Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Shadow Man: 2econd Coming

Written by Chris Reiter on June 19, 2002

Full Review: The Shadow Man knows.

Almost exactly a year before the PlayStation 2 debuted in video game retail outlets everywhere across America, the PlayStation was still plugged into everyone's outlets. During that time, Acclaim introduced one of its last adventure franchises for the system that while it wasn't very successful in its 32-bit version, it had seen brighter lights on the Nintendo 64 and the PC ones instead. Acclaim took notice to what credit the multiplatform title received, and out stormed a sequel in its planning stages for a new world of the new generation for video games. Shadow Man: 2econd Coming is that sequel, and is now available on a PlayStation 2 nearest to you.

Mike LeRoi, the main dark character from the first title, is back for a second showdown. In the first game, Mike came in contact with a voodoo priestess who doused him with a magical spell that would allow him to engage in contact with both the world of the living, and a limbo for the soulless called Deadside. He was then commanded to use his newfound powers to protect the world from the oncoming apocalypse of hell's siege on Earth. This time the story revolves around the Grigori demon race. They plan to waken their master, Asmodeus, and unleash him upon the world. And the only way to stop them is with the Book of Codex. Thomas Deacon, who is in possession of the book, teams up with Mike LeRoi. Together, they will end the forces of evil for humanity's sake.

Acclaim has borrowed elements of its gameplay for Shadow Man: 2econd Coming from Eidos' locker room by mixing up franchises such as Tomb Raider and their Soul Reaver series. Mike, or known to his enemies as Shadow Man, has a control scheme that's stiff like Lara Croft, but a little cockier. Using the directional pad or analog stick, you'll need to face him in one direction first by rotating the camera angle, and then move forward afterward, which can become bothersome at times when you're up against a few different enemies at a time, having to battle face to face with each one. Shadow Man can also jump, run, duck and crawl, strafe, push, and even cling on to a rope up above and advance across it to the opposite side. Still, with Shadow Man's tight controls, you'll be screaming for freer movement in the back of your head the entire time.

Engaging enemies on the other hand has its ups and downs. Shadow Man can equip a bevy of assault items form the most modern, to the most unusual. Ranging from a nail gun, a crowbar, an axe, pistols, a grenade launcher, or just by using your hands, you can take on the bad guys and win in many more ways than one. But, the weapons have a purpose other than to spread death. Many of the game's puzzles require them, in fact. Within each game area, there are breakable objects, such as boxes or pots that can only be busted by using whacking objects like a crowbar. Inside of them you'll discover items like health, ammo, or hidden objects you'll need in order to have access to later parts of the level. The down side to equipping any weapon is that you'll have to first enter the game's menu, scratch through it to upload the item page, choose your weapon, and exit. Having to perform this operation every time is a nuisance, and is one that could've been entirely avoided and modified for an easier execution.

Noticeable in one of the game's major aspects is that its emphasis on using the two-dimension path to gameplay is taken from the Soul Reaver series. Throughout the course of Shadow Man, interestingly, the time of day will constantly shift. This, in effect, revolves around the character. For example, when the sun sets, and the black night encompasses Mike, not only will he change into a skeleton with glowing innards, but the environments will decompose, the human enemies will transform into zombies that rise from the ground up, and there are level options you cannot execute because your human form isn't what it once used to be. Shadow Man is unable to push a giant block out of the way until the sun rises again, which forces players to have to deal with the evolving game status.

Having to play around with two worlds, the graphics look moderately great in both. In Mike's human world, the sunlit sky peers through areas of city streets, rocky caverns, and even muddy swamp trails in an almost realistic essence. Deadside, in its supernatural demeanor, overshadows locales in enriching dark colors that blend together well with the cryptic zombie life popping up in every which way you turn. It's especially great in the world of the death by how Shadow Man's insides glow and light the paths you stroll down through the dank environments of doom. And as good as some of the gameplay areas look, they can still take you a little further. A lot of the gameplay has you using your weapons to unhinge locked gates or rip open crates. The same rule applies to solid substances such as windows. With enough cracks at it, the glass will eventually scatter. Just as well, there are other in-game items to break. You just have to look around for them. Though the game environments are on par with what the eye can see, the game models don't quite fit in. Blocky and jagged figures lump about on screen, and only provide to the player a mediocre performance every which way you gaze upon them. While the visuals don't make the grade, they're tolerable enough to withstand coursing through the entire adventure at least.

Just like the graphics, the sound of the game could also use a tune-up. An orchestrated moody tune that fills the void with its indirect rhythm is the theme behind Shadow Man's worlds. Slow and subtle to a faster pace when enemy forces arrive, really, this music isn't that great and doesn't match up with a video game of this caliber. Faring better than the music, the in game sounds equal to what motions you take a part in. By walking, you'll listen to footsteps. By pushing a block, you'll hear it slide against the ground. By shooting a pistol, you get the fire of death. However, not all game noises are that good. Enemy AI dialogue never ceases to be anything but the same tedious lines over and over again, which isn't too great to listen to in the first place.

As there is voice acting for enemies, the main character -- Mike LeRoi or Shadow Man -- has the ability to talk too. Both during the movie sequences with his allies or enemies, or within the gameplay itself, the voice actors used to choreograph the dialogue sequences are plain, simple, and clichщ. Despite the voices being nothing too outstanding, during the gameplay it is implemented to your advantage. Whether you're at the morphing stage of Mike or Shadow Man, he'll often at times state your next priority to focus on. If you forget which location you're supposed to head to, he'll speak its name for a helpful reminder. If you don't remember what the item it is you're after, he'll repeat that too. Although this method works well, it is somewhat irrelevant since you never really know how or where to find what you're trying to unravel.