Shadow of Hedgehog is a glossier version of the original title, though the game design could use a little boast. The cinematic cutscenes are cool and effective way of showing the game’s different story lines.

In this new release Shadow has Sonic’s ultra-speedy running skills but also has a few awesome tricks, giving this title an extra kick. Shadow has the ability to ride hot vehicles and even pick up a variety of cool weapons that can cause serious damage to baddies. The controls can get nasty at times making long jumps and other precision moves tougher to pull off.

The darker version of Sonic sounds a bit similar to the old ones. It also has some oddly fused music in iy, which sounds like rock tunes from the 80’s. The best sound bit in Shadow is the cute and cartoonish voice acting of the game characters.

The reaction delay of the controls will definitely test your patience but because the choice you make affects the next stages you play, it’s replay value is definitely high. The storylines will give you deveral possible endings and paths, which will mostly depend on actions you’ll take and the alliance you’ll make throught out the game. These brilliant scheme will make you want to play and replay Shadow of the Hedgehog till you get to the ending you want to see.

Aside from being repetitive at times, this game could also look a bit spiffier. But Shadow of the Hedgehog’s clever way of giving you control over the ending  and making you the boss of your fate might tempt most gamers to take a step into Shadow’s world.

Suikoden games having coming out left and right, but a lot of fans of the series have been miffed that their cool factor’s been dropping lately.

Apart from some cut scenes, you could mistake this for a PS1 title. The Camera is fixed at a third-person angle that looks down on the characters. This would fine, except there’s no way to rotate it, creating a lot of “blind spots”. Some rune effects and co-op attacks look great, but you know they could’ve done a lot better.

The story line has more twists and turns than a rollercoaster! The battle system is the same as in the first two games in the series,  but with the new twist: formations. The key to winning fight is to find the right set of people to fight together , using form skills well, and changing formations depending on the situation. the real time duel and war battles add some spice to the mix. Each of the 108 stars of destiny has also been fleshed out as well, making each one interesting.

The character voices in this game are tops! The music, a tribute to Suikoden 1’s theme, is kay at first but hearing the same loop being repeated over and over again could get pretty tiresome.

Recruiting all 108 characters could be pretty tough the first play through, so the game has a new game+ function that allows you to keep items, money and skills from your final save. Playing the game again can be pretty boring, though, since there’s no way to skip cutscenes.

One of the deepest and immersive RPGs we’ve seen in a long time.  If it weren’t for the humdrum graphics and the slow loading timeduring battles, this game would have gotten a perfect dcore. Even with its drawbacks, though, this game should be played be anyone and evryone who loves a good RPG.