, stating, "The darker taking of the Sonic universe works for the most part, giving the series a bit of excellence without going overboard for violence." In addition, Official Xbox Magazine confirms the reader, "Do not worry, Imagine Hedgehog not half as 'urban' or quite as 'gangsta' as it seems the first time." Hegelson highlighted the plot the game "laughs" it, and says it is "unreasonable and that the various conventions of Sonic undermine his attempts to become" mature "or" edgy ".

The reviewer also criticized the game's control, especially the Shadow homing attacks that caused the death of unexpected characters. Matt Helgeson complains that the attack "often sends you into a void, resulting in cheap deaths after a cheap death." Nintendo Power , X-Play , Eurogamer, Official Xbox Magazine , and GameSpy agrees. Other complaints are focused on weapons and vehicle mechanisms. Greg Mueller of GameSpot feels that the weapon is virtually useless because of the lack of a target lock or manual goal, combined with an ineffective automatic goal. IGN staff writer Matt Casamassina, staff of 1UP.com, Greg Sewart, Game Game , X-Play , GameSpy, and London The Times also criticizing the mechanisms of weapons, vehicles, and other aspects of game control. However, Thomason said that "blowing up Shadow enemies with all sorts of weapons it has is just fun."

The level design receives mixed comments. Mueller mentioned some "very frustrating" levels. Helgeson states that "the rate is quickly designed poorly", and Andrew Reiner, who wrote a second opinion review for Game Game Informers, called "disaster level" design. Official Xbox Magazine is more diverse, balancing the chances of getting lost at a large level with possible appeals from this stage for 3D Sonic players, especially those who have enjoyed Sonic Heroes . GameTrailers finds that "the levels are dark and urban, or light and psychedelic, however they fit well into the Sonic realm." They are filled with speed ramp, loops and various other impulses. such as pinball. "Bettenhausen incorporates" the run-like-hell roller-coaster design philosophy of several stages in his limited praise. Casamassina disliked the "dumb level design", saying that "[j] ust because they dazzled players six years ago does not mean that Tim Sonic can copy and paste exactly the same loop and rotate into each new franchise iteration and expect everyone to be happy with result. "GameSpy observes that" the area is much more open than in previous Sonic games, but the level designers have not taken the limits. " Nintendo Power selects mission difficulties that require players to search for objects.

Critics praised the value of game replays, clapping many possible paths that players can take through the game. GameTrailers states, "your pick-your-own-adventure style provides game replay value that many platformers do not have." The Melbourne, Australia, Herald Sun publications , Nintendo Power , and Official Xbox Magazine also think so. GameSpot complimented the final alternatives, but concluded that "the gameplay is not fun enough to warrant playing the game through multiple times." Bettenhausen thinks that the morality system feels artificial, but says that it extends the replay value of the game.

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Note

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References

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External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Official PlayStation website

Source of the article : Wikipedia