E3: Shadow the Hedgehog Hands-On

So is it just Sonic Adventure with guns, or is there more to Shadow than you might think?

At this year's E3 Sega was pimping out the Sonic brand pretty hard with not just one, not even two, but four Sonic titles on hand and in playable form, and there's no doubt that Shadow the Hedgehog was the main focal point of it all.

Shadow the Hedgehog is sort of an interesting departure from what fans have traditionally come to expect from the 3D Sonic titles released thus far, and with the varied Sonic titles of the past few years, it's a good time for Sega to experiment with the Sonic brand a little without risking dilution of the core Sonic character itself.

In Shadow the Hedgehog, players take control of the conflicted Hedgehog who awakens with amnesia on a distant alien planet some time following the events that transpired in Sonic Adventure 2. Shadow sets out to unveil his true identity, and with no set path to follow embarks on a mission to recover all seven of the memory-restoring Chaos emeralds located throughout the strange new world.

Amidst all the chaos occurring all around him, Shadow has the choice of traveling down a light or dark path in his quest to acquire the Chaos emeralds and reclaim his lost memories, and in turn whatever choices he makes will greatly affect how the rest of his story unfolds.

From what we played at the show, Shadow the Hedgehog features the type of fast-paced, platforming play mechanics players have come to expect from Sonic games, while implementing a number of new features to help it stand out from the pack.

In addition to being equipped with Sonic's moves - which include jump attacks and spin dash moves - Shadow's also packin' heat and can engage in gunplay that calls for running around, collecting newer weapons and constantly blowing $#%@ up as you work your way through each of the game's richly designed 3D environments - sort of like the blast-a-thon players engaged in while playing E-102's quest in the original Sonic Adventure, but at a MUCH faster rate of speed! Also a significant level of interaction is allowed with the environments allowing Shadow to pick up, throw as well as destroy objects found throughout the environments.

We were lucky enough to get a go at the PS2 version of the game early on and really enjoyed the play mechanics of the game. The E3 demo presented us with four selectable missions, one of which was a boss battle of sorts against a flying fire-breathing alien creature which we battled while maneuvering through a dilapidated city setting.

Other levels had us collecting golden rings while sending the violent hog on a shooting spree through the streets of another rundown city setting (not the type of violence you'd expect from a Sonic game) and even a really cool Panzer Dragoon-ish like section in the game where Shadow rode aboard a flying creature of sorts with players steering the creature's flight movements while blasting enemies out of the sky with Shadow's armed weaponry.

Initially the gameplay of Shadow the Hedgehog reminded me a little of Sonic Heroes but without the emphasis on team-play like that of the aforementioned title. Each of the levels we played through maintained a pretty brisk pace and presented us with a variety gameplay elements. Players will remain busy not only blowing stuff up but also platforming, rail grinding, and smashing through countless obstacles, and along the way will meet up with some old favorites from the Sonic series, including the blue hedgehog himself, Sonic, who tags along at certain spots and helps you out.

For the most part Shadow the Hedgehog looks to be shaping up quite nicely, not just a gameplay standpoint, but from an audio & visual standpoint as well. The fast-paced action of the game quickly sent us through a variety of well-lit, well-textured, and vibrant platforming locales which featured the traditional 3D Sonic dizzying loops, and some seemingly dark and gritty city settings where the game's gunplay mechanics felt right at home.

Players can expect to engage in some intense, fast-paced platforming action with a lot of gunplay spanning across the game's 20 stages and 50+ missions. Along with some of the unique moves in his arsenal as well as the variety of weapons Shadow will be able to collect - including bazookas, worm lasers, and other projectile type weapons - he'll also be able to take off in a number of vehicles including an alien craft, SUV, and a motorcycle.

With all of these potential winning elements it's tougher to see Shadow the Hedgehog faltering. The game is just packed with a lot of the winning elements of past 3D Sonic titles and introduces a number of unique features as well. Shadow The Hedgehog ships this fall for the Xbox, Playstation 2, and GameCube. Being obsessed with Sonic here at Kikizo, you can expect a lot more coverage inluding videos aplenty.

Joseph Jackson
Executive Editor, Kikizo Games